Game News Diablo 3 - I Put on my Robe and Wizard Hat....

[Jason]

Tags: Blizzard Entertainment; Diablo III

<a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55245" target="blank">Shack News</a> has word straight from BlizzCon that the <a href="http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/characters/wizard.xml" target="blank">Wizard</a> is the third announced class for <b><a href="http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/" target="blank">Diablo 3</a></b>.
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<blockquote>In the playable BlizzCon demo, which begins in the overgrown and mostly abandoned Tristram Woods before progressing into the Tristram Church Dungeon, the Wizard starts off with the Charged Bolt and fire-ball esque Magic Missile spells.
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Frost Nova, Tornado and Blizzard attacks return from past Diablo games, and can be found alongside the new Electrocute attack in the Storm skill tree. The Arcane skill tree sports Teleport, Slow Time, Mana Recovery and the Disintegrate damage spell. The Conjure tree boasts Meteor and Hyrda.
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As Tornado was a Druid class skill in Diablo 2, its inclusion in the Wizard's arsenal may indicate that the Druid will not return for Diablo 3. The skill trees are still a work in progress, with the certain portions still incomplete.</blockquote>
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Head <a href="http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1019" target="blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-first-reactions/" target="blank">here</a> for some hands-on impressions or <a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55258" target="blank">here</a> to learn about the new Skill Rune system.
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<blockquote>Skill Runes are skill-modifying items that are randomly dropped by monsters and used across all classes. They can be attached to each skill like an item, often completely changing the gameplay of each skill.
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The lead designer showed off the Teleport skill with a Striking rune, turning the spell into an offensive skill that can destroy enemies. The Skull of Flame skill was modified by the Multistrike Rune, which split the single fireball into multiple splashing attacks, to the crowd's enormous delight.</blockquote>
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.shacknews.com/">Shack News</A>

 

[Nutcracker]

Fucking hell, i know they want to appeal to the gook market...but having the wizard be an asian is just gay.

 

[catfood]

Well it was predictable that there would be a pure caster type class in the game so it's nothing surprising to me. Pretty sure there will be some ranged attacker type too. I wonder what the fifth class will be like hough.

Is it just me, or does the game look grittier now, a bit more Diablo-esque than the original screenshot we've seen? Or maybe it's just a different dunegon type.

Also the slow time spell seems neat.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Fucking hell, i know they want to appeal to the gook market...but having the wizard be an asian is just gay.

I don't get it - have I missed something. They have to give the wiz SOME skin colour, and it may as well be a naturalistic-looking one. If so, then how is making the wiz asian any different to any other possibility? Asians and the subcontinental folk make up almost half the world's population - it isn't that odd to run into them in real life. Hell, where I'm from (in Australia) I see asian-looking people all the time. Why would it be odd to have one in a computer game? After all, I'd expect some kind of spread across different skin tone groups, to ensure that people who can't deal with their character not having the same skin tone as them irl can each still get a character they can relate to. Customisation would be better, so if you're complaining about a lack of customisation options then I can understand that. But I'm seriously confused why anyone would find having the wiz look like an asian guy 'gay'.

 

[The Exar]

and this. i want to play a wizard who at least looks somewhat like me.

A yellow skull skeleton?

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

Is it just me, or does the game look grittier now, a bit more Diablo-esque than the original screenshot we've seen? Or maybe it's just a different dunegon type.

Ive noticed the same thing. I think they did make a few changes from the original stuff; I believe they said somewhere they took the rainbows out, for one thing...

 

[Azael]

Um, the sorceror from the first game was either black or middle eastern looking, so what's the big fucking deal?

 

[Azael]

Not to shock you or anything, but there was a game called Diablo that came out before Diablo II.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

Um, the sorceror from the first game was either black or middle eastern looking, so what's the big fucking deal?

i think your talking abour the barbarian. the negromancer was def. white.

comprehensive reading failure detected.

 

[sah]

only the Paladin was black, Sorceress looked like a gypsy

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

only the Paladin was black, Sorceress looked like a gypsy

comprehensive reading failure detected.

 

[JarlFrank]

Asian wizard is a better combination than black paladin, actually.

Paladins are supposed to be shiny and white good guys. Black dude would fit better to something like the new witch doctor class. But wizards are tricksters using evil alchemy and witchcraft, just like those yellow devils always do. It's fitting very well.

 

[Durwyn]

So who will be uncovered next ? I hope some kind of assasin. Cleric/paladin warrior type with auras is a possibility too

 

[Kingston]

In the design panel yesterday someone asked if there was going to be a Paladin class and the reply came with a chuckled "We haven't announced it yet".

So it could be that the next class is a paladin, or they just worded themselves wrongly.

 

[DraQ]

comprehensive reading failure detected.

 

[catfood]

In the design panel yesterday someone asked if there was going to be a Paladin class and the reply came with a chuckled "We haven't announced it yet".

So it could be that the next class is a paladin, or they just worded themselves wrongly.

I hope so. I want to see new classes, not recycled ones.

 

[Durwyn]

Yeah, Witch Doctor is pretty cool altough he somewhat covers Necro skills

 

[Castanova]

That skill rune system sounds sick. Bringing back random skill drops like the original Diablo!

 

[DraQ]

Bringing back random skill drops like the original Diablo!

++

I want some sort of shapeshifter, though. And DI-ish atmosphere.

 

[Chefe]

By golly this sure suprised me! A wizard! Who would have guessed?

Anyways, I am surprised that they made her look so damn boring. Not only in design, but the spells are *yawn*. The extended hadouken/laser looks... not too great.

I guess the good news is that it looks a whole lot less like Warcraft now. Hopefully, they'll have a change of heart regarding Starcraft's design too.

Asian wizard is a better combination than black paladin, actually.

Paladins are supposed to be shiny and white good guys. Black dude would fit better to something like the new witch doctor class. But wizards are tricksters using evil alchemy and witchcraft, just like those yellow devils always do. It's fitting very well.

 

[IlkuWarrior]

Blizz said they're only bringing back the Barbarian, no old classes!

See, no more sorceresses, wizard is a whole new class!

So, there will be no more Paladin. :assuringnod:

A Crusader, however... :D

 

[Jaesun]

Diablo is now a RPG? :shock:

 

[deuxhero]

based on the D&D wizards?

How will save or dies work in Diablo?

 

[St. Toxic]

No chinks in my game, thank you.

On a srsss note, if you're going to do the whole quota thing, Asians should be Wizards (works), Blacks should be Witchdoctors (works) but Mongols/Slavics would probably represent Barbarians better than Western Europeans (doesn't really look too Scandinavian).

 

[sah]

only the Paladin was black, Sorceress looked like a gypsy

comprehensive reading failure detected.

right, I thought we were talking about D2