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== Character Classes ==
Blizzard have confirmed that the game will ship with five characters. These are the [[Barbarian]], [[Demon Hunter]], [[Monk]], [[Witch Doctor]], and [[Wizard]]. Additional classes may be added in [[expansion]]s. All five classes will be playable in male or female versions. The gender difference is purely cosmetic; male and female characters have identical stats and abilities. The characters classes are very distinct from one another; all armor appears different depending on which character is using it, the characters have completely unique [[skills]], largely unique [[traits]], and each has their own [[resource]] type. The new maximum character level will be 60 in Diablo III, with probable increases in expansions. See the [[end game]] article for many more details.
Though all five classes for Diablo III have been revealed, more are expected in the [[expansion]]s. See the [[Other classes]] article for Blizzard quotes on their additional character ideas.
{|
|-
| [[File:Barbfemale.jpg|85px]]
| [[File:Barbmale.jpg|85px80px]]
| '''The [[Barbarian]]''' - The same character you played in [[Diablo II]], but with some [[Barbarian skills|new skills]], and backed with power of the [[ancient]]s.
* [[Barbarian Skills]]
* [[Barbarian Traits]]
* [[Resource]]: - [[Fury]]
|-
! colspan="3" | Demon Hunter
|-
| colspan="2" | [[File:Demon-hunter-art4.jpg|center|130px]]
| '''The [[Demon Hunter]]''' - The last class revealed is a ranged weapon specialist with a grudge against all demon kind, sexy style, and deadly traps and demonic gadgets to go with her glowing eyes.
* [[Demon Hunter Skills]]
* [[Demon Hunter Traits]]
* [[Resource]]: - Unknown
|-
! colspan="3" | Monk
|-
| [[File:Witchfemale.jpg|85px]]
| [[File:Witchmale.jpg|85px70px]]
| '''The [[Witch Doctor]]''' - A new class that comes from the jungle region of [[Teganze]], and uses [[Witch Doctor skills|voodoo magic]] to do his bidding. One of his highlights is the [[Wall of Zombies]] spell.
* [[Witch Doctor Skills]]
|-
| [[File:Wizardfemale.jpg|85px]]
| [[File:Wizardmale.jpg|85px70px]]
| '''The [[Wizard]]''' - A new class that is a pure spell caster harnessing arcane and elemental magic to do her bidding. Very similar to the [[Sorcerer]] and [[Sorceress]] of previously Diablo games. One of the highlights is the [[Wizard_skills#Slow_Time|Slow Time]] spell which warps space and time, slowing nearby monsters and projectiles.
* [[Wizard Skills]]
* [[Wizard Traits]]
* [[Resource]]: [[Arcane Power]]
|-
|}
==Difficulty Levels==
There are going to be three [[difficulty]] levels in Diablo III, as in other games in the series. The normal difficulty level will not be very difficult, and characters are expected to rise to about Clvl 30 working their way through it. Then 50 after Nightmare and 60 (max level) after Hell. There will not be grinding required to reach the max level in Diablo III; as in World of Warcraft it will be achieved simply by working through the normal content. The difficulty will increase substantially on Nightmare, and the developers have talked about Hell as a much greater challenge, though they are committed to allowing solo players to defeat everything in the game. Nothing will be so hard that a group is required to pass it, and there no no plans to include [[raid]] style content. ==End Game== The focus of the [[end game]] will be much changed in Diablo III. The developers have not revealed many details, but they say it will be much more compelling than simply running the same bosses over and over again. That characters will be at or nearly to the max level by the time they finish Hell difficulty (barring rushing or other activities to take a character well outside the normal level progression) makes a big difference, since gaining experience will not be part of the end game. There are talks about [[Achievements]] being incorporated, or special online-only challenges. The team regards the item hunting game as the ultimate goal of a character in Diablo III. Another end game activity is PvP play in the [[Arena]], as characters could respec and switch around their equipment to build a character entirely focused on PvP play.
Most items are rare or magical, as before. Sockets are not a special feature of white items; sockets may occur on any type of item, and there will not be plain socketed items, nor would you want one since there are no [[Runewords]] to put into them. [[Uniques]] return, though they are apparently going to be called "[[Legendary]]" in Diablo III. [[Item sets]] are also likely returning, though they may differ in function somewhat, to make them more useful and/or easier to assemble.
A very popular type of item will be the [[crafted]] items, magical or rare items made by the NPC [[Artisans]] from various [[recipes]].
===Armor and Weapon Types===
** Removed weapons: There are no [[throwing weapons]] or throwing [[potions]] yet seen in Diablo III.
===Other Items Information===* [[Runes]] no longer attach to weaponssocketed into items, and [[runewords ]] are no more. [[Runes]] are objects that get socketed into [[skills]].
* The [[inventory]] is much larger than it was in Diablo II, and after numerous permutations it's settled on a large grid with all items either 1x1 or 1x2 in size.
* The [[stash]] in town is huge, and will be shared between characters on the same account.
===Battle Arena===
[[File:Battle-arena-new-round1.jpg|frame|350px|A new round begins in the Battle Arena.]]
The outlet for PvP in Diablo III is the [[Arena]], a special game type that exists only for head-to-head combat. Players can join up and fight their friends in 1v1 or 2v2 games, but the main design is for players to take part in 3v3 battles, either in teams or as singles who will be sorted together via the game's [[matchmaking]] system.
===Battle.net 2.0===
Blizzard have promised very big changes in [[Battle.net 2.0]], and besides removing the [[LAN]] functionality, the idea is to encourage people to play online with [[Achievement]]s, handy friends/foes lists and community support. You can read more about confirmed Battle.net features here:
* [http://www.diii.net/articles/689867/definite-battlenet-20-features Definite Battle.net 2.0 Features]
* Monster corpses are no longer something that players can interact with. There are no corpse skills like Diablo II's {{iw|Corpse_Explosion Corpse Explosion}} or {{iw|Find_Item Find Item}}, and bodies on the ground dissolve and vanish after a moment or two.
** There are no player corpses either, in the sense of lootable objects as they were in Diablo II. Like monsters, dead players are subject to the game's physics and can be blasted aside or out of sight by spells, and will vanish after a few minutes.
==Release Information==
This is a collection of all information available pertaining to the release of Diablo. Including [[release date]], [[system requirements]], [[Beta Test|beta testing]], price/payment methods and age [[rating]].
=== Release Date ===
As usual, the [[Release Date|release date]] for any Blizzard production is kept under wraps for as long as possible. While Blizzard has shown playable builds of Diablo III at conventions and press events, the level of polish makes it harder to estimate development time left. Any other dates or rumours , which are that -- rumoursconstantly provided by game retailers, are just rumors and should not be given any credence.
More information on the '''[[Diablo III release date]]''' article.
=== System Requirements ===
* Windows Vista compatible
* Mac OSX compatible
Read more on the [[Diablo III System Requirements]] page. Diablo III is made completely in 3D, using [[Havok]] physics engine, with a custom game engine made by [[Blizzard]]in-house tools. The game is currently native to DirectX 9, and will not require DirectX 10 or 11 to run. [http://ablegamers.com/Disabled-Gamers-News/AbleGamers-Interviews-the-Diablo-III-Team.html] The game will probably use a slightly higher level of system requirements than [[StarCraft II]], which also uses Havok & DirectX 9, and is the closest thing we can compare the game to. You can read more on StarCraft II's requirements and DirectX compatibilities as well as shader info here:
* [http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/954/starcraft-2-graphics-requirements-confirmed Graphics Requirements Confirmed] - The most prominent part of the system requirements, the graphics requirements released from Blizzard document.
* [http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/675/starcraft-2-system-requirements StarCraft II System Requirements] - System requirements analyse from available information.
* [http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/735/kalos-chronicles Kalos' Chronicles] - Technical articles for StarCraft II.
===Retail Price===
The retail price for Diablo III is unknown and will be stated closer to release. It's likely that the game will be "boxed" (no monthly fees, just a one-off price) and priced similar to other AAA titles. Starcraft II (and other recent AAA titles by Activision) retailed for $60, up $10 from the traditional $50 price tag, and it's virtually certain Diablo III will follow that route.<br><br>All online game retailers are listing $60 as their estimated price, at least.
===Game Age Rating===
The '''[[rating]]''' of [[Diablo III]] is estimated to be aimed for gamers above the age of 15, while still trying to avoid USK 18+ in Germany, or other similar ratings that would severely hamper the sales of the game in that country. [[Blizzard]] are more likely have stated that they will censor out blood and other gore, as required to censor the game avoid "adult" ratings in affected various countries with more restrictive gore requirements than to avoid releasing it if those found in the censorship is too harshUS.
* '''America ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Software_Rating_Board ERSB])''' - "M" Mature Rating (player should be at least 17 years old). No law enforcement.
* '''Europe ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEGI PEGI])''' - 16+ (player should be at least 16 years old). No law enforcement (for most countries).
* '''Germany ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unterhaltungssoftware_Selbstkontrolle USK])''' - USK 16+ (player should be at least 16 years old). Law enforcement of USK.
* '''Read more''' in the '''[[rating]]s''' article.
===Copy Protection and DRM===
It's unknown what type of copy protection (DRM) will be used on Diablo III, but with the new Battle.net changes and new Battle.net accounts, the game will likely only use a very light form of copy protection since the license is associated with the account. Online play will most likely not require a DVD in the drive, and offline play is unknown.
==Who's in Charge?==
Naturally, [[Blizzard]] are the guys making Diablo III, but that isn't a surprise. The important people for this production is the relatively new Blizzard employee Diablo III Lead Designer [[Jay Wilson]], besides the regular team. For fans, you might want to keep a look out for [[Bashiok]], the new Diablo Community Manager and [[Leonard Boyarsky]] who is the Lead World Designer for Diablo III, and head of [[quest]]s & [[lore]] as well as designing the world of [[Sanctuary]].
==Expansions, MMO or Diablo Movie==
Whatever will come after [[Diablo III]] is unknown, but it seems apparent that Blizzard are confident [http://www.incgamers.com/Games/1935/features/90/Diablo-III-Inforview] that there '''WILL''' be expansions. They have mentioned that the story line will have a more "final" ending than in Diablo II, which possibly means to make it better for an expansion, or perhaps a future MMO or a [[Diablo movie]]. Regardless, [[Jay Wilson]] has said that there are lots of potential for expanding the universe. What types of media this will come in is unknown: books, comics, manga, expansions, games or a movie...
[[Mike Morhaime]] said that they would like to make '''Diablo III expansions annually'''[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/diablo-3-will-have-several-expansions], and confirming plans for multiple expansions for the game.
==Further Information==