Destroying Items… With Care

by Daxxarri

Facing down the forces of the Burning Hells is a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it. The good news is that the rewards for dispatching Diablo's minions are rich, as the vanquished legions of the foul fiends will shower you in gold, gems, and loot. Every item you grab will present an intriguing choice, and in Diablo III you’ll have several tools that will help you get the most out of your treasure.

Cauldron of Jordan

Shortly after you begin your adventure, you'll be provided with a useful little artifact: the Cauldron of Jordan. The cauldron allows you to skip trekking back to town when the time comes to sell your loot. After you obtain the Cauldron, you can reduce virtually any item in your inventory to gold, just as if you had sold it to a vendor. Gold can do a lot of things for you in Diablo III, from purchasing artisan services to repairing your damaged gear to buying shared stash slots. There's more than one way to get value from loot though, which brings us to the other handy tool you’ll have at your disposal.

Nephalem Cube

The Nephalem Cube is another very helpful item that you'll encounter over the course of your adventure. It works just like the Cauldron of Jordan, but with an important difference. When you click the Nephalem Cube it allows you to salvage crafting materials from your unwanted weapons, armor, rings, runes, and amulets. The process destroys the original item but yields a variety of materials that grow more powerful as increasingly rare items are salvaged. Thus, common items yield common crafting materials, but more rare and valuable items will yield potent mystical substances that can be used to create correspondingly mighty items and enhancements. You'll want to keep a well-stocked hoard of crafting materials, because there's great potential in those salvaged scraps.

Crafting

Delving into the Diablo III crafting system can be quite rewarding. You'll encounter three artisans on your journey: the Blacksmith, Jeweler, and Mystic. These crafters of fine magical items and effects will help you make brand new armor and weapons, add powerful enhancements to your existing armor and weapons, or carve additional gem sockets into your gear.

Each of your artisans only has limited know-how initially, but with the investment of some gold, crafting materials, and Pages of Training looted on your adventure, you can improve their skills to gain access to more (and more powerful) recipes. A few recipes can be found on the corpses of monsters or in eerie ruins as well, but your artisan may need to attain greater skills before they can be learned. Artisans also don't work for free. Crafting some of the most fearsome items and enhancements Sanctuary has ever seen doesn't come cheap: the better the item or enhancement, the rarer the components you'll need, and the more expensive it will be to achieve the finished product. That means it will pay great dividends to ensure that you have a steady stream of gold and salvaged materials flowing into your stash so you can reap the benefits of your artisans' ever increasing potential.

Decisions, decisions

Imagine finding a truly powerful artifact with just the right mix of stats. You wouldn't want to toss such a rare treasure into the Cauldron of Jordan or callously tear it apart with the Nephalem Cube. Instead, such a relic might better serve your hero directly in your crusade against diabolical hordes… or, perhaps you could provide it to another hero in need by selling it on the Auction House, trading it with a friend, or giving it to one of your other characters via the shared stash.

Every item you pick up over the course of your adventure in Sanctuary will present you with choices. Do you keep it? Salvage it? Auction it off? Give it away? With each new treasure you discover, only you can decide the best course of action.

FROM: https://us.battle.net/

Diablo III Beta Opt-In and FAQ

by Blizzard Entertainment

Interested in signing up for an advance look at Diablo’s coming invasion of Sanctuary? To be eligible to participate in the Diablo III beta test, you need an active Battle.net account with any Blizzard game title attached to it. If you don’t already have an account, it’s easy to create one. Once you’ve set up a Battle.net account, or if you’ve already got one, you can access it by visiting http://us.battle.net/en/ and clicking the Account button on the upper right. Then, to opt into the beta, just click the Games & Codes section of your Account Management page, and then select the Beta Profile Settings option from the drop-down menu. You’ll be prompted to download the System Check beta opt-in application; running it will opt you in to the Diablo III beta. If your system specifications change, you can run the System Check application again to update your information.

 

While running the System Check application doesn’t guarantee you a place in the Diablo III beta, we wish you luck and hope to see you in Sanctuary.

FAQ:

How are beta test participants selected from the opt-in pool?
Beta testers are chosen according to their system specifications and other factors, including an element of luck. Our goal is to have a good variety of system types to best test compatibility.

Will there be any other ways to get into the beta besides the opt-in?
We’ll very likely be providing beta entry giveaways through various promotions on our sites, as well as through our official fansites. We’ll have information available on these promotions as they approach.

   

How many players do you plan to invite to the beta test?
The number of players we invite will be based on our testing needs. If during the course of testing we determine we need more players to participate, we’ll invite more.

   

What game content will be available in the beta?
You’ll be able to try out all five character classes and experience the early stages of Diablo III from the start of the game through the Skeleton King encounter. You’ll be able to interact with new and returning characters in New Tristram and fight the reawakened evils emanating from the cursed Tristram Cathedral.

Will the PvP arenas be available in the beta?
We don’t plan to include the PvP arenas in the beta test.

   

How long will the beta test last?
We have not determined an exact date for the end of the beta test. We will notify participants when the beta test is nearing completion.

   

Will the Diablo III Auction House be available in the beta?
We currently plan to test the functionality of the Diablo III gold-based auction house sometime after the initial beta launch.

   

Will Mac users be able to participate in the beta?
Yes, Mac users will be able to participate in the beta at the same time as Windows users.

FROM: https://us.battle.net/

The Sin War Trilogy

by Lylirra

If you're looking to learn more about the Diablo universe, there are a number of different fan sites, wikis, and databases that you can browse for information about everything from crafting to characters and background stories for all your favorite NPCs.

But if you want to delve deeper into the history of Sanctuary -- and don't mind curling up with a good book (or three) -- you can also check out The Sin War trilogy, written by best-selling author Richard A. Knaak.

Set three thousand years before the fall of Tristram, the trilogy chronicles the journeys of Uldyssian-ul-Diomed, a simple farmer who would eventually become the first descendant of the Nephalem --  the children of the angels and demons who once inhabited Sanctuary -- to manifest the unspeakable power of that lineage.

Sought by both the Burning Hells and the archangel Inarius, Uldyssian must find a way to harness his power and overthrow the forces that would threaten humanity, setting into motion events that would not only reveal the existence of Sanctuary to the High Heavens, but shape the fate of mankind for all eternity.

(Pretty cool, huh?)

All three Sin War books are currently available on the Blizzard Store, as well as at many local retailers.

Book One: Birthright

Book Two:  Scales of the Serpent

Book Three: The Veiled Prophet

FROM: https://us.battle.net/

Back to Basics: Class Resource Systems

by Zarhym

Whether you’re intimately familiar with the realm of Sanctuary, or it’s your first time playing a Diablo game, it’s high time we brush up your knowledge of class resources. Managing resources like Fury (barbarian) or Mana (witch doctor) will be an integral element of your performance, and your ability to obliterate the demons and ghouls running rampant.

Live and Let Die
The importance of a resource like Life cannot be stressed enough. While the undead walk the realm of Sanctuary, you’ll find that deceased heroes aren’t nearly as effective. Your Life Orb will become less full as you take damage, and an empty orb makes for a dead hero.
When sending the minions of Hell back from whence they came, you’ll want to be on the lookout for Health Globes. These crimson orbs have a chance of dropping from nearly all creatures and will instantly restore a percentage of your Life when you walk over them. In addition, as with previous Diablo games, you’ll be able to carry Health Potions in your inventory. But use them sparingly! They have a rather lengthy cooldown.

Barbarian: Unleashing the Fury
Barbarians are battle-hardened, close-combat warriors. To that end, they use Fury as their resource to unleash devastating melee attacks against their foes. Fury is gained whenever the barbarian lands a successful attack, as well as when he or she is struck by an opponent. This resource depletes over time whenever the barbarian isn’t fighting, so you’ll generally want to make sure you’re at the forefront of the action, building up Fury to use stronger abilities. Fury is also gained steadily with attacks such as Bash and Cleave, while larger bursts of Fury can be generated by mighty abilities such as Leap Attack and Ground Stomp. Meanwhile, Fury-consuming abilities range from more defense-oriented skills like Threatening Shout, which reduces the damage of nearby enemies, to deadly attacks like Whirlwind, which continuously does massive damage as long as Fury persists. By managing both Fury generation and use, the barbarian can become the most brutal melee hero on the battlefield.
                                  
Demon Hunter: Balancing Hatred With Discipline
Hell-bent on seeking vengeance, the demon hunter is an agile adversary who uses advanced combat tactics to exact deadly attacks. As such, the demon hunter must manage a duo of resources: Hatred and Discipline. Hatred is a very quickly regenerating resource used to fuel an array of the demon hunter’s offensive abilities in the heat of battle, while Discipline regenerates much more slowly over time and affords the use of tactical skills, when the moment is just right for controlling opponents. For example, a Hatred skill like Bola Shot wraps around your target, exploding shortly thereafter to do heavy area-of-effect damage. On the other hand, through extensive training and careful preparation, the demon hunter uses Discipline for skills which can provide a means of keeping distance from enemies, or entrap them. Smoke Screen, a skill for the most disciplined of hunters, allows you to vanish out of sight for a brief period of time, costing a percentage of Discipline to use. The demon hunter can use their Hatred of the damned to deal direct damage, and Discipline in combat tactics to lure them into well-laid traps, hunting them mercilessly until they’re driven back to the Burning Hells.
                                  
Monk: Attuning to the Spirit
Similar to the barbarian, the monk excels at close-quarters combat. Unlike the barbarian, however, the monk doesn’t benefit from being hit by foes and cannot afford to take nearly as much damage. Instead, the monk can use Spirit to release a series of lightning-fast attacks and precisely orchestrated defensive skills, to the point of artistry. Spirit is generated through use of melee attacks and select special abilities, and does not degenerate until used by a skill that costs Spirit. This allows for powerful and poetic combos, often leaving monsters bewildered in their last breath. For instance, Spirit can be used to activate the mystical Seven Sided Strike, allowing you to dash swiftly from enemy to enemy exacting seven fluid, yet abusive attacks. Other skills, however, are available to help generate Spirit. Fists of Thunder is one of these: a series of extremely fast punches deal Lightning damage to enemies and have a chance to interrupt incoming enemy attacks. It’s within the Spirit of the monk that a truly deadly hero is beheld.
                                  
Witch Doctor: Tapping Into Mana
The witch doctor carries the classic feel of a dark spellcaster, using voodoo and vile summoned creatures to keep fiends at more than an arm’s length, slaughtering them in the process. As a witch doctor, you’re a veritable one-man army, using Mana to summon animated grotesqueries to aid you in combat. Mana will slowly regenerate on its own, but the witch doctor also has key skills designed to replenish his reserves, such as Mana Steal or Spirit spells (combined with powerful passive skills) that can return Mana whenever cast.  Along with summoning minions, Mana powers the relentless damage-dealing skills and elusive defensive magic at your disposal. Firebomb, for example, lobs an explosive skull, dealing substantial area-of-effect damage to enemies within its blast radius. Meanwhile, a spell like Horrify can be used to cause foes to flee in fear for a short period of time. Better yet, defensive and offensive capabilities can be combined in devastating spells like Mass Confusion, which incites paranoia in adversaries and can lead them to attack one another. Using Mana, witch doctors are the ultimate purveyors of unsavory magics, which affords them the pleasing opportunity to instigate mayhem on the battlefield.
                                  
Wizard: Controlling the Arcane Power
Similar to the witch doctor, the wizard is a powerful magic user who obliterates evildoers, often from a distance. Unlike the witch doctor, however, the wizard relies less on summoned creatures, and doesn’t perform wicked spells or use Mana. The wizard instead draws from Arcane Power to use spells of varying disciplines. Arcane Power is a fast regenerating resource and allows you to perform spells such as Ray of Frost, which projects a beam of ice that blasts the first enemy it hits with repeated Cold damage, also slowing movement and attack speed. Arcane Power fuels capable defensive spells like Energy Armor, which increases your Defense for a short period of time at the cost of lowered maximum Arcane Power for its duration. Other spells can be used with Arcane Power to allow the wizard to escape, or stay out of the grasp of the damned. For instance, Teleport lets you jump through the ether to a selected location, while Slow Time invokes a bubble of warped time and space, slowing the movement and attack speed of enemies and their projectiles. Ever attuned to the Arcane forces of their realm, wizards dominate opponents with deadly damaging spells, an array of ethereal magic to keep villains at a safe distance, and elegant defenses to mystically mitigate incoming damage.
                                  
Maximizing the Devastation
While the fundamental rules of each resource are set in stone, how they’re strategically spent can be greatly customized through passive skills, which can drastically alter how quickly and efficiently your resources generate or regenerate. Through the use of specific skills, as well as the near unlimited combinations offered by skill runes, you can fine-tune your character’s power through resource management and control. Now the choice is yours. Pick your favored class and learn to maximize the benefits of the resources at your disposal, rendering you an incredibly powerful hero and deadly foe of the forces of darkness.

FROM: https://us.battle.net/

BlizzCon 2011 World of Warcraft Pet: Meet Murkablo

by Blizzard Entertainment

An ill omen streaks across the sky over Azeroth's Great Sea, heralding the arrival of this year's BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft in-game companion: the fearsome-ish Murkablo, aquatic protégé of Diablo III's eponymous Lord of Terror! Anyone who attends BlizzCon 2011 or purchases this year's BlizzCon Virtual Ticket will receive a Murkablo to call their own, along with a yet-to-be-revealed StarCraft II in-game gift.

BlizzCon 2011 takes place on October 21 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you order the Virtual Ticket Internet stream online through Battle.net, Murkablo and the StarCraft II gift will be automatically attached to the Battle.net account you use to make your purchase shortly after BlizzCon begins. DIRECTV customers who order the BlizzCon Pay Per View event will receive a code granting access to the Internet stream and the in-game gifts via email.
For further details or to order the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, check out the Virtual Ticket web page.
FROM: https://us.battle.net/

Diablo 3: IGN Beta Preview

Diablo III Technical Interview (PC, Mac)