A few new Diablo III screenies:

[beersofwar]

Oh...jesus...

[Blinx123]

Oh...jesus...

Yes, Cthulhu?

I really didn't want to sound repetitive (at best) or trollish (at worst).

Just thought it was worth pointing out that, while Europeans sales make up at least 1/3 of their revenue, they still cheapen out on the European server base, placing it in freaking Dublin/Ireland.

I know setting up a server base in that economic shithole is less expensive than doing it someplace else (Frankfurt comes to mind), but it only creates issues for 98% of EU customers.

Not that it would make sense for them. They're, after all, an Activision subsidiary. Bobby Kotick (the real life celebrity they based the character of Diablo on) wouldn't want anyone to be happy.

[Badger3920]

Yes, Cthulhu?

I really didn't want to sound repetitive (at best) or trollish (at worst).

Just thought it was worth pointing out that, while Europeans sales make up at at least 1/3 of their revenue, they still cheapen out on the European server base, placing it in freaking Dublin/Ireland.

I know setting up a server base in that economic shithole is less expensive than doing it in someplace else (Frankfurt comes to mind), but it only creates issues for 98% of EU customers.

Not that it would make sense for them. They're, after all, an Activision subsidiary. Bobby Kotick (the real life celebrity they based the character of Diablo on) wouldn't want anyone to be happy, after all.

I know you're unhappy about the speeds and all and will want to draw a broad line around lots of people saying you're all having trouble - but really, you just have absolutely shitty internet. You mention 300-450ms ping "on US servers" like that's even an acceptable ping. It is not, that's an atrocious ping.

Your internet is joke - you can't expect to blame that game providers, or expect people to take your complaints seriously given your well-known lack of real internet.

[Blinx123]

I know you're unhappy about the speeds and all and will want to draw a broad line around lots of people saying you're all having trouble - but really, you just have absolutely shitty internet. You mention 300-450ms ping "on US servers" like that's even an acceptable ping. It is not, that's an atrocious ping.

Your internet is joke - you can't expect to blame that game providers, or expect people to take your complaints seriously given your well-known lack of real internet.

1. I know it's not acceptable (games like TERA NA or SWTOR's East Coast servers are, where the ping is way below 200ms for me)

2. It's not my internet. I can play other games perfectly fine. In fact, I seldom play on European servers anymore. Most of them are in Dublin, so the connection is shitty for most of Continental Europe, the UK and Scandinavia (pretty much proving what I said in that other thread. Distance is a minor nuisance compared to other factors)

3. Some people with 50MBit cable already confirmed those high pings on EU.Battlenet.

4. A list of my average ping times:

- TERA NA (Chicago): 158-186ms)

- SWTOR Tarro Blood (Chicago): 158-186ms (some lag spikes that make me end up with 250ms sometimes. But it's rather acceptable)

- TERA EU (Frankfurt): 100-150ms (servers are a lot less stable than those of TERA NA though. Hence TERA NA feels a whole lot smoother).

- Everquest II (Dublin): 280ms with lagspikes of up to 30k

- Everquest II/DC Universe Online US: stable 180-250ms

- Diablo III EU (Dublin): 280ms (before 8PM) - 430ms (after 8PM) - 130ms (with some luck and only between 3 and 4 AM) with a lot of packet loss throughout the whole day.

- Diablo III NA: 350-400ms with little to no packet loss

See what sticks out like a sour thumb?

[Blinx123]

Finally!

Popped in some gems, waited for the server load to drop a bit (leaving me with a somewhat playable 285ms) and finished off Diablo.

Now where do I need to file my petition in order to get Blizzard to change the ending?

J/K. The ending was fine. I suppose there'll be an expansion* clearing all those unanswered questions.

What really confuses me though: Aren't I supposed to receive different mats on Nightmare? I just salvaged a few items and didn't receive any new material. Do I have to upgrade the smith in order to unlock those?

*Hopefully a Diablo IV, as well.
As unpolished as Diablo III was, compared to Diablo II or most more recent Diablo "clones", I wouldn't want to miss the world of Sanctuary.

[Tnecniv]

Accounts hacked, items & gold stolen, though how widespread, I've no idea:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...d-items-stolen

Over the weekend Eurogamer writer Christian Donlan saw his account hacked and transferred to the control of the mysterious Anna. Her conversation with Eurogamer reviews editor Oli Welsh is documented below.

[michealo]

Awesome!
Not really.

[Blinx123]

Any of you guys still playing Diablo II?

Was wondering if it was worth creating a Battlenet character (and logging in every 90 days) or if I should just stick with the Open Battlenet.

[Bane]

Monk and Wizard nerfed.

Diablo III is getting hit with a major change to the Monk class, after Blizzard determined that letting a overpowered rune exist in its current state was a "mistake." This comes among other hotfixes that apparently weakened the Wizard class as well.

The change comes to the Mantra of Healing rune, called Boon of Protection. It now caps damage absorption at the amount of healing provided by the Mantra of Healing in the first three seconds after activation. Blizzard recommends discontinuing its use until the rune is replaced in a future patch.

"The Boon of Protection rune was approximately ten times over its budget on the benefits it provided, and it was quite simply a mistake on our part to let the rune ship as it was," read a post from community manager Bashiok. "We don't intend to take these quick and drastic measures often, but considering the severity of the issue, we felt it important to correct it swiftly."

The post notes that other fixes are coming, and forum users seem to have spotted at least one of them. Many players are noting that the Wizard has had his Force Armor weakened without a notice yet.

So how is Blizzard just now catching such large problems after the game spent two years in "polish mode"? A follow-up post from Bashiok says that the game is adapting to player data. "The game is still young, there were some skills that threw things out of whack, and we expect the landscape to settle out a bit more evenly. Or at least change again so we can continue to monitor the impact," the post read. "Maybe we're wrong, maybe there's no current chance for monk or barbarian to compete with ranged, but our current suspicion is that's incorrect and until we know for sure we're not going to turn any dials."

And to assuage some fears that the Monk would be underpowered now, Bashiok points out that "general class balance is an ongoing investigation" and claims that "the monk and barbarian are not as bad off as they seem."

Shacknews

This is also now the fastest selling PC game of all time with 3.5 million in 24 hours. Also, 1.2 million copies were given out through the WoW promotion they did. Overall 6.3 million have been sold in the first week.

[Godstar]

Accounts hacked, items & gold stolen, though how widespread, I've no idea:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...d-items-stolen

Wow, that's not good.

[Favelle]

IGN review:

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/05/1...ew-in-progress

Twelve years is a long time to wait for a game, but the Diablo faithful have had to do just that since developer Blizzard released Diablo II in 2000. Since then people have leveled and looted for years and gradually mastered its gameplay systems. Blizzard too has learned a lot over the last decade, and has wisely applied these lessons to the design of Diablo III. At its most basic level, Diablo III is still largely the same game, but with flexible skill systems that encourage you to constantly reshape your hero into whatever you need them to be. In the end, Diablo’s classic, loot-driven formula where you pick from a few pre-determined classes and level them up proves to be incredibly addictive the third time around.

9


Presentation

Playing multiplayer is easy. The story is only OK, though, and some options aren't explained all that well. The new skill bar is awesome.


9


Graphics

Diablo III looks great, making grotesque enemies and gouts of gore look strangely beautiful.


8.5


Sound

The voice acting is well done, and the music helps establish the ominous setting, but it isn't very exciting to fight to.


10


Gameplay

The loot system and combat are so much fun that they largely hide the repetitive nature of Diablo III. The ease of switching skills and wide array of powers make experimentation occur regularly. As addictive a game as they come.


10


Lasting Appeal

Diablo III is the type of game you can lose the whole weekend to, playing so much you forget to eat and participate in normal human life. The numerous difficulties and endless loot mean you can play it for years on end.

[twonunpackmule]

Ign sucks.

[CorruptedDragon]

Any of you guys still playing Diablo II?

Was wondering if it was worth creating a Battlenet character (and logging in every 90 days) or if I should just stick with the Open Battlenet.

I still play. I lost all my characters a few months back after I forgot to log in. I don't mind though. I always have fun in that game and starting over is ok.

[CorruptedDragon]

1. I know it's not acceptable (games like TERA NA or SWTOR's East Coast servers are, where the ping is way below 200ms for me)

2. It's not my internet. I can play other games perfectly fine. In fact, I seldom play on European servers anymore. Most of them are in Dublin, so the connection is shitty for most of Continental Europe, the UK and Scandinavia (pretty much proving what I said in that other thread. Distance is a minor nuisance compared to other factors)

3. Some people with 50MBit cable already confirmed those high pings on EU.Battlenet.

4. A list of my average ping times:

- TERA NA (Chicago): 158-186ms)

- SWTOR Tarro Blood (Chicago): 158-186ms (some lag spikes that make me end up with 250ms sometimes. But it's rather acceptable)

- TERA EU (Frankfurt): 100-150ms (servers are a lot less stable than those of TERA NA though. Hence TERA NA feels a whole lot smoother).

- Everquest II (Dublin): 280ms with lagspikes of up to 30k

- Everquest II/DC Universe Online US: stable 180-250ms

- Diablo III EU (Dublin): 280ms (before 8PM) - 430ms (after 8PM) - 130ms (with some luck and only between 3 and 4 AM) with a lot of packet loss throughout the whole day.

- Diablo III NA: 350-400ms with little to no packet loss

See what sticks out like a sour thumb?

My ping is never over 35ms in any game. If it hit 50 I would probably kill myself.

[Badger3920]

Just bought the game, downloading now!