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Yea, from what he described you would get 20 trait points, at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54, 57, and 60 (count them if you don't believe me :P). Bashiok probably just thought of 57/3=19 and thats where his mistake came from. At least thats why I thought it was correct at first glance. Or he described it wrong. Either way its an easy mistake to correct, so we'll hopefully get an explanation soon.

Blizzard has said that achievements (along with PvP by the way) both only give aesthetic rewards. Titles were given as an example, but there could be things like dyes and possibly some other unannounced visual customizations.

Yes we've seen it, and even if it was an actual leak it would be from mid/early 2010 and therefore wouldn't be accurate today.

Recently, through both the Battle.net forums and Twitter, we have gotten a few updates about how traits will work in Diablo III. When asked about conditional traits, Bashiok had this to say:
Although the first part of this quote is rather self-explanatory, the rest is considerably more interesting. It appears as though the percentages associated with traits have been boosted since we saw them at the Blizzcon demo, and as a result they have a bigger impact on the build of your character, leading to even more customization possibilities. However, that does not mean traits have become all that much more powerful than the last time we saw them in action. Although the percentages gained from traits has increased, the Diablo III team has also drastically decreased the amount of trait points a character will have at the maximum level.

When they were announced at Blizzcon, traits were given out every other level, and the Diablo III team quickly pointed out that they weren't quite satisfied with that setup. In a change that seems comparable to the decision to put the level cap at 60, Blizzard has decided to make trait points more valuable and less common. As a result, characters will probably end up more focused around certain traits instead of being spread out across large amounts of passives.

Despite this more focused approach, it does appear as though there are plenty of choices, including ones that wouldn't initially appear to have a place in a viable combat build.
This is not the first time Bashiok has used gold find as an example of an "interesting choice," so it would appear as though gold is actually important and as a result gold find is something to consider. However, as Bashiok points out, that does not mean theres much room for it, especially if we are only awarded nineteen trait points. In the end, we'll just have to wait for the beta to really see what traits remain and how the trait system as a whole functions.

Update to the update:
So it appears that, at least for the moment, we won't be getting traits as rewards from anything other than leveling, unlike in Diablo II where a select few quests rewarded the player with extra skill points.

Good news for you, because we're going to both of those places

Well, technically we don't really know if we're going to the Arreat Crater, but we do know (to almost a certainty) that Act 3 takes place in Bastion's Keep, which is really close to the crater. And New Tristram is a town in the first act. In fact, the WWI 2008 video, along with the BlizzCon 2008 demo, had parts underneath the cathedral and in the surrounding area.

As much as I like your optimism, I don't think its definitely coming this year. They've basically said that if all goes well during alpha/beta testing, they think it can come out during this year. As far as when the beta comes out, that probably depends on how well internal testing goes. If theres a lot of bugs, then they'll probably delay it, if not, it'll come out whenever they currently think it will.

So basically if the alpha isn't too buggy/broken, then the beta will come out Q3, if the beta goes well, the game will come out in 2011. Unfortunately for when we get to play, but fortunately for the end product, Blizzard's standard for whats acceptable is obviously very high, so some kind of delay is, IMO, likely. That doesn't mean that it will get delayed all the way to 2012 though, and even if it does it'll probably be very early (Q1/Q2) of 2012, and in the meantime we'll be playing (or at least getting boatloads of info about) the beta.

Have you seen the news threads for the screenshots/art when they get released? But seriously, the art is clearly the best part of those batches and theres really not much they can do through screenshots. Its not like their going to reveal a new area through Facebook likes. It seems like people just have too high expectations for these screenshots, but I guess I can kinda see why people would be dissapointed.

I simply don't see how people can say Blizzard is inefficient. If you look at any gaming company that consistently puts out great products (Blizzard being one of a very few companies that has pulled that off, along with companies like Valve and Bioware before DA2), they all have some kind of similar mantra where they never set any dates in stone. Its simply because games take a long time to make. Sure, you can say that there are faster ways to make a great game, but there seem to be very few ways that lead to a great game every time.

And like you said, SC2's delay was only because of B.net. I don't see how thats disturbing. If anything, the delay of SC2 was one of the more minor delays Blizz has had, and if B.net was already up and running (like it will be for D3), the game would've probably come out on time.

I think you can upgrade enchantments, but its not like they'll constantly stack. It will just be that you could enchant something with '+30 Attack' and then replace it with '+50 Attack' once you get the new recipe.

Quote from Hypz23

"Target" is a weasel world, used on purpose by Blizzard. If they were reasonably sure about when it would start, they would have given a concrete date (or at least a month).

What about those games that were on the "To be released in 2011" slide? Why was Diablo III omitted if they had any trust it would be finished this year?

I am voting November beta, after Blizzcon, because Blizzard seems unsure of itself.

Why do you think Blizzard seems unsure of itself? Pretty much every high ranking person within Blizzard thats had an interview since the last conference call has reiterated that they are aiming for a 2011 release. And as far as the slide goes, clearly it wasn't accurate, and it was labeled as from 2009 even if it was real.

Went with September. I don't see them missing a three month window, but I don't see them releasing it early on in the window either. So basically optimistic pessimism.

I feel like this would turn trading into something too close to an MMO. I think an auction house over b.net would fit Diablo much better, as its not supposed to be a game where too many people are in one session.

Quote from Legatus1982

There is some conflicting information. An official post from (I would guess) Bashiok stating that they are aiming for a 2011 release, and this conference call where there are several people who have reported bliz saying "No games expected to be released this year"
Can we get confirmation on that quote? I haven't listened to the call.

What was said during the call was that, basically, D3's release is dependent on how long the beta has to be to get rid of all the bugs/balance issues. So their working towards a 2011 release, but they expect it to take until 2012 because of potential issues that arise during the beta. Its just like at the last conference call, where they stated that the official expectation is that the game won't be ready until 2012, but they are doing what they can to get it out in 2011.

The good news is that probably means that if the release has to get bumped to 2012, it will be early on in the year.

I think we're all more than aware of Blizzard's inability to do anything early, but I still don't see them missing a three month window, especially after internal testing has already started.

Quote from Gheed2010

Beta announcement - closing ceremony
Release - April/June 2012

Wait what? A WoW xpac (and keep in mind that WoW players make up most of Blizzard's fans) would be lackluster but putting a date on a beta thats already essentially announced would make people excited? I don't think so. Not to mention that BlizzCon is in October, which isn't during Q3, so their entire three month window would have to be off.