Many have speculated on who we will be fighting in Diablo III. It has already been said that a large part of the story revolves around two demons and their impending invasion on Sanctuary. We later found out that these two demons are in fact Belial and Azmodan. We even got news that Belial will be in Act II of the game. However, this left a lot of room of who exactly are the end Act bosses and who we will be fighting throughout the game.
On G4TV's X-Play today, Adam Sessler had an interview with Rob Pardo, Executive Vice-President at Blizzard, who gave some information out about Diablo III. Most of the information he talked about was stuff that we learned about at the press event that Sixen and Force went to. While most of the information is stuff that we already knew, including no release date for beta yet, he did add one little extra bit that gives us a clue on this game.
Official Blizzard Quote:
We do have a full playable Alpha state. So, everyone inside the company can play all the way through and kill Diablo.
That's right. Whether he meant to or not, Rob Pardo told us that Big D himself, Diablo, will be the climax of the game. So, it is more than likely that we will be battling Azmodan and Belial before hand and finishing our journey with yet one more epic battle against the Lord of Terror. Just what shape he comes in and how they explain his return is still up in the air, but Diablo III will not be without Diablo.
On a side note of this information, we also know that Blizzard is planning at least a couple expansions for Diablo III so where will the story go from here if Diablo is once again destroyed?
Special thanks to chemedeiros for the source and direct word for word quote.
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Official Blizzard Quote:
Well, followers are essentially a flavor bonus to those playing through normal the first time by themselves. It provides some story elements, but more importantly it gets the idea in their head of playing with another person. You come across each of them pretty quickly in Act 1, and then they help you throughout the rest of the game if you'd like. They aren't required to beat the game on Normal, even if you're playing by yourself. Feel free to leave them behind if you like. But they are pretty awesome.
They're also tuned so that they become very weak starting in Nightmare, and then are completely unusable in Hell. Even if you're playing alone, you will probably not be using Followers past Normal - - you can try but they're going to just be one-shot back to back. They're there as a bit of flavor, to help get people into the mindset of co-op if they're a bit reluctant, and... that's about it. They won't be usable at end-game, and they'll never replace the abilities and power that another player can bring.
It provides some story elements. That's right. The companion doesn't add any more story than is already provided. Instead, the character adds color to the situation.
Official Blizzard Quote:
Followers will not stay alive easily past Normal, and if they're not alive you aren't going to be getting their bonuses. I'm sure people will try to game this, and ideally they will fail. If not we will ensure followers are not part of the end-game MF equation. They are not intended to be, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure they cannot be.
They're also tuned so that they become very weak starting in Nightmare, and then are completely unusable in Hell.
They are not intended to be [used outside of normal], and we will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure they cannot be. In other words, this is JUST A FLAVOR MECHANIC FOR NORMAL DIFFICULTY.
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ScyberDragon asked Bashiok if they had plans on how and when they are going to announce these remaining systems.
Official Blizzard Quote:
@ScyberDragon Yes. Very specifically.
I think they know exactly when they're going to start beta.
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This is just speculation.
Blizzard would not be doing any "vague or hopeful speculation" when talking to investors, they are serious about their estimations. Furthermore, Blizzard does not want to release any game after Christmas. Doing so would be bad business for any company.
For once in your life people, believe what blizzard says, ffs.
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It's not a moral boost. It's a conference call to investors so it's as accurate as they can possibly predict.
Edit: I'd also like to note that releasing any game AFTER Christmas (aka Q1) rarely ever happens.