Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

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.  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.

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

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

     -          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.

     -          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.  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.  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.

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!