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BlizzCon 2014: Diablo 3 adds Ruins of Sescheron, new items
Diablo 3 fans may not have as much excitement from BlizzCon this year as Hearthstone fans or StarCraft 2 fans, but there are a few changes coming as Blizzard continues to refine the Diablo experience to maximize fun and minimize the frustrating grind that characterized the game at launch. Though this year's panels spent the majority of their time talking about the development process that brought Diablo 3 to the place it is now, there were some hints at the future, new monsters, new items, and an early demo of a new area, the Ruins of Sescheron (which you may remember from its brief appearance in Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction). As to a new Diablo expansion, the devs refused to give a yes or no answer, but we live can live in hope, right? In the meanwhile, check out our galleries for a look at what's coming, or keep reading for a rundown of upcoming changes.
Season 2 brings new Seasonal Legendaries, Conquests to Diablo 3
The second season of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls hasn't reached PC and Mac just yet, but that doesn't mean fans can't properly hype themselves for shinier gear while they wait. A recent Battle.net post details some of the changes due to launch with the arrival of Season 2. Loot hunters can of course expect fresh Seasonal Legendaries, and while some of this season's items might look familiar, they'll carry "game changing affixes" that weren't present in their previous attributes. Familiar-looking gear won't drop in non-seasonal games as they become Seasonal Legendaries, but once Season 2 concludes, they'll go back to the general loot pool along with their new affixes. New challenges in the form of achievement-esque Conquests will encourage long-term goals and varied, outside-the-box styles of play. The post cites previous level-to-70 "Race to the Top" and "Living Dangerously" Conquests as opposite of the sort of play Blizzard would like to encourage going forward, so they will not be returning for Season 2.
Diablo III on sale this weekend
If you're one of the few holdouts on this here planet Earth who hasn't picked up a copy of Diablo III or its expansion, Blizzard is prepared to make you one tempting offer. From now through Monday, October 6th, Diablo III and the Reaper of Souls expansion is 50% off through the Blizzard store. This puts the core game and the basic expansion at $20 apiece, with the digital deluxe edition of Reaper of Souls marked down to $40. Diablo III recently patched up to 2.1.1 and announced a month ago that it has sold 20 million units.
Diablo III and Reaper of Souls 50% off this week
If you find there's a lack of demon-smashing in your life, never fear: Diablo III and its expansion Reaper of Souls are on sale for 50% off on the Blizzard store. Note: This sale only applies to the PC and Mac versions. Sorry, console players! Considering jumping on this deal? Jump quickly. The sale ends Monday, October 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Diablo 3 on Xbox One levels up to 1080p with day-one patch
Remember that unfortunate bit of news that the Xbox One version of Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition would be running at 900p instead of 1080p like its PS4 counterpart? Well good news, everyone! Xbox One copies of Diablo 3 will indeed gather their courage and take on those 180 additional Ps thanks to a day-one patch. "The game will be available [in] 1080p on both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One," a Blizzard rep told GameSpot. "Native 1080p resolution. You will need to download the day-one patch for the Xbox One to get that support, but it will be there. We're very happy about that." We imagine Xbox One-bound demon hunters are happy, too. [Image: Blizzard]
Diablo III is going to China
If you're a Diablo III fan in the US, you've been able to play the game for quite some time, delving into seas of monsters and beating your way through fields of enemies. If you're a Diablo III fan in China, you're anxiously awaiting the game to actually be released locally. So it's good news to hear that Blizzard is working with NetEase to bring the game over to China's shores. No official release dates or prices have been announced at this time, nor has any information about whether or not this release will include the Reaper of Souls expansion for the game. It seems likely that the release will include all of the upgrades the game has experienced since its 2012 launch, but even that's just speculation. NetEase is the company that has already brought World of Warcraft and StarCraft II to the nation's gaming audience, so it's likely that players can expect the game without too many delays.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls' first update bringing seasonal play
Diablo III has begun testing its first big update for Reaper of Souls, which will add an updated version of Diablo II's ladder system and more. Patch 2.1.0 will also add "seasons" to the game. These are a new type of play that requires players to start a fresh character to level up. Why would someone want to do something so obviously crazy? Why, for the exclusive rewards and the chance to climb the leaderboards! There will also be season-only achievements called conquests that will be awarded to the first 1,000 players to get each one. Once a season is over, the exclusive legendaries will be added to the rest of the game. Patch 2.1.0 will also impliment cesspool levels, combat balance changes, and greater rifts. The latter will have players racing against the clock to kill monsters and try to beat the end boss before time runs out.
Here's Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls on the PS4
Blizzard has released a brief look at Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion on the PlayStation 4. The Ultimate Evil Edition is headed your way on August 19th, and you can see it in action via the video after the break.
Diablo III's Reaper of Souls coming to consoles in August
Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion is coming to consoles on August 19th. "By summer's end you'll face off against Death himself," Blizzard says, "with up to four players banding together on a single TV screen." The Ultimate Evil edition will set you back $59.99 on the PS4 and Xbox One or $39.99 on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Fix for Diablo 3 lag coming in future patch
Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls launch has been going much more smoothly than the first couple months of the original game. That said, there are still some annoying lag issues which persist. Personally speaking, I've seen both these happen, although they seem to happen intermittently for me at worst. There have been times where I've played and not seen them at all -- but nonetheless my ears perked up when I heard Blizzard has a fix incoming for them. As Omrakos explains, the two lag issues being fixed in particular are... Omrakos "Any time a Battle.net friend signs on or when I open my inventory the game halts for a second or two completely. In multiplayer games it's even worse. Other events cause this too. Sometimes it's several seconds before it's back." "Also, loot drops and it's not displayed for several seconds" source There isn't a timeframe for the patch, so I wouldn't hold your breath. But one has to imagine it's soon.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls soundtrack available on iTunes
Sure, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls has the perfect soundtrack when you're playing Diablo III. But what can you do when you're not playing the game but you're just out reaping souls on your own time? You can't hum the songs; you'll just look like an idiot. Well, don't despair, because you can now purchase the expansion's soundtrack on iTunes and forever have access to the perfect reaping music in your day-to-day life. The full soundtrack can be purchased for $9.99 and contains 22 tracks with a total running time of just over an hour. Clips are available on the official page in case you just want a couple of tunes and aren't quite sure what they're called; at 22 tracks, though, it's almost more economical to just buy the whole thing.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls soundtrack now available online
If you're a fan of Blizzard's music, you can now acquire the Reaper of Souls soundtrack through iTunes. You can purchase the album for $9.99 or individual tracks for $1.29 each. The Reaper of Souls music page on Blizzard's website includes 30 second samples of each track as well as composers' notes. If you find yourself interested in multiple tracks, we suggest just going in for the album -- there are 22 total tracks, adding up to a significant cost difference. $9.99 or $28.38? The choice is yours!
Stop the Reaper of Souls with 50% bonus XP weekend in Diablo 3
Need a little help carving through the Angel of Death's armies? Blizzard is offering 50 percent bonus XP this weekend for it's gothic clicking simulator, Diablo 3. You'll have until 5 a.m. PST, April 7 to reap the bonuses from Blizzard's offer, which the company noted on a blog post is intended to celebrate the achievement of more than 1.5 million players completing Act 5. Blizzard held another 50 percent bonus XP event last month, though that was intended to brace the world for Death's coming. Now that we've had bonus XP to prepare for his arrival and celebrate his defeat, it'll be interesting to see what justification Blizzard gives should another weekend of bonus XP occur - Death's sister's boyfriend's aunt celebrating a half-birthday, perhaps? Unfortunately, only nephalem with access to a computer of either the Mac or PC variety can partake. Sorry, console-bound adventurers. [Image: Blizzard]
Diablo III's expansion moves 2.7 million first week copies
Reaper of Souls is popular, but is it as popular as Blizzard would like? Diablo III's expansion pack moved 2.7 million copies combined in retail and digital markets, which is well short of the 6.3 million units sold at DIII's 2012 original release. The expansion adds a new story act, a new class, a new game mode, and an increased level cap.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls book and Blizzard's Augmented Reality app
Blizzard makes amazing art books, and the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition book is no exception. But, it comes with a little something extra, too. If you head to the Android Play Store, running Android 4.0 or higher, you can download the Blizzard AR Viewer. It's on the iOS App Store too, requiring iOS 6.0 or later, still called the Blizzard AR Viewer. Once you have that, you'll need to search through the book, and maybe even images of the book pages, for the little mask symbol shown to the right. Then use the viewer to scan the page. No need to push buttons, on Android at least, it recognizes the pages automatically. And then enjoy as the beautifully drawn images are converted to animated 3D models with sound in front of your eyes! Amaze your friends with your desk full of monsters! Poke them with your finger... carefully. I was wide-eyed with childish wonder at this, and maybe I'm behind the times, but this is a very cool feature. I hope to see it for many more art books in future!
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls launch party
Central LA venue Vibiana, a converted chapel, played host to the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls launch event on Monday night, and I was lucky enough to be invited along. The venue was incredibly well-done, eerie red lighting shifting in color through the evening, and key quotes from the game's opening monologue projected onto the vaulted ceiling, along with the circular motifs you see above. The evening began with activities, guests were issued with Bounty cards, where they could collect Blood Shards -- a new Reaper of Souls currency -- from visiting the art gallery, having their photo taken, getting a caricature or a temporary tattoo. All the activities were completely free, and handing in Blood Shards rewarded a poster, t-shirt or backpack. Along with the activities were cos-players, specially re-named versions of classic drinks, and at 9pm a toast with Game Director Josh Mosqueira, which then turned into a live stream as Day 9 took to the stage. Those of us who were attending as Influencers were then offered a free Collector's Edition, which could be signed by the developers from the team. Hit the break for more images.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls launch day roundup
Did you stay up late last night to watch the official kick-off stream for Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion? Did you wait in long lines at a brick-and-mortar store to buy your copy of the game? No, of course not. You already had it digitally pre-loaded and were playing while those other suckers were out in the cold. Yes, as of 12:00 a.m. EDT this morning, the Reaper of Souls expansion, complete with its new locations and bosses and class and loot, was officially live. Enjoy our roundup of coverage leading up to the launch, and let us know what you think about the upgrade!
A new Blizzard parody from CarBot Animation
CarBot Animation has done some fun and adorable Blizzard parodies in the past, and today their up to their usual tricks with a new parody of the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls trailer. Diablo isn't generally an IP we see a lot of blatant funny stuff about, considering the source material is easily the darkest of Blizzard's franchises. This adorable animation hits all the right comedic notes, from Tyrael casually eating a sandwich while the Horadrim handle the Black Soulstone to Malthael's owl-like head twist before he sends the guards to their humiliating end. The ending is easily the best bit, but I won't spoil that for you, you'll have to watch it for yourself!
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls is coming your way today
If you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for Blizzard's release of Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls expansion -- and with content scarce in WoW these days, who isn't? -- your wait is nearly over. However, depending on where you are, your launch time may be a bit different: For Asia, the expansion will be available to play at 11:00 a.m. PDT on March 24. For Europe, the expansion will be available to play at 4:00 p.m. PDT on March 24. For the Americas, the expansion will be available to play at 9:00 p.m. PDT on March 24. To be ready to play come launch time, make sure your Battle.net client is up to date (launch the client to check for updates or download it if you don't have it), be sure you've downloaded the big 2.01 patch (again, just launch your Battle.net client to check), and be sure you've ordered your copy of Reaper of Souls. Then all you need to do is be logged in come launch time and you'll be ready to jump right into new gameplay. For more tips on surviving launch day, check out Blizzard's launch to-do list. And, of course, happy demon slaughtering, everyone!
Blizzard: Diablo 3 in development for Xbox One, release not finalized
Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is up and running on the Xbox One, though its release is not yet certain, Diablo 3 lead producer Alex Mayberry told Videogamer this morning. "I don't know where we are with Microsoft right now so I can't really comment on what that contract looks like," Mayberry said. "The point is we are developing for Xbox [One] and PS4 simultaneously. We hit those major platforms and then our goal as a development team is to make them run." Diablo 3's upgraded Ultimate Evil Edition was previously announced as a PlayStation 4 exclusive. Blizzard notes that the upcoming port will feature content from this week's forthcoming "Reaper of Souls" PC expansion, along with expanded social features and a redesigned interface suited for consoles. Mayberry explains that cross-platform development is standard practice for Blizzard's console ports. "We have that pipeline worked out," he told Videogamer. "We've already done it with the 360 and PS3, so that team knows how to develop at the same time for both of those platforms. That's just what we do. And then Blizzard and Microsoft can work out whatever they work out." [Image: Blizzard]
