Diablo III

Released on May 15, 2012 by Blizzard Entertainment

Developed by Blizzard North

Diablo III is an action role-playing game that takes place throughout the dark fantasy world of Sanctuary.

You play a hero who engages in fast-paced combat that tests your reflexes and rewards tactical decisions. As you slay hordes of monsters and challenging bosses, you grow in experience and ability, learning new skills and acquiring items of incredible power.

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So I beat The Butcher in Inferno. I know, no big deal, it's been done a million times already, but it did feel pretty damn awesome to take my fresh level 60 monk all the way through Act 1 with no troubles at all.

Then I hit act 2. Oh man, did I ever hit act 2. It's pretty hard. My gear is probably to blame, but I was hoping to actually find some gear along the way to act 2 that would help me when I started the act, but I wasn't so lucky. Looks like a trip to the AH is in order.


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Diablo III 1.0.4 patch notes released

Last but not least in our series of D3 posts, the patch notes!

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/6368188147?page=1#1

Hope you have some time to kill-- this one takes a while to read. SO many changes, almost all of them good.

And confirmed, The patch is coming tomorrow!

To recap...
Diablo III Profiles release: http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/443
Initial 1.0.4 preview: http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/451
Legendary item improvements: http://cheerfulghost.com/Tungsten/posts/458
Diablo III Starter Edition availability: http://cheerfulghost.com/panickedthumb/posts/460
Barbarian improvements: ... Read All


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The Paragon system... It's official!

https://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6968517/Introducing_the_Paragon_System-8_20_2012

This looks incredible. 100 extra experience bars to fill, giving you awesome bonuses the whole way.

It isn't *just* experience, apparently. It looks like you get some boosts to your core stats along the way as well!

By the time you hit Paragon level 100, you will have reached the maximum Gold/Magic Find available, and GF/MF gear won't matter.


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Auction house changes coming to 1.0.4:

https://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/6369407745#1

This is such good news. This is going to fix all of my big qualms with the current auction house. Gems not factoring in is a godsend, the ability to cancel an auction at any time, and search on up to 6 stats... this is good.

The Magic Find post should be later today I hope!


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Diablo III is finally kinda getting an endgame

This is huge.

http://www.diablofans.com/news/1317-unofficial-patch-104-changes-class-changes-new-items-affixes-and-more/

This blog post is all datamined info from the 1.0.4 patch. Each new patch always shows up in an accessible location, and people always grab it and datamine it, the weekend before it goes live.

What you're seeing in that pic is an entirely new leveling mechanic that appears to be coming to Diablo 3 in the patch this Tuesday (and yes, it does seem more and more likely that the patch will arrive Tuesday).

It looks like Paragon levels will let you continue "leveling" after hitting level 60, and get a boost to... Read All


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And the last of the class previews, the Witch Doctor.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6923459/Patch_104_Preview_Witch_Doctor-8_16_2012

I have yet to play a Witch Doctor. When I first saw Jon's I started drooling over it, but it became pretty apparent from all the buzz on forums, reddit, etc, that this was not a very functional class.

Blizzard apparently agrees, and the Witch Doctor is getting tons of buffs and reworking. From what I'm reading from this post, the Witch Doctor will be an appealing class to play finally. I'm finally looking forward to trying it out.

So that's all for the class previews. Now we just have a post from the man himself, Jay Wilson, about magic... Read All


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And now, the Demon Hunter.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6986845/Patch_104_Preview_Demon_Hunter-8_16_2012

This is honestly the one I was looking forward to the most. I have a Demon Hunter at level 60 who's just sitting in Inferno and waiting because it got so frustrating to play. I was hoping for more details in this post, but it looks like things are going to be smoother sailing for him when I get back to him.


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And now, the preview for improvements in the upcoming patch 1.04 for the Monk!

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6939559/Patch_104_Preview_Monk-8_16_2012

Looks like an across-the-board improvement. I can't wait to get in with my monk and cause some havoc. Again, like the Wizard, this wasn't as detailed as I would have liked, but it seems to be win-win.


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Next up, the Wizard.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6939564/Patch_104_Preview_Wizard-8_15_2012

This one is getting a slight nerf to one skill, although the comments would have you believe it's the worst thing that's ever happened since the Holocaust. Honestly, it doesn't *seem* like that big a deal to me, but I have yet to play a Wizard, so I'm not sure.

It seems that every other rune that isn't the most widely used for each skill is getting major buffs though. This post seems less informative than the last, so I guess we'll have to wait for the patch notes.


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Kinda lost in all the Diablo III news, but the Diablo III Starter Edition is now free, just like WoW and Starcraft 2. No need for guest passes.

It's the same content as the guest pass and the beta weekend-- you can level to 13, and get all the way through the Skeleton King.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6939568/Diablo%C2%AE_III_FREE_Starter_Edition_Now_Available-8_14_2012