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Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition content revealed
With all the talk of Warlords of Draenor and Hearthstone around here, you might have forgotten about Blizzard's other expansion release next month. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls makes it debut on March 25, and the contents of the physical Collector's Edition were finally revealed earlier this week for all to see. Purchasers of the Collector's Edition will receive several digital items, including the Treasure Goblin Pet for World of Warcraft, StarCraft II character portraits and Malthael Decals, and a Spectral Hound minion with a set of aesthetic artifacts -- helms and weapons -- to be used with Diablo III's new transmogrification feature. Of course, this is all available with the Digital Deluxe version of the game as well, so why would you want a physical Collector's Edition? In addition to the digital goodies found in the Digital Deluxe edition, those purchasing the Collector's Edition will get a Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray two-disc set featuring interviews, round-table discussions and behind-the-scenes commentary on the game's development, the official Reaper of Souls soundtrack, The Art of Reaper of Souls -- a gorgeous hardcover book featuring early sketches, artwork, and 3D renders from the game, as well as a Malthael mouse pad. The Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition is available for pre-order on Amazon for $79.99, as well as at a variety of other retailers. As with all Collector's Editions, supplies are limited -- if you want the physical version and all the bonuses it has to offer, you may want to pre-order your copy sooner rather than later.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls closed beta has begun
The closed beta for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls has officially begun. Players that have opted in to the beta should begin checking their email for beta invites. Reaper of Souls, the first expansion for Diablo III, features all-new content as well as the new Crusader class, enchanting, transmogrification and of course, lots and lots of frantic mouse clicking. Players that have received a beta invite can check their Battle.net accounts to verify that the license has been added -- or if you've received a Closed Beta key, you can add it to your account by logging in to your Battle.net page. For players that have yet to receive an invitation to the closed beta, make sure you've opted in on your Battle.net Beta Profile Settings page -- and while you're at it, make sure the page has the latest system specifications for your computer. Keep in mind that with the closed beta, you must have an active Diablo III license attached to your account -- and that license needs to be in good standing in order to be eligible. No banned or suspended accounts. Also, as with any beta test, the risk of phishing attempts runs a little higher. If you receive an email that states you're in the beta, be sure you don't click any links in the email itself. Instead, log into your Battle.net account to check that the license has been added, or to manually add a game code. For more information on the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls closed beta, take a look at Blizzard's official page -- and good luck to all those that have opted in!
Blizzcon 2013: Diablo III Reaper of Souls class and systems panel
On the second day of BlizzCon 2013, the Diablo 3 team hosted a gameplay systems panel in which they covered some of the new systems coming to the Reaper of Souls expansion, including not only the Crusader class, but information on changes for the existing classes and some of the new itemization tweaks we can expect to see in Loot 2.0. Crusading for a new class The first section of the panel introduced the new class, the Crusader. Designing a new class is one of the most complex tasks in an RPG, but it starts with a simple concept. In this case, the team wanted a righteous paladin type, which would work as a good answer to Malthael, the angel of death and main villain of Reaper of Souls. The idea came together of having a dark paladin, full of righteous wrath, a "knight in battle-scarred armor" to stand for humanity in its darkest hour. This lead to concept art. They knew they wanted the Crusader to be bulky and blocky, but it took many weeks of reiterations before they settled on the look of today, with the shield, the flail, and the tabard.
Diablo III teaser suggests expansion name is Reaper of Souls [Updated]
Yesterday we speculated where Blizzard's recently trademarked name The Dark Below would go -- to a new game or an expansion for Diablo III or World of Warcraft? Well Diablo III appears to be out of the running; according to a teaser page found on the official site, the new title for that expansion is Reaper of Souls. And we already know that Blizzard planned on showing off a new cinematic at Gamescom, so we'll probably have an official reveal of the expansion next week. Of course, with Diablo III's expansion named, that leaves The Dark Below still open for other use. Will it belong to WoW, or something new entirely? Only time will tell. Our sister site WoW Insider now believes the registration of The Dark Below was a hoax. [Thanks to Sharvis for the tip.]
