Difference between revisions of "Identify"

Revision as of 13:57, 15 September 2010

Unidentified items are back in Diablo III, with Identify Scrolls a key item in the game, once again.

It's assumed that Deckard Cain will once again help out with IDs provided in town, though this is not yet confirmed.

Gameplay Tool

Identifiable items have been around since early days of pen and paper RPGs (and, ironically, there's a Diablo pen and paper RPG), where a player found loot they had to spend some resources to identify in order to make use of them. It created a level of realism that magical items found are mysterious. One of the good reasons to identify rather than just start using was the fact that weapons and items were not always benevolent, but could be cursed.

Diablo

Diablo I had this implemented in the shape that the player needed to buy Identify Scrolls or consult Deckard Cain in order to get treasure identified and Diablo II had just the same system.

Diablo III was initially set to not have Identify, as the team felt it added an unnecessary, "unfun" step." They changed their minds at some point during development though, and ID scrolls were back in force as of the August 2010 Gamescom demo.^[1]

Lore

Any object imbued with magic exhibits an aura that is easily noticed. To determine the exact nature of this enchantment, however, requires intense study and an extensive knowledge of arcane materials and symbols.

It's extremely difficult to master the ability to memorize a spell of this magnitude but the Vizjerei mage clan have developed a means for the untrained to discover the secrets of an ensorcelled object by using a rare crystal that is extremely sensitive to magical auras.

This sensitivity makes it very fragile, however and the crystal will shatter if it is brought too close to an enchanted item. The very act of Identifying such an object also destroys the crystal. Scrolls and staves have been crafted and imbued with the spell that identify virtually any magical aura. By using special inks and dyes that contain tiny grains of these crystals, the stability of the crystal is maintained until it is used to examine the enchanted object.

References

Diablo I Manual

↑ [http://www.youtube.com/user/diablo#p/u/1/mlTu2yCdkCI @1:05

[1] [http://www.youtube.com/user/diablo#p/u/1/mlTu2yCdkCI @1:05

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Identifying''' [[magic]]al [[item]]s is one of the primary concerns for any adventurer in [[Sanctuary]] as they try to find the type of enchantments that suit them personally.
+Unidentified items are back in Diablo III, with Identify Scrolls a key item in the game, once again.
+It's assumed that Deckard Cain will once again help out with IDs provided in [[Caravan|town]], though this is not yet confirmed.
-==Background==
-Any object imbued with [[magic]] exhibits an aura that is easily noticed. To determine the exact nature of this enchantment, however, requires intense study and an extensive knowledge of arcane materials and symbols.
-It's extremely difficult to master the ability to memorize a spell of this magnitude but the [[Vizjerei]] [[mage clan]] have developed a means for the untrained to discover the secrets of an ensorcelled object by using a rare crystal that is extremely sensitive to magical auras.
+==Gameplay Tool==
+Identifiable items have been around since early days of pen and paper [[RPG]]s (and, ironically, there's a [[Diablo pen and paper RPG]]), where a player found loot they had to spend some resources to identify in order to make use of them. It created a level of realism that magical items found are mysterious. One of the good reasons to identify rather than just start using was the fact that weapons and items were not always benevolent, but could be cursed.
-This sensitivity makes it very fragile, however and the crystal will shatter if it is brought too close to an enchanted item. The very act of Identifying such an object also destroys the crystal. [[Scroll]]s and staves have been crafted and imbued with the spell that identify virtually any magical aura. By using special inks and dyes that contain tiny grains of these crystals, the stability of the crystal is maintained until it is used to examine the enchanted object.
+===Diablo===
+[[Diablo I]] had this implemented in the shape that the player needed to buy Identify Scrolls or consult [[Deckard Cain]] in order to get treasure identified and [[Diablo II]] had just the same system.
+[[Diablo III]] was initially set to not have Identify, as the team felt it added an unnecessary, "unfun" step." They changed their minds at some point during development though, and ID scrolls were back in force as of the August 2010 Gamescom demo.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/user/diablo#p/u/1/mlTu2yCdkCI @1:05</ref>
-==Gameplay Tool==
-Identifyable items have been around since early days of pen and paper [[RPG]]s (and, ironically, there's a [[Diablo pen and paper RPG]]), where a player found loot they had to spend some resources to identify in order to make use of them. It created a level of realism that magical items found are mysterious. One of the good reasons to identify rather than just start using was the fact that weapons and items were not always benevolent, but could be cursed.
-===Diablo===
+==Lore==
-[[Diablo I]] had this implemented in the shape that the player needed to buy Identify Scrolls in order to get treasure identified and [[Diablo II]] had just the same system.
+Any object imbued with [[magic]] exhibits an aura that is easily noticed. To determine the exact nature of this enchantment, however, requires intense study and an extensive knowledge of arcane materials and symbols.
-[[Diablo III]], <strike>however, will likely not have this system, as the [[D3 team]] it primarily takes away the fundamental gameplay of the game and simply "isn't fun".</strike>
+It's extremely difficult to master the ability to memorize a spell of this magnitude but the [[Vizjerei]] [[mage clan]] have developed a means for the untrained to discover the secrets of an ensorcelled object by using a rare crystal that is extremely sensitive to magical auras.
-As revealed in the official Caravan Preview <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/user/diablo#p/u/1/mlTu2yCdkCI @1:05</ref> Identify Scrolls will also be a part of Diablo III.
+This sensitivity makes it very fragile, however and the crystal will shatter if it is brought too close to an enchanted item. The very act of Identifying such an object also destroys the crystal. [[Scroll]]s and staves have been crafted and imbued with the spell that identify virtually any magical aura. By using special inks and dyes that contain tiny grains of these crystals, the stability of the crystal is maintained until it is used to examine the enchanted object.