Diablo III Message Board older than one year ago

#books There's still no firm date on Blizzard's next entry in the Diablo series, but at least one of the game's official tie-ins, Diablo III: Book of Cain, is expected to arrive in 2011. So what is Diablo III: Book of Cain? More »

Blizzard listed the titles it will be showing at the upcoming Gamescon gaming expo. Diablo III doesn't appear as though it will be there. Kotaku.com will be there, though! Diablo III is currently slated for who-knows-when. [via VideoGamer] More »

Crikey, kudos to Blizzard for releasing a hundred and sixty eight screenshots of Diablo 3 on the official site and all, and I do hate to be picky, but it’d be nice if could release just one or two shots that didn’t look terrible.

We’ve got some sizeable Diablo 3 news today. Blizzard have done a big post on the game’s new system of Runestones. Where in previous Diablo games you were able to plug gems into sockets on your equipment to alter it slightly, Runestones do much the same for your skills, altering precisely how they work and even what they look like. There’s some serious work that’s gone into this- in short, each of the game’s hundred plus skills will five varients. I can’t even conceive of trying to balance that for competitive multiplayer.(more…)

#runesofpower When it was first explained to me way back in 2008, the power-enhancing rune system of Diablo III sounded like it would lead to countless permutations of every skill and spell in the game. Now it's only five, but they're still pretty spectacular. More »

The Barbarian's Whirlwind returns and takes on any form you like with the ability modification Runestones!

What manner of wind will you choose? Modify your skills with the Runestones in Diablo III.

The Ray of Frost becomes so much more with the modifier Runestones in Diablo III.

Unleash variatons of the Acid Cloud by utilizing the Runestones of Diablo III!

Turn a barrage of arrows into a devastating blow with the Runestone modifiers of Diablo III.

Dungeon crawling can be a lonesome business. Sometimes you get a cat or a donkey to carry loot for you, but they’re not much for conversation. What you need is a man with a crossbow, or a girl with magic hands, or something. Gadzooks! That’s precisely the innovation that little-known Californian studio “Blizzard” will be adding to their forthcoming hand-and-therefore-slash title, Diablo III. They’ve even release a video to illustrate how the system might work. Gosh, it’s amazing what plucky little studios can pull off when they just try. Check out their efforts below.(more…)

The world of Diablo is a hostile one. You can't seem to take more than ten steps outside of a town without being mobbed by spiny imps, fanged horrors and singed by spheres of hellfire. It's a tough life trying to cut through all these beasts alone, so Blizzard's implementing Followers to help out...

#video Who are these three mysterious additions to Diablo III? They're not new character classes in Blizzard's upcoming action-role-playing game; they're "Followers," the co-op companions you'll play alongside in the next Diablo game. More »

#blizzard Fans around the world have been waiting for their chance to play Diablo III since the game was announced back in June of 2008. During today's Activision financial results conference call, Blizzard boss Michael Morhaime pinpointed a three-month window for the Diablo III beta. More »

As part of an Activision Blizzard investor call, Blizzard president Mike Morhaime let those on the line know an external beta testing phase will begin in the third quarter of 2011. No word yet on whether it'll be an open beta or closed, but it's yet another indication that Diablo III is moving towards the finish line...

 Diablo III by year's end? Be still my heart. Let's keep this one short 'n sweet: a Diablo III beta is coming. It's coming in third quarter 2011, which means sometime before September 30, when Activision Blizzard's third quarter ends.

"We began internal, company-wide testing this week," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime on the Activision Blizzard quarterly call this afternoon.

Betas are important, but betas don't last forever. When are we going to play the finished thing?

"The development team is working hard to try and launch Diablo III this year," said Morhaime.

Unlike basically other game in Activision's lineup, however, Blizzard does not have to commit to release dates. Diablo III is no different, which is why Blizzard is non-committal about the release date.

"We will not compromise the quality of the game in order to hit a window," he concluded.    

 Diablo III by year's end? Be still my heart. UPDATE: There's been some confusion over Blizzard's reference to dropping the Diablo III beta during the third quarter of 2011. I'd assumed Blizzard meant the calendar year quarter, which meant July through September, but I wanted to confirm this with Blizzard. 

"The Q3 reference in today’s earning's call was a calendar quarter," said a company representative. "We're aiming to launch the Diablo III beta between July 1st and September 30th. Please keep in mind that it's our current goal, and of course that can change as development continues."

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Let's keep this one short 'n sweet: a Diablo III beta is coming. It's coming in third quarter 2011, which means sometime before September 30, when Activision Blizzard's third quarter ends.

"We began internal, company-wide testing this week," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime on the Activision Blizzard quarterly call this afternoon.

Betas are important, but betas don't last forever. When are we going to play the finished thing?

"The development team is working hard to try and launch Diablo III this year," said Morhaime.

Unlike basically other game in Activision's lineup, however, Blizzard does not have to commit to release dates. Diablo III is no different, which is why Blizzard is non-committal about the release date.

"We will not compromise the quality of the game in order to hit a window," he concluded.    

#blip This is a Tomb Viper, one of the countless hordes of bad guys you'll fight in upcoming action/RPG Diablo III. He's not the most important of characters, we know, but that is so great it had to be shared. More »

#diabloiii You've seen the female version of Diablo III's Demon Hunter class. Now check out the male. It's only fair. More »

In internet time, 2005 might as well be the last century. Christopher Nolan was just beginning to tackle a new series of Batman films, many Joystiq writers hadn't even begun their illustrious careers and Blizzard North was rumored to be hard at work on Diablo 3. That is until Blizzard North was closed and most of its staff relocated to Blizzard's HQ in California, of course. Even with the closure, there was still a rumor floating around that a new Diablo would be shown at BlizzCon, a Diablo that actually took place in a Heaven being invaded by Hell.

While none of us will ever play that Diablo 3, Kotaku has nabbed some screenshots allegedly taken from the canceled project. Examining the screens, it certainly looks like the Heaven plot was a reality. It also appears that Blizzard North had abandoned Diablo's traditional 2D isometric graphics in favor of a full 3D world, which isn't surprising given the runaway success of World of Warcraft. Hit the source link for more screens.

#blizzard There's still a chance we'll get to play the highly anticipated third Diablo game in 2011. Whenever we do get Blizzard's next big action role-playing game, it will look like a very different beast from the canned 2005 version. More »

#freegames The Arena player-versus-player system coming in Diablo III blew fans away at BlizzCon 2010. Stunlock Studios' newly-released free-to-play PC arena combat game Bloodline Champions feels a lot like Blizzard's competitive multiplayer mode. More »

#blizzard Blizzard's action role-playing game Diablo isn't just about the click-click-click of whacking on monsters and chugging potions. There are tactical considerations, like how one will deal with the constant flow monsters in Diablo III, that one must keep in mind. More »

Thank your lucky stars that these things never made it into Sanctuary.

Diablo-concept for consoles in the works.

#diablo Could the Diablo series make a return to consoles? A handful of new jobs seeking fresh Blizzard talent with console experience sure makes it look that way. More »

#blizzcon I sat down this weekend with Blizzard art director Christian Lichtner and senior designer Jason Bender to discuss the new Demon Hunter class in Diablo III. How did we end up discussing Vampire Hunter D? More »

#blizzcon Last night I had a chance to sit down for 15 minutes of Diablo III multiplayer arena battles. Forty-five minutes later I finally made good on my "just one more round" promise. The wait for this game just got harder. More »

#blizzcon The Diablo III Demon Hunter class uses double crossbows. What, you wanted more than that? She's pretty hot, and uses double crossbows. More »

Blizzard's ranged slayer is a formidable force.

#diabloiii Diablo III's fifth character class, the Demon Hunter, won many fans after its reveal today. Have you fallen hard for him (or her)? Or are you going for one of the other four? More »