| COMPLETE GUIDE | | KRANTI1992 | | VERSION 0.75 | | (c) COPYRIGHT 2012 |
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- Complete Guide -
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| YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DarkZoneGamingMain?feature=mhee |
| Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kranti1992 |
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/------------------------------------\
Game: Diablo III
Genre: RPG (Role Playing Game)
Platforms: PC
Players: 1-4 (Online)
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment -----------------
Release Date: May 15th, 2012 | VERSION: 0.75 |
-----------------
Guide Type: Complete Guide
Author: Kranti Nebhwani,
BattleTag: DarKNesS #2745 (EU)
& DarKNesS #2860 (US)
Date Created: 15/05/2012
Date Finished: ??/??/2012
Email: darkphoton@live.com
\------------------------------------/
***************
* GUIDE NOTES *
***************
* This guide strives to cover the entirety of Diablo 3. The quests, the
classes, the basics, and more. Please note that although this is a complete
guide, a lot of things in Diablo 3 are randomized and so this guide will be
quite general and not very specific. I will probably cover the random elements
of the game in the future, however.
* Generally the guide will be on giving tips and strategies for completing
quests, playing with certain classes, and doing certain things, but will not
give you direct guidance and hold your hand through every aspect of the game.
Also do not follow the guide dead on, create your own builds, explore random
dungeons at your own will.
* This guide will also be covering the player-vs-player section of the game
once that is added in a patch. Futher content added will also be updated in
this guide, and more sections on the main games such as a dedicated items
chapter may be added as well. You may request for extra sections by emailing
me.
* I have a YouTube channel which has some Diablo 3 videos up. It has quite a
few videos up now and will add more very soon. You can expect inferno videos
for Barb, Monk, Witch Doctor, and on general strategies and theory crafting.
You can take a look with the link below and request more videos by PMing me or
leaving a comment.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/DarkZoneGamingMain?feature=mhee
* A nice and easy way for you guys to support me and thank me for the guide is
by subscribing to my channel and liking my videos. You may request which
strategies/lets plays you would like to see as well, and I will get them done.
The videos are to go along with this guide so if you ever want to see part of
the guide in video farm, ask away!
*********************
* Legal Information *
*********************
Copyright Kranti Nebhwani 2012. This guide should not be copied, either in
part or whole, sold or shown for a profit, printed and claimed as own work,
placed in a web, or manipulated in any way without author's permission. Doing
so is strictly prohibited, and is in violation of copyright.
If for any reason the above rules are broken, please contact the author via
email and report the details of the violated laws. All company names, character
names, etc, are reserved for their respective owners.
***********************
* Contact Information *
***********************
The easiest way is to email me at: darkphoton@live.com, and if you have
msn or live messenger, you can always add me so we chat about your problems
real time. Bear in mind that I live way over in the UK, so there might be
significant time difference. However, if you manage to appoint a time with me
via email, I might be able to get on at the time suitable for you. Send all
your comments, further problems, and anything related to the game or guide to
me, and I'll reply as soon as I can. Thanks guys.
************
* Websites *
************
The list below contains all the websites that can use my guide. Any other sites
that want to put my guide up can email me for permission, and I'll say yes if
you ask politely. If however if someone finds my guide on a website that is not
indicated below, please email me the address of the site.
* 1. http://www.gamefaqs.com *
* 2. http://www.gamespot.com *
* 3. http://www.neoseeker.com *
* 4. http://www.ign.com *
* 5. http://www.giantbomb.com *
* 6. http://www.supercheats.com *
* 7. http://www.cheathappens.com *
* 8. http://www.cheatcc.com *
* 9. http://www.gamewise.co *
If you don't find my guide in any of the above sites or there is a problem,
feel free to tell me via email as well. If for whatever reason you guys want to
use my guide outside of the internet, such as to show it off or use it in
display, simply email me and ask me. If it's not inappropriate, I will allow it
to happen.
*******************
* Version History *
*******************
This is all updates and versions of the guide with full detail and all dates
included. Updates will come soon so don't stray far!
0.10 - (May 15th, 2012) Completed the general guide layout.
* Updates coming soon, just started the game.
0.20 - (May 16th, 2012) Completed the first chapter of the guide.
* Updates will come very soon, still attempting to finish the game on
Normal difficulty.
0.30 - (May 18th, 2012) Finished chapter 2.
* Chapter 3 and walkthrough will be started in next version, which
should arrive in the next couple of days. Nearly beat Normal in the game
now.
0.35 - (May 20th, 2012) Completed 75% of chapter 3, added new chapter "World
Features", and added information for "Future Updates" section in the
7th chapter.
* Chapter 3 will be completed in next update, and the walkthrough will
have officially started.
0.40 - (May 21st, 2012) Updated "About the Guide" list, completed Chapter 3,
and started first few quests of the Walkthrough.
* Next update will see chapter 4 started if not completed, and more
quests will be covered with the walkthrough.
0.45 - (May 25th, 2012) Updated chapter 4 (first three sections) and chapter
5 (first two sections). First couple of quests in the walkthrough have
been written.
* Chapter 4 is to be completed in the next update, as well as more
quest walkthroughs.
0.50 - (June 16th, 2012) Updated chapter 4 (first nine sections). Layout and
information with quest walkthroughs have been updated as well.
* Lack of recent updates due to final college exams. Will meet previous
goal of completing chapter 4 in next update.
0.60 - (June 17th, 2012) Completed chapter 4 and updated chapter 5.
* Back on track now, will have more updates very soon. Chapter 5 to be
completed in next update, and from then on will be adding in huge
chunks of quest walkthroughs.
0.65 - (June 21st, 2012) Completed chapter 5, added "Thoughts On Recent Patch"
section to the "Extras" chapter. Also added a couple more quests to
walkthrough.
* Good progress with guide, will be looking to add a lot more quest
walkthroughs as the other chapters are pretty much done. Check out the
new "Thoughts On Recent Patch" for my opinions on any recent patches.
0.70 - (June 23rd, 2012) Completed chapter 7, added more quest walkthroughs in
chapter 6. Updated a few other sections as well, including changing
the format of the walkthroughs.
* More walkthroughs coming very soon!
0.75 - (July 13th, 2012) Updated walkthrough, added changed up guide design
and fixed up a bunch of stuff.
* A lot more content up soon, had to take a break from a malfunctioning
computer crisis.
********************************
* Direct Section Finder System *
********************************
I have a system, like many other guides, that allows you to find the section
you want to read without the need of scrolling all the way down to find it. It
works simply by pressing (control + f), then typing in the code written next to
the title of a chapter you wish to read (the one in square brackets). E.g. if I
wanted to read the introduction of the guide, I'd type in OPE1. The codes are
created from the first three letters of the chapter title and the chapter
number. If you wanted to search a part within a chapter, simply copy and paste
that part's title and its number into the search box and press "next".
(c) Copyright Kranti Nebhwani 2012
*******************************************************************************
[TOC]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
*******************************************************************************
x-----------------------x
| PART A : GUIDE INTRO \
x-------------------------------------------------------------------------->
CHAPTER I - OPENING [OPE1]
(01) Introduction
(02) About the Author
(03) About the Guide
(04) What is Diablo?
(05) YouTube - DarkGaming Diablo 3 Videos
CHAPTER II - GETTING STARTED [GET2]
(01) The Game Controls
(02) Screen Interface
(03) The Main Menu
(04) Difficulty Levels
(05) PC System Requirements
(06) Battle.net & BattleTag
x------------------------------x
| PART B: GENERAL INFORMATION \
x-------------------------------------------------------------------------->
CHAPTER III - GAME BASICS [GAM3]
(01) Getting Around
(02) Combat
(03) Abilities
(04) Loot
(05) Item Rarity
[a] Common
[b] Magical
[c] Set
[d] Rare
[e] Legendary
(06) Gear
(07) Quests
(08) Co-op Play
[a] Public
[b] Private
(09) Potions
(10) Randomization
(11) PvP Arena
(12) Auction House
(13) Difficulty Modes
(14) Inferno
CHAPTER IV - WORLD FEATURES [WOR4]
(01) Sanctuary
(02) Towns
(03) Vendors
(04) Followers
(05) Recipes
(06) Artisans
[a] Blacksmith
[b] Jeweler
(07) Your Stash
(08) NPCs
(09) Monsters
[a] Normal
[b] Champions
[c] Rares
[d] Bosses
(10) Monster Affixes (Traits)
(11) Dungeons
(12) Random Events & Dungeons
(13) Chests
(14) Shrines
CHAPTER V - CHARACTER INFORMATION [CHA5]
(01) Gender
(02) Classes
[a] Barbarian
[b] Demon Hunter
[c] Monk
[d] Wizard
[e] Witch Doctor
(03) Health
(04) Resource
(05) Attributes
(06) Abilities (Skills)
[a] Active
[b] Passive
(07) Runes
(08) Other Stats
(09) Builds
(10) Itemization
(11) Gold
(12) Achievements
(13) Banner
(14) Group Compositions
x-----------------------x
| PART C : QUESTS \
x-------------------------------------------------------------------------->
CHAPTER VI - WALKTHROUGH [WAK6]
(01) Preparation
+++ NORMAL +++
* ACT I *
(02) The Fallen Star
(03) The Legacy of Cain
(04) A Shattered Crown
(05) Reign of the Black King
(06) Sword of the Stranger
(07) The Broken Blade
(08) Doom in Wortham
(09) Trailing the Coven
(10) The Imprisoned Angel
(11) Return to New Tristram
* ACT II *
* ACT III *
* ACT IV *
x------------------------x
| PART D : Closing \
x-------------------------------------------------------------------------->
CHAPTER VII - EXTRA INFORMATION [EXT7]
(01) Future Updates
(02) Frequently Asked Questions
(03) Thoughts On Recent Patch *NEW*
CHAPTER VIII - FINAL WORDS [FIN8]
(01) Credits
(02) Some last words...
/===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX====\
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===x
| PART A : GUIDE INTRO |
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================== XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==x
\===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===/
This part of the guide introduces all the features of the guide, myself, and
the game.
*******************************************************************************
[OPE1]
CHAPTER I - OPENING
*******************************************************************************
The main introduction to the entire guide, it's layout, the author, and the
game itself.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(01) Introduction
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
It's been a very long wait- even for those that have only heard of the Diablo
series since the announcement of Diablo 3. The first Diablo was released way
back in 1996 as one of the best games of the time, and Diablo 2 in 2000 as one
of the best and most replayable RPGs, still being played by fans today. After
almost 12 years after it's prequel's release and more than 4 years after it's
announcement, Diablo 3 has finally come out.
I, like plenty of Diablo fans and gamers out there, was extremely excited for
this game. Having played Diablo 2 years after its original release and still
enjoying it thoroughly, I couldn't wait for Diablo 3. So when I got my hands on
it on release day, I've been playing it none stop. And I'm sure you've played
it, perhaps even beat normally difficulty already. Well, it was quite good
wasn't it? In fact, it's the one of the best I've played, period.
Diablo 3 delivers on all aspects - gameplay, atmostphere, sound design, story
(for it's genre), length, replayability, content, and more. More importantly,
it delivers upon what Diablo is about, and that's great loot and randomized
content, with some awesome, varied classes and enemies to slay. Since it not
only followed it's series roots, but also has a better community and support
(and techonology) for that (even with all the QQ), I'm sure Diablo 3 will
last a much longer time than normal games would.
We'll also be seeing Blizzard release patches to balance, fix, and perhaps add
a thing or two. It's not an MMO so we shouldn't expect loads of extra features
just from patches, but what we can expect is the PvP Arena mode that they are
working on right now, and even patches that add new items. I'm sure these will
add yet another extremely exciting and long-lasting aspect for the game.
So after getting my hands on this game, I knew that writing a guide would be
necessary. There was no way I would stop myself from creating an awesome guide
for one of my favorite games of all time, especially when there's so much depth
to it. I'm sure there will be loads of guides uploaded for Diablo 3, but as of
this early from release, there isn't, and I'll be providing the first few- be
it days, weeks, or months - of Diablo 3 guidance for those that need it.
Now, in the words of Deckard Cain,
"Stay a while, and listen."
- Kranti
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(02) About the Author
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I'm Kranti and I'm a university student in the UK now, studying a Master's in
Software Engineering. I'm probably not planning to join the game industry once
I get my degree even though I could, but you never know, it might happen. I'm
more interested in the likes of Google, Microsoft, or any web-design related
companies.
In my spare time I game, and sometimes I do quite a bit of it, more than I
would like. Am I addicted to games? Certainly not, whenever I'm doing something
else I won't feel like it pales in comparison with games, and I have to get
back to my game sometime. I just enjoy the adventure and thrill of games, just
like how I enjoy the thrill of a good book or movie. I do get carried away
sometimes though, as aforementioned, as I do tend to stick with one form of
entertainment for a while once I get started.
I enjoy playing RPGs the most, but no so much MMORPGs (though I have played a
WoW character from 1-85 then stopped). I love great first person shooters too,
and a good strategy or action/adventure game will also grasp my attention from
time to time. Favorite FPS? The Halo series, to be specific perhaps Halo 3 or
Reach. Favorite RTS? Definitely Starcraft 2.
Since I get questions in the mail about my favorite games of all time, I'll
just clear that up here. Like I mentioned above, Halo 3, Halo Reach, and
Starcraft 2 are one of my favorite games. Then there is GTA IV, Oblivion,
Skyrim, The Witcher 2, Dragon Age, Mass Effect series, Call of Duty series, and
Red Dead Redepmtion. I can't really narrow it down more there are so many games
I have thoroughly enjoyed, but if you put a gun to my head and made me answer,
I'd say Skyrim was the best experience I've ever had.
Recently I've been playing Diablo 3, as you can obviously tell from this newly
released guide, and I'm finding it amazing - one of the best I've ever played.
With the PvP features coming in a near-future patch, I have hopes of this being
at least the top 5 of all time. Some of you may disagree, that even though it's
a great game, it's not "the best game" material and it has problems, but the
thing is this is MY type of game. Diablo 2 doesn't even rank as top 100 games
of all time when considering all critic reviews and user reviews, yet many
would say it was their favorite game.
I also have a knack of controlling my play time so that I don't "overhype"
before launch and then "over play" the game as soon as it's released - this
ruined the game for many. Playing some thing too much when it doesn't include a
subscription is a BAD idea - once you have done what it offers in that limited
time span, it will feel boring fast and knowing that there isn't more, you'll
quit. I played quite a lot of it but also did other activities alone and with
friends, and I'm glad I haven't "overdosed".
Dark story, dark fantasy, interesting characters, nice combat, challenging
game play, and endless items and rewards. With randomized content that's done
so well on top of it all, it really makes for a replayable, exciting, hardcore
experience.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(03) About the Guide
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This guide will attempt to cover most aspects of the game in as much depth as
possible, making sure both new and veteran players will find something of use.
This section will explain what the guide covers in more detail, explain some
systems this guide posesses, and give you a key to the terms used in this guide
that you may not be familiar with.
The entire guide is organized in a manner where it is easier for you to locate
what you wish to know. There are four parts in the guide that has a number of
related chapters in them. In each chapter, detailed sections (which are
numbered, e.g. the part you are reading now is part "(03) About the Guide")
explain different aspects that the chapter is focusing on.
The first part of the guide is focused on introducing me and the guide's layout
and terms, as well as give a bit of an intro to the game and it's most basic
elements (controls and such). The second part consists of the general info of
the game, with all the basics you need to know, and all the character info you
should be aware of. This section is great for beginners to get a good knowledge
of the game and how everything works.
The third part of the guide, part C, is the main part of the entire game. It's
the quest walkthroughs - all the main quests are covered there in as much
detail as I could manage. You'll find multiple solutions, extra information,
and more in these walkthroughs. There may be a couple bits missing from certain
quests but those will be revised and fixed asap.
The fourth and final part of the guide simply includes a closing chapter with
some extra stuff, such as an F.A.Q. and a review of the game or such. A great
section to take a look at in this section is the future updates - here you will
see all the great plans and updates I will be making in the near future. You
may also email me and suggest which extra things you would like me to cover for
the game - be it an alchemy chapter or in-depth combat strategies chapter, if I
get enough request, I will do it.
The guide also incorporates a simple notes section. If you find an asterix sign
next to any word or phrase, it means you will find a note at the bottom of that
section which details what that word or phrase is, or where you could find more
information on that topic. The note will be in this form: " *NOTE* - ".
Finally, there are quite a few terms that you will need to learn if you have
not played any of the Diablo games before, as this is a fantasy game with a
well created world AND fanbase. All the terms that are of interest and that are
used in this guide and forums will be covered below - please feel free to email
me or simply search online if some word or phrase is not covered below:
Gold - The main currency of the game. They use this currency in Sanctuary, a
world which all the Diablo games are set in.
PvP - "Player versus Player", modes and features for having players fight
against each other.
PvM & PvE - "Player versus Monster" and "Player versus Environment",
respectively. The first acronym was more popular during the Diablo
times, and the second acronym came when WoW and other MMO's came
around. Both refer to player fighting AI monsters and quests, which
means they are direct opposites of PvP (look above).
DPS - Stands for "damage per second". This term means the efficient damage you
can output with your weapons, as its a number that shows you how much
actual damage you can deal every second. Your DPS is shown in the charac-
ter stats section, but please note that the DPS only indicates the DPS
you can perform with your weapons without ABILITIES. Abilities often do
more damage than your weapons and can be chained up, buffed, etc.
AoE - Stands for "area of effect" and can be written as "AOE" as well. These
are effects or abilities (either from you or enemies) that deal out over
an area. So abilities like the barbarian's earthquake or the wizard's
meteor or blizzard are all AoE moves.
Drops - This refers to the loot and treasure that monsters "drop" upon death,
and the loot that crates, boxes, and chests may contain.
Mobs - Refers to a group of regular enemies, unless stated otherwise. E.g. if
someone says "Rare Mobs" then obviously its a group of rares and not
just normal enemies.
Rares & Champions - These are the nicknames given to the stronger enemies in
the game, that aren't actually bosses. Rares are the ones
that have yellow names, and champions are the ones with
blue names.
Inferno - The hardest difficulty in the game made for the people who have made
it to the level cap (level 60). This mode is supposed to be insanely
hard, requiring plenty of days and weeks getting better gear to
progress through.
Farming - A term commonly used in MMOs and RPGs, farming simply means killing
enemies repeatedly at a certain point or around an area in attempt to
find quality loot. This is usually required to get better gear,
especially if players are not utilizing the auction house.
AH - Stands for the "Auction House", a system for player to post any items to
sell for gold or purchase any items other players have put up.
RMAH - Stands for "Real Money Auction House", which is a new system from
Blizzard that allows selling items and gold for REAL LIFE MONEY.
Barb, Wiz, DH - Nicknames for some of the classes: (from left to right)
Barbarian, Wizard, Demon Hunter.
Nephalum Valor - In inferno diffiuclty you get this buff whenever you kill
rares or champions, and it grants you extra magic find.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(04) What is Diablo?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Since Diablo 3's prequels were released ages ago, plenty of you gamers from the
past 5-10 years might not have a clue what Diablo is. Diablo is an action role
playing series, created by Blizzard - the guys behind the Starcraft and
Warcraft universes.
Diablo was very well recieved. It had solid gameplay and very exciting and
distinct class choices, but what set it apart from other role playing games
were the randomness of the loot and environments, brutal, fast gameplay, it's
isometric camera, its co-op play, and it's dark, mature atmosphere. People
could spend much more time after they beat the story just to explore dungeons
that had a different layout everytime you entered, and farm for awesome loot
endlessly.
The randomization makes it so that loot had random stats bound to each weapon
or armor's base defense or attack damage, and also a different rarity depending
on what % chance the item would drop from a monster. Not just that the loot's
stats and names were random, but the locations at which they could drop are
random as well, and they was exciting for everyone. Every dungeon had a layout
that would randomize each time you enter (after leaving the game), and this was
literally the whole game for the first Diablo as it was set in a single, large
dungeon.
So what about gameplay? Diablo always had quick fights consisting of many
enemies, most of which would be regular enemies. However there was always a
chance of meeting stronger champion enemies, which had extra bonus powers and
such, and also rares which are stronger, uniquely names versions of a regular
enemy. Plus the fact that Diablo 1 and 2 had a great variety of enemies, it
made it very interesting to deal with such an immense horde or different
creatures and the rare or champion versions of them. And of course, there were
awesome bosses.
There were also multiple game difficulties, namely Normal, Nightmare, and Hell.
They were only unlocked once you beat the game, so "beating" Diablo games on
normal was never considered actually "beating" it. Players would go to the next
difficulty where they can use the same character that finished the previous
difficulty, and continue leveling him through the harder difficulty. The game
was always about beating all the difficulties, and getting the best loot you
could find.
In Diablo player movement was controlled by clicking anywhere, and attacking
someone also consists of clicking on them. You could bind certain abilities to
the left mouse button and all abilities to the right mouse button. Hotkeys
could be set to swap what was bound on which button. So it was very simple to
attack and move, it was all just clicking, but behind it all was a robust
system of gathering gear and creating your character build. You could also play
with up to 7 other friends in co-op, and they would bring their exact character
into play with you, or you could play online with random players.
Your character build was deteremined by how you distrubted your stats and your
ability points, which you get 5 and 1 per level, respectively. You could build
many different types of characters among the 5 classes of the first game and
the 7 class of the second game, based off of your choices. Not many builds were
viable for later difficulties however, and there were 2 of these - nightmare
and hell, both of which were really challenging.
The new Diablo 3 has kept most of what made the previous games iconic- nicely
designed randomization; dark atomsphere; frentic, brutal combat; isometric
camera; distinct, powerful classes; and solid co-op play. The skill system has
been overhauled and much improved, it's much easier to get friends to play and
to find a similar-leveled game with random players, there's even more loot and
tiers of gear. Like it's predecessors, it's easy to learn but impossible to
master, so whether you're someone that likes role playing games or not, give
Diablo 3 a try and you I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(05) YouTube - DarkGaming Diablo 3 Videos
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
UPDATE: The channel is now live with some new boss fights and a couple other
videos with my new barb and monk! I might ask my friend to let me play
my level 60 witch doctor (which I played while staying over at hers
when I was supposed to be studying) so I can make some inferno videos.
I have a YouTube channel called Dark Gaming where I do commentary, gameplay,
and strategy videos on Diablo 3 and other games. I tend to focus on the RPG
genre, and mostly Skyrim and Diablo 3 (and as of now mostly only Diablo 3), so
come check them out if you want strategy tips and guides in the video form. The
videos will get better as I play more of the game of course, and I'm 100% set
dedicated on making videos as I've bought all the equipment and editing softwa-
re needed to do so already.
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/DarkZoneGamingMain?feature=mhee
So please like, comment, and subscribe, to support my guide and my videos -
remember I'm doing all this for free (both the GUIDE and the VIDEOS) and that's
all it takes for you guys to thank me. And thank you to those that have put in
kind words already and have liked and subscribed to my videos. Stay tuned, I
have a lot of ideas in store. Most likely I'll be adding more gameplay videos
and then startegy builds, commentary, and general tips. Updates are frequent so
check back daily!
*******************************************************************************
[GET2]
CHAPTER II - GETTING STARTED
*******************************************************************************
This is the chapter for all you beginners. It explains all the fundamentals to
Diablo 3's gameplay - it's controls and such. Save yourselves some deaths and
fondling around with the manual by read this chapter.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(01) The Game Controls
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
LEFT MOUSE BUTTON - |Move| Clicking anywhere on traversable land will direct
your hero there. You can hold this button to keep them
moving in the direction of your cursor if desired.
|Primary Ability| Uses your "primary" ability, which can
be bound to anything in the abilities screen. Ability is
only used when your cursor is over an enemy or breakable
object.
RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON - |Secondary Ability| Uses your "secondary" ability, which
can be bound to anything in the abilities screen.
Shift - |Use Ability On Spot| (Hold) Holding shift will have you stay in place
and fire off abilities instead of move when clicking the right and
left mouse buttons. Better for ranged classes who want to avoid moving
close to melee enemies.
J - |Open Journal| Opens up your journal which contains all your quest entries
and all the lore/journal entries you acquire.
1-4 - |Ability Hotkeys| Aside from your two abilities mapped to your mouse
buttons you can map four more abilities on the 1-4 ability keys. These
6 active abilities will create your "build" (along with 3 passive ones).
You may the hotkey to any letter or number on the keyboard.
Q - |Use Potion| The potion button, allows you to consume a potion equipped on
the potion hotkey.
S - |Abilities Menu| Opens up your character abilities menu, where you can
customize which active and passive abilities to use, as well as which
runes to slot into your active abilities.
I - |Open Inventory| Accesses the inventory menu where you can look at your
equipped items, gold, bag inventory, and character stats.
C - |Open Character Menu| This is the same menu as the inventory menu noted
above. Your character stats are shown on the top left of this menu, and
clicking on "Detailed Stats" will bring up a big list of extra stats for
you to look at.
H - |Open Follower Menu| Opens up the character stats page for your current
follower. You may give your follower new weapons, rings, and items and
also set their ability paths here.
Z - |Zoom-In Camera| Zooms the camera closer in on your hero. You can continue
to play normally when zoomed in.
G - |Drop Banner| Drops down your personal banner at where your mouse cursor
is pointing at. This allows you to show off your banner to your friends or
random people you play with.
ESC - |Opens Achievement/Options| Opens said menu selection screen where
you can choose to leave the game session, tinker with the options, have
a loot at your achievements, or quit the the entire game to the desktop.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(02) Screen Interface
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
We have the well-known Diablo user interface return to us in Diablo 3, and this
time round it looks even better. There are a few on-screen features you should
take note of when you play the game, and these are explained below.
************
Health Globe
************
The red globe near the bottom left-center of the screen is your health globe,
and it is the sole indication of your character's remaining life. When you take
damage these will slowly deplete, and once it's gone you will be killed and
will have to restart at the last checkpoint while losing durability to your
items.
**************
Resource Globe
**************
The globe next to your health globe is your resource, which is basically your
class's power reserves for using abilities. Every one of the five classes have
difference resources*.
**********
Hotkey Bar
**********
Between your health and resource globes you'll find a hotkey bar that allows
you to map 6 active abilities and one potion. 4 abilities can be mapped to the
1-4 number keys (you can change these hotkeys in options), and 2 more can be
mapped to the left and right mouse buttons. The potion hotkey can only hold one
type of potion.
********
Menu Bar
********
Next to your hotkey bar is your menu bar, where you'll find 4 options: quests &
lore, inventory & character, skills, and menu options.
***********
Town Portal
***********
The old scroll of town portals are gone, now you have a handy spell that casts
you back to down via a portal almost whenever you want. The town portal button
is between the ability hot bar and the menu bar, shown as a blue icon.
********
Party UI
********
Both followers and party members will be shown on the top left of the screen as
their portrait, name, and health bar. You can right click it to get more
options to do with these players such as inspect them or trade items with them.
********
Chat Box
********
There is a chat box on the bottom left corner of the screen, and it allows you
to chat with your party, link items and gear on it, and also join any public
channel chat from anywhere in the game (whether you're in menus or in-game).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(03) The Main Menu
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The main menu of Diablo 3 is layed out quite well, showing not only clear
options on starting a game alone or with others, but also your character and
banner screens. This section will briefly inform you what to expect from this
main menu screen.
The main menu serves pretty much as your lobby in Diablo 3, offering you a
place to sit back and chat on the different channels, customize your banner,
decide on a type of game to join, and more.
From here you may:
***********
Start Quest
***********
This will either read "Start Quest" or "Resume Quest" depending on if you're
continuing a previous game or if you've just selected a quest. This is
essentially your private game - it will allow you to start a game alone, at
whichever quest you left off at or have selected. You can open your game to
public though, which means anyone can join your game
at anytime.
************
Change Quest
************
Brings up a list of quests that you have already completed, with the option to
jump between any difficulty you've reached as well. You may select a quest from
here and then press "Start Quest" to start the quest in a private game.
************
Public Games
************
Allows you to browse the quests you are able to do with other people in a
public game. It also shows the number of people in public games. You are only
allowed to join quests that are quite near your level range, usually + or - 7
levels or so. This means you won't be able to do quests that are much too easy
for you, or it'll ruin the experience of others.
Select a quest you wish to join and confirm, then you'll almost always
instantly join a random group of 2-4 players. It's a slick and fast system that
gets you playing with people around your region.
*************
Auction House
*************
This option enables you to browse the real money auction house or gold auction
house, where people post gear, items, and more for sale. You may also post your
own items for sale here.
*****************
Character Profile
*****************
At the center of the main menu is your currently selected character. You may
swap him out by clicking on the "switch character" button below him/her, then
choosing another hero. Clicking on your current hero will bring up your
profile, where anyone including yourself may see how many hours you've played
with each class, your progress through the difficulties, your individual
characters and their 3D models, items, and stats. A very useful page for
showing off your characters. You can view other player's profiles by right
clicking their name and selecting "view profile".
****************
Customize Banner
****************
Right next to your character will be the display of your banner, and if you
click on it you may customize it to your liking. Your banner is a great way of
showing off the achievements you have and the things you've done.
********
Chat Box
********
There is a chat box on the bottom left corner of the screen, and it allows you
to chat with your party, link items and gear on it, and also join any public
channel chat from anywhere in the game (whether you're in menus or in-game).
You can view the profiles of any characters that appear, as well as add them to
your friends list or invite them to your party.
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(04) Difficulty Levels
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This is what it takes to "beat" Diablo 3 - not just normal mode, but all these
different difficulties. Normal mode is only the beginning, where you enjoy the
story and learn your main abilities. The game isn't over after that, as you can
bring the character you completed normal with into nightmare mode and beyond,
leveling him all the way up to 60 by the time you reach end of Hell.
******
NORMAL
******
This is the only option in the beginning of the game, and for the most part it
serves first as a tutorial in the very early stages of the game, and later as a
fun campaign where you battle through the compelling story in Diablo 3 while
learning new Skills and figuring out your build. Enemies don't do too much
damage and die pretty quick, though you will still occasionally find one or two
challenging demons. Rares and champions can only have up to 1 bonus affix in
this difficulty.
Unless you are completely new to this genre, you should find this first
difficulty quite easy with a few challenges in between. If you are a dedicated
player or have much experience in this genre however, you will find this mode
very easy and blow through it quite fast.
*********
NIGHTMARE
*********
For quite a lot of people this is where the game finally begins. You have your
characters main active skills unlocked, and the game has jumped in difficulty
so that you need to focus not only on your build and gear, but also some
tactics. Enemies hit much harder, have more abilities, and rares and champions
can have up to two bonus affixes. It should take you some time to beat this
mode if you're ok with the game or even quite good at it. If you're hardcore
you'll find it still quite easy if you gear up well and use some tactics.
****
HELL
****
This is where it really starts challenging all players. Even hardcore players
will need to gear up very well and make thoughtful builds, as well as learn the
tactics of bosses and abilities of mobs - which have increased in number again
since nightmare difficulty. For the average player this will take a long while
to beat, requiring you to farm loot from previous difficulties or trade / AH
them, and slowly making progress. Rares and champions can have up to 3 bonus
affixes in this mode.
*******
INFERNO
*******
The ultimate difficulty of Diablo 3, the end-game, the main bit of content.
There are three whole new tiers of gear in this mode (13 other tiers are spread
among the other three difficulties), extremely hard monsters that are ALWAYS
above your level, and rares and champions have up to 4 bonus affixes. When you
get in this mode you'll be at the level cap (60), and monsters will be at 61
and above.
To beat this difficulty will be near-impossible for average players - you'll
need to become very dedicated and do some farming in Acts 3 & 4 of Hell and
early Inferno, and either work out very good builds that works alone if you're
playing solo, or builds that synergize with others perfectly when in a party.
You'll also need to be extremely careful and playing with good knowledge of
enemies and bosses, using good tactics at all times. For hardcore players this
mode will also be the ultimate challenge.
Once this mode is finally beaten, you won't actually have "finished" end game.
I hate to make comparisons with WoW but it's like beating a raid boss once. You
will still go back to kill them, and try get gear. So at this point you can
then enjoy this full mode as the end-game, where you can try obtain gear in any
of the four acts with any mobs, rares & campions, or bosses that you wish.
Farming for the best gear is always what Diablo 3 is about, and since enemy
levels will always be above you, this mode will always be challenging and fun
to farm.
**********
FINAL NOTE
**********
After all these explanations on the different difficulties, I'm sure some
people will still not get it. Once you beat normal mode, you have not finished
the game, so don't worry if you found it a bit short! First off the content was
randomized, so you will not have seen all the events, side quests, uniques and
rares, and dungeons out there. Secondly, all the difficulties above is more
content for you - that's how Diablo is designed, not a one-time normal
difficulty game, but a game that requires you to bring the same character into
multiple difficulties and farm for gear and beat content. You won't even find
most items (around 70%) in normal mode - the better-looking, more powerful
items and weapons are all found on the higher difficulties, as well as certain
item stats, recipe drops, gems, and more.
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(05) PC System Requirements
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For some of you the system requirements of Diablo 3 may still be a concern.
Look no further, as I have included the requirements for both windows and mac
here. If you meet the minimum requirements you can play the game fine on low
settings, and if you meet the recommended requirements you can play smoothly on
medium and turn some high options on too.
***************************
Minimum System Requirements
***************************
Windows
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Windows® XP/Vista/7 (latest service packs) with DX 9.0c
Intel Pentium® D 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 4400+
NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800 GT or ATI Radeon™ X1950 Pro or better
1 GB RAM (XP), 1.5 GB (Vista/7)
12 GB available HD space
DVD-ROM (required for retail disc versions only)
Broadband* Internet connection
1024x768 minimum resolution
Mac
¯¯¯¯
Mac® OS X 10.6.8, 10.7.x or newer
Intel® Core 2 Duo
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better
2 GB RAM
12 GB available HD space
DVD-ROM (required for retail disc versions only)
Broadband* Internet connection
1024x768 minimum resolution
*******************************
Recommended System Requirements
*******************************
Windows
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Windows® Vista/7 (latest service packs)
Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better
Mac
¯¯¯¯
Mac® OS X 10.7.x or newer
Intel® Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(06) Battle.net & BattleTag
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
There are a few online aspects to Blizzard games that you should learn about
before diving into Diablo 3.
**********
Battle.net
**********
Battle.net is the online system for the online side of Blizzard games, be it
World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, or now, Diablo 3. This is the service you're on
once you log onto Starcraft 2 online mode, onto World of Warcraft, or if you
join a multiplayer game in the old Diablo 2. It allows you to add people as
friends via their email (realID) and it will show them when they come online on
any current Blizzard game (SC2, WoW, and D3). It's one of the best online
systems out there, with stable access, sleek and clear chat options, and some
of the best match-making systems.
Despite the fact that you may see complaints of battle net and Blizzard's
customer service, they are some of the best out there and people are literally
just taking the service for granted. Most games don't have a customer service
to begin with, but Blizzard has it for all their games, be it for the singer
player or online portions of games. Second of all, there are countless players
that play Blizzard games - with SC2 being the most played strategy game and
WoW being the most played MMO (with 10 MILLION subscribers) the service is alr-
eady great. But again, it's impossible to meet the standards of all gamers.
*********
BattleTag
*********
A battletag is a nickname that you'll have to create for your account as a
whole before you can play Diablo 3. You can make one even if you just have WoW
or SC2, but as of now that doesn't do much for you.
Your battletag will be shown in all of the chat channels, to your friends, and
to everyone that plays with you or sees you on their "recently played" list (if
they have recently played in a party with you). Therefore make sure you choose
wisely, as this will represent you as a whole. You also add people by their
BattleTag as well, allowing you to chat with them regardless of which character
they are playing.
This is useful because let's say I added a friend I just met that was playing
with his level 30 Monk named "HolyWarrior". If I add him with that name, and he
were to play on his other characters, I wouldn't be able to talk to him. But
now if I added his battletag and he were to come online, I would be able to
talk to him and tell him to come on his monk or just chat.
/===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX====\
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===x
| PART B : GENERAL INFORMATION |
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================== XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==x
\===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===/
A huge portion of the guide is here, where I explain a lot of the core elements
of the game as well as the features of your characters. More sections may be
added here in the future, such as an enemies chapter or followers chapter.
This part is an extremely important one for less experienced players, as it
will explain how everything works and guide you through all of the unfamiliar
gameplay aspects of Diablo 3.
*******************************************************************************
[GAM3]
CHAPTER III - GAME BASICS
*******************************************************************************
This chapter attempts to explain all the important aspects of the game. If
you're still learning the ropes to this game, this is a great chapter to read
up on. As Diablo 3 is an ARPG, it's not really familiar territory for the
average gamer, so don't just assume you will "figure it out", I constantly see
many players asking silly questions on forums.
Be sure to check out the following two chapters if you find the features
explained here too basic. They cover the "meatier", more in-depth stuff of the
game.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(01) Getting Around
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As with most ARPGs, in Diablo 3 you move around by clicking on the ground. If
the land you click on is reachable, your hero character will move there regard-
less of what stands between him and the position you clicked. There is no
running/sprinting or jumping - you'll move at the same speed and always with
clicking. Certain items may give +% bonuses to movement speed, however.
While clicking to move you may find sometimes that you will accidently click on
an enemy when attempting to actually move to a spot. This is especially bad
with ranged classes, as you'll want to stay away from enemies and not go near
them. For ranged classes you can hold shift while clicking to fire off your
abilities on the spot. A solution that works for everyone however is to bind
the "Move" option in the keybinding menu. Press this key will order your hero
to move to a spot even when your cursor is positioned over an enemy.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(02) Combat
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The combat in Diablo 3 is simple to learn but very hard to master. It's also
very relaxing and can be exciting when fighting hard enemies or large groups.
To attack an enemy, you simply only need to click on them. This uses the
ability you have assigned to your left mouse button. You can right click on
them to use any abilities bound to your right mouse button as well.
In the past Diablo games this was your only attack method, with left and right
mouse buttons. In Diablo 3 however you may assign four other active abilities
to the 1-4 number keys (by default). The ability is then either cast when the
key is pressed or when the key is pressed while your cursor is over an enemy
(depends on ability).
You'll be fighting mostly large packs of enemies with relatively low health, so
the action pace is quite fast. You'll notice that there are stronger enemies
and different ranks of enemies* that will need to be dealth with in various
ways. Boss fights are also quite frequent and always rewarding.
The one key note is to remember that the pacing of the combat is fast, so you
may die quite quickly and you'll be killing hordes of enemies quickly as well,
so to be good at the combat will require not only tactics but some quick
decision making and fast reflexes.
*NOTE* - For more on the ranks of enemies and what rares and champions are,
look for the "Monsters" section of this chapter.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(03) Abilities
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Diablo 3 has a ton of interesting abilities for each of the game's 5 classes,
with more variety than most action role playing games out there. There are
around 25 active abilities and 13-16 passive abilities per character, plus 5
runes per active ability.
Your character may choose 6 active abilities and 3 passive abilities to use at
a time, and this will effectively be your character's build*. This is why there
are only 6 key binds allowed on the screen (2 mouse buttons and 4 keyboard
keys), as a character may only have 6 active skills at once.
Abilities can be selected by opening up your skills menu ("S" by default),
selecting a skill keybind, then selecting one of the available abilities to
assign that keybind to that ability. Three passive abilities can be selected at
the bottom of the skills menu in the same fashion.
The active abilities can then, of course, be used when the assigned keybinds
are pressed. Some abilities require certain amount of a class resource** to
use, while others will need a target selected by your mouse cursor. Holding
shift while pressing an ability assigned button will allow you to cast it even
if it originally requires a cursor target.
*NOTE* - For more on character builds head down to section "(11) Builds" of
chapter V "CHARACTER INFORMATION".
**NOTE** - To learn more on class resources, read up on section "(4) Resource"
of chapter V "CHARACTER INFORMATION".
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(04) Loot
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One of the very core aspects of any Diablo game is the loot that is involved.
Everytime you kill any enemies there's a chance that it drops some loot, be it
gold, a health globe, or a piece of armor. The drops are randomized in this
game, so you never know quite what to expect this makes for some very exciting
gameplay. Everytime something magical or rare drops you will be getting a treat
to a new item, and this "loot lust" feel is what drives people to play the
Diablo series again and again.
Diablo 3 has more loot than ever - 17 tiers of armor art styles that have
randomized stats, hundreds of unique set pieces, and also a couple hundred
completely distinct legendary items. The "17 tiers" of armor are only "looks"
mind you - meaning there are 17 different looks of for each armor piece and
for each you may get any stats allocated on them depending on what drops for
you. These tiers progressively appear through the gave but the next tier is
not guaranteed to be better items than the previous tier. Only the first tier
has some missing pieces (no shoulders and helm), but the rest cover all slots.
The set items and legendary items are one-of-kind, meaning they were designed
in look and in stats by blizzard, but even then one or two stats will still be
randomized so you may not get the perfect legendary you want if one drops for
you. There are different types of regular loot as well, colored depending on
their rarity. This explained in the next section of this chapter.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(05) Item Rarity
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Whenever an item drops, we quickly identify it first with what color it's font.
Different colors indicate different rarities, and this is the first way to know
if the item is even worth picking up or not. Once you know that it's something
worth looking at, then you pick it up and check out it's stats. All rarities
are explained below.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[a] Common
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Common items are items that have white font colors. These are for the most
useless unless you are in the very first act of normal. Unlike Diablo 2, they
never have any bonus effects on them and so they provide only raw armor and
damage. Junk items have grey font color and are even worse than common items in
quality. Neither of these are really worth selling, as they don't sell for
much, but sometimes when you just can't afford to sell magical items these are
the ones to sell.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[b] Magical
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Magical items are rarer than common items, and they are blue. These will serve
as the focus of most of the game, as they drop quite often and have bonus magic
effects that may benefit your character. Magical items are also quite cheap to
craft. However, these are only ok in stats and can only have a couple bonus
effects on each. Hate to make a comparison again but these are sort of between
the "greens" and "blues" in WoW.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[c] Set
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Set items do not have completely randomly generated stats, as they are uniquely
made items by Blizzard that fit together with other items of the same set. They
will have a couple randomize effects but that's it. They are colored green.
Most set items are very rare, harder to find than rare items but not as
incredibly rare as legendaries. Finding a good set will be very hard, and most
of the time will need to be traded or bought on the AH with either gold or real
money. Set items that are for specific classes can be quite powerful however,
and may be well worth the farming time and gold/cash spent to acquire them.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[d] Rare
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
This is what most players will be craving for, as rare items can drop once or
twice over a few hours of play if your character has good magic find gear. This
essentially means that they are not even near as difficult to find as set items
or legendary items, and though still rare are worth the time to acquire for
their awesome stats. They are colored yellow and require identifying once found
by right clicking the item. Rare items have many stats, all of which are
randomized, and most of them have much more interesting names than magical
items.
It is to be noted that the very first time you kill each main story boss in
normal mode you are guaranteed one rare, with chances of more dropping. From
there you'll need to be lucky and rely on your magic find stat.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[e] Legendary
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The rarest type of item is a legendary item, and these will appear sort of
bronze in color. The drop rates for legendaries are incredibly low, requiring a
lot of playtime, plenty of magic find stacking, and a LOT of a luck. Of course
there will be people who have legendaries drop without a huge number of hours
and not much magic find, but those people are like those that have won the
lottery. It probably won't happen to you, so increase your chances by farming
areas with high magic find gear and one day you may get one.
Legendaries contain a huge number of stats, are completely unique in design and
most often look awesome, and have a almost 100% fixed stats set by Blizzard. In
traditional Diablo fashion however, there are still a couple randomized stats
as well. You can sell a legendary for a crazy amount of gold or money on the
Auction Houses now, even though at the moment legendaries still need a buff in
terms of stats in my opinion.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(06) Gear
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
You'll find endless hordes of loot in Diablo 3, from gems and gold to helms and
awesome two-handed swords. However the most interesting part of loot is getting
gear for your character. Gear is important as without great equipment you will
even find Nightmare difficulty incredibly hard to beat.
You have loads of different choices of gear in Diablo 3. Your character may
equip: two rings, an amulet, bracers, gloves, boots, pants, chest armor,
shoulder armor, helms, a two-handed weapon, two one-handed weapons, or one
weapon and a special off-hand item (shield, mojo, etc, depending on class).
With random stats and rarities on each of these pieces and so many different
art styles you can probably guess so how much gear there is in Diablo 3.
Gear is equipped by opening your character menu, then dragging a piece of gear
to the right gear slot above your inventory. You will see a nicely drawn image
of your class with slots for gear at the corresponding places, and each piece
of gear will also have their own art drawing. Again there are 16 tiers of armo-
r set art STYLES, and these are just looks - there will be loads of different
equipment with the same look but with different names and stats.
You will find more and more of these tiers as you progress through the game,
with the final three being solely in Inferno difficulty. The couple last tiers
are therefore really hard to acquire, and will make you distinct over most
people if you manage to get some. You can also dye your gear for even further
distinct looks. Dyes can be bought from various vendors and found as drops.
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(07) Quests
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Like with it's predecessors, Diablo 3 has quests to complete as you progress
through the game. Thankfully it doesn't have a fixed number of quests per act
like Diablo 2 had (which in this day and age seems pretty lame). There are a
good number of story quests that you play through from start to finish, and the
story they tell is a big improvement over the previous games.
Quests are basically "missions" your recieve from NPCs or from story events
that can be completed whenever you want. To progress through the game, the main
quests must be finished. The core of Diablo 3 will be about its epic main quest
however - remember Diablo 3 is not about questing storylines like it is in the
Elder Scrolls series, it's about the loot, awesome fights, and developing your
character while you beat harder and harder content.
As you'll wish to go into certain areas to defeat bosses or farm around certain
acts or bits of the story, you are allowed to replay any of the quests in solo
or with your friends. If you wish to play with others in a public game, you can
still choose from the quests of which you fall into the level range. The level
range is usually around nine levels (e.g. first quest in the game can be joined
by played that are level 1-9). Once you reach inferno though, everyone is level
60 and so you can join any quest in public games.
Quests are definitely more interesting in Diablo 3 than before, as not only is
the story more fleshed out, but the quests bring you across more locales with
more of a purpose than before.
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(08) Co-op Play
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Co-op has always been the heart and soul of a Diablo game, and none has done it
better than the Diablo series. You may bring your own character, complete with
your skill choices, dyes, and items - basically your complete hero, into the
game with another bunch of players. You may do this with up to 3 other players
in Diablo 3, whether it's a public game with random players or with friends you
know in a private party.
Either way it makes the game even more interesting on quite a few levels. For
example you'll need to work together to defeat enemies and bosses, as the
difficulty scales as more players join your party, and you'll have a explosive
time fighting together with abilities and corpses flying everywhere. Going
hunting for loot or demons together with a friend is much more interesting as
well, and the classes are extremely balanced in co-op play.
There are some things to note. Loot is instanced for each player, meaning the
loot that you see drop for you is only yours. This was done obviously to stop
the need of loot-stealing or dashing for loot everytime something drops. In a
party you may also you the resurrection system to revive your allies or have
them revive you, but it needs a short cast time to perform and this isn't
always possible in the middle of a fight.
Even though loot is instanced, you are still able to trade with players, by
right-clicking their portrait and selecting "trade", as well as drop the loot
on the ground after picking it up so that everyone can see it and pick it up.
You can also inspect players for that matter, to see what skills they are using
for their build and which items they have. You can do this by right cling their
portrait and selecting "Inspect".
Below I have detailed the difference between a public and private game, as well
as how to join each.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[a] Public
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Battle.net's* great match-making system will group you up with players that
are in your level range in a public game. You will be able to join a public
game by first clicking on public games, then choosing one of the quests that
you are able to do. If you join a quest that is already done before you can
still play through it again with others, but remember you'll be seeing differe-
nt dungeons, events, and loot drops as a lot of Diablo 3 is randomized. You are
not able to choose quests that you have not completed or got up to in solo or
in a public game or private game with friends.
*NOTE* - If you're unsure about Battle.net, you can read or on it in Chapter II
part "(06) Battle.net & BattleTag".
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[b] Private
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
If you do have good friends to play with at the time (or you've just made a
friend in a public game or in chat), you can join them in a party and start
your own private game. To do this simply open your social menu where your
friends list is (press O by default), and then right click the player you want
to add to your party and select "Add to Party". You can add up to 3 other
players to one party.
From here simply choose a quest like you did in solo play and press "Start
Quest". You can also join your partner at his point of the story whether its
below your level or actually ABOVE your level. If you join a quest above your
level you will SKIP all the quests between what you've reached in solo to the
quest you joined with him. If it's more important you play with your friend
then do the quests in order (and experience the story), then this is fine and
that's why Blizzard allows this. If not, then simply tell your higher-level
friend to join your lower level quest and help you out.
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(09) Potions
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Potions give you instant health in Diablo 3, allowing you to stay alive during
some of the more difficult encounters. There are a huge array of different
health potions, but no "mana" potions this time round, as each and every class
has a unique resource system*. You'll find better potions in shops or dropping
as loot as you progress through the game.
You can only bind one type of potion to your hotbar however, by dragging the
potion from your inventory to the potion hotkey space. Whenever you press the
potion hotkey from there on out ("Q" by default) you will use that potion. If
you wish you may still use any of the potions that are in your inventory at
any time by right-clicking on them.
A new and improved aspect of potions however is that once you drink one you'll
activate a potion cooldown that prevents you from consuming another potion for
30 seconds. You'll see the cooldown timer on your potion icons. This is a great
feature as it prevents people from spamming potions non-stop and relying on
them to beat content, instead of using good builds, gear, and strategies. In
Diablo 2 there was a lot of potion spamming which is why I think they changed
it.
*NOTE* - To learn more on class resources, read up on section "(4) Resource" of
chapter V "CHARACTER INFORMATION".
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(10) Randomization
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As one of the Diablo series' core aspects, randomization has made its way back
into Diablo 3 - and it's done better than ever. Randomization* touches a lot of
features in the game, such as loot, dungeons, events, enemies, and more. This
has made the experience of Diablo games more refreshing and allows for a better
replay value.
Items drops are completely randomized in the game, meaning you will find
different items everytime loot drops from an enemy. It may be some rare boots
or just a magical wand, but even if you get two of the same rarity + types of
items they will have different armor, damage, or affix (stat bonus) values.
They will have different names as well, and there are loads of different
looking weapons and armor in the game.
Enemies are randomized in the sense that what appears in an area changes up
sometimes, and the mix of enemies will be different as well. On top of this,
there are stronger enemies that are champions (blue colored) and some rare
enemies (yellow colored) with unique names with even stronger powers that will
appear randomly. Stronger enemies have a higher chance of dropping better loot.
Areas have the same static borders and landmarks, but are randomized in what
they contain. There are many points in every area that may have a mini side
quest or event that will randomly occur, which you can complete and net more
loot. Other times you may find dungeons that weren't there before occur, some
are small, some medium, some massive. And most of these are not required for
completing quests. Also where chests are and enemies stay will randomly alter
as well.
Dungeons themselves are completely random in terms of layout and locational
content. So if you go in a dungeon the first time and clear it one way, the
next time you go in the paths and layout will be completely different. The
inhabitants will be the same but their locations as well as chests and the like
will be again, randomized. This makes dungeon crawls much more replayable than
most games. These apply to story dungeons as well, though the entrance to
these are static and always there, as they are required to progress through the
story.
Even though many aspects are randomized, there are still many distinct regions
and atmospheres as you journey through the world of Sanctuary. The randomizati-
on mostly comes through the layout and content, not through the color design
and atmosphere of the places. These features will keep Diablo 3 fresh and will
keep you coming back for more through multiple playthroughs, and it's certain
that you're not going to see everything with one character.
*NOTE* - To learn more on randomization in Diablo 3, read up on section "(12)
Random Events and Dunegons" of chapter IV "WORLD FEATURES".
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(11) PvP Arena
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Although Diablo 3 has released without a PvP mode at launch they have been
working on PvP for years now and will release it in a near-future patch. They
delayed it to get out the main game on time, as the main game was highly
anticipated and was delayed a few times already. This sounds promising though,
as what we saw of the PvP system in Blizzcon was really good, and they are now
focusing on it after the release of the PvM side of the game and will be sure
to improve it further.
The PvP* planned for Diablo 3 is an Arena mode that fits both hardcore PvPers
and more casual gamers. The arena mode allows 4v4 battles of any class, with
everyone bringer their own character with your own build and gear from your
PvM game. This will be harder to balance of course, but Blizzard clearly stated
that they will focus soley on making PvP fun and exiting, and not perfectly
balancing everything.
There will be a hidden match-making system that will match you with similar
level and gear players, but there won't be a displayed rating to show off to
others. The reasoning behind this is because they wanted to prevent Diablo 3
being an E-Sport like Starcraft 2 is now, and so they want to keep the hardcore
competitive side down.
That being said there is still plenty of depth to the PvP game, as there will
be loads of combos of classes with different builds with different arena maps
to play on, and there are vanity awards for playing PvP, with a progression
system that unlocks banner content and more. These rewards will show that you
are a good/ok/bad PvP player.
*NOTE* - PvP is "Player versus Player", where you fight against real-life
players with your own character.
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(12) Auction House
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A completely new feature to the Diablo series, the Auction House allows players
to put up items to sell or buy items from other players. There are two types of
auction houses - a gold one and real money one. The gold one simply items sell
for gold and are bought for gold, where as the real money one actually allows
players to sell/buy items with real-world money.
You can access the auction house from the main menu by clicking on the button
labelled "Auction House" to the left of the screen. Both auction houses include
fully featured search options to find just what you need, and whenever you
first open the auction house after loggin on/quitting a game you will find a
page with recommended items for you. You can switch between real-money and gold
auction houses with the button on the top right.
To buy items select the buy tab in the auction house and from there you can
enter any amount of search options you wish then click "search". It will bring
up pages upon pages of results - yes, Diablo 3 is filled with loot. You can
then purchase anything you wish, should you have the gold or cash. Selling
items can be done by clicking on the "Sell" tab, then selecting an item from
your stash (to the left of the sell screen) or from the inventory of one of
your characters (from the right). Place the item you want in the square at the
center and set a buyout and bid price, then press enter.
It is to be noted that the sell limit for an item is $250 (real-money only),
and Blizzard will take a small cut in your earnings. Also if you want to keep
the money and take it out, you must cash it out with paypal upon selling an
item, otherwise you will have to put it in as blizzard credits which can be
used to buy Blizzard store items and such.
You may only have 10 items selling at once, and once you post an item you only
have 5 minutes to cancel the auction or else the auction will stay on for a
couple days. This is to prevent the auction house overloading, as there are so
many players on each Diablo 3 server.
A final note is to remind you that the real money auction house is a first in
gaming - but why did Blizzard take this bold move? Well a lot of people were
selling and trading items on fansites and such, illegally and risking their
money and account fraud. Sometimes it worked but this was a chance you were
risking. So this time the developers thought to make an environment that suppo-
rts real-money selling and purcashing, with the security that they provide.
If in anyway you feel it's cheap or unfair to use the real money auction house,
simply don't use it, and it will never affect you. It's there for those that
want to use it. But there's nothing cheap with selling a few items for cash,
right?
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(13) Difficulty Modes
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As most of you, even the beginners, may have skipped the "noobish" "Getting
Started" chapter you may not have read/noticed the difficulty modes I explained
in that chapter. The difficulty modes work differently in Diablo 3, they offer
much more and are one of the main aspects of the game. So here I've included
the explanations on the four different difficulties again:
This is what it takes to "beat" Diablo 3 - not just normal mode, but all these
different difficulties. Normal mode is only the beginning, where you enjoy the
story and learn your main abilities. The game isn't over after that, as you can
bring the character you completed normal with into nightmare mode and beyond,
leveling him all the way up to 60 by the time you reach end of Hell.
******
NORMAL
******
This is the only option in the beginning of the game, and for the most part it
serves first as a tutorial in the very early stages of the game, and later as a
fun campaign where you battle through the compelling story in Diablo 3 while
learning new Skills and figuring out your build. Enemies don't do too much
damage and die pretty quick, though you will still occasionally find one or two
challenging demons. Rares and champions can only have up to 1 bonus affix in
this difficulty.
Unless you are completely new to this genre, you should find this first
difficulty quite easy with a few challenges in between. If you are a dedicated
player or have much experience in this genre however, you will find this mode
very easy and blow through it quite fast.
*********
NIGHTMARE
*********
For quite a lot of people this is where the game finally begins. You have your
characters main active skills unlocked, and the game has jumped in difficulty
so that you need to focus not only on your build and gear, but also some
tactics. Enemies hit much harder, have more abilities, and rares and champions
can have up to two bonus affixes. It should take you some time to beat this
mode if you're ok with the game or even quite good at it. If you're hardcore
you'll find it still quite easy if you gear up well and use some tactics.
****
HELL
****
This is where it really starts challenging all players. Even hardcore players
will need to gear up very well and make thoughtful builds, as well as learn the
tactics of bosses and abilities of mobs - which have increased in number again
since nightmare difficulty. For the average player this will take a long while
to beat, requiring you to farm loot from previous difficulties or trade / AH
them, and slowly making progress. Rares and champions can have up to 3 bonus
affixes in this mode.
*******
INFERNO
*******
The ultimate difficulty of Diablo 3, the end-game, the main bit of content.
There are three whole new tiers of gear in this mode (13 other tiers are spread
among the other three difficulties), extremely hard monsters that are ALWAYS
above your level, and rares and champions have up to 4 bonus affixes. When you
get in this mode you'll be at the level cap (60), and monsters will be at 61
and above.
To beat this difficulty will be near-impossible for average players - you'll
need to become very dedicated and do some farming in Acts 3 & 4 of Hell and
early Inferno, and either work out very good builds that works alone if you're
playing solo, or builds that synergize with others perfectly when in a party.
You'll also need to be extremely careful and playing with good knowledge of
enemies and bosses, using good tactics at all times. For hardcore players this
mode will also be the ultimate challenge.
Once this mode is finally beaten, you won't actually have "finished" end game.
I hate to make comparisons with WoW but it's like beating a raid boss once. You
will still go back to kill them, and try get gear. So at this point you can
then enjoy this full mode as the end-game, where you can try obtain gear in any
of the four acts with any mobs, rares & campions, or bosses that you wish.
Farming for the best gear is always what Diablo 3 is about, and since enemy
levels will always be above you, this mode will always be challenging and fun
to farm.
**********
FINAL NOTE
**********
After all these explanations on the different difficulties, I'm sure some
people will still not get it. Once you beat normal mode, you have not finished
the game, so don't worry if you found it a bit short! First off the content was
randomized, so you will not have seen all the events, side quests, uniques and
rares, and dungeons out there. Secondly, all the difficulties above is more
content for you - that's how Diablo is designed, not a one-time normal
difficulty game, but a game that requires you to bring the same character into
multiple difficulties and farm for gear and beat content.
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(14) Inferno
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"Inferno" is a newly introduced difficulty level in the Diablo series, with its
sole purpose being to create a better end-game for more hardcore/dedicated
players of the community. In the past games you would beat the final difficulty
"Hell" and continue leveling passed the highest level enemies (85) till you
were 14 levels above them. The content then became quite easy, and loot runs
were getting boring fast.
Inferno is supposed to create the whole game for players who have reached level
cap and completed Hell (at level 60), and all content in Inferno is not only
new and exciting (in terms of items, gear, enemy abilities, and boss
mechanics), but extremely hard. Every enemy is at least level 61, and they get
get higher in level as you progress through the acts, so the content will
almost be always challenging until your gear is insanely good.
Blizzard has stated clearly that you'll be required to farm and trade gear for
a while in Hell then in early stages of Inferno to slowly progress through it,
and for most people it will take ages to complete Inferno. This is true as of
now - aside from one extremely hardcore player playing non-stop and a dedicated
team of pros (and add on the fact that they used some cheesy tactics), no one
has beaten Inferno as of yet. And many have already poured over a hundred hours
into the game, enough time to beat most content on Skyrim on its hardest
difficulty.
In Infeno mode there is also a "Nephalum Valor" buff that can be recieved by
killing champion/rare packs, and this buff increases your chance of finding
magic items. However the buff will drop if you change your build. This does 3
things for us that makes this system so awesome:
* Give us magic find: This is the obvious one, it buffs our magic find, giving
us better chance to find good loot.
* Makes us explore and not just boss-run: Makes us explore the areas and find
and kill rares/champions, not just run to a boss and attempt to kill just
bosses.
* Makes our build mean something: As the buff will drop if we change our build,
it makes us focus on making a build that we want to use in Inferno and
encourage us to stick with it.
Inferno, since being all above level 61, is completely farmable from beginning
to end and contains 3 unique tiers of gear. These tier "looks" can't be found
elsewhere in the game. In the past Diablo used to have runs for a couple end
game bosses that were more viable, but not because of Inferno the entire game
is farmable for great gear. Aside from early stages of Act 1 you can pretty
much get awesome end-game gear throughout any of the acts, and with any bosses
and champion/rares.
Let's just hope they don't nerf Inferno for the noobs.
*******************************************************************************
[WOR4]
CHAPTER IV - WORLD FEATURES
******************************************************************************
This chapter goes into depth on how most of the game mechanics related to the
world in Diablo works. There are plenty of new features such as Artisans, as
well as confusing features like world-randomization that players newer to this
genre may want to know. Well they are all explained here.
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(01) Sanctuary
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Sanctuary is the world in which the Diablo series is set in. In this section I
will briefly go through the backstory of the past games, and explain how
Sanctuary came to be. I will start from the very beginning, before the world
was even "created"...
There were once just two factions in the universe, the Angels of Heaven and the
Demons of Hell. Among themselves they were peaceful, but frequent battles took
place between the factions - both wanted to be the dominant race of the world.
Countless years passed and the Great Conflict continued, but no conclusion was
ever drawn. One day, one of the noble angels named Inarius decided that he
would take a stand on creating a difference - he wanted to form an agreement
with all those that do not wish the war to continue, and escape from Heaven and
Hell with them.
Many like-minded angels joined, as well as demons who have given up on the war.
The strongest of these were Lilith, daughter of Mephisto - one of the three
Prime Evils of Hell. They joined and escaped to a far away world between Heaven
and Hell which they made theirs, and named it "Sanctuary". The name was chosen
because it was a world that they could be safe and away from the on-going
battles between. Here they lived, and Inarius and Lilith, among other angels
and demons, fell in love and had offspring.
These offspring were then known as the Nephalum. They were powerful in magic,
perfect in shape and form, and were the first real of the "humans" in all of
Sanctuary. A sudden horror arose from the presence of these Nephalum however -
they seemed to have unrivaed potential and power to overcome those of Heaven
and Hell. When this was discovered, Inarius and Lilith - then leaders of the
world of Sanctuary, had a huge disagreement over what was to be done.
Lilith saw light in the Nephalum, thinking that they could be built as an army
and overtake both Heaven and Hell and end all battles once and for all. For
Inarius however, the Nephalum was a potential danger to themselves as well, so
he wished to imprison or kill them. Raged by Inarius's will, Lilith battled
with immense power those Angels and Demons in Sanctuary, and rid of them all,
hoping that without company left Inarius would have no choice but to live and
side with the Nephalum. Inarius was not pleased with this at all, and banished
his lover in the Void - a vast vacuum of nothingness away from the fabric of
reality.
Lilith's plan worked however, forcing Inarius to heed on killing the Nephalum.
He seeked a plan to prevent the use of their powers however, and figured out a
way by twisting the powers of the Worldstone - an extremely powerful artifact
that hides Sanctuary from Heaven and Hell - and the Nephalum got weaker and
weaker as time passed. Their powers ultimately faded over time, even though
their numbers increased, and they soon forgot of the immense abilities they
once had.
At this time the High Heavens and Burning Hells have yet to find the existence
of Sanctuary, and continue battling for power. Eventually Hell discovers the
presence of the world known as Sanctuary, and wanted to exploit the power of
the Nephalum. A descendant of Lilith and Inarius, Uldyssian, was encouraged
by Lilith in disguise as a human to lead a rebel human army again Hell's attem-
pt of converting the Nephalum onto their side. At this point the Angiris
Council discovers Sanctuary, and seeing it as an abomination to the universe,
sends armies of angels to destroy Sanctuary.
Inarius discovering the army created and led by Uldyssian, had no choice but to
side with Diablo and his forces of Hell to defeat them. They are unsuccessful,
however, as Uldyssian defeats Inarius. Tyrael, leader of the Angiris Council,
comes and defeats Uldyssian instead. Hell seeing that Heaven is taking over
their chance of exploiting the Nephalum's powers, join in the fight, and so a
3 way fight of the Nephalum Army, High Heavens, and Burning Hells commence.
Heaven and Hell were forced to make a pact in the end to allow Sanctuary - then
destroyed - to rebuild by itself but let them choose their own side. And so
they would attempt to sway the rebuilding lifes of Sanctuary over the years,
hoping they could get the power of mankind to side with them.
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(02) Towns
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With all the demon slaying and monster bashing, the Heroes of Sanctuary will
need a rest every now and then. Towns do just that by being safe havens for you
to relax and take a short break from the forces of hell. There are a few towns
that you will come across in your journey, and they all offer a variety of
services and benefits.
In towns your character can do many things aside from just "being safe". One of
the main things you'll be doing in town is using your artisans, namely the
blacksmith and jeweler. You may salvage unwanted items (that aren't of common
quality) with the blacksmith and use the salvaged components to make weapons or
armor, or you may combine jewels to make better quality gems and pull gems out
of armor with the jeweler. You may also visit one of many vendors in Towns to
sell off anything else that isn't wanted, or perhaps purcase certain items.
There is also a healer that will instant heal your health back to full.
Aside from all the bartering and crafting, you may also want to chat with some
of the NPCs in town. All NPCs will give some sort of remark that changes as you
talk to them after story points. More important NPCs will have multiple topics
that you may choose. Finally, you may also want to hire one of your three
followers (once they've been acquired).
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(03) Vendors
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Vendors offer you a variety of useful goods that are randomized - just like
many aspects of Diablo 3. Some vendors sell weapons and armor, others sell
armor and jewelry, and the rest sell a mix. You'll find innkeepers and certain
mischellaneous vendors selling potions and dyes as well.
If you find any magical items that you do not wish to salvage, you may also
choose to sell them off to any vendors for some gold. Selling off junk like
common or junk items may be smart too, but it should be noted that these items
sell for considerably less than they did in Diablo 2.
Overall vendors have been an improvement from those in the past games of the
series, they offer better items with balanced prices that seem right. They
also don't offer junk and even occasionally sell a rare item if you're lucky.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(04) Followers
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Followers are story-related NPC companions that will assist you through the
epic battles on Sanctuary in Diablo 3. You recruit followers a total of three
unique followers one after the other during the early acts of your first
playthrough, and once they've joined your adventure you can hire them at any
time.
These followers help you dish out some damage in combat but they are most
noticeable for two purposes - to keep your hero company during solo play and to
provide useful buffs and/or abilities. Their damage is much reduced compared to
players so they'll not help too much on that part, but they will have these
slows, snares, stuns, healing, etc that should assist in keeping you alive.
They are also great adventurers with an impressive amount of dialogue on their
backstory, opinions on the current events, and reactions on combat and loot.
They also have a number of extra topics on their backstory that slowly unlocks
through normal difficulty. You can access this by right clicking on their
portrait and selecting "Talk" or by talking to them in town.
You can hire them from within the town of each act, at any time, and they will
assist you until you dismiss them. You can also access their inventories in
town by talking to them and selecting "inventory", or by right-clicking your
current follower's portrait and selecting "inventory" from there. You can then
equip weapons, two rings, an amulet, and a unique class item for each of them.
Each follower has their own set of skills - accessed by entering their invento-
ry screen. They have a two skills to select from per tier, and they have 4
tiers of skills. This basically means you will be choosing 4 out of their 8
available skills to be their build. This can be changed at anytime by right
clicking on them and selecting "retrain".
You may not use followers when in a party with other players, regardless of
how many players there are in the party, though they can still be chatted to
in town. When you are playing solo however they are great full-time companions-
Blizzard made them viable till end-game so if you like them bring them.
The three unique followers are explained below.
*******
Templar
*******
A holy warrior of the Templar Order, the Templar is a defensive fighter type
that will help with healing and some tanking depending on what skills you make
him specialize in.
*********
Scoundrel
*********
The scoundrel is basically an archer class, helping you at range with bows and
crossbows along with some good snares and stealth moves. He'll be good at slow-
ing enemies and providing some damage.
***********
Enchantress
***********
A powerful magic user, the Enchantress can charm enemies and provide amazing
buffs on top of her elemental spells. If you're looking for some extra crowd
control and buffs, look no further.
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(05) Recipes
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Recipes are for crafting specific items with your blacksmith, and can only be
found in the end-game of Diablo 3. There are a ton of recipies already
available to your blacksmith and they can be learned by simply training him,
but the best of the best recipies are all found in the world as drops.
There are plenty of rare recipies that offer a great variety of gear that is
better than what the blacksmith can make once he's fully trained, though as of
now (patch 1.0.2c) it's quite expensive to craft these till you get one you
like. The next patch will decrease costs to craft an item so these recipies
will be very useful.
Aside from great rare recipies the game also has LEGENDARY recipies. I know
this sounds insane but it's true - you get to craft legendary items again and
again once you find this recipe. The only thing keeping you from really
making legendary after legendary is the ingredient requirements.
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(06) Artisans
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Artisans are a new addition in the Diablo series, and a welcome addition at
that. It basically replaces the Horadric Cube for crafting - now these artisans
do all the crafting for you. If anyone is wondering why they didn't just let us
learn these professions ourselves it's because they didn't think having a
profession fit the Diablo universe's atmosphere.
Artisans need to be trained with gold in order to learn new recipes (though
even better recipies can be found with drops), and once you train them a few
times they level up and can craft better items. Their shop even improves and
upgrades in look over time.
There are two artisans in the game, both of which are useful till the end-game.
They also have their own backstories and these can be heard by selecting "chat"
after clicking on
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[a] Blacksmith
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The blacksmith salvages and makes weapons and armor for you. The blacksmith can
craft very useful items but most stats on all the items available are random.
This design was to create the sense of "gambling" feel and to fit the tone of
the Diablo series trademark randomization elements.
Salvaging items destroys the item and gives you one or two crafting components.
Each difficulty has new crafting components and rare items give better
components and legendary items even better. The items with rarity below might
have a chance to salvage into a crafting component from an item with a rarity
above.
With plenty of better recipies to collect (including legendaries) and the
upcoming nerf in the cost of crafting, the blacksmith is going to be a great
early-to-mid inferno buddy, upgrading some of the gear that you are lacking.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[b] Jeweler
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The jeweler combines gems into higher tier gems and also pulls gems out of
weapons and armor that you have already socketed. You can combine two gems of
tiers 1-6 to get a single gem of the tier above, though it also costs some gold
to do so. Pulling out gems also cost gold, and the higher the tier of the gem
the more costly it is to pull it out.
This artisan is a great addition in this series as players use to refrain from
gemming and instead horde gems and combine them into higher tier gems - as
gemming one essentially meant you lost the gem and it can't be used to combine.
Now you can simply gem, then pull the gem out with the jeweler if you need to
use the gem for combining.
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(07) Your Stash
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Your stash can be found in every town as a chest and it serves as a container
to store all the items you do not wish to keep on your characters. The stash is
shared among your characters, which means you can easily pass on great items
from one of your characters to another by placing them in your stash.
Your stash starts of as a small container but can be upgraded to have more
slots. It does get quite expensive to upgrade later on, especially when you
have to buy a new tab (a complete new container). You can have up to 3 tabs in
your stash, each with a full page of slots to keep your items.
Things you may want to keep here are different sets of items, cool items you
wish to keep, items you may want to pass on to your future characters, things
you want to sell in the AH later, or unique items (story related or otherwise).
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(08) NPCs
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NPCs are more important in role playing games than other games, and it's no
different in Diablo 3. As Diablo 3 is an Action RPG there is less focus on
dialogue and story, but you'll still see a fair more options of interaction
with NPCs than in other ARPGs.
Diablo 3 has many main story characters they follow you on your journey, and
most of them have quite a few topics you may talk to them about. To chat with
an NPC click on them and select "Chat", then select a topic you wish to talk
about. Generic NPCs will only talk to you about general gossip but story NPCs
(like the blacksmith, jeweler, all your followers, Leah, Deckard Cain, etc)
will have more and more topics and the game goes on, and different topics at
different points of the game.
These topics generally serve to fill the backstory of Diablo 3. The world has a
great background lore to it, and many of these characters of interesting things
to say. Each of your followers and artisans also have their own stories which
they slowly reveal to you as the game goes on. Overall there is much more in
terms of story content and NPC chatter in Diablo 3 than in it's predecessors,
which is great if you like this sort of thing.
To interact with any NPC, regardless of whether they are a main story character
or not, is to click on them. Some NPCs may offer to sell you things, while
others may just say a line or two. Note that the NPCs that gossip will say new
things as you progress. If you have enemies near NPCs they will often offer you
help by attacking them as well.
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(09) Monsters
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There is literally countless different monsters in Diablo 3, so many that it
would be impossible to list them all here. This section will talk about what
types of monsters there are and how to distinguish them from one another.
First things first - there are normal monsters that have white names, then
there are "enchanted" special monsters with colored names. All normal monsters
have their usual abilities and their stats, but "enchanted" monsters have
increased health, damage, and most importantly, traits. Traits are "enchants"
that enhance the monster in a certain way, such as allow the monster to put up
walls to stop you. In this case the monster would have the "Waller" trait.
These traits are shown below the enchanted monsters names. Harder difficulties
will allow enchanted monsters to not only have more than one trait at a time,
but also to have a more deadly combination of traits. Some combinations of
traits later on in the game are so deadly that you're better of not engaging
the enemy at all and skipping them.
The four types of monsters are explained below.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[a] Normal
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Normal monsters are the type of monsters you'll find the most often. Their
names are presented in white and they are usually weak alone but there are
always a bunch of them. They have the base stats and abilities of that type of
enemy of that level. The chances of dropping good items on these are lower than
the other three types of monsters in the following sections, but they can still
drop magical items quite frequently with a good magic find and sometimes even
a rare. They do have the chance to drop a legendary but this is an extremely
rare thing. Nothing really special about these monsters.
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[b] Champions
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Champions are more commonly known as "champion packs", as there are always 3-4
of these enchanted monsters. Champions are stronger versions of a certain type
of monster, with some more health and damage, and also bear a trait or more
depending on the difficulty. There will be a few of these champions along with
lower level mobs when you find them.
They look the same as their normal monster counterparts but have a blue outline
and may be slightly bigger in size, as their names will also be presented in
blue. These shouldn't be too hard but a couple champion packs can quickly kill
you if you aren't careful. Once you kill the last champion of the pack you will
get at least one magical item. There is a better chance to get a rare or
legendary item by killing champions than normal monsters.
Killing a champion pack in Inferno difficulty grants you a stack of the
Nephalum Valor buff*. They can be more deadly than bosses in Inferno so don't
under estimate them.
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[c] Rares
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rares are designed to be some of the toughest opponents in the game if they by
chance have a deadly combo of traits when you find them. They are more rare
than champions but stronger, recieving an even higher buff of health and damage
than the champions.
They are always bigger than their normal monster counterparts and have a yellow
outline to them. There names will be presented in yellow as well, and every
single rare will have a unique name (though there are some set rares that are
listed in the achievements). They are always the only rare around (unless you
are unlucky enough to have another rare spawn nearby) unlike champion packs
but they will have normal mobs with them.
They have the potential to have the most deadly combination of traits in higher
difficulties and can be harder than bosses to defeat, but they always net great
rewards in terms of loot. They have one of the highest chance to drop rares and
legendaries, and they are guaranteed to drop magical items once killed.
Killing a champion pack in Inferno difficulty grants you a stack of the
Nephalum Valor buff*
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[d] Bosses
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Bosses can be the toughest challenge in the game, though once you learn their
mechanics well rares can be even tougher to defeat as stated above. This was
designed this way to prevent people from farming the exact same bosses again
and again and instead encourage you to explore areas and find rares to defeat.
There are plenty of bosses in the game, and they are all presented with a
unique name that's colored purple. In a way there seems to be 3 types of these
monsters:
* Unique Monsters: Certain unique monsters (that are named and designed by
the developers and not random, though the chance that they appear is random)
appear in side events and appear randomly in certain locations as a unique
monster that has the same name and abilities everytime you find them. These
are powerful and drop good loot, but they aren't actual "Big Bosses" that you
will definitely meet as you progress through quests.
* Quest/Story Elites: There are elites you will definitely fight as you advance
through the game - their appearance is not random but
certain, in other words. They are always quite tough and
have a higher chance to drop good loot than champions.
Since they are story or quest related some of these have
unique apperances and don't appear elsewhere in the game.
* Quest/Story Bosses: The actual bosses in the game. These appear at the end of
certain quests in each act and they have massive health
pools as well as a hell load of different abilities. An
example of a story boss is the Skeleton King in act 1.
Story bosses also include end-act bosses, which count
towards some of the hardest fights in the game, though
like mentioned certain rares can be tougher. Story bosses
will have GUARANTEED rare drops the first time you kill
them, and one guaranteed rare drop when you have 5 stacks
of nephalum valor*.
*NOTE* - To learn more on Nephalum Valor buffs, read section 14 "Inferno" in
chapter 3 of this guide.
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(10) Monster Affixes (Traits)
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Monster affixes or traits are basically "enchantments" that will appear on the
champion, rare, and unique monsters in the game, as well as the regular mobs
that come with them. These affixes will give these monsters special abilities
they otherwise wouldn't have, from releasing pools of acid to locking you down
in your tracks no matter where you are.
Traits that are assigned to special monsters are randomly assigned, and there
can be up to four traits per monster depending on the difficulty you're on.
The traits that a monster has is always displayed below their name and their
health bar at the top center of the screen. There are a lot of different types
of affixes but most won't be seen in normal difficulty - the rest slowly
appears as you advance through the higher difficulty levels.
These monster affixes are what makes rares and champions have a chance of being
impossible to defeat or extremely hard to defeat in inferno even when your
character is well geared. They also provide more interesting encounters as the
traits are randomly selected so your strategy to defeat these monsters will
change depending on what traits are rolled.
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(11) Dungeons
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Dungeons are one of the core features of Diablo games, as they offer some
great dungeon crawls, loot, and have the capability to be randomized the most.
Dungeons are basically areas you enter from the main world that houses treasure
and enemies that requires you to progress through to find all it's secrets.
The dungeons in this game have completely randomized layouts, so every time you
log out and log back in you'll find the same dungeon completely different. The
enemies within it are also placed differently and may or may not appear, and
different types of treasure chests, environmental features (such as traps) will
spawn in random locations. On top of all this the entrance to dungeons will
alter each time, and may or may not appear altogether.
There are more dungeons in Diablo 3 than anyone could possibly wish for - the
variety is seriously overwhelming. A great thing is plenty of them aren't tied
to the main story and are simply there for you to explore and hunt for loot.
It's really awesome that even after the fifth playthrough I'm still finding
dungeon's I've never found before.
The size of dungeons can vary from small to epically large. Some dungeons can
also have multiple levels, and these always have "Level 1" next to the dungeon
name when you put your mouse over the entrance.
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(12) Random Events & Dungeons
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As explained in the section above dungeons are completely randomized each time
you create a new game and enter one - their entire layout changes, the placeme-
nt of enemies change, chest and shrine locations change, and even the scenery
is placed differently.
However you got more than just dungeons to enjoy in Diablo 3, as the developers
have placed in a large number of "random events". These events are like side
quests that may or may not appear in a certain area depending on your luck, and
once completed net you a nice XP and gold reward. There are many different
events ranging from the queerie to the outright epic. Events will also net you
an achievement the first time you complete it.
On top of events you also have random occurences, which are like random events
but are shorter and don't grant you achievements. For example you may find a
big bloated beast somewhere that supposedly ate everyone that came to his
proximity, and he would be a unique (purple) monster that would be a challenge
to defeat. Once defeated he may drop a journal to explain his presence.
There are tons of these random occurences waiting to be found, so get start
looking!
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(13) Chests
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There are a few types of chests in this game but they all offer the same thing:
loot and more loot! Chests have a higher chance to drop magical items and such
than normal monsters, but only the resplendant chest has a chance to drop rares
and magical items on par with champion and rare enemies. Chests can be found
in the world regions or in dungeons, and they are always randomly placed. You
have a small chance of finding a bloody chest (better loot) and resplentdant
chest (best loot out of all chests) everytime you enter a dungeon or a region.
To open a chest simply click on it with your cursor, it's simple as that. There
are no locks or traps with chests, you simply open them when you find one. A
good idea is to keep some good magic find gear on you and wear it before you
open any chests to increase the chances of good loot dropping. Note that magic
find is shared in co-op play.
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(14) Shrines
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Shrines are holy statues that grant you and any close by party members a
temporary buff. They appear as tall statues with glowing light on them, and
once activated their light dims out. To activate one simply click on it - note
that if any party members are far away they will not get the benefits of the
shrine. Once activated some glowing light will appear above your hero's head to
remind you that you've activated a shrine.
There are four different shrines that each give their own benefits:
Protection Shrine: Reduces your damage taken by 25%. Extremely helpful on the
harder difficulty levels.
Frenzied Shrine: +25% attack speed. This shrine greatly increases your DPS and
hence effectiveness in combat. It'll be most useful to you if
your build is not focused on damage but rather defense - this
shrine will up your damage significantly.
Shrine of Englightenment: +25% experience from enemies. A straight forward
increase in experience with this one, useful for
helping you level up but useless if you've already
reached max level.
Fortune Shrine: +25% magic and gold fine. Great for players that are seeking
for loot (but who isn't), this shrine gives a nice big buff to
your chances of finding gold and magical items from killing
enemies.
You should also note that shrines do not replace one another when activated, so
if you find more than one shrine go ahead and activate them all. The shrines
are more useful if you plan out when to activate them, however. For example it
would be a good idea to activate the protection shrine just before fighting a
powerful enem, and to activate the fortune shrine before opening a repsplendant
chest.
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[CHA5]
CHAPTER V - CHARACTER INFORMATION
*******************************************************************************
There are loads of depth to Diablo 3's classes, items, and builds, and here is
where I explain all that. You'll find in-depth details on classes and stats,
as well as some builds and how certain class mechanics work.
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(01) Gender
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Pointless to some but welcome to many, Diablo 3 offers the choice of being
either male or female when you choose your character class. Although the gender
does not affect your stats, it does affect gameplay in a way - each gender of
each class is voiced by a different voice actor, have different animations, and
have different points of view thoughout the story. This means what's written in
quest updates and what's said in cutscenes are different per gender per class.
Above all these slight tweaks you also have the fact that these obviously look
different depending on if they're male or female. This won't matter much once
you are decked in loads of armor, but it's a good addition to the series. I
personally would feel weird if I had to choose female - I always think of the
character as me or is represented by myself, and well, erm... I'm male.
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(02) Classes
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There are a 5 completely distinct class choices in Diablo 3, and they are all
as equally exciting, unique, and powerful. There will be classes that interest
you more than others, and also classes that you will be better at, so pay close
attention as I go through each of the classes below. Note that this is just a
summary of the classes - more indepth class information might be added as an
entire stand-alone chapter in this guide in the future.
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[a] Barbarian
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The barbarian is your ruthless, berserking warrior class that is tough to take
down but also incredibly powerful at melee range. The barbarian has plenty of
gap-closers to get within melee range of enemies, and many brutal attacks to
stun, bash, and utterly destroy everything in it's path. They don closed-plate
helms and the toughest, most protective-looking armor out of all classes. They
rely on the resource of "fury" to output their abilities - a resource that
generates when the barb is getting hit or using fury-generating abilities.
Barbarians can then use their extra powerful fury-spending abilities to decima-
te and obliterate foes.
Items unique to them are mighty belts that have a chance of giving special
barbarian-only affixes, and offer a lot more armor than usual belts. Then there
are also mighty weapons - with both one-hand and two-hand weapon variations -
that offer incredible damage and barb-only item affixes. Mighty weapons are
also much larger in size than normal weapons. Barbarians rely on the attribute
"strength" to deal more damage and gain more armor.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[b] Demon Hunter
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The demon hunter is a deadly ranged archer class with a wide array of acrobatic
moves and vicious traps to eliminate foes with. They have plenty of powerful
ranged attack, some fast and relentless where as others are slower but deadlier
in nature. They have many different vaults and defensive abilities to avoid
melee damage, as well as sinister traps to snare, explode, poison, and butcher
enemies with. Their main attribute is "dexterity".
Demon hunters wear dark mail and leather armors and their trade-mark long
scarfs. They are the only ones accessible to cloak/scarf items, as well as
deadly one-hand crossbows and stat-boosting quivers. They pull from the resour-
ce of "hatred" and "discipline" to survive, with hatred being used on offensive
abilities and discipline on more defensive and manuveuring-related abilites.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[c] Monk
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Agile and quick, holy and devoted, the Monks are spiritual combatants that
rely on their perfected martial arts and unsurpassed holy powers to destroy the
legions of hell. They are exceptional at being fast - with lightning-fast
abilities to get them around the battlefield and rip enemies to shreds within
seconds. Their holy powers are not only used to bring justice upon the minions
of hell, but also to heal, protect, and enhance themselves and nearby allies.
They rely on the attribute "dexterity" as their main sources of power.
Monks wear garbs that are close to skin and light to move with due to their
fighting style. However they have agility-focused plated armor later on, to
allow them extra protection while still able to move with blinding speed. They
use the resource "spirit" - inner holy energies they gained from years of
vigorous training - to perform quick moves and deadly finishers. The monk has
spirit-generating abilities and can attack in combos to replenish his own
spirit. They have monk-only fist weapons that suit their martial arts style
fighting as well as long, banded wood called the Daibo. Unique to them are also
spirit stones. These are holy head ornaments that have monk-related affixes.
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[d] Wizard
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The master of the arcane arts, the Wizards are spellcasters with powerful
offensive abilities of lighting, frost, and fire, as well as the will to slow
time, summon minions, and more. They rely less on their weapons but more on
their immense variety of abilities - yes, the Wizards have the the most impres-
sive array of moves to not only slay demons of hell, but to defend or escape
from them. Their main source of power is called from the attribute known as
"intelligence".
Wizards wear protective robes of brilliant colors and patterns, designed to
allow ease for spell casting while still providing the necessary protection.
They call from their reserves of "arcane power" to cast their amazing spells -
an extremely fast-replenishing resource that powers these spells. The Wizard
has signature spells that won't need this resource, where as the other more
devastating abilities will. They may use spellbooks and wands that are unique
to Wizards and give various benefits to their spellcasting talents.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[e] Witch Doctor
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The Witch Doctors are tribal beings that are experts at confusion, disease, and
summoning arts. They have the largest array of sinister pets at their disposal,
and even some of their deadly damage abilities revolves around the calling of
certain creatures. Being masters of crowd-control abilities, they also have the
power to turn enemies against each other, strike fear into their hearts, and
cause all sorts of confusion. Their main attribute is "intelligence".
Coming from tribal jungles, the Witch Doctors gear themselves in deadly bone,
fur, and horns. They also cover their faces with their infamous vodoo masks-
large, imposing masks that not only protect them from demons but enhance the
powers unique to them. They also have the ability to wield deadly ceremonial
daggers that tear enemies apart, as well as cursed mojos that give them a
variety of witch doctor specific buffs.
Witch Doctors use their mana resource to cast spells, a slow-regenerating
magical reserve that is used by many spellcasters of the world.
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(03) Life
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Your life is exactly what it sounds like it is - an indication of how much
damage you can take before your hero dies. Your life is represented as a red
globe towards the bottom left of the screen, though how much actual life you
have can only be seen by mousing over this globe or looking in the detailed
stats page.
Life can be recovered in a number of ways. Enemies have a chance of dropping
health globes (with champions, rares, and bosses having a higher drop chance)
which when picked up instantly restores a small percentage of your health. You
can also drink from healing wells, which will restore all of you and your party
members health to max.
When there is no other option you may also simply drink a potion from your
inventory by right clicking it or by pressing the potion hotkey to drink the
potion bound on your hotbar. Many classes will also have healing related
abilities, such as using the Blood Lust rune with your Rend ability for
Barbarians, or using Breath of Heaven as a Monk. Some classes have more healing
related abilities than others but don't worry - this is by design and does not
affect the balance of the game.
You can increase your maximum life by wearing items with more VITALITY. It
starts off by increasing your health by 10 per extra point of vitality, but
this scales as you level until it is 35 life per point of vitality at level 60.
More life is always better, but do consider how stacking vitality may mean that
you are losing on opportunity for offensive (or other defensive) stats.
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(04) Resource
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Resource is the inner energies that the 5 hero classes uses to cast their most
powerful abilities. In the past games (and many other role playing games) the
only resource was mana - you used mana to cast spells or use abilities. In
Diablo 3 however, the developers have come up with an awesome design that every
class uses a different resource.
Your resource is displayed as the colored (or transparent in the case when you
have no fury) globe near the bottom right of the screen, opposite your life
globe. Since there are 5 different resource systems I'll go through them each
below.
FURY - This is the resource used by Barbarians. Fury starts off empty and can
be gained by using fury-generating abilities. Fury will slowly drain out
once out of combat however. It can be spent on more powerful fury
spending abilities such as Hammer of the Ancients. The base max fury is
100, and it can only be increased by special item stats. Fury is
displayed as a burning orange color.
HATRED/DISCIPLINE - The resource for Demon Hunters, hatred and discipline is a
dual resource. Hatred fuels offensive abilities and can
regenerate over time or by using hatred-generating attacks,
and discipline is used on traps and defensive abilities and
slowly regenerates by itself. Max hatred is 125 and max
discipline is 30, though the latter may be increased by
item stats. Hatred is colored a dark orange and discipline
a deep blue.
SPIRIT - The resource for Monks, spirit fuels the monk's most deadly moves.
Like fury spirit can be increased by spirit-generating abilities and
used on spirit-spenders, but unlike fury it does not slowly decrease
over time. Max spirit is 150 an this can be increased to 250 with a
certain passive ability. Spirit is presented in a creamy white color.
MANA - The resource used by Witch Doctors, mana is the only resource that
increases by itself as you level up. Mana fuels most abilities and can
only be recovered by waiting for it to slowly recover. Mana is displayed
as a dark blue color and can also be increased by certain item stats.
ARCANE POWER - The resource used by Wizards. Arcane power is an extremely fast
regenerating resource that allows the wizard to use it's more
powerful spells. It stats off at a max of 100 but can be
increased with a passive ability and also by certain item stats.
Arcane power is displayed as a purple pink glittering globe.
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(05) Attributes
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There are four main attributes in Diablo 3 and you'll find that they work
similary to other role playing games. There is an added layer of depth to these
attributes however, as each attribute not only boosts damage for a certain
class, but also a certain defensive stat. This means that an attribute that is
not a primary attribute for a certain class will not be completely useless to
that class.
********
Strength
********
Strength increases the overall damage output for Barbarians. On top of that it
also increases the armor of any class. This means that strength will be a plus
for any most classes, as more armor means extra damage reduction. The only
class that is viable for playing a "tanking" roll however is the Monk, so this
stat benefits the Monk the most after the Barbarian.
*********
Dexterity
*********
Primary attribute for the Monk and Demon Hunter, boosting their damage for
every point in dexterity. On top of this damage bonus dexterity also increase
the dodge chance of any class which stacks dexterity. Aside from the Monk this
is most useful for the Barbarian as a melee character that will need the extra
damage mitigation.
************
Intelligence
************
For every point in intelligence Witch Doctors and Wizards see an increase in
damage output. Intelligence also increases all resistances by a small
percentage, which is extremely good for all classes. It may be ideal to stack
some of this at higher levels as a Barbarian or Monk, as the bonus for armor
from strength and dodge chance from dexterity becomes very little at those
levels. Remember that all resists include PHYSICAL resistance which Monks and
Barbs absolutely need at end-game.
********
Vitality
********
This stat does the same for every class - increase the life (health) of that
class. It stats off by increases your life by 10 per point of vitality, but
slowly increases to 35 life per point of vitality by level 60. Obviously the
more health the better, but remember that stacking vitality may mean giving up
another offensive or defensive stat. Sometimes more damage may be more
appropriate depending on your situation.
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(06) Abilities (Skills)
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Abilities (also known as skills) are powers that each and every class may use
to slay hordes of demons and buff themselves and their party members with. Each
class has a huge array of skills that are completely distinct from one another.
There are no more talent points now, instead you unlock abilities (and their
respective runes*) as you level up.
This is a great change as now you simply choose 6 active abilities, 1 rune for
each of these abilities, and then 3 passive abilities to be your build. You can
swap out abilities in your build for another ability at anytime to change your
build, and the only catch is you need to wait for a short cooldown before you
are able to use that abilitiy. No need to "spec" a certain build and then
realise you have to rebuild your character as that "spec" is wrong.
What would also happen in past was that you would simply look online for the
optimal build and just put your points into the talent tree that way - which
a lot of people (including myself) felt incredibly dull and pointless. If you
wanted to play seriously that was the only way to go. Now we can actually
experiement and not feel punished.
There are two types of abilities for each class - active abilities and passive
abilities.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[a] Active
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Active abilities are the abilities can be "cast" or "used" by one of your
mouse buttons or one of 4 keyboard hotkeys. These abilities will be the ones
you will be using the attack, scare, slow, confuse, and stun enemies, as well
as buff you and your party in a great number of ways.
You start off with only one slot that you are able to pick an active ability
but as you level you'll unlock more. At level 19 you unlock your final slot for
active abilities. The total number of active abilities you can have selected is
6. Choosing these 6 abilities (along with the runes* and three passives) will
make up your build.
Each time you select an ability you can also select 1 of 5 runes to empower
that particular ability with. Runes completely change up the ability, making
players that use the same ability to have potential of being completely
different.
Each class has up to 25 completely unique active abilities to choose from,
each which has 5 runes that changes up what that ability does (and looks like).
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[b] Passive
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Passive abilities are for the most part less important than your active ones,
but they still improve your character and change them up vastly depending on
the passives you choose to pick. You can choose up to 3 passive abilities for
your character to use at once. Slots for passive abilities unlock at level 10,
20, and finally 30.
These passives adds powers and bonus effects to your character "behind the
scenes" - meaning these effects are always active and do not need to be used
like your active abilities. Passives may do things like increase your armor
per point of dexterity you have or allow you to reduce all your cooldowns by a
certain percentage.
Passive skills unlock as you level up, but aren't completely unlocked until you
are near max-level.
*NOTE* - For more information on runes read the section "(07) Runes" below.
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(07) Runes
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Runes are a brand new addition to the Diablo series, and they allow another
layer of customization on top of picking active and passive skills/abilities.
Everytime you choose an active skill to use you may choose one from five runes
per skill to use.
The runes changes up how that active skill is then used. It may increase the
damage of the base skill, or it may make a single-target ability an area of
effect ability. Certain runes completely change the dynamics of a skill. All
this comes down to one thing - runes make your character's build unique, as
even if someone with the same class chooses the same skill as you, it's less
likely they've chosen the same runes as you.
Runes unlock as you level up, and aren't completely unlocked until you are max
level. This makes things more interesting as you are leveling after you have
beat normal difficulty.
NOTE: Runes also change how an ability LOOKS on top of changing it's use. This
makes the number of ability looks over a hundred per class!
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(08) Other Stats
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Aside from the four primary attributes there are plenty more stats that affect
how powerful your hero is. All of these can be seen by pressing the "detailed
stats" button. I'll provide an explanation to some of the more important stats.
**********
Magic Find
**********
This stat enhances your chances of finding magical items (magical, rare, and
legendary items). Stacking a lot of magic find could mean a much higher chance
of finding good items, but it also means there's a good chance that you are
sacrificing defensive and/or offensive stats. For example a rare item typically
has 4 affixes on it, and if one of them was magic find there is only 3 stats
left that can enhance your defense or dps.
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(09) Builds
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Builds are basically certain selections of active and passive skills that work
well together to allow your hero to have a certain playstyle. For example, as a
wizard you may choose many melee-oriented skills (spectral blade, diamond skin,
storm armor, etc) and make a "Melee Wizard Build" or "Battlemage".
Since there are unlimited combinations of active skills, runes, and passive
skills, there are still tons of builds unfound by players. Since the game does
not punish you for swapping skills and runes out (except from a short cooldown
timer) you can experiment with different builds at ease. Some may be more
effective than others, but know that Diablo 3 is a game about VIABLE builds.
Builds that work and are fun is all that matters, you don't have to look for
the most optimal one.
When creating your own build think about some things:
1. Am I going to go all out offensive or defensive?
2. Should I have some defensive and some offensive?
3. If offensive, am I going to focus on any summon skills, direct damage
skills, area-of-effect skills, or a mix?
4. If defensive, am I going to focus on kiting skills, mitigation skills, pure
damage reduction skills, or knockback skills?
5. Am I going to choose a certain "theme" of abilities to make my build
interesting (e.g. choose mostly ranged abilities as a barb to make a ranged
barb)?
6. How can these skills I'm looking at work well together - which will work
well together?
7. Is there room to add a skill that I enjoy using just for "fun"?
Overall you should keep in mind the first six points if you want an effective
build, but the 7th point is for all those that simply want to have fun and
thats what games are about right?
There are plenty of viable and effective builds on all 5 classes out there now,
posted on diablofans.com and the official forums. If you wish to follow one of
these builds simply go look for the posts on these builds, they should be
relatively easy to search for. You can always make your own changes to the
builds suggested, and many times the guides that these players write will
include a list of other skills you may want to use in place of the recommended
ones.
I may include a "builds" chapter in the future to list some good builds that
are good for end-game or are just out-right fun to play with.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(10) Itemization
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Diablo is all about the items and the thrill of item-hunting. This is why the
game has a deep itemization system, with an incredibly broad variety of items
and stats to find and play around with.
There are plenty of ways you can "itemize" later on in the game when it starts
getting difficult and you know you need to equip better gear. You need to
decide a few types of stats that you wish to stack, and attempt to find pieces
of gear with those stats. An example group of stats you could focus on is
attack speed and life on hit. The former increases DPS by speeding up your
skills and life on hit gives you health everytime you strike an enemy, and your
attack speed increases will help you strike enemies faster which means more
life gain.
Since drops are random you'll need to farm for gear in order to get what you
want, but there will be pieces of gear that will take too long to find. These
"missing pieces" can be completed in a number of ways. One way is to look on
the gold auction house or real money auction house for an item with suitable
stats, then see if you can afford it. You can also trade with players by check-
ing on the trade forums or by asking on the trade forums. Another way is to
use crafting - if you have some good recipes you can craft till you get some
suitable stats.
You can also further steer the stats you want into your favor with the use of
gems. Gems give certain more of a certain stat depending on where you insert
the gem. There are four types of gems (that can be combined into stronger ones)
and you can choose the one that fits you. If gemmed on body armor there is a
gem for each primary attribute (strength, dexterity, intelligence, and
vitality).
One final note is to be clear of your intentions when gearing and gemming up.
Are you going to play more in a "glass cannon" way as a wizard? Gear & gem for
crit, intelligence, and so on. But also ask yourself if you have enough resists
and life to survive, and whether or not you should use abilities to avoid dama-
ge instead of stats to avoid damage, or perhaps utilize both. Gearing up for
a certain number of stats always means you're losing out on other stats, so
what you pick is important.
If you a lot of gear you equip is focused on magic find for instance, then you
won't be effective defensively or offensively as you're losing out a single
offensive/defensive stat for every piece of gear with magic find on it. Choose
wisely and never randomly throw on everything that just has more armor or DPS -
have a look at its stats, especially when you're nearing end-game.
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(11) Gold
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Gold is the main currency in the world of Sanctuary. Hoarding gold allows you
to buy from vendors a variety of items, train (level) your artisans, utilize
your artisan's services, and also upgrade yours stash size. Outside of the
world and in the main menu you can also use your hard-earned gold in the gold
auction house, where players have posted items of all kinds. You can finally
buy that awesome two-handed sword you always wanted, provided you have enough
gold.
Gold is earned in a number of ways. Plenty of enemies drop gold when they are
defeated, and barrels and containers all contain plenty of gold one they are
destroyed or opened. Gold that falls onto the ground must be picked up by
running over them. Completing quests rewards gold as well, though completing
the same quest that you've done before (on the same difficulty) will reward
less gold. You could also sell various items you don't want to vendors, but do
consider that white items sell for very low amounts and magical and rare items
can be salvaged if you really don't need them.
If you wish to sell items for gold though, the best way is to do so on the
auction house, as real people around the world are willing to buy your gear for
more than the merchants of Sanctuary. You can sell any item for however much
gold you want, but it's recommended you look for an item with similar stats and
try sell lower than the lowest current price of that item. You will be a better
AH seller as time goes on, but for now just attempt undercutting and don't
overcharge.
I have one final tip for you all - there is no need to horde gold in this game.
Don't worry if you still think artisans are a bit too expensive (even after
the recent reduction in their costs), have some fun and gamble by crafting
items. After all this is not an MMO where you'll feel the need to compete with
everyone. Granted if you are a dedicated inferno player that may need to save
gold to complete your final piece of gear, it may be a good idea to not waste
gold. Otherwise relax, don't be too caught up in saving up because people claim
something is "too expensive" in game-terms. Live a little.
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(12) Achievements
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There are countless achievements to try earn on top of all the content in the
game. Achievements can be accessed by pressing "Y" or clicking on the achievem-
ents icon at the bottom right of the main menu. You can have a look at most
available achievements here in their respective categories, but beware of
spoilers if you haven't finished the game once.
Aside from generic achievements such as beating certain bosses or completing
the game on certain difficulties, there are just plenty of interesting ones to
strive for. For example there're ones that require you to find every random
dungeon possible out there in a certain act, or "punch" a boss. There are speed
challenges and achievements for finding special events. There is even one that
challenges you to beat every boss while wearing gear fully dyed in pink!
While fun the achievements are the only things that unlock new banner content.
Players that have completed the more difficult achievments will have access to
a broader range of awesome-looking banner features. So make sure you check out
your banner options from time to time to see if you've unlocked anything new
to display on your banner.
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(14) Group Compositions
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Sometimes when playing in a group it's good to think about certain group
compositions. I'm happy to say that this game wasn't made like an MMO, so you
won't need a class that has healing and a class that can take damage to have a
functional group, but certain groups will work better than others.
You can have a group of up to 4 players so it really depends on which builds
each class is using to determine whether or not a composition is effective. For
example you may have 3 monks and a wizard in the group, which will certainly
work better if you have the 3 monks with different builds, perhaps one having
defensive and healing abilities to help out team members, another being pure
offensive, and the final monk packing more crowd-control abilities.
In the end though it doesn't matter who you play with - all group compositions
are perfectly viable on all difficulties. You just have to have good coordinat-
ion and team work, as well as work out how the builds in the team can work
well together. You may find that sometimes no one has a CC ability in their
build, and this may present a problem. Other times you may find that everyone
is being too defensive so you can't kill things quick enough. So spend some
time experiementing and discussing with your party members if you really want
to have a strong composition for end-game inferno.
/===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX====\
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===x
| PART C : QUESTS |
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================== XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==x
\===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===/
This is the main part of the guide, a huge walkthrough for all the quests and
in the future all the events and "side-quests" in the game. Additional coverage
on the multiple difficulty levels will be added as well.
*******************************************************************************
[WAK6]
CHAPTER VI - WALKTHROUGH
*******************************************************************************
The walkthroughs here cover all the main storyline quests of Diablo 3, from the
beginning of Act 1 all the way to the end of Act 4. The goal is to eventually
write strategies for all four difficulties, as there's a lot to that changes in
terms of tactics and enemy abilities, as well your class abilities and gear.
So generally the normal difficulty walkthrough is more for getting through
quests and directing you through the content while giving simple tips, where as
the other difficulty walkthroughs that will added in the future will be more on
tactics of dealing with bosses and enemies.
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(01) Preparation
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Are you guys ready to slay the demonic legions of Hell? It's been a long wait,
and I know we've all been extremely hyped up for this game. Worry not, as if
you let go of of the fact that the game's online only and just accept it, you
will love this game through and through.
I suggest you read chapters 3-5 if you're new to these sorts of games, or if
you've only played WoW and NOT the previous Diablo games - it will save you a
lot of complaining on the official forums and getting the wrong ideas of what
Diablo 3 is about. If you're familiar with this sort of game, but not the
Diablo series, consider reading chapters 4 and 5 to get you up to scratch.
Regardless, this following walkthrough will bring you through normal difficulty
and also help you find your way through the other difficulties (but not on how
to defeat the tougher enemies). You'll find helpful hints and useful tactics
here and there to assist you on your journey, as well as clear instructions on
where to go next. For strategies and tips on specific bosses and enemies on
the higher difficulties, read the walkthrough for that perticular difficulty*.
I have tried keeping the spoilers to a minimum, meaning I've refrained on
commenting on story elements of the game and simply included a walkthrough
based on what you have to do. It's still recommended that you do not read far
ahead of where you've gotten to however, if you wish to keep away from quest
and enemy based spoilers (boss names, enemy names, quest goals, etc).
All quests are written in an easy-to-understand format, with quest objectives
that are lettered at the beginning of each quest walkthrough. You can refer to
these as you find the appropriate letter links during the actual walkthrough.
Within walkthroughs you'll find area names underlined. Major bosses will be
outlined as well, with the boss name bordered and tactics to help you defeat
said boss right below it.
A final and perhaps most important note is that remember - the game has a lot
of randomized content! The outdoor areas are fixed in terms of map layout, but
what's contained within changes - there will be different enemy distributions,
different chests, events (mini side quests), and dungeons to explore. Therefore
my walkthrough here will be general, pointing you to the right direction but
what you may find might be different than what I'm seeing while making the
walkthrough.
Now go enjoy the game.
*NOTE* - As of now there is only a walkthrough for the Normal Difficulty. More
difficulties will be covered as I update the guide. Check chapter 7
section "(01) Future Updates" for any upcoming content.
#&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#
+++ NORMAL DIFFICULTY +++
#&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#
This part of the chapter covers the entire walkthrough for the first difficulty
of the game - "Normal". This difficulty is quite easy and relaxing, with some
good fights and a great way to enjoy the storyline. This walkthrough will guide
you through where things are more so than the other difficulty walkthroughs
(once they've been written), as with those you'll be seeing more strategical
guidance than a simply directional walkthrough.
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* ACT I *
_______________________________________________________________________________
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The first act of the game starts with an explosive opening cinematic, and
bring you just outside the town of New Tristram. Your hero is here to uncover
the secrets of the Fallen Star - a massive crater that has seem to landed in
a cathedral nearby.
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(02) The Fallen Star
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*******************************************************************************
OBJECTIVES /
____________/
[A] Kill the risen dead attacking the gates
[B] Talk to Leah in the Slaughtered Calf Inn
[C] Kill the Risen
[D] Talk to Leah in the Slaughtered Calf Inn
[E] Talk to Captain Rumford at the gate of New Tristram
[F] Kill the Wretched Mother
[G] Kill the Wretched Queen in the Old Ruins
[H] Use the Old Ruins Waypoint _____________
[I] Talk to Captain Rumford in New Tristram /
/ OBJECTIVES
*******************************************************************************
Overlook Road
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
You start the game just outside the town of New Tristram. Left click moves
your character and also attacks when the mouse cursor is is over an enemy, and
the right click uses the ability that's bound to the right mouse button. You
only have one ability bound to your left click now so use that to dispatch some
of the undead ahead. Make your way toward the quest point shown on the minimap
and you'll reach the gates of New Tristram.
Talk to Captain Rumford here and help the town defeat some of the incoming
undead [A]. They should be very easy to dispatch at this point. Make sure you
start learning to pick up health globes when they drop. After they are defeated
Captain Rumford will order you to speak to Leah [B] and the town gates will be
opened.
New Tristram
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Head on in towards the center of the town and enter the "Slaughtered Calf" inn.
I must say New Tristram's atmosphere is dark and moody - the way Diablo games
should be. You'll find Leah in the middle of the room. She'll tell you about
her concerns about the invading undead around the city, when some of the people
in the inn will suddenly turn undead [C]. Quickly dispatch them.
______________________
| OBJECTIVE REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 60 | 60 |
|___________|__________|
[D] Talk to leah again at this point and send you back to Captain Rumford to
see what can be done. [E] Before reporting back though make your way into the
Leah's room at the back of the inn. You should find a couple things here, one
of those indefinitely Leah's Diary. Head back to Captain Rumford and you'll get
new orders to dispatch some Wretched Mother's - a slightly tougher undead
creature that summons other undead, and also the Wretched Queen - the tough
leader of all these wretched mothers. Kill the undead that break through the
caravans next to the New Tristram gates and then headthrough the narrow passage
that they came from.
Old Tristram Road
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Crossing the bridge further ahead will bring you into Old Tristram Road. Take
out the Risen and the occasional Quill Fiends hanging about. The only thing to
be wary of at this point is to take out [F] Wretched Mothers first before the
rest, and that certain undead enemies keep crawling at you once they are
killed. Explore the area and kill three Wretched Mothers that you find, nothing
too hard here. You may run across some small dungeon entry points such as a
"Damp Cellar". Head into those if you wish, though they are not necessary to
complete the quest.
______________________
|BONUS OBJECTIVE REWARD|
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 50 | 450 |
|___________|__________|
Once the three Wretched Mothers are down,[G] keep making your way to the end of
Old Tristram Road and enter the Old Ruins.
Your quest should have updated after eliminating 3 Wretched Mothers, and now
point you towards defeating a Wretched Queen.
She is much stronger so should be dispatched first, but should pose no problem
at this stage. If you are some how finding trouble remember to run to the red
globes on the ground to replenish your health and press "Q" to use a health
potion (by default). She'll summon some walking corpses and risen but just
focus your damage on her and she'll be dead in no time. [H] Once she's down a
new waypoint will open in the Old Ruins, with which you can return to town
with.
New Tristram
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[I] Once back in town speak with Captain Rumford to complete the quest. It
seems as though he wants you to speak to Leah again - you can find her right
next to where Captain Rumford is standing.
______________________
| QUEST COMPLETE |
| REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 124 | 1125 |
|___________|__________|
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(03) The Legacy of Cain
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OBJECTIVES /
____________/
[A] Use the New Tristram Waypoint to go to the Old Ruins
[B] Go to the Old Tristram Gate
[C] Find Adria's Hut
[D] Search Adria's Hut
[E] Enter the Hidden Cellar in Adria's Hut
[F] Explore the Hidden Cellar
[G] Kill Captain Dayltan and the Risen
[H] Talk to Leah in the Hidden Cellar
[I] Enter Cathedral Level 1
[J] Search for signs of Deckard Cain in the Cathedral
[K] Kill the skeletons attacking Decard Cain
[L] Talk to Deckard Cain in Leoric's Passage
[M] Follow Deckard Cain _____________
[N] Talk to Leah in New Tristram /
/ OBJECTIVES
*******************************************************************************
New Tristram
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Use the waypoint near the middle of town and choose "The Old Ruins" [A]. Leah
will accompany you and help you unlock the gate here [B].
The Old Ruins
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You'll need to find Adria's Hut now [C], so clear the undead in as you move
through the area, this should be easy, nothing to worry here. Cross the bridge
near the southeast location of the area and you'll find a destroyed hut. Head
over to it [D] and you should immediately notice a Hidden Cellar entrace within
the hut. Not very hidden now, was it? Enter it [E].
Adria's Hut
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Explore around the cellar [F] and you should find Captain Dayltan, a unique
enemy, appear among some risen [G]. Focus your fire on captain Dayltan and he
should go down in no time. The only thing to worry about here is his frost
bombs - these freeze you once exploded so stay away from them. Mop of the rest
of the undead and then talk to Leah [H]. Read the journal for some extra XP.
______________________
| OBJECTIVE REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 65 | 330 |
|___________|__________|
Old Tristram Road
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
You appear just outside Adria's Hut and can now continue right towards the
Cathedral with your newly obtained key. There will be a couple undead here
and there but this shouldn't present any problems, even if there is a champion
pack or rare enemy. Open the doors [I] and enter Cathedral Level 1.
Cathedral Level 1
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This is one of your first longer dungeons, and the layout here will be random
in every new session.[J] As we're here to look for Leah's uncle Deckard Cain we
need to now search around this Cathedral for signs of him. You'll find some new
enemies here, including fat monstrosities known as "Grotesques" that explode
when killed. Avoid this splash damage and you should be fine through this
dungeon.
You'll be looking for an entrance into Leoric's Passage. Search every corner of
the map until you find it and you should enter a cutscene.
Leoric's Passage
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Time to save the old man [K]. Head down the stairs and unload your attacks on
the undead attacking Cain, and soon a mini-boss Headcleaver will be summoned
in. He does a fair amount of damage if you still haven't equipped some armor
but he has a low health amount so use your resource-spending abilities to kill
him swiftly.
[L] After defeating them you can speak to Cain and follow him through the
secret passage. [M] Follow him through the secret passage and the locked gate
and take the waypoint right back to the safety of New Tristram. Leah seems
extremely delighted from the rescue- talk to her to complete the quest.
______________________
| QUEST COMPLETE |
| REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| NONE | 3300 |
|___________|__________|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(04) A Shattered Crown
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*******************************************************************************
OBJECTIVES /
____________/
[A] Talk to the Blacksmith Haedrig Eamon
[B] Kill the Ravenous Dead in the Cellar of the Damned
[C] Kill Mira Eamon
[D] Talk to Haedrig Eamon in the Cellar of the Damned
[E] Open the Northwest Gate
[F] Find the Cemetery of the Forsaken in the Weeping Hollow
[G] Search for the Chancellor's Altar below the Cemetary of Forsaken
[H] Kill Chancellor Eamon
[I] Take the Skeleton King's Crown from the Chancellor's Altar
[J] Use the Town Portal to return to New Tristram _____________
[K] Talk to Haedrig Eamon /
/ OBJECTIVES
*******************************************************************************
New Tristram
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Head over towards the back of the town and you should find the local blacksmith
Haedrig Eamon. [A] Talk to him and ask him about the crown. Before he can help
you however he's got some of his own problems that need dealing with. [B]
Follow him to the Cellar of the Damned straight ahead.
Cellar of the Damned
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Seems like everyone has turned into the walking dead here. Clear the undead out
here, it should be an easy job. If you clear them out fast enough you even get
an achievement for it with a banner reward. Once that's done follow Haedrig to
the back of the cellar where you will find his infected wife. [C] She's a
unique enemey (more health, damage, extra traits + abilities, purple name) but
she's quite easy to defeat. Using your primary attack alone can do the trick.
Now talk to Haedrig Eamon to ask him about Leoric's Crown.
______________________
| OBJECTIVE REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 75 | 900 |
|___________|__________|
New Tristram
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[E] Head over to the Northwest Gate after exiting the cellars. Go through the
portal here that didn't use to be present and you'll arrive in the Weeping
Hollow.
Weeping Hollow
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[F] Search around for the Cemetery of the Forsaken, it should be near the back
of this area but feel free to explore - there is a dungeon or two to be found
here. This is also one of the largest outdoor areas yet, so enjoy the freedom.
If you're trying to clear through the quest quickly your best bet is just to go
straight up. The general location to the cemetery is always in that direction.
You'll know it's the right place when you see a large iron gate. Head through
it.
Cemetery of the Forsaken
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To find the crown it's now required for you to locate the Chancellor's Altar
bellow the cemetery itself [G]. It could be in any of the three dungeons that
appear in this area, and the only way to know if it's the correct dungeon is if
you find a second lower level. The dungeon that you want to search here is
called "Defiled Crypt".
Defiled Crypt
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Assuming you have picked the correct Defiled Crypt, mow through the undead and
ghosts here. The only thing to watch out is to not under estimate the tiny
imps- they are extremely fast and can overwelm you especially at this stage
when we expect the game to be easy.
Once you reach the next level of the Defiled Crypt head over to the blocked
doorway. After a smashing entrance Manglemaw will appear and tear you apart
with his deadly thorn fists. This unique enemy is harder than anything you have
encountered yet but can be beaten by being careful and only using your potion
when you are low on health. Remember consuming a potion will initiate a countd-
own before you can use another potion (30 seconds).
Once Manglemaw is slain head on through the door way and clear the hordes of
undead here. Try focus down the Tomb Guardians as they are the ones that
constantly summon extra undead as well as fire orbs of magic that deal quite a
bit of damage. The Chancellor's Altar is at the back of the room, so go on over
and interact with the altar.
At this point Chancellor Eamon's soul will appear and attempt to stop you from
robbing the crown [H]. He is easier than Manglemaw but ranged classes should
beware of his teleport ability if you're currently relying solely on kiting.
You will need to use a potion or equip a defensive skill for this fight.
You can loot the crown [I] after the fight from the altar, and at the same time
recieve the town portal stone. Use it to return to town [J].
New Tristram
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[K] Talk to Haedrig Eamon to have the crown fixed up and you'll complete the
quest and have him become your full-time blacksmith*.
______________________
| QUEST COMPLETE |
| REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| REWARD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| BLACK | |
| SMITH | 325 |
|___________|__________|
*NOTE* - Fore more info on using the blacksmith look in Chapter IV part (06)
"Artisans".
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(05) Reign of the Black King
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*******************************************************************************
OBJECTIVES /
____________/
[A] Use the New Tristram Waypoint to return to the Cathedral Gardens
[B] Enter Leoric's Passage
[C] Go to the Cathedral Level 2 through the Ornate Door
[D] Give aid to the Warrior
[E] Find the Warrior's Stolen Items
[F] Find and Kill Jondar
[G] Join the Templar
[H] Search for the Royal Crypts
[I] Find the Crypt of the Skeleton King
[J] Enter the Crypt of the Skeleton King
[K] Kill the Returned
[L] Place Leoric's Crown on the Skeleton King
[M] Kill the Skeleton King
[N] Enter the Desolate Chamber
[O] Talk to the Stranger in the Desolate Chamber
[P] Return to New Tristram _____________
[Q] Talk to Deckard Cain /
/ OBJECTIVES
*******************************************************************************
New Tristram
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[A] It's time to go straight for the Skeleton King. Head on over to the waypoi-
nt and use it to teleport to the Cathedral Gardens.
Cathedral Garden
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[B] There won't be too much to fight here so simply clear your way and head
straight for the ping on the minimap. Remember the passage leading into the
Cathedral a couple quests ago? Enter it and down into the Cathedral proper.
Cathedral Level 1
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We actually don't have to clear Cathedral Level 1 again as level 2 is right
next to where we enter level 1. [C] Head on to the Ornate Door towards the
rigth and activate it with the crown. Enter into level 2.
Cathedral Level 2
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This level isn't too large but remember - all of Diablo 3's dungeons are
COMPLETELY randomized, so it's hard to say how far away the exit is. There are
large creatures called "Unburied" here that will do quite some damage if you
are a caster or the Demon Hunter, so start learning how to kite them. Always
focus down the Tomb Guardians as well and you should be fine. Once you find
the entrance to Cathedral Level 3 enter it.
Cathedral Level 3
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
As you enter make a turn and you will see a dark ritual taking place. Looks
like you have no choice but to save this poor fellow [D]. Try focusing on the
Dark Cultists which are performing the ritual as after a few are defeated the
Warrior will aid you in battle. Mop of the rest of the foes and talk to the
Warrior [E].
Looks like our goals align. Keep going through this level in order to help the
Templar find his stolen items. The location is random but it's always down
a left in a narrow passage. His items will be in a chest, recover them for him
once you find it. [F] Looks like he now needs to defeat one of the betrayers of
his Templar Order on the way.
Head towards the top right direction after exiting the passage with the stolen
items and you should find a stairway with corruption blocking the way. Allow
the Templar to clear the way with his spear and head down.
Below you will find Jonar - the Betrayer of the Templar Order. He's one of the
easiest bosses so far so don't panic, just blast away at him. You'll probably
kill him before you figure out his abilities. After the Templar slays him he
will drop some loot, so stick around if you were wondering where your loot was.
[G] The Templar wishes to join you on your journey now, and this means you have
officially unlocked your first follower. There are a couple more of these later
in the game but they can only be used when you're playing solo. They will
always be in town even if you do not decide to bring them along. You can chat
with them, give them items, and select abilities for them as they level up.
If you asked the Templar to join you you can now open his character page by
clicking on his portrait on the top left and give him some items and assign his
first ability. The heal is quite useful now (though not as much later) but
don't be too caught up of what you choose - you can simply reassign abilities
by right clicking his portrait and selecting "re-assign".
______________________
| OBJECTIVE REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 80 | 1050 |
|___________|__________|
After you're done head into Cathedral Level 4 - the largest, most random level
of the dungeon.
Cathedral Level 4
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[H] Now that you're on the last level, you must search for the Royal Crypts
where the Skeleton King was buried. This level is quite large so you may find
some dead ends before locating the right place. What you are looking for is
sort of a opening in the wall that is colored in a shade of blue-green - keep
an eye out for this entrance as you head along passage ways.
The only other thing to note on this level is the Harvesters. These are like
the fat Grotesques previously seen but deadlier, as well as explore into a
bunch of Imps instead of worms. You can use these guys to your advantage by
finishing them off in the midst of a crowd and letting his explosion soften up
the mobs.
Once you find the proper entrance head into the Royal Crypts.
Royal Crypts
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
After all that dungeon crawling it's fortunate that this is your final obstacle
before reaching the King himself. [I] Make your way through the hordes of
undead and you should quickly reach a eerily lit room with four pillars. The
Skeleton King should appear as an image and taunt you. The pillars will be
activated and start spawning undead.
This is your first real "Diablo-style" fight since the beginning of the game.
There will be an incredible amount of undead on the screen and more spawning
from the pillars so swiftly take out the undead and make your way to one of the
four pillars. Destroy it and then proceed to destroy the rest, or you'll soon
be overwhelmed by the dead.
One good tactic is to utilize your resource-spending abilities or cooldown
abilities on the pillars to swiftly take them out - you can then slowly but
surely mop up the rest of the undead.
Now to find the entrance to the Skeleton King's own crypt. Head up and through
the final undead and you should find a passage heading left. Go down that path
and you will reach the door to the Crypt of the Skeleton King. [J] Now enter it
and brace yourself for your first big boss fight.
Crypt of the Skeleton King
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
After the cutscene ends make your way down the single path and stop the
Returned that are blocking your way [K]. Once they are all down the gate should
open, go through it and [L] place the crown you have worked so hard to
retrieve on top of the Skeleton King to summon him out in flesh. It's time you
go to hell, King Leoric [M].
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
+-----------------------o BOSS FIGHT: SKELETON KING o-------------------------+
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
This might very well be your hardest fight yet, and your first real boss fight.
Boss fight's will drop at least 1 rare item for you the first time you beat
them and they have a lot of abilities and health. They all require good strate-
gies to beat especially at higher difficulties.
The Skeleton King will smash you with his weapon in a three-hit combo fashion
when you get close so attempt to avoid that through the fight. If you're melee,
you can side step this ability with some timing. One of the more deadlier
things he does is summon a bunch of Returned to help him fight you or your
party. While these are easy to kill if you leave them alive soon you will be
overwhelmed by them.
Try circling around the area to avoid general incoming damage from him - in
other words, don't stay in one spot. He has a lot of health so you will need to
stay focused for longer than fights usually are in Diablo 3. One last thing,
if you get far away from him he has a dashing blow that he can use to almost
intantly reach you and hit you from a distance.
When you finally beat him enjoy the guaranteed rare drops [N].
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Enter the Desolate Chamber and follow the path around to a hall [O]. We can see
the crater left by the Fallen Star here, and it seems like we have found what
the source is. Behold, it's a lone man. Head down the stairway and talk to him.
Looks like we need to bring him back to Cain. Use the portal ahead to teleport
back to New Tristram and repoort to Cain [P][Q].
______________________
| QUEST COMPLETE |
| REWARD |
|___________ __________|
| GOLD | XP |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| NONE | 3300 |
|___________|__________|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(06) Sword of the Stranger
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[COMING SOON!]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(07) The Broken Blade
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[COMING SOON!]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(08) The Doom of Wortham
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[COMING SOON!]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(09) Trailing the Coven
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[COMING SOON!]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(10) The Imprisoned Angel
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[COMING SOON!]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(11) Return to New Tristram
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[COMING SOON!]
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* ACT II *
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[COMING SOON!]
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* ACT III *
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[COMING SOON!]
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* ACT IV *
_______________________________________________________________________________
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[COMING SOON!]
/===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX====\
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===x
| PART D : Closing |
x===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX=================== XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==x
\===XX====XX====XX====XX====XX==================XX====XX====XX====XX====XX===/
This final part is just a sum-up of the guide, informing you of any future
updates, F.A.Q.s, and just some acknowledgements.
*******************************************************************************
[EXT7]
CHAPTER VII - EXTRA INFORMATION
*******************************************************************************
Some extra info that you guys may wish to know are all here. Please be sure to
check out the Frequently Asked Questions section before you email me, as it may
answer some of your queries.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(01) Future Updates
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Guide content that will be added soon are provided below. Not everything will
be on time as I have a busy life and also try get in game time, but I'll always
try my best to get content out.
Last Update
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* Completion of half of Act 1 quest walkthroughs.
* More fixes and updates.
Update: 13/07/12
Coming Soon
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* Completion of Act 1 quest walkthroughs.
* More fixes and updates.
Update Aim: 27/06/12
Long-Term Goals
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* Complete all chapters aside from walkthrough.
Update Aim: 23/06/12 [COMPLETE]
* Complete Normal Difficulty walkthrough.
Update Aim: 08/08/12
* Complete Guide
Update Aim: 10/08/12
* Add higher difficulty walkthroughs.
Update Aim: To be determined.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(02) Frequently Asked Questions
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I'll answer the questions that have been emailed the most and that I think
people would most likely ask in this section.
[1] - Q: Which is your favorite class?
A: Wow, been asked this a lot already even though I'm not sure why this
would interest anyone hehe. I can't choose between the Monk and the
Barbarian, I like both of these the equal amount. I have a level 60
Witch Doctor on my friend's account but I don't play it anymore - I
bought the game myself and decided that unless they buffed the WD's
pets I won't play it yet. So I started a Monk, found that I loved it,
and then a Barbarian as well. Leveling both at the same time now.
[2] - Q: What's the pony level?
A: It's basically the secret level of Diablo 3. In the prequel the secret
level was the well-known "cow level". The idea and delivery of this
secret level is definitely unique and interesting, so if you ever get
the chance you should try it out. It's difficult to unlock it though,
a extra chapter may be added to explain how to do it in the future.
[3] - Q: Is there a cow level like in Diablo 2?
A: Look at the answer above!
[4] - Q: People are complaining that Blizzard has made this game seem much
better than what was expected, and it's complete trash! Is there any
truth to this?
A: Diablo 3 is not game-breaking by any sense, but it's an extremely
good game in a lot of ways and if this is your sort of game, you'll
love it. However it has its share of flaws like weak legendaries, a
sub-par story, drop-rate distribution in the acts of Inferno, and
currently its repair costs. There are others but I won't list them all
here. Most of what you've heard though are likely WoW players QQing or
Diablo 2 players hidden behind nostalgia glasses - let it be known I
am a 5 year Diablo 2 player and I know what they feel but changes have
to be made. Diablo 3 is a great game for what it is, and the flaws
will be addressed sooner or later, and some changes have already been
confirmed by Blizzard.
[5] - Q: Is Inferno as difficult as Blizzard claimed it to be?
A: Absolutely. Inferno is - or let's say WAS pre 1.0.3 patch - extremely
difficult. I'm a five year Diablo 2 player that has been following
Diablo 3 for a long while and I could not beat act 1 of inferno in a
week of dedicated play. I got to level 60 in 3 days so I spent 4 days
in Inferno act 1 - that's how hard it was. Work and exams have come
between and I've started new characters so I'll be challeging it again
soon, but yes, Inferno was hard and still is quite hard after the
patch, just not too difficult for hardcore players. Let it be known
that it greatly depends on your gear though.
[6] - Q: How does the randomization work?
A: I've already got a section explaining that in the guide so go look it
up for the long explanation, but I'll give a quick one here. The outdoor
locations are expansive but their maps are static - what's in them is
random, however. Enemy locations, chests, events, and dungeons are
randomzied in all areas. So some dungeons will appear at times and in
other times they won't. Interior locations (dungeons, mostly) are
completely random however - they are always similar in size but the
paths and overall content will alter in each new session.
[7] - Q: Enjoying Diablo 3?
A: I have no idea why anyone would just sent an email just to ask this,
but god knows we're bored sometimes :)
Yes, enjoying it immensely, looking forward to Blizzard to fix some
things up though.
[8] - Q: Which class is the best in the game now?
A: No real answer to this as the classes are pretty balanced, but as of
now the Wizard and Demon Hunters should find it easiest (in comparison
to other classes) to complete content in Inferno Difficulty. However
there are many good players that have completed inferno with the monk,
barb, and witch doctor, so don't worry! Main problem now lies with
melee needing much better gear then ranged to survive and to fight
properly (to not kite all day).
[9] - Q: Planning to to upload more videos on your channel on youtube?
A: I'd prefer to keep topics of my channel to a minimum here in this
guide and keep this guide focused on providing written strategy for
you but there has been a lot of questions about my channel. I'll keep
it short and simple - I will upload more videos in the upcoming weeks,
as I've just finished my exams and won't be doing my part-time job
till after summer. The videos are just something for you to go look at
if you're interested in watching me play or learning strategies in
video format.
[10] - Q: Any sites you recommend for Diablo information and guidance?
A: Yes, D3database and diablofans.com are the best in my opinion, they
have very frequest updates, information, a dedicated player base (who
have been posting inferno guides for all classes already), and more.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
(03) Thoughts On Recent Patch
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This section will be updated with my thoughts and opinions of any recent
patches, including a run-down on the general things that the patch has changed.
The most recent patch was patch 1.0.3 that came live yesterday, so as of now
this is all that's in this section.
***********
Patch 1.0.3
***********
General Patch Changes:
>>>>>
Attack Speed bonus on weapons and armors have been reduced by 50%
High-end items now can drop in earlier acts (see notes for numbers)
Some key class changes (check them out)
Repair costs increases for items level 53-63
Magic Find will no longer be considered when looting objects in the environment
such as chests, barrels, vases, pots, and corpses
Unique monsters in Hell and Inferno difficulty are no longer guaranteed to drop
two Magic items when slain
Weapon racks will no longer drop weapons 100% of the time
Destructible objects no longer have a chance to drop items, and will only have
a small chance to drop gold when destroyed
Blacksmith crafting has been reduced by 50% to 75% (for level 1-59) and cost to
level by 50% with many other changes
Various boss changes can be found at the end, such as new enrage timers.
Elite packs (Champion/Rare) now drop an additional item for players with 5
stacks of Nephalem Valor, which is guaranteed to be of Rare quality
Damage from monsters in Acts II, III, and IV in Inferno difficulty has been
reduced
Fixed a position desync bug ,aka "rubberbanding", that could happen when some
movement skills (Strafe, Whirlwind, Tempest Rush) ended because the player ran
out of the appropriate resource
<<<<<
I think the overall patch is quite good, but to think this way one must truly
understand what is best for the community, the game, and actual gameplay. Quite
a lot of people are unhappy but they are most likely uninformed of the reasons
of the changes.
The attack speed nerf was a huge hit, and most complain about this. While I do
think this was a bit too harsh (people's DPS were dropping in thousands) Blizz
did warn us early about nerfing attack speed. More importantly though, the
reason to nerfing it is a reason that most people want in the first place - a
good itemization end-game, to have a variety of different stats to hunt and gem
for on items. However because of attack speed being an incredibly good stat
most players were looking for attack speed. With the nerf there is a lot more
different stats to hunt for - which is a good change.
It's a bit jarring with all the reduced DPS and also how your hero is slower
with attack animations because of the nerf, but get this - this change will not
stick for long. Trust me. People are saying the game is not fun anymore as
their hero is slower but seriously, if they nerfed it bit by bit with hotfixes
nobody would have noticed. Give it some time, and you'll get what the change is
for, and next time you get an item without attack speed it still might make you
happy.
Now inferno is nerfed, but the nerf isn't exactly massive. It's a clear nerf
but this seems to make the transition between acts "smooth", as many players
seem to be hitting a "brick wall" everytime they reach a new act in inferno.
Remember that a great many players have been complaining about the difficulty,
and if you yourself are super-hardcore and thought it was fine and hate the
nerf, think about the community. It wasn't the noob community that couldn't
beat content - it was a lot of good players. It needs to be manageable, and now
it is.
The new drop rates also help this difficulty curve by allowing players that are
farming in inferno acts 1 and 2 able to find items in act 3 and 4 (with a lower
drop chance than if farming in acts 3 and 4, of course). What was happening pre
patch was that players were simply farming gold in act 1 and 2 and buying act
3 or 4 gear off of the AH - this just doesn't reward the player for his findin-
gs and instead encourages overuse of the AH. Now Blizzard is introducting more
farming opportunities. A great change overall.
Another change to discourage people from simply using the AH is the drastic
reductions in prices of the two artisans - the blacksmith and the jeweler. It
costs little to no gold to combine gems now and less crafting components and
much less gold to make items. It used to be insanely overpriced, but now it
seems be just right and we should see more players take on crafting.
Overall a good patch, if the intentions of the developers are understood. Give
it a few days, trust me.
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[FIN8]
CHAPTER VIII - FINAL WORDS
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And to finish up...
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(01) Credits
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There are a few people/groups that I would like to thank before you head off,
and some people I need to give credit to.
Friends & Family - For their undying support for my writing, and for my
friend's interests in the same game to drive me into writing
this guide.
Blizzard - For creating a spectacular game that I will not put down for a very
long time.
diablofans.com - For providing some reminders and content info that I would
have otherwise completely forgotten.
gamefaqs.com - For creating a perfect place for gamers to come and chat, share
experiences, and write and read guides, as well as giving my
guide a chance.
And finally,
You Guys! - For reading my guide, having a look at it, and making my long,
hard efforts not go to waste.
Thank you all.
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(02) Some last words...
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So, you've reached the end of the guide! There's not much to report as of now,
but that updates will be coming very soon as the game has just released. Thanks
for reading the guide!
(c) Copyright Kranti Nebhwani 2012
