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[[File:Identify03.jpg|frame|Demon Hunter identifies while [[Cain]] watches.]]
Many items when first found from monster drops, chests, or other clickable objects are unidentified. The items show their basic item type and item level, but not the specific stats. Some legendary items can be identified by their unique graphics or their item type and level, but the wide variation in legendary items still requires them to be identified to know if the item's roll is good or bad.
Only [[Rare]], [[Set]], and [[Legendary]] items, found from monster drops, need to be identified. Magical (blue) items do not; their prefix or suffix is stated clearly as soon as the item is foundneed to be IDed. (They did in Diablo 1 and Diablo 2.) Rare and Legendary items created by [[crafting]] do not need to be identified.
[[Patch v1.08]] added the [[Identify All]] option which allows players to identify every item in their character's inventory in just a few seconds. This new feature saved a great deal of time over clicking each rare and legendary item individually, and was welcomed by players.
==Identify Function== Identifying items in Diablo 3 does not require a scroll or book; it's an inherent character ability and only requires a right click on the unidentified item. This is a change from previous games in the series, and during much of Diablo 3's development scrolls were required for this function. While identifying the character goes into a casting animation and a progress bar appears overhead. The time required to identify has been reduced in patches; Rare items were initially 3 seconds each and Legendaries were 5 seconds. In patch 1.0.5 these timers were reduced to 1 and 4 seconds, respectively. ==To Identify or Not?== Due to the huge variation in the quality of identified items and the ease of selling them via the [[Auction House]] A market for selling unidentified items has grown. This exists largely for top end legendaries such as the [[Echoing Fury]] ([http://diablonut.incgamers.com/item/echoing-fury db]) mace or the [[Mempo of Twilight]] ([http://diablonut.incgamers.com/item/mempo-of-twilight db]) helm, which can be worth billions of gold with a good [[roll]], or nearly worthless with a bad roll. The sale of an unidentified item is a gamble for both parties. The seller is taking a price that's better than most rolls of that item would yield, but giving up the chance at a jackpot. The buyer is paying more than the item is worth most of the time, but hoping for a super roll that will be worth a fortune. Unidentified items can not be sold via the [[Auction House]], so such transactions must be arranged via chat channels or through third party sites. ==Identify During Development==
[[Image:identify.jpg|thumb|250px|Identify yourself]] When the [[Artisan]] system was first introduced in 2010, the [[Mystic]] had item identification listed amongst her talents. She eventually lost that talent, before she was removed from the game during late testing in January 2012. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-progress-report-2 Diablo 3 Progress Report] - Blizzard, 19/1/2012</ref>
ID scrolls were seen in the August 2010 Gamescom demo.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNP8QiNbFmU Gamescom Video Presentation] Blizzard, 18/8/2010</ref> and also in that year's Blizzcon demo. The major changes to the system came during the beta, with blue (magical) items changed to not require identification. More changes came in [[Beta Patch 10]], when identify scrolls were removed from the game, and characters were granted the inherent ability to ID items with just a right click.
NPC assistance is not required for item identification, since characters now have identification as an inherent ability. This process required scrolls during most of Diablo III's development, but those scrolls were removed in a major game system overhaul in January 2012, and players were given the inherent talent. To use it, a character need simply right click on any unidentified item, and after a short (two second) status bar, the item's properties are revealed.
The system for identifying items has changed repeatedly during Diablo III's development. Bashiok reflected that principle when he commented on the many options for Identification in a forum post from February 2009.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/can-diablo-iii-feel-good-without-identify Can Diablo 3 Feel Good without Identify] - Blizzard, 13/2/2009</ref>
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Personally – my own personal thoughts on the system – are that I think you could do almost anything with it and I’d be just fine. It wasn’t annoying to me when playing the previous games, it was just a part of how they played, if it was removed I don’t think I’d really miss it either, and if it was changed for the better then that’s cool too.</blue>
In response to player feedback [[Patch 1.0.5]], released in October 2012, reduced the time it took to identify items.
:*The cast time for identifying Rare items has been reduced to 1 second
:*The cast time for identifying Legendary items has been increased to 4 seconds
This meant players still had to click each item individually to identify and so Blizzard plan to add an ''Identify All'' feature in [[Patch 1.0.8]]. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/?p=183311 Identify All fear] - Travis Day, 05/02/2012</ref>
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(On the topic of identifying hundreds of Rares, it's worth adding that while most of this blog is about overall item philosophy and our goals down the road, one of the short-term changes we're making is adding an "Identify All" option, which should be coming in 1.0.8.)</blue>
Identify All was added in Patch 1.0.8 in May 2013.