Significant Changes Being Made to Diablo III

[Shawn Zipay]

Blizzard likes to keep their community up to date on what is going on with the development of Diablo III (aside from not having a release date yet). Their latest update informs the masses that there will be significant changes made to the game that impact identification of items, town portals, selling items, and character attributes.

Scrolls of Identification are no longer in the game. Unidentified items and the act of identifying them is still very much part of the game, but now when obtaining an unidentified item you'll simply right click it, a short cast timer will occur as your character examines the item, and it will become identified. We love the double-discovery of finding a present and then unwrapping it, but we don't think it requires a physical item you have to find and keep in your bags to get the same effect. From now on you'll just be able to inherently identify all your items, no need to carry scrolls. Your character in Diablo III is just that badass now.

As mentioned, other notable changes include the addition of a Town Portal.

So we've decided to remove the Cauldron of Jordan and Nephalem Cube. They were implemented to allow for salvaging and selling items when there was no quick and easy way to return to town. Now that the Stone of Recall exists, we found that keeping the Cauldron and Cube in the game detracted from the benefits of returning to town to sell items, salvage, craft, and interact with the townsfolk. It’s a good idea to break up combat so that players have a moment to evaluate their gear and crafting options before venturing back out. In addition, we've decided to just call it what it is and the Stone of Recall is now Town Portal, and is integrated directly onto the skill bar UI.

The Blacksmith will now salvage items, although common (white) items are no longer salvageable. Core character attributes are now Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Vitality. Defense, Attack, and Precision are now dropped.

Strength
+Barbarian damage
+Armor

Dexterity
+Demon Hunter damage
+Monk damage
+Dodge

Intellect
+Wizard damage
+Witch Doctor damage
+Health from globes

Vitality
+Health

If these weren't enough for you, there are even more changes detailed at the Diablo III website. From the looks of things, don't be too surprised if Diablo III is pushed out of a potential Q1 2012 release window. In fact, it may be released closer to 2013 at this rate.

[SgtMattBaker]

At this rate my grandchildren will be playing Diablo III....

[Linux]

This is starting to feel a lot like Half-Life: EP3/Half-Life3. Come on blizzard just release the damn game and patch it over the next 11 years to make us happy... I need something to entertain myself during work .