Blizzard could literally sell an
empty box with the Diablo 3
cover art and it would probably sell 250,000 copies before anyone
actually
noticed.  With the
prior game being one
of the best selling PC games of all time, the sequel is bound for glory. style="">  This time around though,
we’ve got a public
beta test or two to whet our whistle with before we get our opportunity
to run
Baal runs until the sun rises... or even later!

The Diablo 3 Interface

While it’s completely possible to
just log in and kill using
your Diablo 2 instincts, knowing what new toys you have to work helps a
lot
too!  Several key
changes can be noted
here in this screenshot and otherwise.

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A
quest log tracks current quests, and those
quests are constantly directing you on the map and otherwise.

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You
now have a minimap, though you can pull up
the larger overlay with M or Tab.

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The
right orb is no longer mana for all 5
classes.  Only the
Witch Doctors use
mana.  Everyone else
uses their own
system—and we’ll elaborate more on each one in future impressions.

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Your
number hotkeys are used for more than just
potions, which now stack.  High
cost or
cooldown based abilities will likely be here for your fingers to hit,
just like
MMOs.  Not even
Diablo is free from the
influences, I guess.

The Diablo 3 Quest System

If the beta experience tells us
anything, it’s that quests
are a constant and exploration might go to the wayside. 
You’ll have indicators on your map and
minimap indicating where to go and what to do or kill at any given time. style="">  Running into NPCs begins
dialogue that every
player will see, but the player who started the conversation will be
the one
speaking.  Don’t
worry, this isn’t Star War : The Old
Republic; they can’t
screw you over as the dialogues lack any kind of options. style="">  Still, the framework for
the story is there
and enjoyable your first time through.

Quests range from journeys across the
wilderness, to finding
artifacts or slaying beasts.  Optional
bonuses are present and grants a hefty reward for completion, which
gives some
substance to the ‘go here, kill here’ quest style. 
The beta itself, while constantly keeping you
moving, is actually quite short in length. 
You should be able to run the whole thing within an
hour—so those of you
who aren’t in it, relax, you’re not missing all of Act I or anything.

There’s even some crafting
shenanigans, and I don’t just
mean combining in your ol’ cube.

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The
good news is you don't have
to compete for crafting loot.  All items dropped in
multiplayer games on your screen are for you, other players get their
own designated loot.

While recipes will drop in the wild,
training these up
requires a lot of farming for an uncommon drop and that’s just to get
past the
initiate level.  It’ll
be interesting to
see how the grind for crafting interacts with the auction house, both
cash and
goldwise.

Diablo 3 Combat

The first things you’ll notice
probably are the physics.  Things
are flying everywhere—if it’s not a
fireball, it’s a skull, limb, or complete body. 
Dungeons crumble and barrels tumble from the impact and
chaos of
combat.  Your blows
have some serious
weight to them and enemies die in an appropriate fashion for the level
of force
you hit them with.

Management of your combat resources
is a much bigger deal
now, since mana potions are out the window for 4 of the 5 classes at
least.  Most classes
have a means to
build and spend their resource through combat. 
The rationing of your powers is important since normal
attacks do
comparatively little damage as opposed to skill usage.

The difficulty isn’t really there
yet, but as this is an
extremely early scenario in the game, it’s best everyone gets to
experience the
full demo rather than get frustrated with a boss or a random enchanted
minion
that mops the floor with them repeatedly.

 

Hopefully they turn things up a notch
and keep the content
flowing!  I'll keep you guys posted, and maybe some of you can
join me by then!