Diablo 3 Basics

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This is the Diablo 3 Basics page, which is the main Fact Sheet of known Diablo III information. This much anticipated sequel to Diablo and Diablo II was announced at Blizzard's WWI 2008 in Paris, during 27-28 June 2008. Regardless if you just heard that Diablo III is announced, or if you have been following some of the Diablo 3 news, this page will get you up to speed!

If you are looking for the Basics Section of the wiki, you can find that in the Basics Category.

Introduction

Diablo III, while featured completely in 3D with a 3D environment, will follow closely in Diablo II's track by using the classic isometric view, fast gameplay and randomised content for high replayability. Some changes have been made in order to make the game faster and more flexible as well as making players choose and employ tactics rather than mindless mouseclicking. Besides taking well learned lessons from WoW, the developers have been inspired by games such as Zelda and God of War. Regardless, the game will be possible to play with a mouse alone, if a player so wishes (but you would be a lot less efficient).

Remember that if you're a newcomer to Diablo you can find more related articles in the Basics Category

Character Classes

Blizzard have confirmed that the game will ship with five character classes. Four classes have been revealed:

New with Diablo III is the choice of gender for each class. It's not as customizable as the characters in popular MMO World of WarCraft, but the developers have made it possible to choose a male or female character of the class they prefer.

The new maximum character level will be 60 instead of 99, with probable increases in expansions. See the end game article for many more details.


Barbarian
Barbfemale.jpg Barbmale.jpg The Barbarian - The same character you played in Diablo II, but with some new skills, and backed with power of the ancients.
Monk
Monkfemale.jpg Monkmale.jpg The Monk - A new fellow from Ivgorod. Combining martial arts of our eastern cultures with a holy strike from the western disciplines he takes names and kicks in faces.
Witch Doctor
Witchfemale.jpg Witchmale.jpg The Witch Doctor - A new class that comes from the jungle region of Teganze, and uses voodoo magic to do his bidding. One of his highlights is the Wall of Zombies spell.
Wizard
Wizardfemale.jpg Wizardmale.jpg The Wizard - A new class that is a pure spell caster harnessing arcane and elemental magic to do her bidding. Very similar to the Sorcerer and Sorceress of previously Diablo games. One of the highlights is the Slow Time spell which warps space and time, slowing nearby monsters and projectiles.
Unknown
The Other classes - All known information about the one missing class.


Skills

You can look at the above known class skills for detailed information about what will be available, but one big general change for character abilities is that you now have a skill bar instead of a potion bar. It works similar to WoW, and more skills can now be accessed easily. Read more about the potion changes below.



Skill Tree Respecs/Resets

In Diablo II, a character always had all their skills and stats as they were allocated. If you made any mistake, the only solution was to start over. There has not been a definite word on talent/skill respecs, but Jay Wilson has said that he didn't like that you were limited in the old system, and that regardless of how the skill system will look, respecs are probably going to be available.

Stats/Attributes

It's no longer possible to choose where to enter your own stat points. They will be automatically assigned every time you level up. The customization that this brought in Diablo II is now going to be moved to itemization among other ways. Have a look what kind of secondary attributes are influenced by the initial stats/attributes Strength, Dexterity, Vitality and Willpower.



Skill Runes

Runes will work very different in Diablo III compared to Diablo II Runes, and is now part of the character customization. You will enter skill runes for your skills/spells, which will affect how the these work in the game. A multiplying rune might make your spell fire additional fireballs, another rune might make the blast radius bigger etc.

Monsters

Goatmen & Siegebreaker.
Diablo III will have a great array of monsters, and they will employ more intelligent behaviour, and effects as well. There will be more 'mini-boss' encounters that make for more epic gameplay, an example is the Thousand Pounder, who isn't really a boss, but a unit type. Other 'effects' include skeletons with large shields that can block and protects archers, ghouls that climb up sheer walls to attack you, or Grotesques that explode into a hundred Lamprey monsters. We can expect many unique attack patterns and behaviours from the Diablo III monsters.



Spectacular Deaths

Diablo III promises to bring many different death animations for each killed enemy, as well as special death animations for critical hits, and special fatalities by boss monsters when their hit would kill a player.


The death penalty will be a lot more lenient. People will no longer lose experience when dying. Naturally, if the Hardcore mode makes a return, a death will be permanent, but potentially possible for friends to loot the corpse. There will also be checkpoints that automatically save the progress of a player, and when a character dies, he's transported to the nearest checkpoint.


Difficulty Levels

There are going to be three difficulty levels in Diablo 3, most likely called "normal," "nightmare," and "hell" as has become standard in the Diablo series. How much more difficult and what sort of variety the higher difficulty levels will add remains to be determined. Jay Wilson addressed this issue in a November 2009 interview. [1]

What are the differences in the difficulty levels in Diablo III other than just monsters doing more damage? ie: What reason will people have to play through these modes after having already beaten the main story of the game on an easier difficulty setting?
Jay Wilson: We haven't really gotten into the difficulty settings a lot; we're still just working on the core content for the game at this point. The primary reason as to why a player would want to progress through the game, through the several difficulties, would be for more of a challenge.
There will be also better item customization, for example a Level 100 character in a higher difficulty would see and wear items that a Level 30 character would not have a chance at seeing in the lower difficulty. Said items will also look and feel completely different whereas in Diablo II a lot of times you just had a remodel of the same old items with different names.

Items

Barbarian swinging two magical axes.
While the system won't be identical to that of Diablo II, it will be very similar. Items will drop randomly and have random attributes. Some of the things that definitely changed:
  • Runes no longer attach to weapons, and 'rune words' are completely removed. They are instead used to enhance your skills/spells.
  • The inventory is now 'WoW-style' with one slot per item. No more 'inventory-tetris'.
  • The stash is in the game, bigger this time, and will be possible to expand further.
    • The dev team is discussing potentially making it a shared stash between your characters, or adding a mail system.
  • Items will now drop per character, and be invisible to other characters. They are still tradeable, but you will never go a run without loot again.
  • The Full List of Items contain all known items.
  • Potions are drastically changed, with some sort of limits. If it's less gained health/mana, or if it has a cooldown is unknown, but the old potion system is replaced by Health Globes and the belt is replaced by a skill bar.
  • There will be some new trading system in addition to the old one, possibly like the WoW Auction House.



NPCs

Cain
There is a small number of NPCs that are confirmed for Diablo III:



Locations

Sanctuary world map, with locations noted.
The world map of Sanctuary was actually released with the second Diablo game's manual, but a new and improved map has been made by Blizzard, outlining the continents and the major settlements. Many of these locations will be re-visited in Diablo III including Tristram. Areas close by that were never visited in the previous games will also have a chance, like the Leoric Highlands and Westmarch.

We have been shown detailed pictures of Skovos (the land of the Amazons), as well as Caldeum and Tristram. Skovos is confirmed to be excluded from the game, but the level of detail they are putting in to the universe suggests either a big expansion pack, MMOs or a film.

Outdoor areas will be less randomised than dungeons, and the terrain will for the most part be static. Instead a lot of random scripted events will take place, some will even be really advanced. It can vary from an escort quest, to a mouldy tome, or a big bad boss monster. You will also find interactive environments with dangerous traps and obstacles, and destructible elements. There will be "numerous" outdoor locations.

Dungeons

The only known dungeon of the game so far is the Forgotten Tombs, which is seen on the gameplay video. It seems to be located adjacent to the Leoric Highlands, and probably close to Tristram as well. Dungeons will be almost completely randomized, increasing replayability in the game. As a dungeon is a lot easier to randomize, these will be made different each time, and outdoor locations slightly more static. You will also find interactive environments with dangerous traps and obstacles, and destructible elements. There will be "numerous" dungeons.



Transportation

Most transportation in Diablo III will be on foot, as there will be no mounts in the game. On the other hand, we've heard the D3 team talk about Waypoint, so they will likely return, and there is also less running after a death due to checkpoints.

Easter Eggs

While no Easter Eggs have been confirmed, we can most likely expect some sort of surprise content in Diablo 3. However, it's not certain exactly what this will be. One thing is known and that is that all previous somewhat modern Blizzard games have had Easter eggs to some degree.

  • Diablo II had its own Cow Level.
  • Blizzard have hinted at Easter eggs and secret levels.



Cow Level

The Cow Level is a very distinct piece of content in Diablo 2, but is as of yet unconfirmed for Diablo 3. Cows and Diablo have been closely linked in fan's minds since Diablo 1, and it's not unlikely that we'll get a secret Cow Level in Diablo 3 as well, even if it likely will be very different from the Diablo 2 version.

Rainbow Level

This is a rumour started by the art controversy (see below), and all the hub-hub about the colour in Diablo 3 that came after the announcement might inspire the dev team to make a rainbow level with unicorns and Carebears.



Art Changes

Some fans were very upset that Diablo III is seemingly full of much more colour than the predecessor Diablo II. While the settings in general now include a lot more colour, Blizzard argues that Diablo II was more colourful than people remember. Some fans have also expressed fears that Diablo III will become too much like World of WarCraft. You can read more about concerns and responses here:



Story Line

Mystical comet overlooking a settlement in the western part of Sanctuary.
The story line of the game takes place twenty years after a few powerful heroes saved Sanctuary from the demonic onslaught in Diablo II. This has gone by largely unnoticed by the general population as most of those warriors who directly faced Hell's armies (and were fortunate enough to survive) went mad from their experiences. Some people know that some sort of conflict took place, but for the most part the war against Diablo is a myth.

The Barbarians gained their identity and cultural pride from protecting the Worldstone within Mount Arreat. To see it defiled by Baal and his minions, and then destroyed, tore out the heart of these proud people. They abandoned their homeland and became nomadic, wandering the lands of Sanctuary and pitching themselves into battle after battle in an effort to forget the pain of their shattered homeland.

What happened to Tyrael after he destroyed the Worldstone is unknown to everyone. Scholars like Deckard Cain anticipated a huge invasion of demonic forces as the protection from the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, but no invasion ever materialized. Cain has spent the last years trying to figure out what happened, and trying to prepare us for the inevitable onslaught.

We know from the Diablo III cinematic that a great comet of some importance is falling down on to the Tristram Cathedral, and that some unlucky soul (if it's Leah or Cain isn't sure) is hit by it. Hell's armies are amassing, and it isn't safe any more.

Quests

Not that much information is yet available in regards to quests, but what is known is that the quest system will help players interact more with the lore of the game, but still be optional, and not something you need to experience unless you so choose. Blizzard claim the quest system itself will be new. There will be the standard story-line quests, as well as optional random quests related to the game you are currently in and class-quests. The random quests will vary from game to game. The same location in the game might spawn a caravan needing protection, or a mouldy tome which contains a quest, or perhaps just a big bad monster.

Single Player and Multiplayer

Battle.net 2.0.jpg
You will be able to play Diablo III both offline on your PC/Mac as well as online with friends. Jay Wilson has said on numerous occasions that the primary focus will be co-op multiplayer, but not excluding single player game. They want all the fans to meet up together as one community, and will make huge changes to the current setup. The preferred multiplayer system for Diablo III will be Battle.net 2.0 and there will be NO LAN.

Besides the co-op, it will also be possible to fight versus other players.

Battle.net 2.0

Blizzard have promised very big changes in Battle.net 2.0, and besides removing the LAN functionality, the idea is to encourage people to play online with Achievements, handy friends/foes lists and community support. You can read more about confirmed Battle.net features here:



Player Killing

PvP will be possible in Diablo III, but not as it works in Diablo II. Players will no longer be victim of "unwanted PvP action". Instead, Blizzcon 2010's opening ceremony and gameplay panel revealed the introduction of PvP-Arenas as a penalty-free way for players to repeatedly kill each other by mutual agreement.

Other Changes

Among the things that are not listed under their own headline, there are a few other things to highlight about Diablo III:

  • The old Diablo II Mercenaries are now called followers, and it's now possible to have more than one with you on your travels.
  • Blizzard have not given a final decision if there will be a Hardcore mode in Diablo III or not, but Jay Wilson has said that he likes the idea and can't see any reasons why it should not be included.
  • Corpses will no longer be left permanently. In the opening gameplay video, the corpses stayed for just a few seconds before fading away, but was later increased to 20 seconds, and in the latest builds, there is no upper limit, but instead an upper limit of corpses (so older corpses fade out). The reason is that when the number of corpses amount, they will weigh down the PC running it significantly, since it retains physics from Havok while in the game.
  • Chests will no longer be locked.



Release Information

This is a collection of all information available pertaining to the release of Diablo. Including release date, system requirements, beta testing, price/payment methods and age rating.

Release Date

As usual, the release date for any Blizzard production is kept under wraps for as long as possible. While Blizzard has shown playable builds of Diablo III at conventions and press events, the level of polish makes it harder to estimate development time left. Any other dates or rumours are that -- rumours.

More information on the Diablo III release date article.

System Requirements

  • Windows XP compatible
  • Windows Vista compatible
  • Mac OSX compatible

Read more on the Diablo III System Requirements page. Diablo III is made completely in 3D, using Havok physics engine, with a custom game engine made by Blizzard. The game is currently native to DirectX 9, and will not require DirectX 10 to run. The game will probably use a slightly higher level of system requirements than StarCraft II, which also uses Havok & DirectX 9, and is the closest thing we can compare the game to. You can read more on StarCraft II's requirements and DirectX compatibilities as well as shader info here:

Here is a Blizzard quote on the system specs: [2]

Jay Wilson: Currently we have no plans for specific DirectX 10 support. Right now are running a DirectX 9, and we run on a pretty broad range of systems, really fast. Overall, across-the-board Blizzard's goal is that all of our games support a broad range of systems. We don't jump up the system specs in any grand way. We have no intentions of being a high-end game, and certainly no intentions of being an exclusive DirectX 10 game at this time...
We don't exactly know what the system specs are yet, but we'll try to keep them pretty low. We make a lot of decisions about what we do and do not put into our graphics, in order to keep the game running fast. One of the reasons why we talk a lot about art style, and how we focus a lot on art style, stylization of art over... when we do that it allows us to have a good looking game about falling back on technology, our technology does not have to carry us when we have such great art in the game.



Diablo Alpha Beta Testing

As with the release date, a time for beta is currently unknown. General information on Blizzard beta tests can be seen on the Beta Test page.

Retail Price

The retail price for Diablo III is unknown and will be stated closer to release. It's likely that the game will be "boxed" (no monthly fees, just a one-off price) and priced similar to other AAA titles.

Game Age Rating

The rating of Diablo III is estimated to be aimed for gamers above the age of 15, while still trying to avoid USK 18+ in Germany, or other similar ratings that would severely hamper the sales of the game in that country. Blizzard are more likely to censor the game in affected countries than to avoid releasing it if the censorship is too harsh.

  • America (ERSB) - "M" Mature Rating (player should be at least 17 years old). No law enforcement.
  • Europe (PEGI) - 16+ (player should be at least 16 years old). No law enforcement (for most countries).
  • Germany (USK) - USK 16+ (player should be at least 16 years old). Law enforcement of USK.
  • Read more in the ratings article.



Copy Protection and DRM

It's unknown what type of copy protection (DRM) will be used on Diablo III, but with the new Battle.net changes and new Battle.net accounts, the game will likely only use a very light form of copy protection since the license is associated with the account. Online play will most likely not require a DVD in the drive, and offline play is unknown.


Who's in Charge?

Naturally, Blizzard are the guys making Diablo III, but that isn't a surprise. The important people for this production is the relatively new Blizzard employee Diablo III Lead Designer Jay Wilson, besides the regular team. For fans, you might want to keep a look out for Bashiok, the new Diablo Community Manager and Leonard Boyarsky who is the Lead World Designer for Diablo III, and head of quests & lore as well as designing the world of Sanctuary.

Expansions, MMO or Diablo Movie

Whatever will come after Diablo III is unknown, but it seems apparent that Blizzard are confident [3] that there WILL be expansions. They have mentioned that the story line will have a more "final" ending than in Diablo II, which possibly means to make it better for an expansion, or perhaps a future MMO or a Diablo movie. Regardless, Jay Wilson has said that there are lots of potential for expanding the universe. What types of media this will come in is unknown: books, comics, manga, expansions, games or a movie...


Mike Morhaime said that they would like to make Diablo III expansions annually[4], and confirming plans for multiple expansions for the game.

Further Information

You can follow the links to each specific section for further details on Diablo III development and information. You can also use one of the following links for further information:


References

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