Diablo III --Impressions start on page 36 --

[Blackjack]

Last look at a few skills (including the returning Strafe for DH):

Diablo III In-Development: Class Skills, Concluded         
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/5321965
*Strafe has a strong self-movement debuff now, so clearly they don't want us liking it as much as D2's Strafe.

[Purge]

... plus it increases the rare item drop chances farmers are looking for.

[Qantaga]

10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes...

[Roguetad]

I never realized how truly complicated and deep Diablo 2 could be until I started reading about how other people approached the game.  For me it was a very straightforward experience.  The Diablo 3 beta felt the same.  I think that's the beauty in the design of these games, they can be no nonsense straightforward for me, and very accessible.  Or you can delve into the nuts and bolts and really get into the inner workings of the game and classes, optimizing playstyles, trying weird builds, etc.  

Is it the 15th yet?  If you had told me 12 years ago that Diablo 3 would come out in 2012, I would have laughed out loud at the insanity.  It's cruel to make people wait this long.  Of course, a small distraction popped up during those years...with 10 million players (allegedly).    

[CeeKay]

10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes...

and now?

[Crabbs]

10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes...

and now?

10:10:1:45

or whatever time it is now

[Knightshade Dragon]

10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes...

and now?

10:10:1:45

or whatever time it is now

How is it that nobody bought "Isdiablo3outyet.com" or something?   

[Crabbs]

10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes...

and now?

10:10:1:45

or whatever time it is now

How is it that nobody bought "Isdiablo3outyet.com" or something?   

Someone went for SorryForMay15.com

[wonderpug]

Here's a youtube playlist of all the Diablo 1 & 2 cinematics, key battles, dialogue, tomes, etc.

[namatoki]

There's an interview linked at diablofans.com of Jay Wilson and he said that he can't get past half of Act I on Inferno difficulty in less than 10 deaths!    I'm excited to see just how tough it will be.  Although I hope it won't be impossibly tough like the multishot, extra strength, lightning enchanted champions that one shot me and my brother in Diablo 2.  I remember zoning into a cave and loading dead.

Here's the link to the interview in case people want to see it: http://www.diablofans.com/news/1192-cyclone-strike-runed-two-jay-wilson-interviews-blue-posts/

[Harpua3]

So how's this run on macs? I have a 2.7ghz, 512 mb card and 4gb of memory. Any comments are welcomed..

[wonderpug]

You'd probably be better off asking in the multiplayer gaming forum.

[DonD]

The beta ran just fine for me with a 3 yr old iMac (27", if that matters).  3.06ghz, 4GB.  I ran it at a lower res but full screen, not for performance, but so I could see everything a bit better (larger).  In multiplayer, I only played with 1 other, so not sure what a full team would be like. 

[Harpua3]

You'd probably be better off asking in the multiplayer gaming forum.

Lol, I tried there! Was instructed to try here .

[Harpua3]

The beta ran just fine for me with a 3 yr old iMac (27", if that matters).  3.06ghz, 4GB.  I ran it at a lower res but full screen, not for performance, but so I could see everything a bit better (larger).  In multiplayer, I only played with 1 other, so not sure what a full team would be like. 

Good to know.

[wonderpug]

You'd probably be better off asking in the multiplayer gaming forum.

Lol, I tried there! Was instructed to try here .

Yes yes. Just making with the funnies. I didn't try the beta on my Air and I was also curious to hear an answer to your Q.

[USMC Kato]

You'd probably be better off asking in the multiplayer gaming forum.

Lol, I tried there! Was instructed to try here .

Yes yes. Just making with the funnies. I didn't try the beta on my Air and I was also curious to hear an answer to your Q.

Lol. So which one of us is going to patent a sarcastic font and make millions? Anyways, my brother in law has a comparable Mac to yours Harpua, and from what he told me it ran pretty smooth. One of Blizzard's strengths is having a nice, polished, optimized game.

[EddieA]

Not every game gets its own "Launch Day Preparation Guide" 

[CeeKay]

Early Install

We will be unlocking the game's installer at 8:01 a.m. PDT on May 14. This will allow you to begin installing the game, troubleshoot any issues you run into, download and install the launch day 1.0.1 patch, and be ready to play as soon as the servers come online.

woohoo!

my preparedness list is:

1 - buy a bunch of beer.
2 - be ready to wait at 3am EST.

[leo8877]

Not every game gets its own "Launch Day Preparation Guide" 

Cool they're unlocking the installer the day before release:

We will be unlocking the game's installer at 8:01 a.m. PDT on May 14. This will allow you to begin installing the game, troubleshoot any issues you run into, download and install the launch day 1.0.1 patch, and be ready to play as soon as the servers come online.

[Harkonis]

Not every game gets its own "Launch Day Preparation Guide" 

Cool they're unlocking the installer the day before release:

We will be unlocking the game's installer at 8:01 a.m. PDT on May 14. This will allow you to begin installing the game, troubleshoot any issues you run into, download and install the launch day 1.0.1 patch, and be ready to play as soon as the servers come online.

that's kinda what CK posted about 15 minutes before you... oh look! it's right above yours! 

[Zarkon]

I just hope Amazon gets the CEs out the day before (like they did with Star Wars)

[Blackjack]

Hey! I heard they're gonna unlock the installer the evening before release! Isn't that cool?  

Seriously though, there was a battle.tag update, in particular about cross-game communciations (WoW, SC2, but for the time being, you'll need to exchange tags within Diablo III first).

BattleTag Update and Diablo III Reminder
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/4877377880#1

[Nonnahob]

What? Three am est? Frick.

[CeeKay]

What? Three am est? Frick.

in all fairness they do say 12am PST, so you  could ,theoretically, not have to stay up as late

[Nonnahob]

I may revise my day off. I was hoping to play midnight est. Oh well!

[Qantaga]

While it wouldn't get me any closer to actually playing, I sure wish they would let me run the installer now. It's just sitting there mocking me.

[wonderpug]

While it wouldn't get me any closer to actually playing, I sure wish they would let me run the installer now. It's just sitting there mocking me.

Hopefully they'll let us run the installer a little bit earlier than the actual release time.

[Qantaga]

Hopefully they'll let us run the installer a little bit earlier than the actual release time.

   
Well, I hear:
   

We will be unlocking the game's installer at 8:01 a.m. PDT on May 14. This will allow you to begin installing the game, troubleshoot any issues you run into, download and install the launch day 1.0.1 patch, and be ready to play as soon as the servers come online.

 

[rittchard]

The fire from the sky still falls.   

[Blackjack]

Blizz had some warnings on how to avoid spoilers, which may crop up the day before launch:

Spoiler Warning and Rules
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/4876967961#1

This is a warning to all that spoilers may occur both in these forums, and the internet at large. We’ve worked hard to craft an engaging story and fun game, and our hope is that you have a pristine experience. For that reason we recommend you exercise extreme caution when perusing the webs of cyber space.

If you’re to be the lucky owner of a Collector’s Edition, we highly recommend you wait until after you have completed the game on Normal before opening the art book or watching the behind-the-scenes DVD/Blu-ray. Both of these items contain big spoilers, and should probably be avoided until later.

You should be especially cautious on May 14, as with the installer unlocking and worldwide releases taking place, the entire game will be available to be discovered and datamined. We also plan to populate the Diablo3.com game guide with item data that Monday, which may themselves be spoilers. If you care about spoilers, it may just be best to not go on the internet on May 14.

[Harkonis]

The fire from the sky still falls.   

I wish I didn't know what you were quoting.

In other news... log into Tera more often noob.  I'm on this server because of you guys. lol

[TiLT]

Just preordered this game today, though not from the Battle.net store. The prizes there are insane. It's much cheaper to buy from a regular store over here, so despite my misgivings about using physical media for games any more, that's what I'm going to do.

My biggest problem with Diablo 3 is that none of the classes appeal to me. Or rather, I can see the charm in playing some of them, but none of them sticks out as an obvious first choice for when I start the game next week. In both the previous games there was one class that appealed much more to me than the others.

Oh well, I guess I'll just play a Monk. That class seems the closest to what I'm looking for.

[Hetz]

Preordered from Blizzard and all ready to go! Bring on the 15th!

[Blackjack]

Just preordered this game today, though not from the Battle.net store. The prizes there are insane. It's much cheaper to buy from a regular store over here, so despite my misgivings about using physical media for games any more, that's what I'm going to do.

My biggest problem with Diablo 3 is that none of the classes appeal to me. Or rather, I can see the charm in playing some of them, but none of them sticks out as an obvious first choice for when I start the game next week. In both the previous games there was one class that appealed much more to me than the others.

Oh well, I guess I'll just play a Monk. That class seems the closest to what I'm looking for.

I can tell you from early and beta experience that all the classes eventually are awesome, but you may not fully appreciate it until you can start slotting runes and adjusting things to taste.   And with the beta capped at L13, much of the more exciting skills just weren't available to try.

I love the Monk and "Barbarian 2.0", but I worry about my wrist health playing those classes. I enjoyed playing as Wizard in groups, but struggled solo. I just didn't "get" the Witch Doctor, and I don't think pet-heavy classes are generally for me (never got far with the Necromancer in D2), even if I do like teaming with them.

The most basic thing is probably do you want to wade into the middle of the mix and be on the front lines (that's more Monk and Barbarian), prefer to have minions do the heavy lifting (Witch Doctor), be more ranged attacky (DH and Wizard, for the most part) etc. Though it's not an mmorpg. Every class can do crazy damage and tackle large groups, and has some versatility, it's just a difference in how they handle them.  

I suspect my play order will be something like:
-Demon Hunter>Monk>Barbarian>Wizard>Witch Doctor

I'm sure there'll be others completely opposite of that. That's the fun of it, imho. Everybody has a different take or favorite.

[Soulchilde]

I need to uninstall the beta client when I get in from work.  They recommend a fresh install


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[Harkonis]

I loved the witch doctor, but only after I stopped using any of the pets.  His aoe buff thingie combined with poison dart was incredible and far better than the spiders.  (though sadly not at scaring Kato)

[leo8877]

I loved the witch doctor, but only after I stopped using any of the pets.  His aoe buff thingie combined with poison dart was incredible and far better than the spiders.  (though sadly not at scaring Kato)

I'm starting with the WD.  I loved playing in the beta!

[Roguetad]

I loved the witch doctor, but only after I stopped using any of the pets.  His aoe buff thingie combined with poison dart was incredible and far better than the spiders.  (though sadly not at scaring Kato)

I'm starting with the WD.  I loved playing in the beta!

I thought the WD was awesome too.  And yep, I tried spiders in the beta and quickly went back to killing things with the poison blow darts of death.  It looks like you can play the WD as a nuker, a pet handler, a ranged dps'er, or any combination of those 3.  That's a lot of flexibility.

[CeeKay]

I loved the witch doctor, but only after I stopped using any of the pets.  His aoe buff thingie combined with poison dart was incredible and far better than the spiders.  (though sadly not at scaring Kato)

I'm starting with the WD.  I loved playing in the beta!

I thought the WD was awesome too.  And yep, I tried spiders in the beta and quickly went back to killing things with the poison blow darts of death.  It looks like you can play the WD as a nuker, a pet handler, a ranged dps'er, or any combination of those 3.  That's a lot of flexibility.

I liked the spiders, but it felt kind of silly breaking barrels with them.