DiabloFans

Amen. Good. Finally. They should have taken better care of this in D2. He couldn't have put it any better.

PvP, bring it on. PK griefing? Time for it to retire.

No they won't. They'll buy the game, give the new classes a chance and in all likelihood love them.

Everyone has a favorite class in D2. The things about those classes were fun for a reason, and those reasons will be back in D3 (albeit in different forms) with plenty of new stuff the fans never even knew they'd love. That's how this all goes.

Couldn't love the change more. I think enough has been said by the Devs themselves to show this is the replacement for the summoner / poison / wall / etc. role to hold any real hope that the Necro will be back. They've said the Barb. is a bit of an exception in being rolled over from D2, and if we assume 5 classes then the Sorc (pure caster type) will probably be the only other rolled over, with 3 new classes (WD, etc.) rounding things out.

Whenever the WD or classes discussion comes up I get the distinct impression they're trying to really breathe new life into the franchise with new classes, skills and material. Only 5 (probably) classes, and they're going to have 2 eerily similar classes?

All that said, I think the WD is an incredibly fun idea. You get the fun stuff from the Necro / summoning side with enough that's new that it doesn't feel like a Necro in new clothing. Great aesthetics, fun looking skills...what's not to love?

I agree about what has been said about boss difficulty -- if they make them un-soloable the game starts to feel way too much like an MMO. I'm sure there are innovative ways to make them a challenge in groups and still soloable when faced 1v1 that goes beyond adding HP, as has been said.

I'm not sure about Mercs -- if we make them too involved and customizable then every class suddenly has a 'pet class' addition that I just don't see being that interesting. I like the perspective of D2, where you could give them some equipment, tweak them a bit but not so much you really had to get invested in it.

Great interview, seems like a guy who knows what he's talking about.

I would like point out that his discussion about the Witch Doctor puts a huge damper on the few people holding out hope for the Necromancer's return. It really seems obvious he's the replacement in that summoner / poison / walls / etc. role with a new spin and some new skills / tactics.

He reiterates the devs saying that the Barbarian is an exception in being carried over from the previous game, and IMHO the pure caster Sorceress / Mage / whatever will probably be the only other of the 5 classes that is carried over. The other 3 (WD included) will be new or at least 'spun' classes (e.g., the WD as a 'spin' on the Necro).

I'm sure there will be one at some point.

My wild speculation: announced / released at Blizzcon in October.

I'm actually worried that going back to play D2 again would ruin the memories and nostalgia of it all for me, though I'm severely tempted to just go do some solo play to help kill the D3 wait time...I won't mention what game I've been playing to bide the time because I know I'd get lynched on this forum

Quote from "Aeromir" »

How about this. You guys play with yourselves here while I discuss what's going on in the threads that actually mean something.

*unsubscribed*

Translation: I know I'm wrong and cannot justify my opinion but I'm either too proud or too infantile to say as such so I'm just going to go post on a different thread where people will leave me alone.

Good riddance.

I don't think Blizz works with an 'iconic' class in mind.

Besides, what does that even mean? Ask people what the iconic class was in D2 and you'll get responses for every class, everyone has their own favorite.

Quote from "Aeromir" »

Really? Even though D3 has been in development for 3+ years minimum?

Perhaps the interviewer meant Diablo 3 would launch with a more basic b.net, and when SC2 launches with the new b.net, those features will be updated to D3.

Yes. Because that makes any kind of sense whatsoever.

I guess that explains why SC2 was announced a year ahead of D3 and they've already allowed limited public playing of the game?

Please, start a new topic or put up a poll or something if you really honestly think there is even the slightest justification for thinking that D3 will launch first. I hope that seeing that no-one else even remotely agrees with you will finally end the sewage you keep dripping into all these threads. Wow. Seriously. :rolleyes:

Quote from "Aeromir" »

You are a special case dude.

WOTLK 2 months before D3.

SC2 2 months after D3.

6 month window. THINK.

Speaking of people who need to think...you're on meth, dude.

SC2 AFTER D3? Really? Multiple interviews have stated the new Battle.Net will be launched for SC2, and one dev saying that many of the features in development for B.net for SC2 'will roll over to D3 when it launches'.

Not to mention the obvious fact that SC2 is much further along in the dev process than D3. Much much much.

Quote from "psyfect" »

Please don't use the Lords name in vain in my thread.

Hmm? I didn't say anything about Bill Roper. . .

The lead dev. (I believe that was his position) has stated in an interview the game has been in development for 4-5 (let's just say 4.5 and be done with it) years, while Blizz North was around and working on the project, and then eventually it was brought to Irvine and 'rebooted' with a different development team.

Quote from "Aeromir" »

There is no "hydra plan"...

*scowl*

Thanks for clearing that up. While you're here, how is it to work at Blizzard? Is it as fun as we might think?

I'm asking because only a Blizz dev. working on the game would know that for a fact. So either that's what you are, or you're just another annoying forum trawler masquerading your opinion for fact without even having the courtesy to elaborate on your opinion.

Settle down guys, Christ. Speculation is pretty much all we have to do right now, so just enjoy it a bit.

This isn't a terribly stupid idea. Blah blah blah business strategy -- the fact is that each franchise is a very different genre than the others, and each has both hardcore and shared fanbases.

Do I personally think this is true? I'm really not sure. It seems unlikely mostly because I don't see D3 coming out this soon, although I can hope. The different audiences available to each game keeps it from being a stupid business strategy, IMHO.

However, I'm sure Blizz would like to allow each game some unique time in the spotlight for hype, press coverage, etc. I could see them easily launching all 3 games within the same 1-year period; i.e., WotLK by the holidays, SC2 in early 2009 and D3 by summer 2009. That's still kicking the gaming industry right in the gut with the 'hydra' plan, but allows each game some time to revel in its own hype.