Blizzard: Diablo 3 patch restriction to Act 1 an 'unintended consequence'

Blizzard's patch 1.0.3 for Diablo 3 restricts anyone who buys a digital copy of the game to play the Starter Edition for up to 72 hours, limiting them to play only Act 1 to the Skeleton King, and only to level 13. While the restrictions themselves aren't a bug, the limitation to Act 1 and level 13 is an "unintended consequence" and will be corrected in another update "as soon as possible," Blizzard tells Eurogamer.

Access to the complete game will remain limited for digital purchasers, a move that Blizzard says is "to help ensure the integrity of the game and auction house service." Blizzard uses the wait time to verify payment on digital-game purchases, and most transactions are verified and the restrictions lifted within a day, but this process can take up to 72 hours.

"Similar to World of Warcraft, these restrictions were put in place to deter credit card fraud, which in turn helps reduce gold spam and other harmful activities that can have a negative impact on the game experience for everyone," Blizzard says.

Below find the complete, intended list of initially restricted actions for digital purchases:

• No public game access for unverified digital purchasers

• No auction house access (real-money or gold) for unverified digital purchasers

• Unverified digital purchasers cannot trade items or drop items for other players to receive

• Unverified digital purchasers are not able to chat in any public or game channels

• Unverified digital purchasers cannot attach a custom message to friend requests, but they can send/accept friend requests, and play with their friends

• Global Play is not available for unverified digital purchasers