DiabloFans

I can honestly say that I am very excited for the expansion. It takes a lot of what I disliked about the game, and gave me what I wanted to see.

Can't say I'm really bothered about the "social" side of the game. I play it with my friends. We jump in and out of games and trade items as we find them, that is my social side concerning Diablo. However, I thought the fact that Blizzard will be adding clans to the game would be a good addition to the social side of things. They haven't revealed everything about it yet, so it is difficult for me to say whether it will be good or not, but I think it has lots of promise.

Also, I'm not going to go into the economy gripe people seem to have. No items can be seen as waste in the game, not as long as you can salvage stuff. With the addition of the mystic and the fact that the AH is leaving, the game is going to be very different, so I'd like to wait and see how it goes. But like I said, I played with my friends and my gear is self found, so I doubt my playstyle is going to be affected a whole lot.

From what I've seen, I can definitely say I am very excited. This is about the same level of excitement I got when details of LoD came out, and if impressions can be trusted, then I do believe RoS will be D3's LoD.

However, it will most certainly not be the peak of D3. I think RoS will make a lot of mistakes. But just as D2 had its 1.10, I think D3 will also have that one defining patch that will make it truly shine.

D2 had an endgame? Are you being serious? There were basically only the three difficulties, and all you had at the end to keep yourself busy with were boss runs to get runes or sets. How is that an endgame?

And your gargle of a post is a bit incoherent. Statements end with question marks, and you're asking for a ladder, meanwhile they're already working on the ladder system. Perhaps you should bring more to the table, like adding some thoughtful and discussion worthy ideas, like a lot of players are doing these days. Just have a look at the diablofans front page.

But you're only throwing words together in an effort to make sentences. Sorry if I am being overcritical, but lately the quality of post pertaining to endgame have become really solid, so seeing a post like this is just saddening. I do agree that D3 could do with some more elements to add varying challenges to the game, but at least add some actual substance when you make a post, and if you can't then why not jump into one of the myriad of existing "useful" posts to add your thoughts in there.

The worst part is how we can easily point out the parts in D3's unfolding story where they went wrong. It's not one of those "I can't quite put my finger on it, it's just plain bad" cases, this is a matter of us knowing exactly where they got it wrong. What makes it bad is the fact that they could have easily avoided it, had they paid closer attention.

Anyways, here's my main gripe:

The villains
As others have pointed out, the whole 'twisting of the mustache while divulging the evil plot, then the whole shacking of fist because they could have gotten away with it if your Scooby gang hadn't interfered' schtick is just terrible writing. Remember in D2 when we were on the trail of the Wandered, and as we were preparing to face Baal Duriel popped out. Now that was a an epic twist. And I remember when I first got to Mephisto, I crapped myself because his reputation preceded him, his presence was felt all throughout the act without him constantly trying to convince me how bad ass he is.

The point was for Blizzard to let you feel the strength of the bosses. As they say in literature: show, don't tell. D3 was an excruciating exercise in telling.

The Butcher was fine, but from there it fell apart.

Belial is supposed to be a liar and manipulator, but his entire act was paper thin. I don't know if Blizzard imagines that they're making games for kids who'll be put off by complex plots, or if they just think we are dumb, but come on. If your hero couldn't point at Prince Hakan by the time you went into the sewers, then Sanctuary must be filled with gullible idiots if this eluded them. Act 2 should have been a complex "whodunit" story, where you couldn't trust anyone, and even started suspecting your own allies.

Azmodan, as everyone else point out by now, must be hell's most incompetent general. His best strategy seems to be a zerg rush, throw as many demons at said keep and look on in dumbfounded idiocy as you hope the walls crumble under the sheer weight of the army's numbers and the weight of his own stupidity. Act 3 should have been about tactics and trying to outsmart him, but failing, not you having to mop up wherever you're needed. No, it should have been you fighting the best way you can, but Azmodan always being a step ahead. By the end of the act you should have been Bastion Keep at the end of its ropes. Then you make a mad dash towards Azmodan, hoping to sever the head off the beast because you realize you can't outmaneuver Azmodan and as such only a mad, all-out rush is the only way to win.

Diablo, proved so sad in the end, it just mad heaven look pathetic. Iskatu, Rakanoth, Izual, these were the guys responsible for bringing the angelic host to its knees. Now I know the PC is a Nephalem, but come on. You single-handedly take out the force that beat the angels? How did the High Heavens wage the eternal war, exactly? There should have been more camaraderie between you and the sympathizing angels. Why didn't Act 4 get its own town? That was just lazy, real lazy, Blizzard. How about a High Heaven outpost where they could have clued you in and created a sense of resistance to the player. Iskatu, Rakanoth and Izual should also have been given a bit more of a presence, make them "worthy" of being hell's champions berating Heaven's best. And Diablo was just ... meh. The breaking the seals part in D2 had a great impact in setting up the magnitude of Diablo. In D3 they should have had a similar opening. Many you having to activate angelic braziers that would have blocked some of Diablo's influence in Heaven, which in turn anger him enough to turn his ire onto you. And less talking! Why pause mid fight to give an speech about his feelings and explain how angry he is. Again, show, don't tell.

Now as for the minor players that annoyed me:

Zoltan Kulle did not phase me the first play through. However, after consecutive play throughs it saddened me more and more just how they missed a great opportunity here. The idea was simple, take a character with a sense of purpose, who knows his Nephalem heritage and wants to claim his right. He basically mirrors the PC in a startling way, which is supposed to let the players reflect on their own choices and what defines them and makes them worthy heroes. Instead we get a guy who is just an a-hole with a maniacal laugh, you can practically envision Kulle rubbing his hands together with an evil Jafar grin. It seems that Blizzard wanted a deep character to show how Nephalem power can lure you, but instead they just gave us a corny loon.

Maghda is just perplexing, she doesn't even feel like a natural fit in a Daiblo game. The insect concept could have worked, but the moth headress and wings was just an odd design. What feel were they going for? Was she supposed to look timid, thereby giving you a false sense of security? When she killed Cain it just felt desperate. They had one of the most rediculous characters kill the cornerstone character of the Diablo series, probably in a bid to convince the player that she may look silly, but actually she is vicious. And when players lashed out they were probably confused. No, she just doesn't make sense, and it made Cain's death feel invalidated and unworthy. If they wanted Cain to have impact, then the killer should have been a force to be reckoned with. And when Maghda was supposed to have an insect design, they should have chosen more threatening qualities and made her feel like more of a threat than an annoyance.

Looks good, all round. I must say, each of these datamine threads makes me even more excited than the last. Can't wait for Blizzcon.

Quote from maka

WoW can blow me.

WoW's so desperate, it will probably try.

Now an entirely different gaming market can share in our disappointment.

I actually stopped playing D3 a while back. *gasp* Yes, I did. Well, I paid for the game so I guess I have the right not to play it. I still come to this site though, checking up on details.

At present I'm waiting for GW2, and I'm going to play the living hell out of it. Saying 'blah, it's a dumb game', or 'enjoy your fail game' is just ignorant babbling. The BWEs are brilliant, and I plan on playing for a long time to come.

However, there will be a day when I'll want something different, need a break from that game. Then, when D3 1.1.5 (or whatever) is out, I will return. I plan on keeping my D3 version up to date, and I can't wait for the day when I come back and find an improved game. I might even start a new character, just to see how much has changed, and the thought of it really excites me.

If you read this and shake your head, wondering, it's true, a person can enjoy and like two games, even at the same time. I plan on enjoying GW2 and D3 for many years to come, and try some other games in between.

I quit D2 the same way, because I saw the strong game underneath, and just like D3, I know and trust that on that solid foundation a brilliant game will one day attest to this fact.

The game is just beyond amazing, it truly has everything for everyone. From insanely casual to hardcore competitive content. I really don't see how anyone cannot want to play this game.

Firstly there is the the personal story. I did a thorough run through of the charr and asura starter stories, and wow! There is so much variation and well presented storytelling going on, at times I was so enthralled that I had to remind myself that the game is actually an MMO as well.

Then there are the hearts and events. I'm amazed how well they go hand in hand. Hearts are little things that are happening around the zone, like the charr are building in an area, so you can detonate tree stumps, or grenade wasp nests out of trees, or just drive away the local fire legion trouble makers.
Then there are events that happen all around, for instance, while I was cleaning up around the charr camp, a large group of flame legion attacked the encampment. We drove them off, but the structures suffered a bit of damage. So, the lead engineer at the camp went off looking for scrap metal to fix the damage. You can pickup pieces lying around to give him a hand, after which he will repair the camp. taking part in this event actually fills your renown heart as well.

Then there are mini games. I joined in the keg brawl and it was so much fun. There are two teams on a frozen lake, and two brewers on opposite ends. Kegs keep appearing in the middle of the lake, and you need to get them to your brewer. Players without kegs can knock players over, or kick them, or stomp to trip opponents. Meanwhile, when you have a keg you can spill some on the ground to slip pursuers, or bash them over the head with the keg, or punt it, or take a sip for a speed boost.

There was so much to do. At one stage I was just standing around, not sure what to do next. Then, an area announcement stated that the lionguard are prepping to invade a norn battle camp. It was a two-pronged attack to first take the towers, then we cleared the center and had to occupy it for a minute. Then a large norn beast appeared, and about twenty of us fought for almost ten minutes to kill the thing.
That's one example of how small events kept building into large scale fun-fests.

Unfortunately I didn't get to try WvW. I really, really wanted to, but had a bad stomach bug which had me out of commission half the weekend. It looks great to, and I've heard great things.
Likewise, I didn't get to level 30, so I couldn't try out the Ascalonian Catacombs, the first dungeon in the game. The videos looked great though, and I'm really bummed that I wouldn't try out these two aspects of the game.

What I can say is, the combat is smooth, fast, and frenetic. You need to stay aware of the battlefield, and know what your skills do. just standing on one spot, spamming the no.1 key will get you killing. The skills are varied, and the professions are so diverse. Even a single profession can be played so differently between two players.

Everything about this game is so polished. It's so natural to play, and insanely easy to work with other players. I formed a lot of groups, because the game wants you to work with players, even will just questing.

Every person should give GW2 a try. Best of all is, pay once and play forever. There was even a developer video not long ago where they stated that due to the natural flow of content, they will be adding more after release and keep the game building for years to come.

Quote from Serpenth

I'll be honest I'm not enjoying it. Way too RP for me. There's other little things too, but eh I don't feel like going back and forth. It's just not for me. Just a personal thing really.

RP? I don't understand what you mean by it's 'too RP'. I can only assume that you are referring to the personal story. If so then I think your making a mistake to base your entire opinion of the game on a mode that represents less than a quarter of the entire product. Like I said above, you can play the entire game, and not even do the personal story past the ten minute introduction.

You can jump between events, level through crafting, stick to renown hearts, try mini games, just explore, focus on dungeons (each dungeon has two modes: story (easy) and explorable (hard), and has multiple paths and outcomes), or you can solely PvP by just doing WvW, or you can jump straight into structured pvp and play competitively.

This game has so much variation, and doesn't even force any of it on you. The developers have even stated that you can level a character to 80 by just crafting and never even set a foot outside the city.

Quote from DUNCAN99

Dude relax. By the way. They were making diablo 3 an action rpg still playing like a hack n slash but with mmo features. i'm quite sure it wouldn't be anything like WoW. More Diablo 2 LoD with more players. Actually sounds pretty darn awesome to me.

Umm, no. This is from a recent interview:

"You know, when I was working at Blizzard a million years ago we were working on Diablo 3 and it was an MMO. We were going to do the Diablo version of World of Warcraft. Blizzard obviously changed that pretty quickly, so we left to start Flagship Studios and we brought in a lot of the guys, so they rebooted with their own team."

Let me rephrase the critical part "We were going to do the Diablo version of World of Warcraft." Blizzard North was effectively turning Diablo into World of Diablo, they were making it an MMO. I always laugh when people start praising the North team as this infallible pillar of gaming excellence. In effect, they were destroying Diablo behind the scenes, and most people didn't even know about it. The D3 we have today is far closer to the Diablo franchise than the World of Diablo they were making, and Shaefer even applauded the current effort Blizzard has put into the game. I think that says a lot.

It just feels like such a waste, really, it does. I know there's this whole discussion going on about maturity levels and creative rage outlets and all that, but I don't really care to involve myself in any of that.

I've bought games I felt disappointed in, likewise with film dvds and music cds. In those cases I just store it away, or give it to someone else who might enjoy it. Its just upbringing I guess. My dad went a long way to instil a sense of value and respect in me, and when I saw this, it was the first thing that came to my mind. Yes, its his property, but what you do with your things and how you behave in your spare time reflects on who you are as a human being.

Taking an item, especially something with high cost and meticulously 'taking it apart' is just so damaged, and I'm not talking about the item in question. What must go through your mind, to take some of your time (a valued commodity) and just wreak havoc on a lifeless tool meant for entertainment. While it might be deemed as 'worthy entertainment' by some, just take a moment and reflect what the actual act entailed. He destroyed something, taking his time and mentally planned out how he could ruin it to the best of his capabilities.

Afterwards he dedicated more of his time to actually photograph it and display it on the internet for the world to see. For what purpose? Recognition? Acceptance? Praise? And the final photograph ... what was the point of that, to display Cain in such a manner...?

I know some of you are miffed at this game, and by all means, be if you must. But just take a step back, forget what the game was, and see it as a nameless item. Think how you would react if you find a friend, or sibling, or even your own child doing something like this. Perhaps it might even be a present you bought him or her. Is this a constructive way for a person to act? You may think that this must have been a cathartic experience for this individual, but let me ask one last thing: when has it ever been good practice to commit senseless destruction for no other reason than to feel good about it?

Trading

1. Make gold (and blood shards) bind on account, but allow all items to be trade-able.
2. Make trading cost blood shards, and let the cost vary depending on the relative level/power of the item.
3. Make only clan members and friends who were your friend when you got the item (from a drop) people you can trade with (makes it so random people can't trade).

This makes trading closed to your social circle, encouraging you to have more friends and stay with an active clan. It transforms it from a total single player to a nice coop experience that is immune (or maybe not, open to constructive criticism) to hacking or botting or whatever.

Nephalem Rifts

Make rift keystones of varying rarity (normal, magic, rare, legendary) where:

a. The rarer it is, the higher the density, and a density percent mod will appear on the keystone tooltip

b. Legendaries aren't necessarily higher density, they have really cool, predetermined layouts, mobs, and perhaps semi-guaranteed treasure (i.e. Stomach of the Flame Giant Keystone: gives a horadric cache with a bunch of fire items/legendaries)

c. Craft keystone at the jeweler (give him a use, they're kind of gems) where:

i. Legendaries will need whites as a base (just like leg crafting now in ros), and other rare and unique crafting materials per cool map design (à la pony level staff)

ii. You can combine 2 (or 3) whites for a blue, 2-3 blues for a yellow

iii. You can re-roll the density on the keystone for mat costs (gold, blood shards, anything really)

d. Let legendaries (or maybe rares too) give you 1-4 (or however many is a good number) allies (sometimes, kind of rare) that can be things like golems, knights, angels, etc.

Overall, this would shale up the rifts EVEN MORE. The ally idea is a lot of content/ assets for the devs to add, but the rarity thing is not very hard at all, especially if you remove the legendary idea.

Paragon

1. Make the earlier levels slower (1-80), make the mid levels faster (81-300).
2. Make another skill tab that lets you improve you currently equipped active and passive skills.
3. Add these things to whichever tab deemed fit:

a. Each different type of elemental skill damage

b. Thorns

c. Life Regen

d. LoH

e. Projectile Speed/Range

f. Splash Damage

g. increased duration of your cc effects

h. etc. <comment cool stats

These are some changes that would make a difference. Maybe not awesome ideas, but the skill upgrading would be cool. Although there could be a problem with the constant respec issue.


Notes

I'll update it with edits, but that's all for now

seems like new legedarys are more main stat oriented then CritChence/Damage and atack speed...

SAD

Hello everyone

I am currently uploading the videos from Blizzcon to my youtube channel. youtube.com/kutshup101

Here are few of them :

DIII Videos :
Diablo 3 Preview Panel : Here
Diablo 3 Crusader and Gameplay Panel : Here
Diablo 3 Open Q&A Panel : Here
Bringing Death into Life Panel : Here
Diablo III Lore Q&A Panel : Here

Warcraft Videos:
World of Warcraft What's Next Panel : Here
World of Warcraft The Adventure Continues Panel : Here
World of Warcraft Q&A Panel : Here
World of Warcraft Live Raid Panel : Here
World of Warcraft Raiding , Gameplay ,and Questing Panel : Here
Warcraft Movie Panel : Here
World of Warcraft Art Panel : Here

Starcraft 2:
Starcraft 2 Updates Panel : Here
Starcraft 2 Exhibition : Here

Hearthstone:
Hearthstone Fireside Chat Panel : Here
Hearthstone Exhibition(Tournament) Full : Here

Heroes of the Storm:
Heroes of the Storm Deep Dive Panel : Here
Heroes of the Storm Live Match Panel : Here
Heroes of the Storm Overview : Here

Contests:
Blizzcon Contests First Part : Here
Blizzcon Contests Second Part : Here


All the Videos are in HD.
Also if you need anything uploaded from Blizzcon , let me know before it is too late.

Quote from Azjenco

Quote from Ducha

So if we look at it, do you think that if they did go ahead with the Diablo MMO idea, do you think they'd still make WoW? It'd be interesting if the warcraft franchise and the diablo franchise switched places, Diablo being the huge MMO and Warcraft being continued on the rts genre and all.

Back then the MMO genre was still in its infancy. Blizzard couldn't have imagined that WoW would grow into the powerhouse we know today, how could they? They are developing Titan and they've said in interviews that they think they two can coexist. Just as Starcraft still kept going strong after Warcraft 3 was released. Different strokes for different folks.
They did scrap North's work, however, and opted to revise D3 into an entirely different take. So, who knows, maybe Blizzard wasn't happy with what North was doing after all.

You're not allowed to suggest that Blizzard North was anything short of infalliable. They were the gods of everything. Nothing they ever did could have ever been wrong. You're also not allowed to suggest that Activision-Blizzard could have possibly done something better than Blizzard North. It's a federal offense and the lynch mob will be lighting their torches and coming for your head along with Jay Wilson's head.

There is no place on these forums for being reasonable and calm.

Quote from Kayzer

It was a great read but as I stated in that thread, Blizzard aren't the same Blizzard anymore. Diablo III was a huge success for Blizzard but in terms of quality it was terrible. It's painfully obvious Blizzard rushed this game out to the shelves. Any future Blizzard games story will be destroyed just as Diablo III was and it's a damn shame.

roflol

Case in point right here, read my above post; then, please show me a SINGLE Blizzard game of old that had "better" storytelling.

From the mouth of the OLD Diablo lead dev "We just tacked on the story after the game was done" (Diablo) Whats HILARIOUS is your "Blizzard of old" did EXACTLY what you just blasted the "New Blizzard" for, they slapped together a story to rush out the game, and they straight up admit to it. (take those rose tinted glasses off FFS)

Guess your "Blizzard of old" was not exactly how you seem to remember it eh?

I am still surprised at people crying about D3's story, when literally every single Blizzard game ever has had a pulpy/cheesy story.

They just had MORE story/dialog in D3.

The hypocrisy in this community is hilarious.

Also; the funniest part?

http://diablo.incgam...d3-tl2-and-more

The OG creator/lead dev from Diablo 2; "I like how they told the story, though. It’s interesting and I’m compelled to listen to it and I like how it’s related. The method they used to tell it is nicely-done, and it doesn’t feel tacked on. I will admit that in previous incarnations of Diablo the story was completely tacked on after the game was complete, and it felt that way. I think Diablo III did a great job integrating the story into the mechanics. "

Did people just forget the space hicks in SC1? Or basically ANYTHING ever said in a WC title? Or the "tacked on" dissconnected story from Diablo? (Zug-zug? Y U SO NOSTALGIC?)

Blizzard has never been known for deep engaging storys, they have always been "cool" and "fun", and a background for the feature of thier titles, the gameplay.

"Corruption has the strength of deceit, but innocence holds the power of purity." - Adria, Diablo

Is Adria just a 'cultist' or corrupted mortal, or is she something more than that?

I'm skeptical that they were planning it way back then, but the townsfolk in D1 cast her as a super duper magic user, or something not human.

Why don't that old crone do something for a change? Sure, sure, she's got stuff, but you listen to me - she's unnatural! She doesn't eat or drink, and you can't trust somebody that desn't drink at least a little.

The witch, Adria, is an anomaly here in Tristram. She arrived shortly after the Cathedral was desecrated while most everyone else was fleeing. She had a small hut constructed at the edge of town, seemingly overnight, and has access to many strange and arcane artifacts and tomes of knowledge that even I have never seen before.

Adria is wise beyond her years, but I must admit - she frightens me a little. Well, no matter. If you ever have need to trade in items of sorcery, she maintains a strangely well-stocked hut just across the river.

While I use some limited forms of magic to create the potions and elixirs I store here, Adria is a true sorceress. She never seems to sleep, and she always has access to many mystic tomes and artifacts. I believe her hut may be much more than the hovel it appears to be, but I can never seem to get inside the place.

Adria truly bothers me. Sure, Cain is creepy in what he can tell you about the past, but that witch can see into your past. She always has some way to get whatever she needs, too. Adria gets her hands on more merchandise than I've seen pass through the gates of the King's Bazaar during High Festival.

Doesn't eat, drink, or sleep allegedly, able to get whatever she wants, most of the town is scared of her.. She seemed to know a lot about what was really going on too.

"No Mortal can truly understand the mind of the Demon. Never let their erratic actions confuse you, as that too may be their plan."

"There are many artifacts within the Labyrinth that hold powers beyond the comprehension of mortals. Some of these hold fantastic power that can be used by either the Light or the Darkness. Securing the Anvil from below could shift the course of the Sin War towards the Light."

"This is a place of great anguish and terror, and so serves its master well. Tread carefully or you may yourself be staying much longer than you had anticipated."

"You will become an eternal servant of the Dark Lords should you perish within this cursed domain. Enter the Chamber of Bone at your own peril."

"The Heaven Stone is very powerful, and were it any but Griswold who bid you find it, I would prevent it. He will harness its powers and its use will be for the good of us all."

So since we now know she was apparently an agent of Diablo, we can assume she was there to make sure things went according to plan. What is this plan?

From the D2:LoD instruction manual:




That was from something called Prophecies of the Final Day by the way.

Druid lore excerpt:

They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells.

At the Túr Dúlra, the greatest of the Druid Colleges, stands the magnificent oak Glór-an-Fháidha. This tree is the most revered source of the Druids guidance and teachings. Under its branches, for centuries, the Druids of Scosglen have been honing not only their powerful arsenal of natural magic, but also the martial skills they have retained from their Barbarian forefathers. They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world’s last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand. Lashing out in fury at the recent insurgence of denizens of the Burning Hells, and at the Leathdhiabhala, demonic corruptions of the very creatures they have vowed to defend, the Druids have, at last, emerged from their forests, marching toward their final stand against the minions of Chaos.

In D3 we have the Prophecy for the End of Days, which is a 'warning about Hell's ultimate invasion of our world,' and the pieces of the puzzle mentioned in it seem to be coming true. We were also supposed to learn why the Hells didn't invade 20 years ago in the game.

And at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost (Malthael being gone, or the mortal Tyrael's demise in X1?)
as Justice falls upon the world of men. (Obvious events of D3, or that Tyrael became aspect of Wis., leaving Justice to Nephalem)
Valor shall turn to Wrath - (Imperius raging over Hell invading, or Imperius waging war on the impudent Nephalem)
as all Hope is swallowed by Despair. (In-game events, or tied to the above, Imp's betrayal. sends Auriel into despair)
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all -(All these lines reference angels/aspects, Malthael returns as Death?)
as all Fate lies shattered forever. (In-game event of the Hero 'shattering' the fate that Heaven lost that day, or a future event where Ithereal gets destroyed, probably by Malthael/Imperius)

So we know the culmination of this storyline, which they have claimed will get resolved in D3, is this final battle/ultimate invasion of Sanctuary by Hell. Something that has been prophecized for centuries and something that the Evils themselves seem to know all about.

I think Diablo/Evils knew what would happen in D3 as well, I forget what he says exactly but why would he send Adria away to be used later if he, and the angels, were sure he would succeed in the attack on Heaven, since it was kind of 'written in stone' on the Scroll of Fate?

My answer, he wouldn't, he knew he would be stopped, in fact, he and Belial/Azmodan wanted to be stopped. Ever look at the various forums and see all the complaints about 'beLIEal more like beFAILal amirite?? lol y is azodon tellin me where he attack??? teh gaem say he the gr8est general. y iz diab0 tellin me bout his hell gaets????' They were leading you along to do exactly what they wanted you to do.

Sidebar: The Prime Evil, supposedly Diablo in the game. The following is said by Tyrael while on the quest, Prime Evil.

Player:
What do you speak of when you say the Prime Evil?
Tyrael:
It is the sum total of all seven Evils housed within one body. There is an ancient legend, known only to a few, of the great Dragon, Tathamet, who was the original embodiment of evil.
The legend says that he was ripped apart during an epic battle with Anu, and that the Burning Hells are composed of his remains.
Player:
Who is Anu?
Tyrael:
Just as Tathamet was the ultimate evil, Anu was the ultimate good. It is said by some that the Crystal Arch is all that remains of this great warrior.
Player:
Then Diablo seeks to become the Dragon once again?
Tyrael:
In a manner of speaking, yes.

So, either one Nephalem can be more powerful than what is basically one of the (accidental) creator gods of the entire universe, or Diablo was merely supercharged with the souls of the other Evils, and not really the Prime Evil, which even the CE artbook shows as a hydra thing. (Coincidence, D3 was codenamed Project Hydra?)

Also said by Tyrael:

But the Black Soulstone is flawed and cannot contain that many demons for long. We must capture Azmodan within it and shatter it... lest all these Evils be reborn.

Obviously that didn't happen because for reasons we will likely only know in the expansion, Diablo's body was just tossed over the side of Heaven, and the Black Soulstone was left intact.

Now, I don't know if it means anything, but it's near the end of the artbook. They're either concept art for the Child Emperor, or possibly for the future plot. Right below what looks to be a Cultist drawing, there are 3 children sitting 'Indian style' with elaborate headdresses. The middle one has a mostly different clothing style than the other two, while the other two are almost identical to each other. They both have 'face paint' or tattoos in red and blue on their face and bare chests, their eyes are shut with the 'paint' filling in their eyelids, and have what looks to be a 'third eye' possibly tattooed on their forehead. They also have some black jewelry on around their neck, upper left arm, and wrists.

"There is much about the future we cannot see, but when it comes it will be the children who wield it." - Adria, Diablo, talking about Wirt

So, we know if the BS isn't destroyed, the evils will get loose. The Nephalem are super powerful. Diablo possibly wants to re-make the Tathamet hydra. Theory: the Evils will possess children that Adria and/or Triune cultists have been raising after the Worldstone was destroyed, giving them massive power. Enough power to reform into Tathamet and smash the Heavens once and for all. (We, of course, thwart this plan by rescuing Princess Leah (has to be a reason they retconned Warrior into Prince Aidan) and find out her family's destiny is to bring back Anu and/or defeat Tathamet, which is why Diablo and the Evils were working to corrupt and destroy the Leoric bloodline)

Update: Some support for Princess Leah/Leoric bloodline's greater purpose?

So as we know, Mephisto was soulstone'd under the Zakarum Temple of the Light and was eventually able to corrupt them. What did those manipulated leaders do? Proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras. The Archbishop Lazarus (bastard led us into a trap!) was 'intent' on Leoric choosing the 'broken-down monastery' as his seat of power. (Hmm, wonder why.. )

http://d3db.com/lore/i/leorics-journal-part-1

We have just arrived in Tristram, and I must say I'm a bit dismayed. This place is a backwater filled with serfs and an ancient, broken-down monastery, hardly fit for the king of Khanduras! I cannot fathom why Lazarus was so intent on this becoming our new seat of power.

http://d3db.com/lore/i/the-skeleton-king

The Zakarum high priests in Kurast proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras many years ago. He ruled well until Diablo's influence drove him mad, and the loyal knight Lachdanan was forced to slay him. Afterward, Diablo himself raised Leoric from the dead as the Skeleton King until the monarch's son Aidan vanquished him.

However, the Diablo 1 lore almost seems to imply that Lazarus wasn't under demonic control until they had 'settled' and Diablo used his powers to coerce and eventually corrupt him.

Sensing that freedom was within his grasp, Diablo entered the nightmares of the Archbishop and lured him into the dark, subterranean labyrinth. In his terror, Lazarus raced throughout the abandoned hallways until he at last came to the chamber of the burning Soulstone. No longer in command of his body or spirit, he raised the stone above his head and uttered words long forgotten in the realm of mortals. His will destroyed, Lazarus shattered the Soulstone upon the ground.
...
Lazarus too, had fallen under the sway of the Demon, keeping close to Leoric at all times.

He also was apparently "a guardian of Mephisto's soulstone in Kurast" so it's up in the air, but I think he wasn't, as far as D1 is concerned, corrupted until they got to Tristram and Diablo reawakened, while in Diablo 3 he likely was corrupted from the get-go.

The wording is kind of vague, for what we are talking about here, but this piece also sounds like Leoric just came in on his own volition in D1 and was all 'For the glory of the Light! I am your king! I shall save you from the ever encroaching darkness! I claim this ancient Monastery as my seat of power in the name of the Zakarum!'

It was then that the great northern lord Leoric came unto the lands of Khanduras and, in the name of Zakarum, declared himself King. Leoric was a deeply religious man and had brought many Knights and Priests with him that comprised his Order of the Light. Leoric and his trusted advisor, the Arch Bishop Lazarus, made their way to the city of Tristram. Leoric appropriated the ancient, decrepit Monastery on the outskirts of the town for his seat of power and renovated it to match its time-lost glory.

It could just as easily be interpreted as what we know from the D3 lore, (although it has been retcon'd that he is an eastern lord now) that the corrupted High Priests told him 'Go be king here, in the name of Zakarum' and Lazarus was all 'Hey look, this building looks cool, right? What do you mean it's a dump? Castles are like so last year, you should just pick this place, I mean, we're already here, no?'

Personally, I'm thinking it was some minor retcons to go along with their current plotline, if solely for the fact that they felt the need to give the Warrior a backstory as a son to King Leoric of all things. For all that we saw of it in the game, the Warrior might as well have been just some nameless Warrior or Gheed's brother, as from what I remember, the whole 'Oh my Heavens, Leah is actually the heir to the throne!' plot hasn't come into play....yet.

Possibly going along with the whole 'The Evils were/are playing you like a fiddle' theory, Jay Wilson in some 2011 interviews (although he's talking about Diablo 2's perspective of course):

If the player thinks they outsmarted the forces of Hell and evil and they basically won, well, they are in for a big shock. Because what they are going to discover in Diablo 3 is that things have gone pretty exactly the way Hell wanted them to go all along.

What we really wanted was the idea of a story where we do have some time away, it’s about 20 years later, and things have actually gotten better because evil’s been “destroyed”. But the truth is that it’s actually all just been a ruse, it’s all part of the plan. It’s really just making sure everyone’s nice and complacent for the real war that’s coming.