During our coverage of the Penny Arcade (PAX) Expo in Seattle, I got the chance to stop by the Blizzard booth and talk to one of the talented people behind the pending Diablo 3. While our time was limited, I was able to get some information on the game. I want to thank Kacy for taking the time from the very busy convention to arrange this.
Barbarian and Witch Doctor are confirmed classes and each will have their own unique abilities and items.
Health orbs after kills. In one of the most interesting changes to the series, the roles of potions will be changed. They will no longer be as abundant as they previously were. Instead, gamers will collect health from fallen foes to replenish health. This will allow for more action as injured players will have to face off and defeat enemies to gather needed health.
Potions While there will be potions in the game as mentioned, they will be rarer and of a more special nature. The goal is for players to have less resource management in combat as having to click away from enemies and arrange and click toolbars in combat is to be avoided as much as possible.
Music While it has yet to be finalized, the plan is for the game to have the same style and tone of music as in the previous games.
Number of players co-op. While past games in the series allowed 8 players to co-op through the game’s missions, Diablo 3 may allow even more people to work the game or selected missions as a group.
Dungeon trap strategies. I had mentioned that past games in the series often set traps where players would peruse an enemy into an area only to find themselves boxed in and trapped by a surprise attack. I was told that this certainly may be something players would encounter but that the goal is to not make the game to difficult to play and would be about as hard to play as the past two games in the series. Also, as in previous games, the style of combat and strategies may differ from dungeons to above ground. As mentioned above, dungeons allow for some traps.
Controls With the reduction of potions, the game will be designed so players will not have to mainly use the mouse when playing which will limit the amount of needed interaction with the keyboard.
Length While it has yet to be determined, the game will be about same length as the previous games in the series as the number of number of acts has not been decided yet.
