This is the '''Diablo 3 Basics''' page, which is the main '''Fact Sheet''' of known '''Diablo III''' information. This much -anticipated sequel to Diablo and Diablo II was announced at [[Blizzard]]'s [[WWI 2008]] in Paris, during 27-28 June , 2008. Regardless if you just heard that Diablo III is announced, or if you have been following some of the {{wl|[http://diablo.incgamers.com Diablo 3 news]}}, this page will get you up to speed!

Diablo III, while featured completely in '''3D''' with a 3D environment, will follow closely in Diablo II's track by using the classic isometric view, fast gameplay , and randomised randomized content for high replayability. Some changes have been made in order to make the game faster and more flexible as well as making make players choose and employ tactics rather than mindless mouseclicking. Besides taking well -learned lessons from WoW, the developers have been inspired by games such as ''Zelda'' and ''God of War''. Regardless, the game will be possible to play with a mouse alone, if a player so wishes (but you would be a lot less efficient).

Remember that if you're a newcomer to Diablo , you can find more related articles in the '''[[:Category:Basics|Basics Category]]'''

Blizzard have has confirmed that the game will ship with five characters. These are the [[Barbarian]], [[Demon Hunter]], [[Monk]], [[Witch Doctor]], and [[Wizard]]. 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 classes are very distinct from one another; , for 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 [[Barbarian]]''' - The same character you played in [[Diablo II]], but with some [[Barbarian skills|new skills]], and backed with the power of the [[ancient]]s.

| '''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.

| '''The [[Monk]]''' - A new fellow from [[Ivgorod]]. Combining martial arts of our eastern Eastern cultures with a holy strike from the western Western disciplines , he takes names and kicks in faces.

| '''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 previous 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.

The skills and their presentation evolved greatly during the game's development. See the [[skill tree]] article for a full pictorial history. As of Blizzcon 2010 , skills are presented in a list, and sorted into seven tiers which that are unlocked at various character levels. All skills are [[active]], there are no prerequisites other than character level, and there are no synergies.

One major change announced early in Diablo III's development was the elimination of player-assigned stat points. In Diablo III, each class gains various [[attribute]] points in [[Attack_(Attribute)|attack]], [[Precision_(Attribute)|precision]], [[vitality]], [[defense]], and [[willpower]], when they level up, and these are automatically-assigned. The Diablo III developers felt the stat allocation in Diablo II was a poor way to provide character customization, since players almost always followed an established [[build]], which was always the best choice for a character. This removed any variety or individuality.

Stats can be modified in Diablo III in various ways. By : by [[traits]], via [[charms]] in the [[talisman]], and with equipment bonuses, including socketing [[gems]].

The first known complete known skill permutations permutation was the [[Wizard]]'s [[Hydra]] skill. The basic skill is much as it was in Diablo II, a three-headed flame dragon that pokes out of a manhole in the ground, spitting firebolts at enemies. Each rune changes this effect quite notablynoticeably. The effects revealed for Hydra changed considerably even between August and October 2010, when the slide to the right was presented at Blizzcon 2010:

* Obsidian rune: The dragons turn green and spit out poison -damaging acid balls.

Diablo III will have a great array of '''[[monster]]s''', and they will employ more intelligent behaviour, and effects as well. There will be more 'mini-boss' encounters that make for more epic gameplay, ; an example is the [[Thousand Pounder]], who isn't really a [[boss]], but a unit type. Other 'effects' include skeletons with large shields that can block and protects protect archers, [[ghoul]]s that climb up sheer walls to attack you, or [[Grotesque]]s that explode into a hundred [[Lamprey]] monsters. We can expect many unique attack patterns and behaviours from the Diablo III monsters.

The scale of monsters is greatly increased in Diablo III; demons like the Siegebreaker are not uncommon, and appear in sizes unimagined in previous games in the series. And Siegebreak Siegebreaker isn't even an especially big boss or Act boss.

Death is less of an obstacle to success in Diablo III than in previous games in the series. Dead players in Diablo III do not lose equipment or gold. They must merely wait a mere few seconds, before waiting to be resurrected by another player in their party, or restarting at the last [[checkpoint]] (not [[waypoint]]) they passed over.

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 , 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 are no plans to include [[raid]] -style content.

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.

Armor is arranged in [[gear sets]] in Diablo III. There are 18 of them, increasing in quality/appearance from simple cloth to ornate plate mail. The items do not repeat with different names/stats; there are no exceptional/elite versions of items in Diablo III. This means there is a wider variety of total item types, and that players will see a steady progression throughout the game of increasinglydramatic-dramatic looking armor.

A very popular type of item will be the [[crafted]] items, magical or rare items made by the NPC [[Artisans]] from various [[recipes]].

** New weapons: [[Fists]], [[Daggers]] (no longer a type of sword), [[Orbs]], [[Pistol crossbows]], [[short staves]] for casters only, [[battle staves]] for the Monk only, .

* [[Runes]] are no longer socketed 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.

* Trading will be improved , and there will be some sort of auction house, though details have not been revealed.* [[Potion]]s are much less common than in previous Diablo games. There are no mana or rejuvenation potions, just health, and they come with a long cooldown between uses. Basically , potions are for emergency use, and will only tide a character over briefly; with the cool down cooldown, they will not keep you alive through reckless behavior.

As in previous games in the series, [[NPCs]] will feature large importantly in Diablo III. Much of the game [[story]] will be given by the NPCs, and they will be more interactive, while their speeches will be shorter, more to the point, and can be listened to while playing; you are no longer forced to "stay awhile" while you "listen."

[[Image:Sanctuary World Map.jpg|thumb|225px|<span style="font-size:90%;">[[world map|Sanctuary world map]], with locations noted.</span>]]The [[world map]] of [[Sanctuary]] was actually released with the second Diablo game's manual, but a new and improved map has been made by Blizzard, outlining the continents and the major [[settlement]]s. Many of these locations will be visited in [[Diablo III]] , including [[Tristram]]. Areas close by that were never visited in the previous games will also have a chance, like the [[Leoric Highlands]] and [[Westmarch]], and it's known that much of Act Three takes place in the Barbarian Lands around the [[Arreat Crater]].

We have been shown detailed pictures of [[Skovos]] (the land of the [[Amazon]]s), as well as [[Caldeum]] and Tristram. Skovos is confirmed to be excluded from the game, but the level of detail they are putting in to into the universe suggests either a big expansion pack, MMOs , or a film.

Outdoor areas will be less randomised randomized than dungeons, and the terrain will for the most part be static. Instead , a lot of random scripted events will take place, and some will even be really advanced. It They can vary from an escort [[quest]], to a mouldy moldy tome, or a big , bad [[boss]] monster. You will also find interactive environments with dangerous traps and , obstacles, and [[destructible]] elements. There will be "numerous" outdoor locations.

This is a rumour started by the [[art controversy]] (see below), and all the hub-hub about the colour in Diablo 3 that came after the announcement , which might inspire the dev team to make a rainbow level with unicorns and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carebear Carebears].

[[Image:Cinematic 10.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<span style="font-size:90%;">Mystical comet overlooking a settlement in the western part of [[Sanctuary]].</span>]]The [[story line]] of the game takes place twenty years after a few powerful heroes saved [[Sanctuary]] from the demonic onslaught in [[Diablo II]]. Those events took place out of the sight of the common populace, and have become myth or legend over the intervening years. Most of the principles are dead or insane, and no one has seen had any sight of the Archangel [[Tyrael]] since he destroyed the Worldstone, triggering an explosion that erased [[Mount Arreat]] and shattered the Barbarians' civilization.

Since the destruction of the [[Worldstone]], those few humans (such as [[Deckard Cain]]) who did know of the danger to the world have been expecting an imminent demonic invasion, without the Worldstone to keep them in the [[Burning Hells]]. This has not happened because, and players will eventually learn, the two remaining lords of Hell (presumably [[Belial]] and [[Asmodean]]) have been building armies for a full -on invasion, intended to utterly destroy humanity.

Players will see small -scale demonic events, as in previous games, but the developers have promised that the scale of some aspects of the game, such as the siege on [[Bastion's Keep]], will be amazingly large; far bigger than anything ever previously seen in the series.

Game creation and group formation should be easier in Diablo III. Though the details have not been revealed, the developers hope it will be very easy to join up and play. Their hope is that players in one game can simply click an option to start another one, and as everyone accepts it , they'll immediately appear in a new game and continue playing, almost seamlessly.

Arena play debuted at Blizzcon 2010 and was wildly-popular, even with just 3 pre-made characters available to choose from, and limited skills all pre-set.

Hardcore Arena will be supported, and the initial plans of the team is for it to be regular Hardcore rules; : you die, you stay dead. This approach has many critics, who ask for some sort of non-lethal HC version, and point out that virtually no one plays PvP in D2 Hardcore since the penalty for death is so severe, both in emotional pain and in the play hours required to build up another character to PvP level. It also seems like any sort of team play would be impossible, since even if a team won, one or two of the players on it would lose their character.

Blizzard have has 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:

As usual, the [[Release Date|release date]] for any Blizzard production product 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 constantly provided by game retailers, are just rumors and should not be given any credence.

Whatever will come after [[Diablo III]] is unknown, but it seems apparent that Blizzard are is 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 making it better for an expansion, or perhaps a future MMO or a [[Diablo movie]]. Regardless, [[Jay Wilson]] has said that there are is 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.