2941

What if Blizzard was all, like, hey guess what, Diablo III is coming out tomorrow, bitches! Wouldn’t that be cool?

Ah, man, imagine a world without retail and marketing strategies. A guy can dream.

 -Tom
2942

Yeah there’s no way in hell that could happen without a 6-8 week long marketing blitz.

2943

The demon hunter was my least favorite as well, it just felt like the slowest class when it came to dealing damage. Currently my favorites are the witch doctor and monk. Witch doctor because I’m a sucker for pet classes and the monk for the faster melee combat.

I do wish that there was more in the beta in terms of a better loot table and the skill gem system. As it stands the only place that you are sure to find good loot is the boss fight.

2944

I really disliked the witch doctor pre-firebats. Once you get firebats, you are a golden god. Firebats are the shit.

2945

Just make sure you are playing in windowed mode or you have vsynch off otherwise, when you cast firebats, you’ll desynch from the server.

Edit: Paypal integration with your Battle.net account is now … LIVE!! Come on release date!!

2946

Funny enough, I did not even use firebats during my run with him. I went zombie dogs, fire bomb and the guy that turns enemies into chickens. I also see a lot of demon hunters use that rapid fire.

2947

Ah, is that how you solve that massive hitch where you essentially have nothing moving but the game is continuing? Must try it. The couple of attempts I’ve made to play the beta has had me frustrated with that particular lag.

2948

Ooohhh, so is that likely the problem I was having with that one demon hunter ability? The one where you are channeling a constant stream of arrows seemed to always cause my system to go into cardiac arrest, heh. And that was a shame because it otherwise seemed like a cool ability.

2949

Party like its 1995?

2950

This post amuses me as it is opposite of all my experience with blizzard games and their ISP, ATT. I hope for the best for D3 players but I will laugh heartily if the whinging gets to epic proportions.

Folks seem to not remember that there was a reason besides piracy that bnet emulators were created, same with the gateway selectors for SC1. In the first 30 seconds of starting mission one in SC2, I got the “disconnected from bnet” message. Reconnected 20s later. Oh yay, my facebook points shit will be counted.

2951

Any game that requires a constant internet connection, is always going to have a small number of people who have a problem staying connected, at any given time. Blizzard has a lot of experience with running games like this, but there’s no way to take care of all problems that could happen, especially since so many of them are because of some odd issue with the player’s internet connection. As far as whining on the forums, if one looks at the WoW Technical Support forum, it would be easy to assume that nobody can play the game at all. And yet over 99% of the time, nearly everyone can play without any hassle.

Given the vast majority of Diablo II players who played it online with friends without any hassle, back in the dark ages of the internet, it seems unlikely that this will suddenly be a huge issue moving the single player games there now, as well. It will make the game less usable while on the road and such, but as long as people buying it know that they need an internet connection, most will be fine. Of course, there will be a large hue and cry the few times that the battle.net servers truly are down, but that’s to be expected with anything online.

2952

This is something I really miss about the 80s and being a gamer. Sometimes I’d wander into a store and see a sequel that I had no idea was being made, much less was close to release.

2953

Trips to gaming stores, to just stare at all the new shinies, used to be one of my quarterly highlights.

In fact, in the summer of 1992 I officially had my mind blown. All the local gaming stores had gone away (including my favorite; the female proprietier occasionally gave me games and had me write up reviews for them. She posted a couple in the shop, as I recall). So I probably had not been inside a proper gaming store in a couple of years at minimum. I was in a mall in either Stockholm or Gottenburg Sweden that summer, and I wandered into a gaming store.

There’s an Ultima VII ? Where is VI OH THERE IT IS. Savage Worlds? Martian Dreams? Wizardry VI (I don’t recall if I saw 7; or UU for that matter)?

Of course, these were all PC titles (or something else, but not Apple IIc). I didn’t care. I think my friends found my body under a giant mountain of new gaming goodness, fetal and weeping.

I went off to college a year later and made a fatal mistake. My parents surprised me with a new computer, my choice. We purchased through the school. An LCIII. It’s not that it was a bad computer exactly (and claris works was sharp). But I was playing Spiderweb software demos, Sim City 2k, and Might and Magic III. Meanwhile the PC section at the local walmart was filled with unadulterated, pure awesomness, and I went into that place every two weeks just to stargaze. I got a PC in the spring of 94 (not sure how I coaxed that out of my parents) and got to catch up on all the stuff I had missed and more.

It would be a few years before I started regularly reading PC game magazines, so gaming store sojourns remained a loving staple. It was a habit I would cling to into my 30s, actually (though it became far less frequent and rewarding).

2954

Stolen from SA: This is the twitter feed from Bashiok last night.

Is there a voice chat feature built into D3, or are outside sources required?

There is no built in voice chat, at least not for ship. If we try voice chat in another game we want to make sure its worth using

#AMA what were the core changes that pushed the release back? I never heard what they were

Check diablo3.com but we’re still just not done with the game.

love the halls of the dead feature. Screenshots soon? #AMA

That was a wish list feature we mentioned at BlizzCon right? Don’t know if it’ll make it. It’s on the list.

As a beta member, is there any other content we will be testing, runes/jeweler etc?

Negatory. There will be some skill and class changes, items, but you’ll be level 13 until the game releases.

Can you address the framerate issues that many of us are experiencing in the Beta? I.E.Stuttering and mass slowdowns during killing

From what I’ve seen people have been finding some workarounds. (check tech forums) But we’re aware of it.

Will there be higher texture and / or graphics settings closer to release? For example, Starcraft 2 has an ultra mode.

No what we have is what we have. We could add an Ultra setting if you’d like, but it wouldn’t be any different.

Can we expect another front page “post” (Like the Jay Wilson one) regarding the rest of the changes?

I would.

do you guys make jokes about “soon” internally as much as the community does or is it a taboo topic at blizzard.

It’s not taboo, but kind of old so not really funny either.

The current chat sound is annoying/out of place, Can you guys bring back D2 “chk!” Sound instead of the “DING!”?

I can ask.

Will we see the new skill system in Beta, or will it likely not appear till release?

It will appear in beta.

Will the dyecolor stay on a item when we sell them on RMAH or GAH and if so will ther be any indicator that its dyed with a color

Good question. I believe it stays, I don’t believe it’s indicated.

Do you ever see the D3 team abandoning the PvE balance always trumps PvP balance Philosophy? (I hope the answer is no)

I don’t know. Hard to speak in absolutes.

hardcore requires a softcore play through correct? #AMA

Correct.

Pre-order CE online when it becomes available in the UK, or wait for midnight launch?

If you want a CE I think you better have pre-ordered back when we announced it.

How much earlier will people get to pre-order/pre-load the game direct from the Blizzard site to release?

I’m not sure, Cataclysm seemed to go well. Probably something like that.

@IamBGriffs Does this include the skill system?

@iambgriffs Skill and rune systems are intrinsically linked.

did you ever seriously discuss about broadcasting a super bowl commercial?

I doubt it.

if Diablo, Mephisto and Baal were in a room… and their was 3 Apples… how many would each get?

Diablo would get all three. One for each mouth.

What character have you spent the most time playing and in which difficulty have you/do you play the most?

Barbarian the most for sure, and Normal the most by far.

Any ETA on news about the EU beta? Will the EU beta be the final phase/part of testing? #diablo3

Not yet. No.

Are the Pre-Orders for Diablo 3 CE by Walmart, Gamestop, etc legit?

I would assume so. I’m not sure how those work, I’d guess they have to work off a unit estimate?

when does beta testing end?

sometime before release.

any word on a new Blizzcast?

The delay kinda threw us off. We’ll get back on track…

Can’t really think of a good question - so, keep up the good work!

Thanks for following!

Is it possible to post gold/real money on the auction house to be bought with real money/gold respectively

You can put up gold to be bought with currency, yes.

forum feedback still says DH feels less powerful than other classes; perception or real thing? any plans?

Overall we agree. Next patch (?) there will be a number of class changes.

If Diablo got a puppy, what breed would it be? #AMA

hellhound? There’s some lame Popsicle stick joke there somewhere, but I can’t find it.

Can paypal unsupported countries use the rmah ? Is blizzard usiing any other web-based payment besides paypal ?

I believe we’ll be providing more info about regional options once they’re ready. To be honest I don’t know specifics.

Do you get to influence the game design at all outside of being the CM? If so, what did you help with?

I complain all the time but I’m usually wrong. All the good stuff comes from the community.

How big is the game in comparison to D2?

I dont know. Around the same I suspect.

Is it possible we will see a return of the Amulet feature in an expansion?

Anything is possible. That kind of secondary item-based stat augmentation is real cool though. Perfect for later on.

Don’t have a question, just wanted to say thanks for all you do & thanks to all at Blizzard for the great memories (past & future).

np! Thanks for following.

Max players per game. 4 or 8?

Do you recommend I go back and play the first two games (+expansion), or does Diablo 3’s story stand well enough on its own?

I think you can find some good story recaps (if anyone has link pls share) that it’d be pretty easy to catch yourself up.

what’s the most OP class to roll?

Hopefully they all feel OP. Balance!

How many times have you played through the campaign?

From start to finish with one character? :X never…

Is it possible you can make the CE wings dyeable? I know they’re an inventory item. It would just be cool!!!

No, they’re the single amazingly cool color they already are.

with pets been taken out of the game is there any plans of the use of the models or will they just return to wild life in game?

I believe they’ll be freeze-dried until later.

Why the massive disparities in starting armor for some of the classes for male/female? EX: Sorcerer/ess

Likely one was revised and the other wasn’t. (bug) A bug report or other written feedback would help.

Is there going to be a monster in the game named Bashiok? Also will Rakanishu and Bishbosh be returning?

Yes. Well… I don’t know. Those guys are dead…

in a party, if people are skipping loot barrels and side rooms, do you lose xp for staying back and exploring?

You need to be within range (screen and a half or so) to be counted for drops or experience.

I like the changes to skillswap with cooldown BUT why is there a cooldown when you are in town? #AMA

It’s a rough first implementation. It was wrangled in very shortly before the patch went out.

will the colorblind mode be implemented during beta?

Do we need one? Would appreciate feedback in a forum thread if there’s specific issues.

ie 2.3 - 4.5 dmg even though in game it shows a rounded value? Getting strange values for what dps should be compared to displayed.

Very possible, but it’s not going to matter for long. You won’t be doing single or even double digit damage for long.

do I need to pay any tax on my monthly paypal earnings from the sale of in game items? Any other options than paypal?

I believe that’s between you and the IRS? PayPal is what we’re focusing on for NA and some other regions.

Will there be official midnight launch events globally? (and if so, could you make it to London’s?)

We tend to have midnight launch events, no announcements until we know when the game will launch.

With you taking out the scrolls do you have any plans to put them back in maybe as like purchasable pet like in WoW maybe?

We didn’t remove them so we could charge people for them later, if that’s your question.

[cont]

2955

is the retail release of the game the entirety of the content we’ll see for a while or will there be content patches ala WoW? #QnA

Well, WoW is a subscription game. We’ll have patches. New items, probably. New zones or bosses? Probably not.

Aside from being able to slow down to enjoy the lore, are there any drawbacks (in regards to the story) to playing solo vs co-op?

We hope not, we’ve worked really hard to try to ensure co-op is nothing but bonuses and awesomeness.

Is there going to be a pre-release download, so people can start playing as soon as servers go up? Including ppl on annual pass

We plan to have a digital download people can grab so they’re ready to go right at midnight.

Do you guys plan to have expansion for Diablo 3 still? if so would it be a class/content or just conten. Ect.

We think it makes sense, but we’re focusing on releasing the game first.

How close to the date of release should we expect the Diablo III, beta to run?

That’s a good question. I don’t think we exactly know. Pretty close.

Does the current list of items on the D3 website give all the items we can expect to see on release? Are there going to be more?

No, no, no, the website has very few items. We’ll update it when we get close to release.

as somone who hasn’t played the first 2 will it be easy to understand the story of this one?

No matter what it’s going to be a fun story. If you’ve played the others you’ll get something extra, if not, you’ll seek it out.

Will you do a AMA on http://t.co/gOIbttL6 sometime?

I don’t know. Maybe!

Kidding aside, thanks for everything! Could you tell us how the legendary weapons are coming along and if they will be in the beta?

Quite well. I don’t think we drop any more until later in Act 1. Probably not.

Can I have your autograph?

Sure. -bashiok

My wife wants to know how much sleep everyone at Blizzard is averaging trying to get this game out to demanding people like me…

Hah! It’s a lot of long hours and weekend work days, and has been for a while… but we have fun.

How does crafting work?

It’s a bit complex to describe in 140 characters. You already read the artisan section on the website?

could you elaborate a bit mor on why exactly blizzard thinks that a general open chat channel like inn D2 or SC1 is a bad idea?

The good is minuscule compared to the bad, and we have to actually support these things…

In the game guide some weapons have a range of values for min and max dmg (2-3)-(4-5) dmg for ex. Can the values be non-integers?

Nah, whole numbers is sexier.

will we be seeing any runestones or gems in beta?

Extremely unlikely. The point of the beta is to test the service, patcher, launcher, and hardware compatibility.

Any plans for contests for beta keys for people outside the states? (Latinamerica)

Yup, but I’ll let them tell you about it.

any idea when more beta invites will go out?

We don’t really plan it out like that, it’s more a symptom of seeing how many people are playing and seeing if need more.

One of the reason why diablo 2 was such a succes was that it was getting better over the years, will diablo 3 follow that patern?

We’re fully designing and planning for Diablo III to be supported long into the future.

will xpacs increase level caps or just new content/items? Thanks for the outreach!

We’re still just working on the game, but our philosophy is that levels should match the content. If that answers your question.

is the + attack on weps/gear a bug or is it in the poll of random affixes

Sounds like a bug…

What is your personal favorite class in D3?

I have no idea any more… Right now I’m seriously considering leading with a witch doctor.

Similar to WoW and SC2 will Diablo III have real ID compatibility. (Can i chat from WoW witha friend on Diablo III.) If not when!

You can!

any plans for any guild/clan features?

We’d love to offer some kind of support for social groups, but it’s on a wish list at the moment.

I have a question about friends and chat in D3. Is it possible to add someone to a friends list? Also, is there a global chat?

Yes there’s multiple different types of friends lists. Global chat like you want to spam all your friends? no.

Why did you guys remove scrolls of identification? Simplicity sake? Also, why can you change skills anywhere now?

We didn’t really feel like they added anything, except to take away inventory space.

What % will you guys take from real money action house?

That’s a good question, I actually don’t know. % is only on cash out though, or commodity/stackable item sales.

Any update on the runes rework?

SOON!

how do i use the Diablo 3 forums ? it says I need a Wow account ? mine is frozen, and I have D2/D2_expansion?

You’ll need an active WoW sub, StarCraft II license, or DIII beta license.

are you an achievement mob in game? How well are the recent major game changes playing out?

Bashiok is a named champion, yes. Prepare your steel and sorcery!

Is there any bonus to pre-release bonus to pre-ordering the CE?

I’m not aware of any pre-order bonuses… We usually don’t do those.

\u00bfIs true that your first champion is a barbarian and his name is Chuk Norris? Thanks 4 all BRO!

Wrong! Female barb named Snusnu.

Honest question, why did you guys change so much of the game a few weeks ago? Why did Blizz find it necessary?

Hopefully the blog and subsequent forum posts explained why? Bottom line is because we believe they’ll make a better game.

thats a bummer wanted to ask when the EU beta keys were coming . But a real question, can you play Diablo 3 offline?

No.

Yes, why did all of the good classes from D2 not make it to D3?

We didn’t want to make Diablo 2.5. We want to do new stuff! They’re fun classes, give me a chance.

Would it be possible to get yours truly for an interview for the Shattered Soulstone (Diablo community) podcast?

Hit up pr@blizzard.com for any interview requests.

Any word when news about runes will be released?

We’re planning that out. Its in and working. Not too much longer.

Is there going to be as much incentive to sit around and MF for 14 hours at a time? Or is the end game plan more WoWesque?

It will be similar to D2, but emphasis is off boss runs and on exploring the world.

thanks for your answer. so chat channels are still part of the game?

They’re in there right now. Unless people are expecting general open channels? We’ve consistently said we won’t have those.

2956

I would happily trade access to the AH/no online/LAN only play for offline characters. I like the majority of the game, but it still bugs me that when I’m playing SINGLE PLAYER I’m getting lag jumps/etc because I don’t have an amazing internet connection and my family is watching netflix.

(Yes, I know, I could assert more control over the internet connection and/or get a router that lets me throttle certain ports or connections. I still think the forced online play is a bad move. Let the players choose.)

2957

Can you address the framerate issues that many of us are experiencing in the Beta? I.E.Stuttering and mass slowdowns during killing

From what I’ve seen people have been finding some workarounds. (check tech forums) But we’re aware of it.

They really need to sort that out.

2958

Are you sure the lag jumps are due to your connection? Lots of people are getting similar issues and it seems to be video card related. I have fast internet and I still get the jumps in D3. I fixed it by accident once when I was alt-tabbing between a citrix app, not sure how that fixed it (possibly the resolution switch) but it was noticeable running at an amazing framerate with no hitching.

2959

Pretty sure, I stop the netflixing in the house, and voila, lag meter returns to normal and I go from 900ms latency to 100ms latency. Also at that point MP games and SP games run smooth as butter.

2960

I complain all the time but I’m usually wrong. All the good stuff comes from the community.

I laughed at this one.