What can you say about the different classes?

Returning from Diablo II, the dual-wielding barbarian is one of the stoic guardians of Mount Arreat. Retooled with powerful new abilities and moves, this plate-wearing savage wields ferocious weapons to annihilate the demonic forces threatening the world of Sanctuary.

The fearsome witch doctor hails from the terrifying Tribe of the Five Hills of the legendary umbaru race. The witch doctor is equipped with spells and alchemical powers; can summon mongrels, locust swarms, and zombie armies; and hurls fiery concoctions to annihilate any demon foolish enough to trifle with the powers of the umbaru.

The wizard is a wielder of the elements and a master manipulator of time, who combats the hordes of the Burning Hells by launching environment-shattering lightning bolts, channeling explosive arcane energies, and creating pockets of space outside of the normal flow of time.

The monk is a skilled warrior of unparalleled dexterity. Armed with speed, holy fervor, and a quest for physical and spiritual perfection, the monk becomes a deadly apparition in the heat of battle, moving faster than the eye can follow to strike down enemies with a barrage of lightning-fast blows.

The demon hunter has a sole purpose in life: to track down and destroy every last demonic being that dares to threaten humanity. Lithe and notoriously deadly with a pair of dual crossbows, the demon hunter brings an entire arsenal of arcane gadgets and mystical traps to the battlefields of Sanctuary. 

What can you say about the different classes?

 

Returning from Diablo II, the dual-wielding barbarian is one of the stoic guardians of Mount Arreat. Retooled with powerful new abilities and moves, this plate-wearing savage wields ferocious weapons to annihilate the demonic forces threatening the world of Sanctuary.

The fearsome witch doctor hails from the terrifying Tribe of the Five Hills of the legendary umbaru race. The witch doctor is equipped with spells and alchemical powers; can summon mongrels, locust swarms, and zombie armies; and hurls fiery concoctions to annihilate any demon foolish enough to trifle with the powers of the umbaru.

The wizard is a wielder of the elements and a master manipulator of time, who combats the hordes of the Burning Hells by launching environment-shattering lightning bolts, channeling explosive arcane energies, and creating pockets of space outside of the normal flow of time.

The monk is a skilled warrior of unparalleled dexterity. Armed with speed, holy fervor, and a quest for physical and spiritual perfection, the monk becomes a deadly apparition in the heat of battle, moving faster than the eye can follow to strike down enemies with a barrage of lightning-fast blows.

The demon hunter has a sole purpose in life: to track down and destroy every last demonic being that dares to threaten humanity. Lithe and notoriously deadly with a pair of dual crossbows, the demon hunter brings an entire arsenal of arcane gadgets and mystical traps to the battlefields of Sanctuary. 

How did the new demon hunter character class come about?

When we set out to create the fifth class, we knew we wanted to add another ranged character to the game. However, we also wanted to create a class that was more sinister than the typical ranger archetype. In the end, we came up with a character who has a personal vendetta against the demons and who will stop at nothing to eradicate every last trace of evil in Sanctuary. While the demon hunter primarily uses traditional ranged weaponry such as bows, crossbows, or even dual-wielded one-handed crossbows, the class is also incredibly proficient with gadgetry, traps, and deadly grenades. The demon hunter has dedicated an entire lifetime to training to destroy demons, and few can rival her skill.

Players will create a male or female hero from one of five distinct classes — barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, monk, or demon hunter — each equipped with an array of spells and abilities. New customization options will provide for an even greater level of character specialization than the previous Diablo games, allowing the player to create unique characters brimming with power. 

What is the story of Diablo III?

The game takes place on Sanctuary, a world of dark fantasy. Unbeknownst to most of its inhabitants, Sanctuary was saved some twenty years ago from the demonic forces of the underworld by a few brave and powerful heroes. Most of those warriors who directly faced Hell’s armies — and were fortunate enough to survive — went mad from their experiences. And most of the others have buried their haunted memories and pushed the horrors from their thoughts. In Diablo III, players will return to Sanctuary to confront evil in its many forms once again.

Diablo III will benefit from Battle.net upgrades that will provide some exciting new features for players. Cooperative online play remains a primary focus, with multiple enhancements being planned to make connecting with your friends easier and cooperative play even more fun. We’ll have more details on all these aspects as well as other exciting new features at a later date.

Diablo III builds on the random environments of the previous Diablo games by adding random scripted events and encounters throughout the game, creating a dense and exciting world alive with quests, NPCs, and dynamic encounters.

  

When will Diablo III be released?

It’s too early to estimate Diablo III’s release date. As with all Blizzard Entertainment games, our goal is to create a game that is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible. We intend to take as much time developing Diablo III as is necessary to ensure the game meets our own high expectations and those of our players. We’re aiming to release Diablo III on both Mac and Windows simultaneously in as many regions as possible, and to localize the game in several languages. We’ll have more details to share about countries, languages, and specific dates as we get closer to release.

Diablo III is powered by a new graphics engine that can display characters and hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful special-effects and physics systems allow for realistic object dynamics and cloth simulation, and enable players to lay waste to the minions of the Burning Hells in spectacular ways.

Our plans for the story and quest mechanics are still under wraps. We’ll go into detail on those elements of the game at a later date. We can say, however, that we expect to have class-based quests in addition to the main story-line quests. 

Stay Awhile and Listen

Our new has gone live! This will be your sanctuary for all the latest developments from New Tristram and beyond, featuring community forums and regular blog updates.[more] Just like this site, you can post comments and share Diablo III news items via Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social media outlets. You’ll want to check out the new Diablo III news feed regularly. We’ll use it to share everything about Diablo III and to highlight recent community activity, including your most entertaining videos, art, comics, fansites, and much more.

We hope you head over and get acquainted with the new site, and return often. We’ve got a lot in store leading up to the release of Diablo III, including the launch of the Game Guide section featuring lore, characters, classes, maps, and more. Additionally, you’ll see us on the new Diablo III forums. We look forward to sharing and discussing all the latest Diablo III news, content, and updates with you for a long time to come.

Blog comments, forum posting, and profile management are only available to those with an active StarCraft II, World of Warcraft, or Diablo III beta license. 

Encounters and New Diablo III Mouse Pad

 

We’re exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles and are currently looking to fill a few senior console-related positions on the Diablo III team. As we’ve said in the past, with proper care the gameplay could suit the console platform, and we’re interested in seeing what talent out there might be interested in such a project. If you’re passionate about all things Diablo and have the requisite skill and experience, then head over to our jobs site to check out the positions and apply.

Please note that this is not an announcement of a console title. We are first and foremost developing Diablo III for Windows and Mac PCs and don’t intend to allow any possibility of a console interpretation to delay or affect the release of the game.

Just in time for the holiday season, SteelSeries is releasing the first in a series of Diablo III mouse pads. The QcK Barbarian Edition features artwork from the game, showcasing the might and fury of the barbarian. For more information visit SteelSeries at

Cutting through hordes of demons is a cornerstone of the Diablo series, but we’re taking battle to the next level in Diablo III, adding a slew of new creature behaviors to make sure combat is more fast-paced and tactical than ever. Check out ourto learn about the savage new attacks that Diablo III’s monsters are bringing to bear — and how you can survive against them.

 

BlizzCon Day Two Begins

After you’ve slaked your thirst for demon-slaying, it’s always good to unwind with some good ol’ fashioned player-vs.-player combat. In Diablo III, heroes will be able to enter the arenas of Sanctuary to engage in team battles, earn points in matches on Battle.net, and otherwise prove their PvP prowess. Learn more about the plans unveiled at this year’s BlizzCon on our news.

During the opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2010, players got a first look at the fifth and final character class for Diablo III: the lithe and deadly. Armed with twin crossbows, an arsenal of deadly contraptions, and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance against the legions of the Burning Hells, the demon hunter strikes quickly and excels at hit-and-run tactics.

Wondering what happened during the various World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II discussions at this year’s BlizzCon? We’ve got you covered! We’ll be providing regular updates on the latest news and information from developer panels and other activities throughout the show. You can check out the latest panel recaps as they’re posted

The second day of BlizzCon has begun! Yesterday, we gave everyone a first look at Diablo III’s newand unveiled our plans for , and players got to try out four upcoming Blizzard-wrought custom maps for StarCraft II, including . Today’s events include the Diablo III: Crafting Sanctuary, StarCraft II Multiplayer, and perennially popular World of Warcraft Class Q&A panels; the finals for this year’s Warcraft III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft Arena tournaments; and, of course, the sure-to-be-destiny-altering closing concert featuring Tenacious D. 

THE MAKING OF THE STARCRAFT II CINEMATIC TEASER

Go go go! On May 19th, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event in Seoul, Korea, we announced in front of a stadium of thousands that StarCraft II is under development, and revealed a first-ever look at the new real-time strategy title. The original StarCraft is known for its epic galactic battles between three distinct, formidable races – the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg – as well as its gripping single-player storyline told with the aid of Blizzard’s signature cinematic sequences. StarCraft II follows in that tradition, as demonstrated at the Worldwide invitational with a live gameplay presentation and an exciting new cinematic teaser for the upcoming game.

We’re eager to share the new face of StarCraft with you (it’s now running in a custom 3D engine that includes realistic physics and allows for massive armies and massive units on-screen simultaneously). Check out to view the gameplay trailer revealed at the Worldwide Invitational, the StarCraft II cinematic teaser, and much more!

 
The Insider recently sat down with the Blizzard cinematic team for a behind-the-scenes look at the StarCraft II cinematic teaser recently released at the Worldwide Invitational, as well as to discuss the challenges involved with continuing the single-player storyline from the original game�

One of the things that really made StarCraft stand out when it was first released was the epic scale of events unfolding over the course of the original game and the Brood Warâ„¢ expansion, told in large part through the game’s cut-scenes and beautifully crafted cinematics. Of all the possible scenarios for a cinematic teaser, why did you decide to focus on the genesis of a marine? 

Do You Have What It Takes To Be Legendary?

SteelSeries brings World of Warcraft players a finely crafted weapon of precision with the SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse: Legendary Edition. Arm yourself with a versatile tool on your journey through Azeroth battling old foes and discovering new adventures. Be bold. Be Legendary.

Welcome Adventurers

Built for players of all types–be they casual fan or dedicated raider, rookie or guild leader–the Legendary Edition mouse is designed to enhance your game play. Sophisticated software functionality lets you easily customize the mouse to suit your individual play style.

Lucky Number 11

Sleeker in size but just as powerful, the Legendary Edition is the little brother to its predecessor the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse. Tested by World of Warcraft gamers and co-designed with Blizzard Entertainment, the new Legendary Edition has 11 programmable buttons, ergonomically positioned for comfortable gameplay.

Illumination and Pulse

For a game that’s filled with choices and personalization, it’s obvious that the same should be true with how your tools play, look and feel. The World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse: Legendary Edition offers more than 16.8 million color options and 4 levels of pulsation including Low, Medium, High and Off. So there’s sure to be a combination to suit every mood and occasion.

Configure Your Settings In The Game

Plug in your mouse. Start your game. Configure all of your mouse settings from illumination to macros to button assignments directly from the World of Warcraft interface.

Drag-and-Drop Power

The intuitive drag-and-drop interface of the SteelSeries software empowers users to program all 11 buttons with more than 130 preset game commands, or create custom macros and/or use the in-game macro scripting language.