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==The 4th Character: The Monk==
After the [[Wizard]] was revealed at Blizzcon 2008, fan speculation was widespread for what we'd seen in the remaining classes. Most fans were sure that some sort of archer/ranged attacker would be added, but it was by no means clear that character would ''only'' use ranged attacks. The character types in Diablo 3 are being designed with a lot of variety, so there was much speculation about ranged hybrid characters; possibly able to engage in melee combat, or using a variety of magical traps, stealth forms, pets, etc.
The [[Monk]] was revealed at Blizzcon 2009, surprising most fans, even those who had expected some sort of light fighter to complement the heavy-tanking [[Barbarian]]. The Monk was certainly a better-kept secret than the Wizard, since before revealing the third character, Blizzard had made numerous remarks that the third character would fill a common RPG combat role, and was quite similar to a character from previous games in the series.
Looking back, it's clear that Blizzard was careful not to give any meaningful hints about the Monk before the reveal. In contrast to the Monk
Though many fans hoped to see the Necromancer return in Diablo 3, the team has repeatedly stated that he will not. Fans have also asked why the [[Witch Doctor]] was added instead, since the WD seems superficially similar to the Necro. Jay Wilson addressed this issue in an interview with Mtv in August 2008. [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/05/diablo-iii-necromancer/]
::"Our approach for classes in This assumes of course that Blizzard is not planning to redesign their class pages completely, changing margins etc. Under the condition that Blizzard will just ''Diablo IIIadd another class' is that we don't have to the list, a strong desire to bring back classes from 5-character long name (or shorter) would be the previous gamelogical alternative," Wilson told me. "The goal is to try and give people new gameplay and not just re-hash old gameplay. We're not just making a 'Diablo II' with updated 3D graphicsare already rooting for the [[Rogue]] to return anyway."
::"The problem was, we looked at the [Necromancer] class and didn't think that we could really make him a lot better," Jay explained. "We could add some new stuff to him but for the most part -- curses, corpse explosion, skeleton pets -- done. That's the class. We wanted to create new gameplay, so we chose to do the Witch Doctor as a different kind of class."
* See the [http://forums.diii.net/forumdisplay.php?f=134 Other Characters and Skills forum] for discussion of/educated guesses about this topic.
===Fan-Made Classes===
no edit summary
It's not clear why they couldn't use placeholder art for the 5th character, but that's something [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?p=6942354 fans are enjoying speculating about].
==The Fifth Character==
It's widely-expected that the fifth character will be a [[ranged|archer]]-type character, one who specializes in the bow and perhaps other ranged weapons. This speculation comes chiefly from looking at the roles the known characters occupy, and noting that there is no ranged attacker other than the Wizard, and no character with any special skill with bows or other ranged weapons. (No bows were seen in the game at Blizzcon 2008 or 2009, but one was seen to drop in the initial WWI Paris 2008 gameplay movie. No throwing weapons have been seen at all.)
===Blizzard Comments on the Fifth Character===
[[Jay Wilson]] made a comment about a possible reappearance of a character from Diablo 1 or 2 in an interview with IGN at Blizzcon 2009: [http://pc.ign.com/articles/101/1017305p2.html]
::'''''IGN:''' You did mention that [the fifth class is] being revealed next year, and that it's someone from the previous games...
===Why No NecromancerNew Class Has 5-character Long Name?==[[File:5th_class_hints.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Screenshot by MidnightMurder to support his theory using FireBug to see how many characters would fit in the last slot.]]Midnight Murder from [[Diii.net]] looked at the code, hinting that the last class might be "Rogue" or another 5-character long name to the class.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=757665]
The question here really relies primarily of Blizzard's plans for the website. Perhaps the whole site will see a redesign before release? Looking at [http://www.starcraft2.com/ StarCraft2.com], however, this has so far not been the case, midway into closed beta. Having said that, it would not be a major deal for Blizzard to just change margins, font sizes or some other minor design detail in order to add a longer name than 5 characters.
==Known Class Information==
::'''Jay:''' I don't want to close the door on bringing back classes from Diablo or Diablo 2; I just don't want to do so with the initial release of Diablo 3. In Diablo 3, all of the classes should do something completely new. Then I'd like us to look back and figure out what gameplay gaps [exist].... Then we'd go back and satisfy our and the fans' nostalgia by pulling back some classes that we think really stood out.
===Why No Necromancer?===
Though many fans hoped to see the Necromancer return in Diablo 3, the team has repeatedly stated that he will not. Fans have also asked why the [[Witch Doctor]] was added instead, since the WD seems superficially similar to the Necro. Jay Wilson addressed this issue in an interview with Mtv in August 2008. [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/05/diablo-iii-necromancer/]
::"Our approach for classes in 'Diablo III' is that we don't have a strong desire to bring back classes from the previous game," Wilson told me. "The goal is to try and give people new gameplay and not just re-hash old gameplay. We're not just making a 'Diablo II' with updated 3D graphics."
::"The problem was, we looked at the [Necromancer] class and didn't think that we could really make him a lot better," Jay explained. "We could add some new stuff to him but for the most part -- curses, corpse explosion, skeleton pets -- done. That's the class. We wanted to create new gameplay, so we chose to do the Witch Doctor as a different kind of class."
* See the [http://forums.diii.net/forumdisplay.php?f=134 Other Characters and Skills forum] for discussion of/educated guesses about this topic.
Fans have not just been waiting around for the next class, they have been busy making suggestions for Blizzard to consider. These [[fan class]]es include everything from a [[Fan class:Flagellant|Flagellant]] to an [[Fan class:Arcane Warrior|Arcane Warrior]].
==Past Classes' Pre-Announce== ===The 4th Character: The Monk===After the [[Wizard]] was revealed at Blizzcon 2008, fan speculation was widespread for what we'd seen in the remaining classes. Most fans were sure that some sort of archer/ranged attacker would be added, but it was by no means clear that character would ''only'' use ranged attacks. The character types in Diablo 3 are being designed with a lot of variety, so there was much speculation about ranged hybrid characters; possibly able to engage in melee combat, or using a variety of magical traps, stealth forms, pets, etc. The [[Monk]] was revealed at Blizzcon 2009, surprising most fans, even those who had expected some sort of light fighter to complement the heavy-tanking [[Barbarian]]. The Monk was certainly a better-kept secret than the Wizard, since before revealing the third character, Blizzard had made numerous remarks that the third character would fill a common RPG combat role, and was quite similar to a character from previous games in the series. Looking back, it's clear that Blizzard was careful not to give any meaningful hints about the Monk before the reveal. In contrast to the Monk ===Wizard Hints===
The third class to be revealed was the [[Wizard]], who debuted at Blizzcon, October 13, 2008. Jay Wilson hinted at the Wizard in advance, in an interview with Videogamer.com: [http://www.videogamer.com/pc/diablo_3/preview-1253-2.html]
* [http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200809/N08.0903.1800.35279.htm?Page=3 GameInformer interview about Necro]
* [http://www.videogamer.com/pc/diablo_3/preview-1253-2.html Videogamer interview - Wizard hints]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=757665 Class Speculations from a Web-developer]
* [http://forums.diii.net/forumdisplay.php?f=134 Other Characters and Skills forum]