Diablo III --Impressions start on page 36 --

[CeeKay]

you can get there quite quickly if you just run the last quest in a pub with some +xp gear.  Takes 3-4 runs of 5 minutes each to go from 9-13 for me.

oddly enough I haven't found much +xp stuff.  found a lot of items that let you gather gold/health from a distance, which is kind of nice to have 3-4 on your character.  got to love randomness-  heck, I just had a basement open up in Old Tristram that wasn't there the first 6 times I got to that part.

[Blackjack]

so, the blacksmith levels up across the board for all of your characters?  sweet.

also, the Demon Hunter has a machine gun?   even sweeter.  so far my only 'meh' class is the wizard.  I should have stopped playing after the first three classes, because now I have 4 to possible choices.

Well, technically the DH is using Rapid Fire to fire magical arrows (or something?) very quickly.   The D2 "classic" skills Strafe (L19) and Multi-Shot (L22) are still there a few levels past the beta cap.

Demon Hunter's Chakram (flying disc attack in irregular circular patterns) is all kinds of awesome -- get a DH to L12 to check that out. It's particularly awesome when used during a Soul Jar event.  

Be sure to consult Blizzard's D3 game guide/classes page if you have any questions on the skills:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/
*Click on the Progression tab under each class for the rundown on when skills are available (level-wise).

Given how limited a taste of skills you get with the L13 beta cap, you really don't get to see the most impressive/fun stuff. Wizards will be all kinds of awesome later on, and many of the Classics (blizzard, meteor, hydra, etc.) are there.  

P.S. I ran into an event I never saw before. It wasn't much, but this "Demented Conjurer" by a tome had a quest (?) mark above him. He threw some gold on the ground as a bribe I declined, and then we had a little battle with him and some conjured little beasties. Supposedly there are about 50 or more different events (including this and Soul Jar), and I guess you have a random chance to run into X number on playthroughs.

[Purge]

You know when you pass the trees with the bodies hanging on it and your char says "Rest in Peace"? That sometimes allows you to go down into a cavern with water and enemies. Not much loot there, but I expect it isn't supposed to be a low-level one.

Jar of Souls I've only ever gotten on MP, just like with the training dummies lvl3 of the Sanctuary.

[Purge]

Mammoth Hydra looks cool. So does Cannoneer.

[wonderpug]

so far my only 'meh' class is the wizard.  I should have stopped playing after the first three classes, because now I have 4 to possible choices.

I just gave up on doing a new Diablo 2 playthrough because I was reminded how much I dislike the class choices.  The two from the expansion both seemed ok, but none of the original 5 were a good fit for me.

In Diablo 3, though, I'm excited about everyone but the barbarian.  I'll probably be bouncing back and forth between the monk and the witch doctor at release.

[CeeKay]

In Diablo 3, though, I'm excited about everyone but the barbarian.  I'll probably be bouncing back and forth between the monk and the witch doctor at release.

the Barbarian just cuts through everything.  I don't think I ever felt in danger of dying while using him.

[CeeKay]

Well, technically the DH is using Rapid Fire to fire magical arrows (or something?) very quickly.  

yeah, and damned if it don't feel like an old 80's arcade game when it's doing so.

[wonderpug]

In Diablo 3, though, I'm excited about everyone but the barbarian.  I'll probably be bouncing back and forth between the monk and the witch doctor at release.

the Barbarian just cuts through everything.  I don't think I ever felt in danger of dying while using him.

It's not that he doesn't seem like a strong character; I'm just not drawn to the intended playstyle or character design.

[Blackjack]

In Diablo 3, though, I'm excited about everyone but the barbarian.  I'll probably be bouncing back and forth between the monk and the witch doctor at release.

the Barbarian just cuts through everything.  I don't think I ever felt in danger of dying while using him.

It's not that he doesn't seem like a strong character; I'm just not drawn to the intended playstyle or character design.

The intended playstyle is to obliterate everything in sight, shake the ground like a walking volcanic earthquake, and leap into and stun targets halfway across the screen. What's not to love about that?   And I can't wait to try the Call of Ancients skill (which calls forth those 3 bad ass barbarian spirits you had to battle in the D2 Lord of Darkness expansion), which is seen in video at the game guide. They only help out for a few seconds and i suspect it had a lengthy cooldown but it looks fun to watch.  

afik, Blizzard brought the character back because it was considered the most popular of all the D2 races, and they felt like they could add a few new twists to the class and improve it. I def. plan to play it, and it's a blast, I just am more eager to work out the new classes.

fwiw, it's hard to get any sort of gauge on survivability of classes from this tiny beta chunk at normal. I don't think we'll really have a handle on that until we get the full game in our grubby mitts and get Nightmare+ difficulty games going. Much of what the Barb's good at is apparently less effective against the tougher skill enemies that can resist stuns and such. With all classes I could envision players switching up on the Rune effects from one skill level to the next, depending on the enemy resistances encountered.

[Purge]

The barbarian has one special ability with jump...

being able to go downstairs the FUN way.

[PR_GMR]

Game Pre-Purchased!  

[Soulchilde]

Don't know if this was posted but the beta is over on the 5/1

[Zarkon]

Yup.  I'm gonna be on most of the weekend grinding.  Here's what I've got left:

Raise Blacksmith to level 4:  Very Easy
Raise Monk to Level 13 (from 9):  Easy
Create Barbarian, Beat Game, Become Level 13:  Somewhat Easy and time-consuming.
Create Demon Hunter, Beat Game, Become Level 13:  Somewhat Easy and time-consuming.
Raise 5 classes from the dead:  Easy but insanely time-consuming (finding someone to do it, after all).

[Roguetad]

Yup.  I'm gonna be on most of the weekend grinding.  Here's what I've got left:

Raise Blacksmith to level 4:  Very Easy
Raise Monk to Level 13 (from 9):  Easy
Create Barbarian, Beat Game, Become Level 13:  Somewhat Easy and time-consuming.
Create Demon Hunter, Beat Game, Become Level 13:  Somewhat Easy and time-consuming.
Raise 5 classes from the dead:  Easy but insanely time-consuming (finding someone to do it, after all).

Do you get anything in the live game by doing all of that in the beta? 

[PR_GMR]

Yup.  I'm gonna be on most of the weekend grinding.  Here's what I've got left:

Raise Blacksmith to level 4:  Very Easy
Raise Monk to Level 13 (from 9):  Easy
Create Barbarian, Beat Game, Become Level 13:  Somewhat Easy and time-consuming.
Create Demon Hunter, Beat Game, Become Level 13:  Somewhat Easy and time-consuming.
Raise 5 classes from the dead:  Easy but insanely time-consuming (finding someone to do it, after all).

Do you get anything in the live game by doing all of that in the beta? 

My guess is no. Zarkon won't have much game to play by the time the game releases.

[Zarkon]

The achievements get you banner options which carry over to the main  game, yes.  I'll only have played Act 1 up to the Skeleton King, so it's not like I"m spoiling huge chunks of the game.

[wonderpug]

How do you upgrade the blacksmith?  I didn't touch that aspect in the open weekend.

[CeeKay]

How do you upgrade the blacksmith?  I didn't touch that aspect in the open weekend.

that unlocks after a certain quest-  the one involving his wife I believe.  he'll be next to the teleporting thingamabobby and you'll have the option to craft new items, break down magic items for pieces and parts or upgrade him with gold.

[Purge]

After you get Leoric's crown, he fixes it and then he'll craft for you - and you can upgrade him at that point.

[CeeKay]

After you get Leoric's crown, he fixes it and then he'll craft for you - and you can upgrade him at that point.

ah, that's right.  I forgot I went directly to that part.  it was in the first tomb I picked.

[Purge]

After you get Leoric's crown, he fixes it and then he'll craft for you - and you can upgrade him at that point.

ah, that's right.  I forgot I went directly to that part.  it was in the first tomb I picked.

 

Never happened to me. Not once. The crown jumped to the last one every.single.time.

[CeeKay]

yeah, I was kind of surprised.  can't remember which tomb I went into though, but it was an odd dungeon: the first level was a pretty straight shot with no side passages, then the 2nd level was fairly small with a mini boss fight, and the third had the crown.

[Blackjack]

Bashiok said to expect full details on auction house stuff soon:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/4768348176#9

We'll have final AH info including fees, legal mumbo jumbo, and just about everything you ever wanted to know available very soon. Just stay tuned to the front page.

btw, that's my first pull quote via iPad   Just wish apostrophe was on the main keyboard set  

[Blackjack]

Newly unlocked Q&A dev video (from late March) at launch site, pointed out by Inc Gamers:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/reveal-70-feature-posted-dev-diary-4

[namatoki]

btw, that's my first pull quote via iPad   Just wish apostrophe was on the main keyboard set  

Just a heads up, you can get the apostrophe by swiping your finger up on the comma button. It's a iPad key shortcut.

[Blackjack]

btw, that's my first pull quote via iPad   Just wish apostrophe was on the main keyboard set  

Just a heads up, you can get the apostrophe by swiping your finger up on the comma button. It's a iPad key shortcut.

At this rate, I'll need to tape a Post-It Note to my iPad just to keep track of the tips I wouldn't know without help.   Thanks. I think I will start up some kind of Notes file of these tips.

Back to D3 -- if you're curious on the eventual PVP, there's been a lot of discussion of late:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/4768348365?page=5#97

While we're talking about PvP it's probably worth reminding everyone that what we're targeting is a very loose and 'for fun' system. Imagine clicking a button, being matched up against another team of equal skill and gear, and win or lose you move forward (although faster if you win) on a personal progression system that gives you some cosmetic recognition as you go. There won't be ladders or leagues, we have no intent to expose team ratings, and very likely nothing besides a win/loss record to track performance etc. etc. etc. Anyone who has tried it at BlizzCon knows the PvP in Diablo III is a blast, but I've seen some people start to get ideas that it's going to be an eSport, and that's just not something we're targeting - for the sake of our goals in the single player/co-op experience.

It's one reason custom matches can make some people nervous, because it means players can start setting up their own games in attempts to create a more competitive system. Or just complaining their 1v1 duels aren't balanced. When that happens people start demanding the sacrifice of PvE, "I need more mobility/stuns/dps", separate systems with different abilities, and on and on. I think if there were one good argument against duels and custom games, it would be the players themselves.

I'm not interested in PVP in D3 mainly cause it just seems at odds with the whole charm of the franchise (for me, that is).

imho, it's more about blasting, chopping, hacking, spellcasting large hordes of enemies to smithereens over and over with an occasional stubborn boss. In an mmorpg, you'd probably freak out if you had to handle more than 3-4 enemies at one time -- here you might eventually be tackling 20, 30, 40 in one encounter and coming out the winner.

If you boil it down to whacking another player for 5 minutes in a duel, to me that sounds more like an mmorpg battle or the "stubborn boss" in Diablo minus the "decimating the hordes to smithereens" fun factor, and what's the fun of that in a Diablo context? I don't want to be clicking for 5 minutes or however long to beat one player.

I'm all for accommodating all tastes though so more power to them. Though I think as City of Heroes found out (not having PVP at launch, and then adding it via arenas and eventually pvp areas), if you don't have PVP at launch, sometimes it's tough to get the masses interested later.

[wonderpug]

Does the game have a mechanic for allowing players with different character levels to play together?

[namatoki]

Does the game have a mechanic for allowing players with different character levels to play together?

I have watched several interviews with the developers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ku0oEryTX7o is the latest Blizzcast where they do confirm it, the last developer to speak) and they have stated that players can jump into games regardless of level or quest.  Not sure if you can jump into a Nightmare game if you are a Normal character though.  Probably no.

[Zarkon]

Overachiever GET.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Is it the 15th yet?  Nope......is it the 15th yet?!  nope....  sigh.   

[Zarkon]

Yeah, I already have it preordered.  CE from Amazon~

[Purge]

Is it the 15th yet?  Nope......is it the 15th yet?!  nope....  sigh.   

Moved a trade-in to my CE at EBgames.

12bux due on the 15th.

/checks watch

GAH!!

[CeeKay]

that's my first pull quote via iPad

woohoo!  achievement unlocked!

[Soulchilde]

Blizzard certainly know how to do a TV commercial

[Blackjack]

Does the game have a mechanic for allowing players with different character levels to play together?

If you mean like an mmorpg sidekicking (City of Heroes) system that sort of temporarily makes lower level players almost the same as the highest level in the group, haven't heard of anything like that.

When you choose individual quests to start a game, you'll see a little screen suggesting roughly what levels that quest set is intended for (like L2-L10, or L4-L13, since the beta is capped at L13, it doesn't show anything higher than that). afik, the level range is simply the game's suggestion. You can be higher than those ranges and probably still get exp, but you'd probably want to be in that range to get decent exp and have enemies not be too hopelessly wimpy.

And yeah, afik, the difficulty levels are unlocks (Normal to make Nightmare available; Nightmare to make Hell available; Hell to make Inferno available).

Unlike an mmorpg where someone might take one or two characters to the cap and then say "bah, that's enough!" I suspect most folks will have a bunch of characters of varying levels in D3. That's certainly my plan. 

[Crabbs]

Does the game have a mechanic for allowing players with different character levels to play together?

If you mean like an mmorpg sidekicking (City of Heroes) system that sort of temporarily makes lower level players almost the same as the highest level in the group, haven't heard of anything like that.

When you choose individual quests to start a game, you'll see a little screen suggesting roughly what levels that quest set is intended for (like L2-L10, or L4-L13, since the beta is capped at L13, it doesn't show anything higher than that). afik, the level range is simply the game's suggestion. You can be higher than those ranges and probably still get exp, but you'd probably want to be in that range to get decent exp and have enemies not be too hopelessly wimpy.

Like Blackjack said, there have never been any leveling restrictions in the Diablo series. You could get a level 1 character all the way to Act IV just by having a high level in the group clear to way points while you sat in town. I don't think that will change in D3, but since it was mainly done to create a Mule or get HC unlocked it really won't be necessary to the same degree as before.

I think the only thing holding you back from grouping with high level toons is how easily you will die and at what point your exp gets capped. Unless when you create a public game you can set a level cap - i did't see one in the open Beta weekend - you can join the game of some high level buddies w/o a problem.

[wonderpug]

I guess I was thinking along the lines of a City of Heroes sidekick, where someone with a lower level character can join his higher level friends and still have some meaningful contribution to the fight (and not be a complete liability).

[Blackjack]

I guess I was thinking along the lines of a City of Heroes sidekick, where someone with a lower level character can join his higher level friends and still have some meaningful contribution to the fight (and not be a complete liability).

Just remember this doesn't have an mmorpg's leveling curve.   You'll level like the wind the first few levels, maybe even beyond that. Beyond that, we can't really gauge the leveling speed from the demo beta per se because it's such a limited chunk of the game, and most of the beta chunk you'd probably whiz by well before the L13 cap. I suspect 1-30 will be a blur, and then the levels in Nightmare and Hell difficulty games will be more gradual.

I still suspect there will be some "level snobbery," and maybe if my low lev joins a bunch of teen characters in a public game, the others may run off. Presumably our friends will be more receptive.  

[Zarkon]

You'll level 1-8 before you see the Skeleton King.  Probably to 9, maybe 10 if you do the side quests and such.   So yeah, first 10 levels are cake.  I figure as long as you're moving forward you'll probably be doing fine for a while after that also.  Figure level 30ish by the end of main game?

[wonderpug]

One of the playtesters said he had to be ~32 to get out of Normal, and ~55 to get out of Nightmare.