Sunday, May 20, 2007

Blizzard announces Starcraft 2

For good or for worst, the wait is OVER.

As a die-hard Diablo fan, I’m disappointed. Yet, die-hard Diablo fans are just that - die hards. I’m not giving up hope that Diablo 3 is going to be next when Blizzard announces a major product (and not another WoW expansion).

Starcraft 2 is as good as a consolation as any! It will make the wait for Diablo 3 less painful - if not downright enjoyable.

Update: Blizzard have released a Starcraft 2 trailer and I managed to find some gameplay videos from the WWI. The game doesn’t look much different in terms of gameplay but the graphics definitely ROCK!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Diablo 3 teaser

My eyes are sore from all the reloading and staring at Blizzard’s new front page!
I’m attaching a snapshot below (click to zoom) in case they decide to remove it.

I’m really hoping Blizzard will announce Diablo 3 on the 18th. It was only a few days ago that everyone was convinced they were going to announce Starcraft 2 in Korea.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Money - good, Diablo - bad

Man, I’m a pissed off today!

It’s not just the rumors that Blizzard will announce Starcraft 2 in three weeks in Korea. Obviously, if Blizzard announce Starcraft 2 this puts Diablo 3 on the backburner for an year if not longer.
It’s not even Rob Pardo’s interview (that’s WoW’s game designer), where he explains how they have a commitment to keep the WoW money machine going by doing an expansion every year. No such commitment to Diablo, thank you very much!
It’s the OVERALL feeling that Blizzard have sold out. Money - good. You probably still remember that animation - Money good, Napster bad - from Camp Chaos.
Blizzard have become the gorilla in the room - catering to the millions of casual gamers (not to mention Chinese farmers!) and forgetting about the hardcore players who have built their franchises.
For God’s sake, there are tens of thousands of players who play Diablo 2 till this day and who who have been praying for a sequel since 2001! Say it ain’t so.

Diablo 2 sets update

All Diablo 2 Sets
All sets contain full description of all items as well as the cumulative bonus when the complete set is worn. (Diablo info at Diablo 2 wiki)

Angelic Raiment
Arcanna's Tricks
Arctic Gear
Berserker's Garb
Cathan's Traps
Civerb's Vestments
Cleglaw's Brace
Death's Disguise
Hsarus' Trim
Infernal Tools
Iratha's Finery
Isenhart's Armory
Milabrega's Regalia
Sigon's Complete Steel
Tancred's Battlegear
Vidala's Rig

All Diablo 2 LoD Sets (Expansion Sets)
All sets contain full description of all items as well as the cumulative bonus when the complete set is worn.

Aldur's Watchtower - Druid Set
Bul-Kathos' Children - Barbarian Set
Cow King's Leathers
The Disciple
Griswold's Legacy - Paladin Set
Heaven's Brethren
Hwanin's Majesty
Immortal King - Barbarian Set
M'avina's Battle Hymn - Amazon Set
Natalya's Odium - Assassin Set
Naj's Ancient Vestige - Sorceress Set
Orphan's Call
Sander's Folly
Sazabi's Grand Tribute
Tal Rasha's Wrappings - Sorceress Set
Trang-Oul's Avatar - Necromancer Set

Diablo 3 at Blizzcon 2007?

Blizzard announced today its BlizzCon event will happen in early August - about a hundred days from now.
The event itself will be held for 2 days. Make sure you reserve August 3 and 4 for a trip to Anaheim, California.
More from the press release:
Discussion panels with Blizzard developers
Artist and developer signings
Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
World of Warcraft® Trading Card Game tournaments and demos
Costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests with great prizes
Commemorative merchandise and other products based on the Blizzard franchises
Here’s what caught my attention:
BlizzCon is a celebration of the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises and the players who have helped make them so popular around the world.
Now, Blizzard, if you want me to celebrate
Diablo and Starcraft, just get the friggin’ games out, OK?

Blizzard interview: Rob Pardo

Next Gen has an interview with Rob Pardo, Blizzard’s chief Game Designer.
He’s the guy credited with the success of World of Warcraft and the
first expansion, The Burning Crusade.
I ask him if getting these expansions out on a regular basis is a matter of survival. After all, if gamers aren’t getting fresh content, they’ll start looking elsewhere and WoW’s subscriber base will dwindle to that of a regular MMO like RIFT.
“Calling it a matter of survival makes it sound grim,” he says, “It’s more a matter of entertainment. Of course we want our gamers to stay in the world for as long as we can. But I look at this from the positive angle of us trying to entertain them. We’re trying to give them new experiences. One of my favorite analogies is how much an MMO is like a TV series. We’re developing episodes just like Lost or Seinfeld. We’re always trying to come up with something that’s true to the theory; that’s true to the content that people love; but that is new. From the moment that the series starts re-treading the same ground over and over again… well, that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”
Enough about WoW, if you ask me. Let’s hear something about what else is cooking in Blizzard’s kitchen.
We have other PC projects in development and we’re already working on new stuff for World of Warcraft, like another expansion. We’ve mentioned in the past that we’d love to get a boxed expansion out every year but it’s more important to deliver really high quality content to our fans. If we can do that every year that’d be great but we’re not going to do that at the expense of the experience.
With all due respect, I’m sick of hearing how Blizzard is now ONLY working on WoW expansions. What are these PC projects in development, Rob? Spill the beans already! I’d like to know if you’re talking about
Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2.

Diablo 2 info update

Diablo 2 (and its expansion, Lord of Destruction) was developed by Blizzard North and released in 2000. Because of the massive amount of Diablo 2 cheats, the only version currently played is the one on Battle.net. (Diablo info at Diablo 2 wiki)

Diablo 2 Hero Skills
Diablo 2 heroes pack more power now. For a breakdown of hero skills, see the links below.

Sorceress (Sorceress skills)
Skills: Cold-Based Skills Lightning-Based Skills Fire-Based Skills

Amazon (Amazon skills)
Skills: Javelin Skills Bow/Crossbow Skills Passive and Magic

Barbarian (Barbarian skills)
Skills: War Cries Combat Skills Combat Masteries

Necromancer (Necromancer skills)
Skills: Summoning Spells Curses Poison and Bone Spells

Paladin (Paladin skills)
Skills: Combat Skills Offensive Auras Defensive Auras

Druid (Druid skills)
Skills: Elemental Skills Shapeshifting Skills Summoning Skills

Assassin (Assassin skills)
Skills: Martial Arts Skills Shadow Disciplines Skills Trap Skills

New Diablo 2 uniques
The Lord of Destruction expansion has introduced
new unique items, especially in the exceptional unique and elite unique categories.

All unique armor
Unique Helms Unique Armor Unique Shields Unique GlovesUnique Boots Unique Belts Unique Rings Unique Amulets

All unique weapons
Unique Axes Unique Bows Unique Crossbows Unique Daggers Unique Maces Unique Polearms Unique Scepters Unique Spears Unique Staves Unique Swords Wands

Diablo 2 cheats & trainers
For direct download: unique items, powerful Diablo 2 sets and LoD sets - complete with stats and bonuses, the best weapons and armors.

Diablo 2 cheats (work with patch 1.11)
If you're looking for cheats, savegames, item editors, hero editors, maphacks, or rune words, click here.

Diablo Übers
Diablo 2 Ubers
Lilith
Über Diablo
Über Baal
Über Mephisto
Über Duriel
Über Izual
Über Tristram videos

Diablo 2 Quests
Quests in Act I
Quests in Act II
Quests in Act III
Quests in Act IV
Quests in Act V

Diablo Monsters
Diablo Monster FAQ
Monster Types
Monster Strategies
Monsters in Act I
Monsters in Act II
Monsters in Act III
Monsters in Act IV
Monsters in Act V