Test Server Maintenance - 1/27

Posted 1 hour ago by Kelthar
Update #1: The maintenance has been extended to 4pm PST.

Diablo III test server is undergoing a brief maintenance from 10am to 2pm PST to apply some minor hotfixes. Take note that any achievements earned and players added to the friends list will be wiped.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
We will be performing a small maintenance on the Diablo III test server starting at approximately 10:00 a.m. PST. This maintenance will include a variety of minor hotfixes as well as a database storage update; as a result of these changes, please note that your Friends Lists, Achievements, and "Recent Players" will be wiped.

We anticipate that downtime will last for about 4 hours, until 2:00 p.m. PST. Thank you for your patience.

More Simplified Tooltips Discussion

Posted Yesterday by Kelthar
A post on the official Diablo III forums highlighting a post made by Bashiok a while ago introducing the simplified tooltips has attracted some blue attention in Europe. Vaneras discusses that the community outcry on this topic has not gone unnoticed and that they are looking into solutions to make everyone happy.

Of course a simple solution would be a checkbox you can toggle under options to have the advanced tooltips, while simple would be on by default, like WoW. They are also looking at implementing a feature on the website similar to the Arreat Summit for D2 to help better organize the stats for players that want to min/max.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
As things are right now, advanced tooltips becomes available when pressing down the control button. However, the request for a toggle option between advanced and simple tooltip defaults have been forwarded to the developers, so there is indeed a chance that we might see such an option in the future.

The "easy to learn, hard to master" design philosophy is one we have been happy with for quite a while, and with Diablo III we would like to maintain a strong and immediate focus on getting into the gameplay right from the start.

We feel that the best way to achieve this is to make the game quick to pick up and fun to play straight out of the box, and by offering short and clear descriptions, and not too many numbers, we hope to avoid confusion and irritation. Simplified tooltips are more helpful for the novice player to learn and play the game, and for the more experienced players, they help to quickly differentiate between abilities.

We do of course realise that there are those who prefer the advanced tooltips over the simplified ones, and we are also very much aware that there are those who simply want as much information available as possible without any filters. We acknowledge this, and we do of course want to find good ways to cater to these wishes as well.

In order to present more detailed Diablo III data and information, we are looking into the possibilities for creating a web page similar to what we see with the D2 Arreat Summit (http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/barbarian-combatskills.shtml). Having such a page for Diablo III would allow us to provide more organised content, and it would also allow us to provide more timely content. For an example, if we would make a hotfix, we would be able to get that updated information up on the web page immediately, whereas the game client would require a patch before the tooltip can be updated.

Stealth Removal of Scrolls of Companion & Reforging Explained

Posted Yesterday by Astray
Blizzard has officially weighed in on the issue of players reporting that Scrolls of Companion weren't dropping for them ever since Patch 10 arrived. As it turns out, they (along with Scrolls of Reforging) were also one of the things given the axe in the patch but were an oversight when they put together the original notes. One of the earliest criticisms since the beta started was how the "cute" critters that you'd summon with the scrolls were very WoW-like and felt out of place in the Diablo universe, and that was a big part of the decision to move forward without them.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
A few more changes have made their way in to Diablo III beta patch 10, including the removal of Scrolls of Companion and Scrolls of Reforging, and we'll be updating the patch notes to reflect that.

In both cases these are features we felt were underdeveloped and just not quite good enough for the game in their current state. The companion pets felt like they were mandatory to maximize play efficiency and some of the pets were too cutesy for the gritty, dark world of Sanctuary. Neither of those are issues we felt like we could solve without a lot of additional work, and we're trying to close in on a solid release date for the game, not move further away. When weighing these systems against releasing the game, we decided to cut these scrolls and stay on track for the game's release.

We think we can make companion pets into a much cooler system (both mechanically and visually), and evolve the reforging scrolls into a more meaningful system at some point in the future. For the time being, they will not be in the initial release of the game.

Over 5000 Bugs Reported Since the Start of the Beta

Posted Yesterday by Astray
Vasadan, a well traveled Quality Assurance representative with over 1,000 posts to his name on the Diablo III bug forums announced today that over 5,000 bugs have been reported since the beta began. While this isn't a particularly important feat in and of itself, it's nice to know the introductory experience of the game should be polished and bug-free at launch given how thoroughly it's been tested.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
Hey guys!

I have some really cool news for you. Last night, we passed 5000 bugs reported on the Bug Report forums! This is an incredible milestone for the Diablo III community, and one you should be proud of.

Here are some fun stats about bugs in the Beta:
  • The first bug was reported on 9/6/11 and can be found here
  • The most common bug ever reported was when the Battle.net servers were down during Thanksgiving 2011. It was reported over 200 times.
  • 5092 bugs have been reported since 10 AM PST on 1/25/12
  • Of the 5092 bugs reported on the forums, 856 unique bugs have been sent off to the developers to fix. (Remember, a bug reported on the forums can be a duplicate or not a bug at all).

Thank you again for all of your hard work testing the Diablo III Beta and helping Blizzard make it the best game it can possibly be. Here's to 5000 more!

Sincerely,
Vasadan

No BlizzCon in 2012

Posted 2 days ago by Astray
Very surprising news just popped up this morning on the BlizzCon website. For the first time since 2006, Blizzard will not be hosting a BlizzCon in a calendar year. Scheduling woes from hoping to launch 3 games this year (Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria & Heart of the Swarm) and the just-announced eSports competition they'll be hosting, have forced them to delay the next BlizzCon until 2013.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world. Slated to take place in Asia toward the end of 2012, the Battle.net World Championship will host this year's StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments. Blizzard gamers and eSports fans from around the world will be invited to attend and witness some of the most skilled pro players on the planet battle it out for cash and glory.

We're excited to be showcasing Blizzard eSports on a truly global stage this year. We're also heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players’ hands as soon as possible. In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.

More details about the 2012 Battle.net World Championship and BlizzCon 2013, including specific dates and locations, will be coming in the months ahead.

Simplified Tooltips - Are They Too Simple?

Posted 2 days ago by Astray
Unlike previous patches that introduced core systems to the game like the RMAH and Achievements, the changes in patch 10 can be summed up as Blizzard giveth, Blizzard taketh away. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way, but in reality the patch did little more than further simplify the game by removing or reworking things that Blizzard found redundant, annoying, or overly complicated.

I applaud the removal of the Nephalem Altar and the redesign of the core attributes. I'm a little sad about the removal of the Cauldron of Jordan and Nephalem Cube, but I can understand their philosophy there and it won't affect my enjoyment of the game. The one change that leaves me scratching my head is the over simplification of skill tooltips. Here's an example:

While you can still read the advanced tooltip by holding CTRL, that's a whole lot of information being hidden. Blizzard's modus operandi is making their games as accessible as possible, but I just don't think this was a necessary change. Did the previous tooltips have a lot of numbers in them? Yes. Should that be important to a Diablo player? Yes! Diablo games are all about maximizing your character, and if skill data is hidden by default it inhibits a player's ability to make informed decisions.

A question can be raised on how many players will realize they can hold CTRL for advanced tooltips. Several beta testers didn't even know until they went to the official forums to complain about the change. This one fact alone leaves me conflicted after reading Lylirra's response to criticism on the tooltips.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
Simplified tooltips are intended to make it easier for novice players to understand what each of their character's abilities do, as well as help them better and more quickly differentiate between abilities that are meant for single targets vs. groups vs. situational powers. That said, for more knowledgeable players, to whom detailed information is more useful, Advanced tooltips are still available with the push of a button.


If a novice player doesn't know they can hover over a skill and press a button for a more detailed tooltip, chances are they'll play through the game happily without ever knowing. Will they understand that Bash does more damage than Cleave to single targets? If that's supposed to be common sense or assumed, then I challenge the underestimation of what players will be able to understand when they read a tooltip.

I strongly feel that they need to add an option to toggle the display (Advanced / Simplified) or at the very least have a tutorial tooltip for the CTRL button. Luckily for those that share my opinion, a fan already communicated his frustrations to Lylirra and was told that the recommendation has been passed onto the design team. Hopefully we'll see an improved implementation before long.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
Please integrate a toggle check box in the options menu for advanced/simple tooltip defaults.
While I'd argue that holding CTRL to view Advanced tooltips is only a mild inconvenience (at worst), this is a reasonable request that I'm happy to pass on to our designers. :)

Diablo III Beta Patch 10 Notes

Posted January 23rd, 2012 at 6:53pm by Kelthar
Update #2: Added new potion icons (bottom of the post)
Update #1: Maintenance has been extended for 3 hours, until approximately 11:00 p.m. PST.

Today's lengthy maintenance is about to come to an end and patch 10 notes are fresh off the press. This update introduces a number of significant changes, including an overhaul of character attributes and reworking of a couple of the core mechanics of the game.

Nephalem Alter has been removed, once again allowing players to swap out skills on the fly, although a short cooldown before the skill can be exchanged again will apply. The Nephalem Cube, Cauldron of Jordan and Scroll of Identification have been removed from the game. The Blacksmith has taken on the role of salvaging items, to accompany his already vast repertoire of skills, while items can now be identified by simply right-clicking on them. Lastly, Stone of Recall has been renamed to the much more familiar Town Portal and is now a part of the skill bar UI.

You can read patch 10 in its entirety below.

Blizzard Quote (Source)
Diablo III Beta Patch 10 – v.0.6.0.8296

A number of significant changes have been made to key aspects of Diablo III in this patch. To learn more about these changes and why they were made, please be sure to read the "System Changes" blog, written by Jay Wilson.

General

  • All characters have been wiped. Please note that this wipe will also affect gold, achievements, items, followers, and artisans.
  • The Battle.net Balance for all beta participants has been reset to 50 Beta Bucks
  • Core character attributes have been reworked significantly

    • Attack, Defense, and Precision have been removed
    • Dexterity, Intellect, Strength, and Vitality have been added:

      • Dexterity

        • +Demon Hunter damage
        • +Monk damage
        • +Dodge (for all classes)

      • Intellect

        • +Witch Doctor damage
        • +Wizard damage
        • +Health from globes (for all classes)

      • Strength

        • +Barbarian damage
        • +Armor (for all classes)

      • Vitality

        • +Health (for all classes)

  • Armor will now supplement Defense, as well as provide +Physical resist
  • +Chance to Crit has been added as an item affix
  • Player Life per Vitality has been changed:

    • Players will now start out with 10 Life per Vitality at level 1

  • Nephalem Altars have been removed and players can now swap unlocked skills at any point during gameplay via the Skills list. This will impose a 30-second cooldown on the newly-activated skill, during which time the skill cannot be exchanged for another.
  • Please note that the skills system is still considered a work-in-progress and will be undergoing additional changes in future patches. This iteration of the system is not final.
  • Scrolls of Identification have been removed and players can now identify an item by right-clicking on the item's icon
  • The Nephalem Cube has been removed and the salvage ability has been added to the Blacksmith artisan
  • The Cauldron of Jordan has been removed
  • Stone of Recall has been renamed to "Town Portal" and can now be accessed directly via the Skill bar UI
  • The fifth quick slot button has been moved next to the Town Portal ability in the Skill bar. This slot will eventually be to dedicated to potions, but can currently be used as a normal slot.
  • Skills will now display simplified tooltips by default

    • To view Advanced tooltips, press and hold the CTRL key when hovering over skill icons

  • The duration of the global chill effect granted by cold damage has be increased from 0.4 seconds to 0.6 seconds
  • Achievements have been re-enabled

Classes

  • Barbarian

    • Active Skills

      • Ground Stomp

        • Damage increased from 70% to 110%

      • Ignore Pain

        • Cooldown reduced from 60 seconds to 30 seconds
        • Duration reduced from 5 seconds to 3 seconds

      • Leap Attack

        • Damage increased from 70% to 100%

      • Revenge

        • Damage increased from 150% to 220%

    • Passive Skills

  • Monk

    • Active Skills

      • Blinding Flash

        • No longer breaks on damage
        • Duration reduced from 5 seconds to 3 seconds

  • Wizard

Crafting

  • General

    • Leveling artisans in Normal difficulty now only requires gold

  • Salvaging

    • Common (white) items can no longer be salvaged and common crafting materials have been removed in all difficulty levels
    • Salvaging a Magic (blue) item will always give you a Magic material, as well as a chance to receive a Rare (yellow) or Legendary (orange) material
    • Salvaging a Rare item will always give you a Rare material and a Magic material, as well as a chance to receive a Legendary material
    • Salvaging a Legendary item will always give you a Legendary material, Rare material, and Magic material


Items

  • General

    • Attack, Defense, and Precision random affixes have been replaced with Dexterity, Strength, and Intellect
    • The base damage on slower weapons has been increased. This is because we’re also increasing the potency of elemental damage properties, and elemental damage benefits faster weapons more than slower weapons.
    • The drop rate of Magic items between level 1 and level 20 has been lowered. Single affix-Magic items are now introduced more slowly, and double affix-Magic items won’t appear until later in the game.

  • Vendors

    • Wandering Merchants now have a 50% chance to sell a limited stock Rare item of any type
    • Amulets have been moved from the Collector to the Fence


Monsters

  • Electrified monsters no longer spew lightning on death Arcane Enchanted monsters no longer cast an extra arcane beam on death

Bug Fixes

  • Players should no longer be disconnected from Battle.net when moving a stack of 0 items to their Skill action bar
  • Rapidly moving around items in a character’s inventory should no longer cause those items to become unresponsive
  • Items that display full durability, but are still considered slightly damaged should now be able to be posted on the Auction House
  • Monsters that are killed should now always properly play their death animation rather than remain standing


New Icons With Patch 10


There wasn't a whole lot of interesting undocumented stuff in the data files of patch 10 other than minor balance tweaks, and string updates to match attribute changes. Some of the more technical changes will be better showcased through a big update we're going to be unveiling on the database in the next week or so. What we did uncover was a brand new array of artwork for potions. You can see the old and new icons below. We'll continue sifting through the files and we'll update if we uncover other changes.