Wings for Guild Wars® characters? Yes! You may not be able to fly, but you'll look awesome on the ground with these flashy wings from NCsoft's upcoming MMORPG Aion™. For a limited time, when you purchase either the Aion SteelBook edition or the Aion Limited Collector's Edition, you will receive an exclusive emote that allows you to summon a pair of Aion wings for your Guild Wars character! [Full details here.]
I just heard word that a new character class for Diablo 3 has apparently been unveiled: The Monk! Supposedly, it's replacing the Paladin. Still waiting for confirmation from Blizzard on all of this of course. JUST CONFIRMED IT'S OFFICIAL!
I'm still getting set up in the press room here guys, but thought you'd want to know! You heard it here on Diablofans first! Update: The Monk is apparently not playable at BlizzCon. Silver was just trying out the game downstairs and it's the same 3 character classes from last year. Trying to get confirmation on all of this. Daemaro found this pic of the Monk though:
The screenshot came from a Korean-language version of the Diablo 3 site.
More news to come soon!
Edit: With the announcement of the new monk class being made official by Blizzard, the character is now visible at the Diablo 3 character selection page. In addition all the characters have been ugraded to look even more menacing with armor and weapons.
Please visit our Diablo 3 Forums for more reviews, pictures, and videos.
We're thrilled to announce the premiere of the official Guild Wars 2 preview video! The trailer, which made its debut at gamescom Cologne, offers an exciting glimpse of the visual splendor that awaits in Guild Wars 2.
Twitter feeds where we plan to share news, run contests and events, and much more. We'll be starting things off with a bang by holding contests leading up to and through BlizzCon as well as will be twittering all through the show.
We're looking forward to the opportunities that will come with these new Twitter accounts and the increased interaction between Blizzard Entertainment and the community."
The Fallen Ones of Diablo II (you can read more about them on Diablofans.Com Wiki) have returned for Diablo III! I'm sure many, if not all of you are familiar with the impish little devils - running away the instant one of their comrades have fallen. And I'm sure we can all recall fighting their leader in Act I, Rakanishu, whose name they chant incessantly, and probably having been slain, ourselves, at some point by his Lightning Enchantment.
Well, as per a post in our Dev Tracker, the creatures have made their official comeback:
Quote: Originally Posted by Bashiok "The Diablo III bestiary has been updated with a demon family you may recognize - The Fallen Ones!
"When unleashed upon our realm by their master, Azmodan, these impish terrors display a tendency to swarm like flesh-hungry locusts, and they have been known to tear apart a sleeping village in minutes. Small of stature and simian in appearance, these creatures possess surprising strength and unnatural agility. Other than feasting on human flesh, the only act that gives these unspeakable horrors pleasure is breeding; hence the tendency to encounter them in large packs."
Visit http://www.Diablo3.com for the full bestiary update, including concept art, screen shots, and video!" There are now 5 different kinds of Fallen Ones:
Imps - These are the commonest of the fallen family of demons. They are the stereotypical fallen ones in look and behavior: small, red, swarming, bloodthirsty, and cowardly.
Shaman - Fallen shaman priests lead camps of fallen. I have also heard it rumored that they possess the ability to raise imps from the dead!
Lunatic - These enraged, oversized fallen creatures are bloated seemingly to the point of bursting, an impression buttressed by the fact that these insane demons rush their intended victims and then stab themselves until they explode. A more fitting name could not be found for these maniacal beings.
Overseer - The fallen overseer drives his smaller impish charges into a frenzy with his ape-like leaping and growling. An overseer among a group of fallen is a dangerous thing, as the cowardice that usually characterizes them is overwhelmed by fear of their much larger brethren.
Hounds - These slobbering abominations are commonly found among groups of the fallen and are utilized as guard animals, beasts of burden, or even food by their demonic masters. These beasts are loyal to a fault, regardless of the abuse heaped upon them.
You can see their glorious new page on the official Diablo III site here: http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/worl.....;/thefallen.xml. There's tons of new artwork and lore crammed in there- I'd encourage everyone to check it out!
How does everyone feel about these things returning in the world of Diablo again? It does make sense since there were so many of them in Diablo II. I'd wager they'll probably multiply like bunnies. Thoughts? Comments?
Today, Blizzard has recently posted on the online client for Diablo II a blatant charge against cheaters and hackers of all types and sizes, promising higher standards and a scrutiny to out-do what in years past has been nothing but a laughable, vague shell of enforcement:
Quote: Originally Posted by Blizzard Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Blizzard Entertainment feels very strongly about cheating over Battle.net. We Believe that multiplayer cheats and hacks undermine the basic rules of fair play and weaken ansy sense of true competition and online gaming enjoyment. We would like to remind everybody that the use of any third-party software in conjunction with the game to modify Battle.net and/or change game play may result in account closures and a possible suspension of access to Battle.net. Third-party software may include, but is not limited to any program that allows you to run multiple instances of the game at the same time, cheats, hacks, and/or bots. To continue our agressive stance on cheats/hacks, we will be monitoring Custom games as well as Ladder games on Battle.net.
Some important questions arise from this. In light of the recent announcement of patch 1.13 for Diablo II and the fact that one of the main focuses of the patch is player input, something on the top of every player's mind is Battle.net cheating, hacking, and security. For many years, most of us have done nothing but laugh at Battle.net and Blizzard's meager attempts at establishing any form of control over their free internet play client. Now, it seems, things may be taking a turn for the better.
Does anyone believe that this may, in fact, be something more than an announcement in light of current goings-on? Could something of value in this respect be coming with the impending patch 1.13?
It would make a lot of sense, seeing as Blizzard has announced also that the patch would be tested on a private testing realm:
Quote: Originally Posted by Bashiok Some exciting news - and it also may be some comfort - due to the types of changes we're making we will be offering the Diablo II 1.13 patch for testing and feedback on a test realm before its release. We'll have more information about how you'll be able to help test it in the coming weeks. (Source: http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18744.)
Something of this nature would be best done in such a way, especially if they are wanting to clean up players' acts on Diablo II and want to effectively cover as much ground as possible to stop hacking and cheating.
What are everyone else's thoughts on this? Could this really be Blizzard taking the first real stance in their fight against cheaters in nearly a decade or is this just another blast of hot air? Will this be something to be implemented in patch 1.13?
Discuss what you think about this new Blizzcast which is supposed to be almost exclusively about Diablo 3.
Here are the four new Diablo 3 images that were included with BlizzCast 8 which primarily showcase the inventory system:
(click any of the above images to enlarge)
I (mockery) particularly like the little details, such as the difference in the stitching around the borders depending on whether you have a bag or a burlap sack selected. The inventory system as a whole looks really sharp if you ask me. What do you think about it?
Note: Thanks Blizzard for updates and Diablofans for compiling all the information.
Blizzard has unveiled a new design for Battle.net complete with new features and functionality. The development of a "new Battle.net" has been hinted at for a long time in anticipation for the upcoming releases of both Starcraft II and Diablo III.
The new Battle.net is an upgrade to all preexisting Blizzard Accounts tied to Starcraft, Diablo 2, and Warcraft 3. Owners of World of Warcraft have an option to merge all of their accounts to the new service.
Be sure to check out the new Battle.net Account FAQ too, as it may answer many of your questions regarding the new system.
Now here's something completely different! Blizzard has just announced a new Theme Park Contest. They want you to design your own ideas of how a Blizzard theme park would look. In addition to some great prizes including a Wacom Cintiq and Starcraft 2 beta keys, some of the best entries will be put on display at BlizzCon 2009!
Quote: "Step right up, and take a ride on Onyxia's Revenge -- a wild, whelp-filled roller coaster through the depths of the nefarious dragon's lair! Head to Koprulu Food Court and grab yourself a Zerger Burger -- then don your Horadric Poncho, and prepare to get soaked in a rain of fire on Diablo's River of Flame!
What thrills would you seek in the Blizzard Entertainment theme park of your dreams? This is your chance to show us.
We're challenging you to design and illustrate your own Blizzard Entertainment Theme Park, including roller coasters, water rides, shows, shopping areas, food courts, game areas, patrons, and whatever fantastic attractions you desire.
Submit your original park design by March 30, 2009, and we'll choose our favorites based on the creativity of the design, artistic technique (including the medium and style), and how your park reflects the lore and spirit of Blizzard Entertainment's games.
You can submit illustrations that look like theme-park maps, compose your park to look like a screenshot from a game, or create whatever kind of park you wish -- the only limit is your imagination. Winning entries will be featured on Blizzard Entertainment websites around the world as well as at BlizzCon 2009, being held in Anaheim, California on August 21 and 22. The park designer who most creatively incorporates the StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo universes will receive a Wacom Cintiq 12WX Digitizing Tablet, a pair of StarCraft II beta keys, and more." So what do you think? This is a pretty random contest for them and I definitely can't wait to see the results, but it raises some questions. Is this their way of hinting that we'll maybe see Blizzard's own version of Disneyland some day? After all, BlizzCon is held in Anaheim right near Disneyland. Coincidence? Or perhaps this is for something more along the lines of a new game like RollerCoaster Tycoon? Oh how the mind loves to wonder about such things...
Click here to visit the official Blizzard Theme Park Contest page.
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