Revision as of 06:25, 9 September 2009

This page lists all Diablo III coverage; previews, interviews, pictures, videos, designer diaries, forum post, and more. Anything from the D3 team that's substantial enough to warrant a news post on Diii.net gets an entry on this page. Larger interviews and other features are archived in this section one month after they go online, to ward off link rot.

• If you're interested in updating this page, please check out the Media Coverage/Guidelines first.
• Jump back to the Media Coverage: 2008, archived to keep down the page size.

If you are new to Diablo or Diablo III development, you can read up on the topic here.

• Diablo 3 Basics - The light source of all known Diablo III data in one fact sheet.

September 2009

• Blue Post: 4 September, 2009. Bashiok on auto-attributes, the issue that never dies.
• Blue Post: 3 September, 2009. Bashiok on the various types of damage utilized in Diablo 3.
• Blue Post: 3 September, 2009. Work commences on the D2 v1.13 patch. No ETA is offered.
• Blue Post: 3 September, 2009. The Great Art Controversy (sort of) returns, with half a dozen marked up screenshots from the new gameplay movie. Bashiok argues, fans chime in, and the consensus seems to be strongly against the nitpickers.
• Blue Post: 3 September, 2009. Bashiok on replayability, character variety, and respecs.
• Preview: 2 September, 2009. Wired quotes Jay Wilson on the unannounced 5th class.
• Other: 2 September, 2009. Blizzard confirms that Diablo 3 will be playable at the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo.
• Blue Post: 2 September, 2009. Bashiok speaks at great length about BoE (Bind on Equip) and BoP (Bind on Pickup) items in Diablo 3.

August 2009

August was a tremendously busy month for news, headlined by the biggest ever outpouring of Diablo 3 news, from Blizzcon 2009. There was also a fair amount of info released at the Gamescom convention, and items from those events are grouped in the sections below.

BlizzCon 2009

BlizzCon 2009 was held on August 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. As is past years, BlizzCon created an amazing amount of news and content. The following sections hold it all, sorted by type and importance. Check the Blizzcon news category to see every single news item related to Blizzcon; this Media Coverage page only archives the items with useful content.

BlizzCon 2009 Interviews

Interviews with various developers on the D3 team.

• Jay Wilson @ Wired.com. Jay talks about violence in D3, parental guidance, and much more.
• Jay Wilson @ G4TV. Issues covered include end game variety, itemization, the Monk, and lots more.
• Jay Wilson @ The Orange County Register.
• Jay Wilson @ IGN. Long interview.
• Jay Wilson @ G4TV short Monk-focused feature.
• Julian Love and Kevin Martens @ Diii.net. Questions cover cinematics, act design, act boss battles, beta testing, and much more.
• Julian Love and Kevin Martens do a group fansite interview.
• Leonard Boyarsky @ Slashdot, talks about Battle.net integration and other technical issues.
• Leonard Boyarsky and Christian Lichtner @ Atomic PC.
• Gamespot video interview with Christian Lichtner and Leonard Boyarsky.
• Leonard Boyarsky and Kevin Martens @ Joystiq.com. Interview covers D3's plot and lore, Monk weapons, and much more.
• GamePlanetNZ posts the transcript of another Julian Love and Kevin Martens interview.
• Leonard Boyarsky and Kevin Martens in a video interview with GiantBomb.
• Rob Pardo @ GamePlanetNZ on Battle.net 2.0 features.
• Greg Canessa @ ShackNews, speaking about Battle.net 2.0.
• Paul Sams @ Wired.com. Blizzard's COO talks about future plans for Battle.net.

BlizzCon 2009 Screenshots, Artwork, and Movies

Visual aids and delights.

• Six new screens from the press CD.
• The first 11 Monk screenshots. Also 2 new monster art, 6 new environmental art, and 2 monk character art images.
• Fourteen more screenshots, new Monk shots on the official site, plus several more of other characters from the Blizzcon press CD.
• Monk introductory trailer. Not a cinematic, but a cool video of the Monk created with the game engine. Also available from Blizzard.
• Blizzcon 12 minute gameplay movie, featuring the Monk and multiplayer action. Also available from Blizzard.
• Blizzcon Art Museum coverage of much new Diablo 3 artwork. Part one, two, three, part four, part five, part six.
• Miscellaneous photos from Blizzcon and the Blizzard fansite summit.
• All 4 character skill trees are revealed in a community art project.

BlizzCon 2009 Game Reports and In-depth Coverage

Character Skill Tree Previews

• Monk skill trees and stats. All 8 skills, with play test comments.
• Barbarian skill trees. All 35 skills, plus analysis.
• Witch Doctor skill trees. All 35 skills, plus analysis.
• Wizard skill trees. All 30 skills, plus analysis.

Monk hands-on play reports

• IGN PC, Kotaku, Gamespy, GamePlanetNZ, ShackNews, Stuff NZ, Planet Diablo, EuroGamer, GamePro,

Other demo reports

• RPGamer on all aspects of the demo.
• IGN with 10 things you should know about the Monk.
• Crispy Gamer comments on the graphics and other technical details.
• IncGamers hosts a general audience article by Diii.net's Flux about the Blizzcon D3 experience.
• Overall discussion of the Blizzcon build, as seen in a demo from Blizzard HQ the day before Blizzcon.
• Another game report based on the demo seen during the Fansite Summit at Blizzard HQ.
• PC Games Hardware hands-on from a technical PoV.
• FearNet.com posted a short and somewhat critical writeup.
• Australian GameArena with a video report on Blizzcon.
• Diii.net's short report on the Wizard and Witch Doctor.

Official FAQs and Info

• Blizzcon B.net 2.0 FAQ. Includes numerous press CD screenshots.
• Official Diablo 3 FAQ. Updated for Blizzcon with Monk info.
• Diablo 3 Fact Sheet.

BlizzCon 2009 D3 Panel Coverage

Coverage of the three Diablo 3 panels held at Blizzcon. Click to the panel pages in the wiki for full coverage, transcripts, and more.

Diablo 3 Heroes and Monsters Panel

Full panel coverage in the wiki.

• Video of the whole panel
• Bullet points from the panel's PowerPoint presentation.
• Diii.net's detailed discussion of the panel's coverage of the Monk.
• Diii.net on the recent improvements to the Barbarian, Witch Doctor, and Wizard, as well as why skill runes are not in the BlizzCon build.
• Blizzard's own summary of the panel.
• Joystiq adds their coverage of the panel.

Diablo 3 Art Panel

See the panel page for full coverage.

• Diii.net's rough transcript from live blogging.
• Bashiok offered a quick summary in a forum post.

Diablo 3 Open Q&A

This panel replaced the Diablo 3 Lore panel, and was held on Saturday afternoon. The whole panel was audience questions, and as usual at such events, the quality of the queries varied widely.

• Panel transcript.

Diablo 3/WoW Press-Only Q&A

Not an official D3 panel, but this hour long conference interview was for the press only, and was not streamed live. See the panel page for full coverage.

• Summarized transcripts:
  • Zam.com provided the most complete transcript.
  • Gamespot and The Escapist provided summaries.

BlizzCon 2009 Diablo 3 News

Chronological highlights of the ongoing Blizzcon news coverage. These do not include the interviews, game reports, panels, and other features already listed.

• 21 August, 2009 -- The Official Korean D3 Site accidentally leaks advance word of the Monk.
• 21 August, 2009 -- Blizzcon Goodie Bag inventoried.
• 21 August, 2009 -- The DirectTV online stream of Blizzcon was broken and useless for the first few hours of the show, presumably due to heavy demand.
• 22 August, 2009 -- Rainyia's Mistress of Pain wins the Blizzcon costume contest. (Making of photos here.)
• 23 August, 2009 -- IncGamers reports that WoW:Cataclysm and Starcraft 2 are coming in 2010. Diablo 3 = 2011+
• 23 August, 2009 -- 1up.com reports on the potential for Diablo 3 to move to consoles.
• 23 August, 2009 -- Kotaku posts an info-rich item on Day One of Blizzcon.
• 23 August, 2009 -- Legit Reviews with an interesting feature about the vendor booths set up inside Blizzcon.
• 23 August, 2009 -- The OC Register with a feature on non-gaming friends and family who attended Blizzcon.
• 23 August, 2009 -- Kotaku on the Blizzcon costume contest.
• 25 August, 2009 -- Cinematic Diablo is a girl? Surprising early images of the cinematic Diablo seen during the Blizzcon Direct TV broadcast.

• 25 August, 2009 -- The Orange County Register interviews Blizzard employees about what they get out of BlizzCon.
• 25 August, 2009 -- Blizzard loves PopCap games, by The Escapist.
• 25 August, 2009 -- The Onion AV Club on Blizzcon and the games found therein.
• 25 August, 2009 -- Legit Reviews' cute cosplay girl collection.
• 25 August, 2009 -- Kotaku wonders where the Diablo 3 Rainbow and Unicorn shirts went.
• 27 August, 2009 -- Joystiq posts a large gallery of photos from the Blizzcon costume contest.
• 31 August, 2009 -- Mock up skill trees posted for all 4 classes.
• 31 August, 2009 -- More Blizzcon news tidbits surface.
• 1 September, 2009 -- AusGamers on all things Diablo 3 from Blizzcon.

August 2009: Gamescom

The first annual Gamescom convention was held in Cologne, Germany, August 19-23, 2009. Blizzard staffed a large booth and sent playable versions of Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3. The interesting thing was that this event overlapped with BlizzCon's August 21-22 schedule. So while Blizzard wanted to show off new stuff in Diablo 3 at Gamescom, they had to gimp their build to withhold any details of the Monk until after the big character announcement at the Blizzcon opening ceremonies.

There were some early news reports of interesting D3 stuff from Gamescom, but the last 2 days of the event were entirely overshadowed by the much bigger news and media coverage coming from Anaheim.

• Other: 14 August, 2009. Blizzard confirms that Diablo 3 will be playable at the Gamescom.
• Preview: 19 August, 2009. Kotaku posts a hands-on from Gamescom, and some shaky cam footage of D3 in action surfaces.
• Preview: 19 August, 2009. 1up.com posts a hands-on report from Gamescom.
• Preview: 20 August, 2009. IGN posts a Witch Doctor hands-on report from Gamescom.
• Video: 20 August, 2009. Game Trailers posts some Gamescom gameplay footage.
• Preview: 20 August, 2009. More Gamescom reports and some more video footage as well.
• Video: 21 August, 2009. Four more videos of D3 from Gamescom hit YouTube.

August 2009: Pre-Blizzcon

Blizzard kept very quiet pre-Blizzcon; saving up all their big stuff for the convention. Even Bashiok was busy planning Blizzcon events and had little time for the forums.

• Blue Post: 13 August, 2009. Blizzard officially launches Twitter accounts for Diablo, Warcraft, and Starcraft.

• Blue Post: 11 August, 2009. Blizzard reveals that the D2X v1.13 patch] is underway, and will likely include some method of respecs.

• Blue Post: 10 August, 2009. Bashiok on "Stereo 3D" and PvP. No PvP details yet, sadly.

• Preview: 10 August, 2009. Blizzcast 10 is released, with entirely World of Warcraft content.

• Commentary: 8 August, 2009. D2 players complete the entire game, including Uber Tristram in naked, ironman mode.

• Blue Post: 6 August, 2009. Starcraft 2 is officially delayed. But we're told this delay is due to Battle.net issues, and will not affect other in-progress Blizzard titles.

• Blue Post: 4 August, 2009. Bashiok on skill rune visuals.

• Commentary: 2 August, 2009. Does player skill exist in Diablo 2? Or is it all determined by equipment and buld? And how will this translate to Diablo 3?

• Commentary: 1 August, 2009. Shared skills are debated. Should characters in Diablo 3 have the ability to use another character's skills, as some Runewords and Uniques allow in Diablo 2?

July 2009

• Blue Post: 29 July, 2009. Bashiok on game difficulty.

• Commentary: 29 July, 2009. How should higher level skills function in Diablo 3? Are they big improvements over lower level skills, or should everything remain viable in the late game?

• Blue Post: 28 July, 2009. Bashiok on class-specific items touches off a long debate. Bashiok returned to this issue with another post the next day.

• Commentary: 25 July, 2009. What would Diablo 3's PvP system resemble in a perfect world?

• Blue Post: 24 July, 2009. Bashiok on gold drops and a long and sarcastic reply about WoW comparisons.

Unburied statue.

• Other: 24 July, 2009. A fan wins a statue contest with his version of the Diablo 3 Unburied monster.

• Blue Post: 23 July, 2009. Bashiok on subliminal images and stomping ambient life forms.

• Blue Post: 22 July, 2009. Bashiok's comments on his non-use of on weapon switching in D2 set off a long debate about the necessity of such a feature in D3.

• Blue Post: 19 July, 2009. Bashiok debates the merits of random dungeon levels.

• Blue Post: 19 July, 2009. Bashiok on "Mega Knockbacks" and the lie that is a top game sales chart.

• Blue Post: 18 July, 2009. Bashiok on D3's sound production.

• Blue Post: 17 July, 2009. Bashiok on Plague of Toads in a post that starts a huge debate about the design of higher vs. lower level spells. This one continues with another long Bashiok post the next day.

• Blue Post: 15 July, 2009. Bashiok on mature ratings and the inventory.

• Blue Post: 14 July, 2009. Bashiok makes a long and explanatory post about multiplayer and the party system.

• Blue Post: 14 July, 2009. Bashiok on Acid Cloud and corpse physics.

• Blue Post: 11 July, 2009. Bashiok on Horrify, the male Wizard, and item sharing.

• Commentary: 10 July, 2009. Why Blizzard should offer LAN support. An editorial debated.

• Blue Post: 9 July, 2009. Bashiok on Soul Harvest and damage types.

Disintegrate, purple-ized.

• Blue Post: 8 July, 2009. Bashiok on Arcane skill colors and Wizard damage types.

• Blue Post: 7 July, 2009. Bashiok posts about Death Proof, Fire Spells, Mobility Spells, and Paying to re-Play.

• Commentary: 5 July, 2009. Trading in D3 is examined, with comparisons and discussions of how trading works in other RPGs.

• Blue Post: 3 July, 2009. Bashiok on D3's epic and unique dungeons.

• Blue Post: 1 July, 2009. Bashiok on LAN support, Hammers of the Ancients, and Blizzard's Blizzcon T-shirts.

• Commentary: 1 July, 2009 Diii.net wraps up their massive, four-part Diablo 3: The First Year in Review article series. Part One, Part Two, Three, and Part Four.

June 2009

• Commentary: June 28, 2009. What We've Learned news analysis column debuts by reviewing the first year of Diablo 3.
• Interview: June 28, 2009. Rob Pardo interviewed on WoW, B.net, and a little D3. By IndustryGamers.com
• Commentary: June 27, 2009. PvP discussion: How D2's runewords changed everything (for better and worse).
• Commentary: June 25, 2009. Class speculation: The Gunslinger.
• Commentary: June 24, 2009. Does Diablo 3 need a sexy character?
• Blue Post: June 23, 2009. Bashiok on changes to the monster health bar display in Diablo 3.
• Blue Post: June 16, 2009. Bashiok on dynamic lightning and tomes of lore in Diablo 3.
• Blue Post: June 16, 2009. Bashiok on German wizards and game graphics.
• Other: June 13, 2009. Diablo 3 Barbarian painted statue revealed. (It sells out in 2 days.)
• Commentary: June 13, 2009. Create your own D3 class section premieres.
• Blue Post: June 12, 2009. Bashiok on unlocking Tyrael's face.
• Blue Post: June 11, 2009. Bashiok explains why the D2 v1.13 patch was delayed.
• Blue Post: June 10, 2009. Bashiok on changes to the Barbarian's Fury. Follow up #1. Follow up #2.
• Blue Post: June 10, 2009. Bashiok on gore and Blizzcon announcements.
• Blue Post: June 8, 2009. Bashiok on health globes and the bosses that drop them.
• Commentary: June 7, 2009. Angry fans ask why they should buy a sequel when the original game was not supported as promised?
• Blue Post: June 6, 2009. Starcraft 2 CM confirms that some Battle.net access will be fee-free. Details yet TBD.
• Blue Post: June 4, 2009. Bashiok on blood floors, white noise, and graphics.
• Blue Post: June 3, 2009. Bashiok on runes, trades, and item value.
• Blue Post: June 1, 2009. Bashiok on skill rune swapping.
• Picture: June 1, 2009. The Bone Reaver concept art debuts.

May 2009

• Commentary: May 30, 2009. Defensive Skills are never as useful as offensive skills. Can this be fixed in Diablo 3?
• Blue Post: May 28, 2009. Bashiok on bald Fallen.
• Commentary: May 27, 2009: Diablo PVP: The Past, Present, and Future Discussion of PvP implementation in past Diablo titles going towards D3.
• Other: May 25, 2009: Blizzard calls for questions on the future of Diablo II.
• Blue Post: May 25, 2009: Bashiok on Fallen and monster animations.
• Preview: May 23, 2009. Fallen Ones bestiary page added to the official site. With bonus screenshots and concept art.
• Blue Post: May 22, 2009. Bashiok on Item Colors and Blizzcon Tickets.
• Blue Post: May 21, 2009. Bashiok on socketing confirmation.
• Other: May 20, 2009. Get a BlizzCon Ticket.
• Other: May 18, 2009. IncGamers reports: BlizzCon tickets sold out in 15 seconds.
• Commentary: May 18, 2009. Balance issues in Diablo 2 and other RPGs. Can End Game characters ever be properly balanced?
• Other: May 16, 2009. First Batch of BlizzCon 2009 Tickets Sold Out.
• Blue Post: May 16, 2009. Bashiok on Runewords and the D2 Economy.
• Other: May 16, 2009. BlizzCon ticket sales tomorrow. Buying process info.
• Blue Post: May 14, 2009. Bashiok talks of larger stash for Diablo II in patch 1.13
• Picture: May 14, 2009. Bashiok posted Blizzard-themed cosplay pictures from China
• Blue Post: May 14, 2009. Bashiok on System Specs and Demo Players.
• Other: May 13, 2009. Costume contest to win free trip to BlizzCon 2009
• Other: May 13, 2009. Greg Canessa Joins Battle.net 2.0 Dev Team.
• Blue Post: May 13, 2009. Diablo III statue nearing final stages.
• Blue Post: May 12, 2009. Diablo III Skill Trees Innovative Overhaul.
• Blue Post: May 12, 2009. Blizzcon 2009 Diablo III Panels Revealed.
• Blue Post: May 07, 2009. Bashiok on Skill Synergies.
• Commentary: May 6, 2009. Level up rate and maximum level in Diablo 3. How fast, and how soon?
• Blue Post: May 05, 2009. BlizzCon 2009 Tickets On Sale May 16.
• Blue Post: May 05, 2009. Bashiok on Level Requirements, Wearing Girl's Clothing, and v1.13.

April 2009

The Archivist!

• Commentary: April 30, 2009. Monster variety. How much variety do you want to see in Diablo 3?
• Blue Post: April 29, 2009. Bashiok on Lore
• Commentary: April 26, 2009. Giving Diablo 3 what it deserves. How much of a lifestyle change is required to welcome Diablo III into your life?
• Blue Post: April 24, 2009. Bashiok on Health Globes and Healing
• Blue Post: April 24, 2009. Bashiok on Wizard's mana, hacking, party mode and gameplay demo character level.
• Blue Post: April 21, 2009. Bashiok tells us how the decapitation animation is activated.
• Blue Post: April 20, 2009. Bashiok explains why Barbarian tattoos are different in Diablo II and Diablo III.
• Commentary: April 19, 2009: Is there a downside to Hardcore? Article looks at the possible detrimental effects that Hardcore mode brings to the game.
• Blue Post: April 18, 2009. Blizzard informs of incoming Ladder Reset.
• Blue Post: April 18, 2009. Bashiok on pictures from Blizzard HQ.
• Blue Post: April 16, 2009. Bashiok answers 50 random questions at once.
• Blue Post: April 14, 2009. Bashiok talks generally about class archtypes.
• Blue Post: April 14, 2009. Blizzard Theme Park Contest Winners.
• Blue Post: April 14, 2009. Bashiok on several topics not directly related to D3.
• Blue Post: April 9, 2009. Bashiok Explains Diablo 3 Skill Tree Design.
• Other: April 9, 2009. Diablo III Logo Wins 2009 MI6 Awards.
• Other: April 8, 2009. Blizzard’s Friends List and MVP Programs Terminated.
• Blue Post: April 3, 2009. Bashiok on ambient life, beta eligibility, and the new interface design.
• Blue Post: April 3, 2009. Bashiok on game length and interface design feedback.
• Blue Post: April 2, 2009. Bashiok: making of the WWI gameplay movie.
• Blue Post: April 1, 2009. Bashiok adds more Archivist details.
• Preview: April 1, 2009. The Archivist class revealed.

March 2009

New paper doll.

• Interview: March 31, 2009. Russell Browser, Diablo III composer, shares soundtrack information.
• Picture: March 30, 2009. Blizzcast #8 with new info and interface pics.
• Blue Post: March 24, 2009. Bashiok on the interface and skill hotkeys.
• Blue Post: March 21, 2009. Bashiok on buff timers and awesome fan art.
• Commentary: March 19, 2009. Maximum party size issues. How large will parties be in Diablo 3? How large should they be?
• Other: March 19, 2009. Battle.net 2.0 launched.
• Interview: March 17, 2009. Bill Roper comments on Diablo 3, with some controversy. Videogamer.com
• Blue Post: March 14, 2009. Bashiok on health globes, wizard orbs, and sound effects.
• Blue Post: March 10, 2009. Bashiok on system requirements and upcoming info releases.
• Picture: March 8, 2009. WoW Wolfrider statue installed on Blizzard campus.
• Blue Post: March 6, 2009. Bashiok on Blizzard, Guns, and Immunities.
• Blue Post: March 5, 2009. Bashiok on Wizard items and skill runes.
• Other: March 3, 2009. Blizzard requests fan input on D2 v1.13 patch fixes.
  • Updated suggestions guidelines.
  • Updated, Bashiok gives a non-ETA.
• Blue Post: March 1, 2009. Bashiok on elemental weapon visual effects.

February 2009

The Unburied.

• Picture: February 28, 2009. New Diablo III screenshots.
• Preview: February 26, 2009. The Unburied is added to the D3 bestiary. Plus forum posts and Bashiok comments on it.
• Blue Post: February 24, 2009. Bashiok on chests, keys, and unannounced classes.
• Video: February 23, 2009. Video from Blizzcon shows NPC conversation.
• Blue Post: February 18, 2009. Bashiok on chat gem, standard of heroes, and charms.
• Other: February 17, 2009. BlizzCon 2009 Announced.
• Blue Post: February 14, 2009. Bashiok says the World Map is larger than the game world.
• Blue Post: February 13, 2009. Bashiok on item affixes.
• Blue Post: February 13, 2009. Bashiok on ID scrolls.
• Blue Post: February 13, 2009. Bashiok on loot and bosses.
• Commentary: February 12, 2009. Horror elements. Will Diablo 3 be scary and gruesome? Should it be?
• Blue Post: February 11, 2009. Bashiok on item customization and sockets.
• Blue Post: February 10, 2009. Bashiok on gold sinks, Fury, and the new chat gem.
• Blue Post: February 8, 2009. Bashiok on gold sinks and soul bound items.
• Blue Post: February 2, 2009. Bashiok on DPS display.
• Interview: February 1, 2009. Leonard Boyarsky on runes, skills, inventory, and much more.

January 2009

Bashiok's pretty unicorn pony.

• Picture: January 31, 2009. Joke images: Thousand Pound Ghostbuster and rainbow-farting unicorn.
• Picture: January 30, 2009. New official wallpapers.
• Commentary: January 30, 2009. Item Sets and Set Items. What changes and modifications can we expect to see in Diablo 3?
• Preview: January 18, 2009. Death Knight class speculation.
• Blue Post: January 17, 2009. Bashiok on dropped items = performance degradation and a larger stash.
• Blue Post: January 16, 2009. Bashiok on damage display and soundtrack.
• Blue Post: January 13, 2009. Bashiok on inventory space, respecs, and much more.
• Blue Post: January 10, 2009. Bashiok on Auction Houses and trading.
• Picture: January 8, 2009. New screenshots and concept art.
• Preview: January 7, 2009. PC Gamer UK vs. US cover captions. Plus their short Diablo III preview.
• Blue Post: January 7, 2009. Bashiok on Skill Points and build variety.
• Preview: January 5, 2009. PC Gamer magazine preview. Nothing new in the preview; cover photo here.
• Picture: January 3, 2009. New Female WitchDoctor concept art.

2008

Earlier headlines and articles are archived on the Media Coverage: 2008 page.