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Diablo III gold dupe bug fixed with no rollback
Oh Diablo III's auction house, you are the stuff of legends. Late last night, Blizzard took Diablo III's auction house offline to deal with a gold duplication bug that was discovered to be exploited by players. All gold trades were halted at the time, and Blizzard had a patch in place within 30 minutes. But it's the later update that concerned many D3 fans as Blizzard announced that it wouldn't be rolling back the server, but instead, dealing with each individual offending account on a case-by-case basis. This is more time-consuming for the dev team, but has much less of an impact on the community as a whole.
Diablo III PS3 preorders available now
Rumors of Diablo III coming to consoles have been around since before the game ever launched, and not long ago it was confirmed that the ever-polarizing action RPG would be making its way to the PlayStation 3. Well, the time has almost come for console players to set foot in the treacherous lands of Sanctuary. Blizzard announced on its official site today that preorders for the PS3 edition of Diablo III are officially open. Players who preorder the game will be given a gift in the form of the PS3-exclusive Infernal Helm. Each character created on the PS3 version will start with this stylish chapeau that grants its wearer a bonus to experience gained. There's still no official release date for the PS3 edition of the game, however, and the studio states that it will announce the game's release date as launch draws nearer (in case that wasn't blindingly obvious). In the meantime, Diablo devotees can go ahead and lay down their preorders.
BlizzCon's golden tickets going on sale in two batches
Grabbing one of the year's hottest tickets will be a tricky prospect, especially considering how fast BlizzCon typically sells out. However, Blizzard is giving everyone a fair chance at grabbing one of these tickets by announcing the dates and times that they'll be going on sale. Dates plural? Yes indeed! BlizzCon tickets will be sold in two batches, first on Wednesday, April 24th, at 10:00 p.m. EDT and second on Saturday, April 27th, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The tickets for the two-day convention are $175, although if you want to package in the Children's Hospital benefit dinner with the show, you'll be looking at parting with $500. The studio also assured fans that it will once again be selling virtual tickets to BlizzCon, although specifics regarding these have yet to come. BlizzCon is taking place on November 8th and 9th at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
Diablo III gets massive multiplayer improvements in 1.0.8
The Diablo III team has decided that its multiplayer co-op is in need of improvement. The game's 1.0.8 patch will be bringing in some changes to support and improve the system. Matchmaking tags such as Questing, Full Act Clear, and Keywarden are being added to public games. Explicit bonuses will be added into mulitplayer mode, giving players XP, Gold Find, and Magic Find boosts. Additionally, monster health is getting dropped down from an extra 70% per additional player to 50% per additional player. The UI is going to be working in favor of co-op, too. Whenever a player deals damage to or takes damage from Elite packs or Treasure Goblins, a notification will be sent out and the player's map location will be marked for easy regrouping. Private chat channels with up to 99 other users will be made possible. You can check out the full list of updates on the official dev blog.
Diablo III's auction house 'really hurt the game'
Diablo III's joint in-game gold and real-money auction house has played a fairly major role in the game since its launch. Remember that one time when a guy used the real-money side of things to bank a cool $10,000? That apparently wasn't really what Blizzard foresaw when creating and implementing the auction house. According to former Diablo III Game Director Jay Wilson, the auction house "really hurt the game." Apparently, Blizzard anticipated that very few players would make use of the auction house and that item prices would limit the number of transactions going on. That, uh, wasn't the case. Nearly every one of Diablo III's roughly 3 million monthly users make use of the auction house, and item trading has "damaged" the item rewards in the game. Without giving up any juicy details, Wilson has mentioned that the team is working on a viable solution to the current problems posed by the auction house.
PAX East 2013: Diablo III console video sizzles, Blizzard hints at other platforms
Diablo III's console edition is the cornerstone of Blizzard's booth at PAX East this weekend (but by no means the only product on display), so it stands to reason that the team would have cut together a new trailer to promote the coming console conquest. As we mull over the prospect of Blizzard winning over large swaths of the current console market, the PA Report discovered that Diablo III might not stop at just the PlayStation 3 and 4. In an interview, Blizzard did not want to make any official announcements but did state that the Diablo III console edition was "not necessarily a Sony exclusive." You can watch the "sizzle reel" of Diablo III with the adjusted UI after the jump! Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of March 22nd to 24th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, DUST 514, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!
PAX East 2013: Blizzard showing off console Diablo III, 'something new' at PAX East
We're still getting over the shock that Blizzard is coming off the mount to attend PAX East this weekend, but we'll work through that to bring you some of the new details about the studio's appearance at the show. Blizzard will be planting roots at booth #1036 in the Expo Hall and has promised to show "something new" in the Naga theater at 10:00 a.m. EDT tomorrow morning. If you're not there, don't worry; Blizzard is streaming the event on Twitch.tv as well. The PlayStation 3 version of Diablo III will be available to check out via demo stations. This edition has been tailored to the console with a "reimagined" interface, new monsters, and different character controls. The team is also giving away lots of swag to those who pop by during the day. Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of March 22nd to 24th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, DUST 514, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!
Breakfast Topic: How do you pay to play?
Logging on to do my dailies last night, I was confronted by this dread error message. What horrible doom had befallen me? Oh, I'd forgotten to pick up a new game time card. While I'd previously given Blizzard my credit card information and let them bill me as needed, lately I've gone the game card route -- mostly because it was easy to pick up game time cards using gift cards after the holidays. But I have a feeling that laziness will win out moving forward and get me back on a credit card subscription plan. That way I can never forget and get this login error again... though on the flip side, it also means I could go weeks without playing and still pay for it. And what about you? How do you pay to play? %Poll-81550%
Diablo III plans itemization changes
Because Diablo III is such a loot-centric game, players pay attention when the developers start talking about making significant itemization changes in the upcoming months. The first part of Blizzard's future itemization philosophy is to more strongly equate rarity with power. Legendary items will drop less frequently and become a lot more powerful, and there will be a greater amount of diversity across the board. "It will take time, but our goal is to try to provide players with compelling alternatives to trifecta items when talking about what items they want to acquire," game designer Travis Day writes. Other changes include reducing the drop rate on rares, making gold sinks more exciting, and giving players better reasons to farm mobs instead of merely camping out at the auction house.
Diablo III playable offline on PS3 and PS4
Thanks to last week's announcement, players already knew that Diablo III was headed for both the PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles. Now, Blizzard Production Director John Hight and Senior VP Chris Metzen have revealed that the game will not need an internet connection for local multiplayer games on either console. In the video interview with GameTrailers, Hight also talked about new features, including a new evasion ability and having all four players in co-op mode on the same screen instead of spit onto four separate ones. Players eager to test the game out on the consoles can look forward to a hands-on experience at PAX. In the meantime, you can watch the full interview after the cut.
Diablo III, Destiny coming to PlayStation 4 [Updated]
Diablo III is slated to roar into the console market, Blizzard Senior VP Chris Metzen announced at the Sony PlayStation 4 event today in New York City. Metzen said that the action-RPG will be coming to both the PlayStation 3 and 4 and that the company is excited to show it off at PAX. "Blizzard and Sony have entered into a strategic partnership, through which we will take over the world," Metzen said. Bungie's recently unveiled Destiny will also be headed to the PS4. Bungie president Harold Ryan told the audience that the PS3 and PS4 editions will feature exclusive PlayStation-only content. The PlayStation 4 is due out for the holiday 2013 season. [Updated: Our sister site Joystiq reports that "Diablo 3 on PS4 and PS3 will feature all major PC updates." Joystiq's also nabbed a few of the very first screenies from the game on console.]
BlizzCon returns in November
After skipping a year, BlizzCon is back, baby! The near-annual Blizzard convention is scheduled to take place on November 8th and 9th at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. The event will provide hands-on time with Blizzard's titles, an e-sports tournament, dev panels, and contests. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime is looking forward to the return of the convention: "BlizzCon gives us a chance to connect with our players and share our latest projects in a very personal way. Members from all of our gaming communities have helped make this event bigger and better every time, and we look forward to meeting up and celebrating with them in November." While tickets are not yet on sale, the official BlizzCon site has posted hotel info for those looking to make Anaheim their temporary place of residence come this fall.
Path of Exile hands-on: The sequel Diablo II deserved
Like many gamers in their mid-20s, I spent countless hours in my teenage years smashing through dungeons and hunting for loot in Diablo II. The deep itemisation system made building effective characters a real challenge, and periodic ladder resets kept the loot-hunting economy fresh. Fast-forward 10 years and the highly anticipated sequel Diablo III was released to some serious complaints. The servers were unstable for weeks at launch, the always-online DRM caused a stir, and the endgame item grind was severely underwhelming. Indie developer Grinding Gear Games aims to beat Blizzard at its own game with its new free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile. The game boasts a dark art style and an unprecedented level of character customisation that lets players build truly unique characters. Each skill is itemised as a gem that can be slotted into your gear and augmented with dozens of different support gems. The sprawling passive skill system is better described as a "skill octopus," with millions of different ways to build a character. I've spent the past few weeks smashing up monsters in the Path of Exile open beta and absolutely loving it. Read on to find out why I can honestly say that Path of Exile is the sequel Diablo II deserved.
Blizzard's Rob Pardo asks players to direct Diablo III blame to him
When Jay Wilson announced that he was leaving his position as director of Diablo III, the forums were filled with responses. To the surprise of absolutely no one who has visited any forum in the history of the Internet, many of those responses were some variety of blaming Wilson for every issue the game might have or claiming that the game is clearly being abandoned completely. That didn't sit well with executive producer Rob Pardo, who took to the forums to tell players that if they want someone to blame, blame him. Pardo explains that he's extremely proud of the game and that everyone remains dedicated to making it the best it can be. At the same time, he stresses that he was responsible for hiring and overseeing Wilson's work, and he takes full responsibility for the game as a whole. The odds of this actually defusing forum vitriol are still roughly nil, but it does ensure that at least in Pardo's eyes it will be directed in a more deserving direction, and it's a classy move no matter what you think of the game.
Diablo III's Jay Wilson steps down as game director
It's hard to imagine working on the same game for seven years, but for Diablo III's Jay Wilson, that was his reality. The game director won't be making it eight, however, as Wilson is stepping down to move to another position in Blizzard. "While it's been one of the most challenging and rewarding periods of my life, I've reached a point creatively where I'm looking forward to working on something new," Wilson wrote in his farewell letter. "The powers that be at Blizzard have been gracious enough to give me that opportunity." Wilson stressed that the ongoing development of Diablo III will "carry forward as normal" and that he'll remain available to the team for consultation and advice. He discusses the creation, launch, and development of the action RPG, ending with a sentimental wave to fans: "You are the most passionate, dedicated group of gamers a designer could hope to have. I wish you all the best, and want to thank you for making this an amazing experience for me."
Diablo III lays out the welcome mat for patch 1.0.7 testing
You know that good feeling from an all-around patch that fills gaps, patches up broken supports, and leaves you with a stronger structure? Prepare to feel that when Diablo III's 1.0.7 comes to town. Currently the patch is in testing, although Blizzard has posted the contents of this "kitchen sink" update. One of Patch 1.0.7's chief features is the addition of a dueling zone to the game. This anything-goes, just-for-fun area is called the Scorched Chapel, and it's there that groups of two to four people can hang out and go all fight club on each other. While dueling has neither score nor rewards, the studio figures people might want to do it just for the fun factor. Other improvements coming with 1.0.7 include tweaks to Wizards and Monks, more crafting recipes, an increase to the amount of XP that the monster power system produces in Inferno mode, and an end to the increasing resurrection timer for consecutive deaths.
Blizzard to fix exploit with Diablo III's votekick system
Playing Diablo III in Hardcore mode is a harrowing experience. No matter how good you are as a player, there's always the real worry that one careless move will mean the end of a character you've worked hard to level. Unfortunately, sometimes that careless move is simply playing in a public game, as griefers have been exploiting the votekick system to cause players to die and lose everything through no fault of their own. As it currently stands, a player who has been kicked by popular vote will be rooted in place for 10 seconds while the character is ejected. Griefers have used this to kick players in the middle of monster-heavy rooms, resulting in 10 seconds of uninterrupted monster beatdowns with no chance of reprieve. So how to fix this? Well, Blizzard plans to remove the 10 second lockout in the near future to ensure that a kicked player can still move and respond rather than get pointlessly murdered. There's no word on whether this will be a hotfix or rolled into a larger patch, but it's definitely on the horizon. Until it goes live, though, you might not want to have your hardcore characters on a public game.
The Art of Blizzard prepares for debut
Blizzard has never been short on absolutely amazing artists, which is why we're quite keen on getting a glimpse of the new Art of Blizzard book coming out this month. The Art of Blizzard is a huge 350-page coffee table book full of hundreds of pieces of concept art and behind-the-scenes looks from the studio's entire library. To celebrate the book's launch, Blizzard invites fans to travel to southern California for a reception and exhibition at Gallery Nucleus. The reception is on January 12th with the exhibition running until February 3rd, and players may be able to snag one of the early copies of the book there as long as supplies last. The studio is sending several of its artists to the gallery to meet fans and provide autographs.
Blizzard scraps Diablo III PvP mode, starts over
You want the bad news first? Here it is: Blizzard has decided that the long-in-production Team Deathmatch mode for PvP in Diablo III isn't living up to its standards and has scrapped the entire system. Lead Designer Jay Wilson wrote a dev diary in which he explained the concept of PvP in Diablo III and why Team Deathmatch wasn't working. He said that arena combat put too much of a focus on class balance that the team doesn't want, that there wasn't enough incentive to fight more than a couple matches, and that feedback from players was mixed. You still waiting for the good news? Here you go: Wilson said that the team is implementing dueling in the new year and has started work on a completely new form of PvP for the game. This new mode will focus more on objectives and "possibly even integrate PvE elements and rewards."
Blizzard bans thousands of bots from Diablo III
Diablo III is a few thousand players lighter today, as Blizzard announced that it had culled the unfaithful (read: botters) from its fold. Community Manager Lylirra issued the grim proclamation: "We've recently issued account bans to several thousand Diablo III players who were found to be using botting programs while playing. In addition to undermining the spirit of fair play, botting, hacking, and other forms of cheating can also cause technical problems with the game as well as contribute to performance issues with the Battle.net service." Lylirra also said that the Diablo III team is working to add a feature that will allow players to directly report naughty bots through the game itself.
