Reaper of Souls

Reaper of Souls logo.

Reaper of Souls is the title of the first Diablo 3 Expansion pack released sometime in March 2014. Like other Blizzard expansions, it requires a separate purchase, though unlike World of Warcraft, there is no monthly fee.

The name was revealed by Blizzard on August 13, 2013, via a teaser image posted on their Diablo 3 website.^[1]

The first full reveal came at the 2013 Gamescom convention August 21-25, where Blizzard scheduled a press conference for the first day^[2] at which they debuted many details about the expansion pack including the new Crusader class, a gameplay movie, and the introductory cinematic featuring the lead enemy of the expansion, the ArchAngel Malthael.

Blizzard's official Reaper of Souls info page.
All news related to Reaper of Souls.

Reaper of Souls Features and ChangesEdit

Many of the new features coming for Reaper of Souls are going to be enabled in similar form in Diablo 3 classic as well, in a free patch released before Reaper of Souls. These include Paragon 2.0, Loot 2.0, Nephalem Trials, the ladder system and possibly the guild system and other changes.

Some other features will be found exclusively in Reaper of Souls, a tentative list of these include:

The Crusader class.
Act Five set in Westmarch.
Max level increased from 60 to 70.
Many new legendary items.
Adventure Mode, Bounties, Nephalem Rifts, and other new game modes.

Blizzard's Reaper of Souls SurveyEdit

In October 2013 Blizzard emailed numerous fans asking for input on potential Reaper of Souls features and pricing points.[1]

Blizzard has been sending emails to select Diablo 3 players inviting them to take part in a Reaper of Souls survey which poses numerous questions such as what games you play (Blizzard or other) and importance of specific features in the expansion including:
Raises maximum character level to 70

Loot Runs

New Crusader playable character class

Gear Transmogrification

A new act of content

New Paragon level and point system (Paragon 2.0)

Nephalem Trials

New loot system (Loot 2.0)
Blizzard also asks survey participants to rank these in order of importance in the survey, Rank #1 being the most important to 8 being the least important to you from that list. The survey also asks about prices; the suggested price points are Standard Edition at $29.99 and a Collector’s Edition at $49.99, and fans were asked which they'd be more likely to purchase.

Reaper of Souls Story and LoreEdit

Details about the Reaper of Souls story and setting have been revealed by Blizzard and are covered in the Book of Tyrael as well.

The events take place some months after Diablo 3 concluded with the Nephalem hero defeating Diablo (as the Prime Evil) and freeing the High Heavens from the demonic invasion.

The quotation on the image comes from the Book of Cain, and is part of a longer quatrain:

And, at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost

as Justice falls upon the world of men.

Valor shall turn to Wrath-

and all Hope will be swallowed by Despair.

Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all-

as Fate lies shattered forever.

This refers to the Archangels of the Angiris Council, and appears to describe events that unfolded during the story of Diablo 3, with foreshadowing for the story of the expansion.

Tyrael: The Archangel of Justice. Lost his status as an angel when he fell from the Heavens, but took it back at the conclusion of Diablo 3, taking the vacant position of
Auriel: The Archangel of Hope.
Malthael: The Archangel of Wisdom.
Imperius: The Archangel of Valor.
Itherael: The Archangel of Fate.

As seen during Act 4 of Diablo 3, Imperius fought Diablo as the Prime Evil and was defeated and badly wounded, but not killed. After that setback Imperius led the angels in unsuccessful defending the High Heavens against the forces of the Burning Hells, and was overtly hostile to the Nephalem hero (your character), seeming on the verge of attacking before falling unconscious once Diablo reached the summit of the Silver Spire.

While the other Archangels are seen in the epilogue after the hero defeats Diablo the Prime Evil, nothing is known of Imperius' disposition, but from his behavior during Act 4 it doesn't seem likely that he's happy. The above quotation from the Book of Cain surely refers to Imperius with the line, "Valor shall turn to Wrath" and many fans are speculating that he will not rejoin the Heavens but will instead become an enemy of humanity, or perhaps even a corrupted monster, like Izual before him.

Reaper of Souls MediaEdit

Numerous screenshots, concept arts, and video teasers have been released for Reaper of Souls.

Act Five Screenshot gallery.
RoS Gameplay Movie gallery.
RoS Monster Artwork.
Reaper of Souls Datamined Image Gallery (Warning, SPOILERS!)

Reaper of Souls Opening Cinematic

Reaper of Souls Gameplay Trailer

RoS logo.
The Crusader.
Misty Westmarch cemetery.

Pre-Reveal TeasersEdit

Prior to the official announcement, Blizzard offered several teases of Reaper of Souls.

The first was a teaser page that went live several days before Gamescom 2013 in August. The image seen below was the only contents of the page and it was not clickable. Many fans assumed the image would be updated with brigther and brighter versions before becoming clickable to the official announcement, and this was proven accurate.

Reaper of Souls teaser splash image.

Another teaser came via the official Diablo 3 Chinese service provider (B.net equivalent) site in the run up to Gamescom 2013 a splash image appeared at the top of their site that changed daily, until on the seventh image angels began to appear together with the Black Soulstone.