Waypoint
- Were you looking for Diablo 2 waypoints?
Waypoints were a feature added in Diablo 2. They are special squares on the ground that allow players to teleport instantly between that waypoint and any other that the player has already found. Waypoints will be more frequent and more important in Diablo 3 than they were in Diablo 2, since Town Portal scrolls are not going to be found in Diablo 3.
In addition to waypoints, the D3 Team has discussed including a function that would allow a player newly arrived in a game instantly join the others, out in the dungeons.
A related feature in Diablo 3 are checkpoints, which are spots at the start of each level, where a player will respawn after death.
Contents
Diablo III Waypoints
The inclusion of Waypoints have been confirmed in various interviews, and the team has said they will work much as they did in Diablo 2. Here's an update posted via the @Diablo twitter feed in January 2010. [1]
- Updated waypoint design and UI implemented. Waypoints will function similar to Diablo II.
Jay Wilson also spoke briefly about waypoints in an interview from October 2009. [2]
- Diii.net: How will we sell items easily in town, since there are no more town portals? How do you pop back quickly and easily without slowing down the gameplay?
- Jay Wilson: Waypoints are a little bit more frequent and your bag space is a little bit bigger.
In a later interview, Jay stressed that waypoints are never that far apart in Diablo III. [3]
- Gamona.de: In regards to the waypoints, how far apart are they? In terms of gameplay time?
- Jay Wilson: It varies depending on area. Usually 10 minutes, if that. Yeah, about 10 minutes is as long as it ever takes.
In a press event in July of 2011, a picture surfaced which shows the waypoint menu, viewed below.
Indeed, the waypoints show up only when the player has been to the waypoint, and there also appears to be an option to spawn at the last checkpoint that the player has visited.
Hidden Until Revealed
In Diablo II the full list of the levels on which waypoints were found was visible as soon as a character reached a new act. This was something of a spoiler, as the names of the levels sometimes gave away plot points or at least let players know what was coming before it arrived.
This will not be repeated in Diablo III, and the names of the later waypoints in a given act will not be revealed until your characters has found the waypoint.[4]
Spoil all the locations… hrm. What do you mean? --Diablo
Waypoints in town told you where all the others were. EG Act 2 WP spoiled the Palace Cellar/Arcane Sanctuary/Canyon of the Magi. --Grug
Background
Waypoints are part of a network of teleportation nodes created by the Horadrim during the Sin War to provide instant travel from one place to another. The reason why this was so crucially necessary was that they did not know where the demons could appear next and it was essential that they could swiftly combat the forces of Darkness, even when the attack was located in an outlying region with a considerable distance from a town or settlement harbouring Horadrim mages. The network is built up from runed stones infused with magical power of enough strength to teleport a user to another similar stone. The traveler must physically stand on the stone to use its power.
The knowledge to create new waypoints has since been lost, but some of these magical rocks can still be accessed and used, if you happen to find one. They remain as a legacy to the Horadrim's once-great power and the value of these devices cannot be denied.
These waypoints seems to be closely associated with the Town Portal and Teleport spells.
Known Waypoint Locations
- New Tristram - First area of the game.
- The Old Ruins Ruins outside of New Tristram.
- Cathedral Garden - Garden outside the old cathedral.
- Cemetery of the Forsaken - A cemetery outlying the entrance to the cathedral.
Speculated Waypoint Locations
- Caldeum - Has always been a major city. Waypoint likely.
