Let's guess D3 classes!

[Gasmaskguy]

As most of you probably know, Diablo 3 will have 5 classes in total. Two of them have already been revealed, The classic Barbarian and a newcomer, the Witch Doctor. That leaves us with three more spots to fill! Which ones will return? Can you think of any totally new classes, such as the Witch Doctor?

[ijffdrie]

wait, didnt they say that the number of classes wasnt decided yet?

[kuvasz]

I thought the witchdoctor wasn't a totally new class - it's merely the new necromancer, isn't it? And I mean skill wise, not that he uses zombies instead of unded...

[Gasmaskguy]

Says in the FAQ;

We’re developing Diablo III to be the definitive action role-playing game, and a true continuation of the Diablo series. Players will create a hero from one of five distinct classes, such as barbarian or witch doctor, each equipped with an array of spells and abilities. As these heroes adventure through rich and varied settings, unraveling an epic storyline and engaging in combat with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses, they’ll grow in experience and ability and acquire items of incredible power.

[ijffdrie]

strange in the Q&A they said otherwise

[furrer]

Barbarian - Barbarian
and the Witch Doctor looks a lot like the Necromancer
i think At least some Mage Class / Sorcerer will be in, you know with fire/water/electric etc.

[KuraiKozo]

shapeshifter.

coolest class ever. maybe a mix between the druid and the pally. not jsut a few random animals, but a wide variety and perhaps the ability to turn into a monster like some hacked items would let you do in D2. that's be major epicness. slodoing between animal, beast, and human form. they'd also have some summoning spells, perhaps a posession spel on monsters, too. I think they'd be a fine mix of power.

[Meee]

Definately a mage class like furrer said
Most likely ranged class like rogue/amazon in previous games

Shapeshifter is another possibility since it'd be different from others

[furrer]

Yeah, a ranged/ranger class probably too. So thats 4. The last could be a shapeshifter, or a type of tank.

[Ximnipot69]

The new Barbarian looks kinda like the old barbarian, but with the Charge ability from the paladin. he has the old Battle Cry for extra defence, the classic Whirlwind and Hammer of the Ancients looks nice statwise.

The Witch Doctor seems like a sorceress/necromancer hybrid. I like the Lucust Sawrm ability, kinda like the druids rabies in LoD. Good to see Confusion is in there, I love that curse. The Wall of Zombies is just awesome.

I think there will be an assassin type class, hiding, maybe poison and striking from the shadows.

Some kind of new master archer will be in the game, but not a rogue or an amazon.

[TyReaper]

Gotta have the paladin... It is a siege on heaven...can't have heaven without paladins.

[KuraiKozo]

vampire class would be tight, too. or like, members of an underground accult with black magic type things. they could bea mix of the sorc and assassin, maybe somethign new, too. there'd be a plethora of options with a vampire type hybrid unit. xD

[furrer]

What about a werewolf like unit, thats a mage at day and a warior at night?

Hey, a question: Will the game be with a day/night cycle?

[ijffdrie]

maybe the vampire and werwolf are new modes for teh necromancer

and i think it will

[KuraiKozo]

magicalness :D

[i2new@aol.com]

well we know there are 4 types of classes thuse far that will be a must cause there in basicly every freaking rpg and i say arrows in the demo drop.

Barb
Mage
Amazon/Ranger
Witch doc.

But this is a game about heaven vs hell. NEVER forget the pally...................

[furrer]

Yeah a:
Tank
Mage
DPS (ranger often)
Necro or Stealth

[Major Willy]

On the artwork trailer for D3, there's a woman wearing animal-part armor and even a cobra staff.
1:21 to 1:26.

Kurai will probably be right about a shapeshifter.

[furrer]

Nice find Willy, and cool avatar.
i think they will come up with some amazing classes. I always thought the D2 classes where 10 times better then those from the other games back then.

[Meee]

Stealth is fine for most rpgs but I don't think it fits in diablo. It's a game where one/few heroes fight off hordes of monsters at once, no time for sneaking around

[Light]

Paladin is definitely coming back (You kidding me?!)

The sorc must be back too.

[furrer]

Stealth is fine for most rpgs but I don't think it fits in diablo. It's a game where one/few heroes fight off hordes of monsters at once, no time for sneaking around
I agree, I just added those that where the key roles in a normal RPG

[KuraiKozo]

*nods* i just hope they add some unique concepts.

[zeratul11]

ninja.

i hope the new paladin is not black.

[Major Willy]

...

[VodkaChill]

Barbarian thumbs up (modification on him seems nice)

But Witch doctor, Thumbs down (name is unimaginative, you can do better than that blizzard; most skills stolen from Necro, most probably Necro won't return because of that.

Diablo had 2 fighters (amazon,barb) 2 mages (sorceress, Necro) 1 hybrid (Pal)

D2 we have 1 fighter barb, 1 mage WD

They can't do a diablo game without an elementalist mage or something so the 2 mages slot are taken. Unless Necro is moved to hybrid and gets some real nice skills with scythes, then it's bye bye Necro. (If necro gets hybrid he better get in shape, cause he is way to frail to take the beating ;) )

What ever the classes, I'll buy the game anytime, I never played amazon and it did not stop me from enjoying D2. I'm excited to see what's up next.

Prediction for remaining class; Elementalist or Summoner (last caster slot), Monk (hybrid slot)

For the last fighter I'd say a Samurai (for last fighter slot) coming from the same trend of the assassin (LOD) OR something like a Shield Fighter Specialist, like Prosecutor or something.

[Wlck742]

Sorc, most definitely. I'd love to see the Necro return, but it looks like the Witch Doctor took the Necro's spot, so I'd imagine the Necro is out. I think a stealthy character could work well, considering the destructible environments can be used to kill enemies. An assassin/amazon hybrid would be cool too.

[KuraiKozo]

poor necro =(

[ShdwyTemplar]

In the artwork trailer we see a variable host of possible classes.

Necromancer/Cultist( Yes it might return)
Barbarian
Witch Doctor
Mage/Sorcerer/Conjurer/Evoker/Ect
Shaman/Shapeshifter/Druid/Ritualist
Warrior Priest/Paladin
Assassin/Rogue/Brawler/Monk


Thats 7 Possible classes just in the art trailer.

Now assuming they will go the way of the previous Diablo games as stated above the set possibilities are:

Fighter 1: Barbarian*

Mage 1: Witch Doctor*

Possible Fighter 2:
Assassin/Rogue/Brawler/Monk

Possible Mage 2:
Shaman/Shapeshifter/Druid/Ritualist
Mage/Sorcerer/Conjurer/Evoker/Ect

Possible Hybrid Fighter/Mage:
Warrior Priest/Paladin

*Bold = Confirmed Classes.

[Major Willy]

I actually didn't enjoy the Necromancer class that much, so I'm really looking forward to the Witch Doctor.

[ShdwyTemplar]

I agree with that, but I still think that for the people who love the Necromancer it could come back still.

[Major Willy]

You never know though. People could be upset by the Witch Doctor replacing their Necromancer at first, then when they get their hands on the game be using him the most.

[VodkaChill]

You never know though. People could be upset by the Witch Doctor replacing their Necromancer at first, then when they get their hands on the game be using him the most.

Most probably only the game play will tell us. But he needs to have more attitude than the Necro. Raising dead people, blowing corpses and building blood golems, that's pretty hard to beat (and pretty easy to copy also).

[Itsmyship]

Well damn...I feel so left out...God I wished I owned Diablo right now. I had a complaint that I put on D3 announced thread about me trying to go get it, so yea haha

[Wlck742]

You know you could use the Online Store.

http://www.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000038

[lurkers_lurk]

one of the quuestions asked was does the WitchDoctor replace the Necromancer, and will all the old Classes will be coming back?

the answer that was given out was that Necromancer are not replaced by the WitchDoctor (in fact it sounded like they already had plans of keeping the Necromancer in), and not all the old characters will be returning,

[Itsmyship]

I defintiely could Wick...but again, why pay $40 for something when I know I can get it for $30 somewhere else? And get it right away for that matter.

[VodkaChill]

one of the questions asked was does the WitchDoctor replace the Necromancer, and will all the old Classes will be coming back?

The answer that was given out was that Necromancer are not replaced by the WitchDoctor (in fact it sounded like they already had plans of keeping the Necromancer in), and not all the old characters will be returning,

There is a part of me that want this to be true.. But, he can't say replace since it is the first panel of D3 and he needs to make sure to get the hype and have everything in D3 look new and awesome, no bad sides to it. It's PR, it's marketing, and I hate marketing.

Without ths affirmation beeing false, they could just have cutoff the Necro. :(

[Ximnipot69]

Some more ideas for you people to toy with:

Anti-Paladin
The Anti-Paladin is not a necromancer, the Anti Paladin is exactly how it sounds, an inverse Paladin. While the Paladin heals, gives life, and gives bonus, an Anti-Paladin takes lives and his Auras would have more in common with curses of the Necromancer from D2.

Archer/Ranger
The Archer or as they are more commonly known the Ranger is kinda like a male amazon. He is the epitome of skill with a bow, his skills centerd around the Bow, but he also possesses other skills as well, He can track enemies exceptionally well and has an affinity for nature, i.e the abilty to summon animals to his cause similar to the druid from D2

Bard
Not the hellfire version but a good one, the Bard is best described as a cross between a fighter, a budget paladin and a budget mage. He is a fairly capable fighter, His Songs (which would be one of his skill sets) either provide bonus to party members like th D2 Paladin or harm enemies like the D2 Necro. He also has a small range of powerful mage type spells.

Bounty Hunter
Like the Ranger he is adept at tracking/stalking, but his services come to those in need at a price, while the Ranger does so for virtue and honour the Bounty Hunter is a schemeing mercenary. He possesses several skills similar to the Assassins trap Skill set, but also several warrior type skills as well.

Monk
Not the hellfire version, one more like the DnD version, an unarmed martial artist. The Monks main form of attack is his fists and feet. His powerful attacks are capable of doing several types elemental damages.

Ninja
Kinda like male assassin in several aspects. While this class may seem unlikely, if one thinks about it, it can work. He would be able to throw shuriken which would act like the Necromancer skill Teeth, and a skill similar to the assassins skill, cloak of shadows would do quite well to emulated the Ninja's stealthiness. but the Ninja would also have several skills more designed for combat, they are skilled warriors, so they would also posses several skills than would do haeavy damage, and increase their chances of scoring critical strikes.

Cavalier/Crusader Inquisitor
A warrior truly dedicated to the erradication of evil. They epitomise honour, courage, loyalty, virtue. They are expertly trained to hunt down and defeat classically evil beings and monsters i.e your corrupt mages, daemons and the like. Possesing mostly warrior type skills, they do have several spells at their disposal, mainly of the self buff kind, not so much party oriented.

Cleric (Adept, Prior, Zealot)
An ok fighter, but he is a priest and as such can cast a variety of spells, Turn Undead similar to the D2 paladins conversion but only works on Undead of high levels (low level undead are destoryed), can summon down the wrath of their chosen deity to smite there enemies similar to Fist of the heavens only more accurate and more powerful, posseses many bless type spells that increase armor, damage, stats these work similar to enchant i.e they must be cast on their target. They also have an intense hatred for the undead and thus would have a bouns to damage when engaging them

Alchemist
Possessing the ability to animates inanimate objects. it is an Alchemist who truly makes Golems, creates weapons out of the elements around him. For a better insight to the abilties of an alchemist watch the anime Full Metal Alchemist.

Conjurer
Specializes in creating creatures and objects to help him. This is the charatcer that many people want; he is a battlefield summoner, calling forth powerful daemons and magical beasts to aid him.

Elementalist
Specializes in elemental based magics
*Fire - fairly obivous
*Water(ice) - again fairly obvious
*Earth - conjuring up walls or rock to trap enemies or stop ranged attacks, opening holes in the ground to swallow his eneimes

Warlock
Not like the WoW on.e A supernatural character whose sinister powers are inborn abilities, not spells, such as shapeshifting into Daemons.

[BirdofPrey]

I want to see the assasin some back since the charged abilities were so unique.

Also it would be interestiong if the Barbarian and Druid merge and the barbarian gets some of the nature powers from the druid (though it should still stay as powerful and "Hulk smash" as the original barbarian)

[Wlck742]

I want the assassin back too. There's nothing that speaks badass as much as wielding claws against bloodthirsty demons.

[JudicatorPrime]

Well, without duplicating certain archetypes, I can tell which ones are missing.

Holy Damage Dealer, signature for any Diablo game. (Paladin)

Range and Stealth (Archer/Assassin) are missing also. These archetypes could be combined into a pretty awesome class. Could also be prominent with laying traps.

[That already covers the five, but if the Range and Stealth archetypes are combined not separate...]

It leaves room for;

A spellcaster or a Druid type. I like the idea of the Barbarian with Druid abilities, maybe combining archetypes will be the next big thing, I hope it doesn't turn out like crap though.

In the end it's up to Blizzard. Setting back 2 classes from their previous game is an awkward choice, but at least that means they're going to find ways to spice up the 5. And maybe there will be an expansion introducing two other characters like LoD.

That said, I wonder if there will be actual character customization this time around.?

[Wlck742]

The only character customization is in choosing their gender. There's no other customization options available.

[JudicatorPrime]

I knew that, that's why I said 'wonder' and 'will be' - Still time for a change.

[Meee]

Character customization is really unnecessary. Not only characters are much smaller than in MMOs (where the feature is used most often), but also all individual features will be quickly covered by helmets and armor

[ItzaHexGor]

My money's on a Mage, Marksman and Shapeshifter, though obviously not with those names. That would fill all the cliche roles and also leave room to add hybrids in an expansion. First and foremost, they've got to cover all bases and the Barbarian, being pure melee, Witch Doctor, being pure summoner and poison, Mage, being pure magic, Marksman, being pure ranged, and a Shapeshifter, being pure... well... shapeshifter, give the greatest range and are all completely distinct and separate.

[Major Willy]

Hex I think you're going to be spot on with those guesses. If a Shapeshifter isn't in this one, it'll be included again in the future.

[furrer]

It seems like everyone is bashing the Witch Doctor, I see no problem with him. He looks a lot like the necro, summoner, zombie wall, curse etc. The only thing I dont like is that the same name is used for a unit in Warcraft 3.

[ItzaHexGor]

If Shapeshifter isn't one, I'd probably have to go Paladin or Sage. The Assassin is far too melee focused to be included in the original five with the Barbarian in my opinion, so a melee/caster hybrid would most likely be next in line. I certainly hope that the Assassin's traps don't get much of a say in Diablo3.

About the Witch Doctor, I don't see what's wrong with it. It's just like the Necromancer... Only successful. I didn't even make the connection between it and the Troll Witch Doctor, and I doubt that would be much of an issue. The name 'Sorceress' was in Diablo2 and WarCraft3, 'Druid' was in Diablo2, WarCraft3 and World of WarCraft, as was 'Paladin'. Name crossovers shouldn't be an issue at all. Not unless it's a character name or something.

My main concern with the Witch Doctor is why he's even there. He looks way too distant to be involved in such events. Then again, he definitely looks like he belongs to Act III of Diablo2, so I guess that throws my whole concern out the window.

The thing I love about the Barbarian is that they didn't make it look like the Diablo2 Barbarian. I was a bit disappointed at first, as the Diablo2 Barbarian was so iconic, but the new one suits the Barbarians from Mount Arreat so well and it keeps the distinction between the hero from Diablo2 and the heroes of Diablo3. Got to remember they're not the same heroes.

By the way, love your sig Major Willy. Those quotes after entering each dungeon really made Diablo what it is today! :p

[furrer]

Yeah, IHG its just the feeling you get when they present a new unit, and you just stopped playing Warcraft 3 (because its filled up with damn noobs), and then they say: WITCH DOCTOR!

[Meee]

Hex I think you're going to be spot on with those guesses. If a Shapeshifter isn't in this one, it'll be included again in the future.

Not that he isn't first one to make that summary or anything... >.>

[KuraiKozo]

About the Witch Doctor, I don't see what's wrong with it. It's just like the Necromancer... Only successful.
what? you saying the necro wasn'tsucessful? I beat hell with the necro tyvm.

[ItzaHexGor]

Haha, the Necromancer was still good, but its Summons were useless. You can't deny that. I, too, liked the Necromancer, especially for the Bone spells, but the Witch Doctor looks so much more capable that the Necromancer ever will be.

[furrer]

Its also because of spells like confuse that werent possible back in those days. Such cool spells that the Witch Doctor has are fantastic!

[Gasmaskguy]

I like the Witch Doctor's pet + spell system. Like adding Locust to a Mongrel. Very unique and free system. I wonder what other spells he will be able to add to his pets, and what other pets he will have.

[KuraiKozo]

the summons were not useless. revives were the most usefu summon if used right. i couldn't get my skeleton army ever good enough, but eon did. he was a zoonecro alla way.

[furrer]

I like how they made a lot of the skills based on the pet too. Locus + Exsplosion :)
i jsut saw the live brodcast, and one of the guys that is developing D3 said:
Ok, the humans best friend is a dog, so the witch doctors should be some kind of Zombie Dog..... .... And as exsplosions are so cool, we made a spell so that you could let you own Mongrels explode, killing the enemy.

[kuvasz]

Yeah it was something along the lines of dog is man's best friend, and so the witchdoctor's should be a zombie dog, and since explosions are cool, we blew it up. :D

[furrer]

Yeah, you remember those things good :)
Im also not so good in writing :)
Also
Mossters + Explosion = something/coolness
Can you remember what they compared the coolness to? (didnt really catch the word)

[Wlck742]

Necro summons kicked ass. Once you got all the synergy skills and the summons maxed out there's nothing they couldn't do. I had a lvl 99 Summoner and it tore through Hell difficulty like nothing.

[furrer]

Yes, but Wick they said they wanted a very fast gameplay, and slow zombies wasnt the kind of unit that fitted in that gameplay.

[kuvasz]

@furrer: I noted down a few things here: http://www.starcraft2forum.org/forums/showpost.php?p=156495&postcount=19

[furrer]

Thank you! I think the zealots are a bit faster, but the probes are a lot faster. Perhaps we should go togehter and make a post about how starcraft 2 is working right now? (I have a lot of time, I love vacation :D)
And perhaps one about D3 too?

[Wlck742]

When did I say that?

[furrer]

Necro summons kicked ass. Once you got all the synergy skills and the summons maxed out there's nothing they couldn't do. I had a lvl 99 Summoner and it tore through Hell difficulty like nothing.
I just wanted to say that the necro didnt suit into D3, i was refering to this one WIck.

[ItzaHexGor]

I find that funny. Trying to use summons as a Necromancer would be like trying to use Raven as a Druid.

[Wlck742]

I'm completely serious. No joke at all. 10+ skeletons with maxed out Skeletal Mastery with Amplify Damage and some Bone Spear/Spirit thrown in is one of the safest and best builds for Hell mode.

[furrer]

Hey I think we are going a bit away from the main subject: Guess D3 classes, not talk about Hell Build for the Necro.

[Ximnipot69]

Summoner necromancers work in Hell, I've beaten the game with one myself.

[Hodl pu]

I'm pretty sure there is character customization, if you look at the blizzard screenshots, the barbairans have different facial hairs.

Here, I took a screenshot
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/HodlPu/barbdiff.jpg

Btw, Im thinking of a demon character. Perhaps a demon who changed sides due to some rebel reason or something. Or how about an angel like character?

[Wlck742]

In a Q&A session Blizzard said the only customization was for gender. That's a male and female Barbarian you're looking at, not two males.

[furrer]

2 slots are taken, so 3 left:
At least some kind of mage, elemental sorcerer right? You know: Fire/Ice/etc.
But the last 2 could have a lot of options, Ill name a few:
Paladin, Ranger/Assasin, some kind of Demon/Werewolf/Vampire...

[furrer]

Sorry for double post
In a Q&A session Blizzard said the only customization was for gender. That's a male and female Barbarian you're looking at, not two males.
I think they said today at WWI that they would make it customable :)
And where did they say "only", the question was if you could choose genders, and they asked yes. (I just checked it)

[Hodl pu]

Oh wow I just noticed the chest on the female. They're both pretty broad O_o. Anyway, I don't doubt they'll eventually make character customization.

[JudicatorPrime]

I think Paladin is a given considering it's D3, some sort of holy damage. Then spellcaster and range/stealth/traps.

[fordinski]

heres my prediction:

Barbarian
Witch Doctor
Ranger
Cleric
Sorcerer / sorceress

heres why i think for the last 3:

- the ranger to replace the amazon / rogue and druid, with ranged bow attacks and animal pets.
- the cleric as a replacement for the paladin, using holy attacks but leaving most of the heavy duty bashing for the barbarian.
- the sorcerer / sorceress because it was in diablo 1 and 2 only difference were genders, so why not in a game that you can have both genders? plus it needs an all out caster class.

what do you guys think?

[BloodHawk]

Cleric huh? At first I thought you meant a healer which isn't very Diablo-lical at all. As a dps, like a shadow priest, sounds great. I never did much like the pally anyway.

I think an elemental magic user is a bit too same old same old. I'd rather see a badass battle mage. The most OP class any game could ever see! Although I do think the sorc will make into D3. Best chances out of all the other classics IMO. Hopefully we won't be seeing any Ice orbs getting spammed like multiple orgasms in D3.

The witch doc is obviously the necro reborn. I wager that the skills the witch doc has were once on the necro in the earliest of D3 builds. Blizz must of realized the necro was too op with these new skills and turned his name/appearance/lore down to -11. Thus we have the witch docter. I can't begin to explain how much the change pisses me off.

The problem with shape shifters is they spend most of their time looking like every other person playing the class. This helm that just dropped is hot ****. Check all the ornate horns and glowing runes on it. Well, better turn back into a wolf so I can play the game. If Blizz can spend the resources to make items viewable on a druid type I'm all for it. Until then, I'll pass.

Thus far we know of one old class and one (INFERIOR) remake. I expect one more classic and one more new model same class. The 5th will be something truly new.
My ideas: Bard, manbeast, angel (like Tyrael if he were a lower class of angel), or pirate.

[TyReaper]

Blizzard confirmed the wizard in the classes & skills panel. Head over to psionicz' post for the quotes.

[Wlck742]

@furrer:

Q: What options are available to customize our characters before starting the game?

A: Just the gender.

Source: http://www.sclegacy.com/content/wwi-08-coverage-11/diablo-3-press-interview-89/

[Meee]

I'd rather see a badass battle mage. The most OP class any game could ever see!

Battlemage? That's not a proffesion. It barely qualifies as a hobby. 'Battlemage' is about as impressive a title as Lord of the dance.

[Major Willy]

Meee.

You're my hero for quoting that.

[Wlck742]

We need a Boner Necro on steroids.

[Remy]

The thing I love about the Barbarian is that they didn't make it look like the Diablo2 Barbarian. I was a bit disappointed at first, as the Diablo2 Barbarian was so iconic, but the new one suits the Barbarians from Mount Arreat so well and it keeps the distinction between the hero from Diablo2 and the heroes of Diablo3. Got to remember they're not the same heroes.Actually, it's supposed to be the same hero from D2. And I mean the exact same guy, same person, specific individual. That's what the Blizzard guy was saying at the panel. So if you were a Barb player in D2 and picks one up in D3, lore wise, you're supposed to believe that it's the exact same character that you played as back in D2, who killed Meph, D, Baal, and all the rest. They are definitely pushing for a continuation on D2 lore, at least very strongly with the Barb.

Considering that fact, wouldn't that then mean that the Amazon must make a return? If you look at the seven D2 classes, unlike the other 5 that were like "job types," Barbarians and Amazons are tribes of people with their own lineage, culture, etc. It is hard to believe that while Blizzard want to you wield the same Barb you did back in D2, they're gonna just wipe out the Zons in only 20 years. While you can make the argument that they're still there, just not playable, since a ranger class is pretty much guaranteed, Amazon's have a very high likelihood of making a return IMO.

A caster class is also another that is near guaranteed. While the WD's Firebomb may appear similar to D2 Sorc's Fireball, the WD's Firebomb is actually a physical bomb. Lore wise, the WD is not a heavy magic wielder. He uses magic indirectly, and uses a lot of potions, powders, and the like. So I think we can certainly count on a caster class.

For the last spot, my personal guess would be a holy class. Diablo's very theme is conflict between the forces of Heaven and Hell, good vs evil, holy vs dark. I think it is highly likely that a holy-themed classes would get thrown in there somewhere. Besides, the Paladin is by far the most prevalent and prominent class in Diablo 2. Just for that reason alone, the Pally is very likely to make a return in some way, shape, or form.

While those three are my own logical guesses, I don't see why any of them can't be slapped on with some secondary traits. My guess is, they most likely will. For instance, if the Pally absorbed the Assassin's Martial Arts tree and started kicking like a Monk and what not, it doesn't make the Pally any less holy. Or if the Amazon laid traps, it doesn't make the Zon any less of a ranged class, it would actually compliment her ranged skills quite well. Similarly, I think things like stealth, shapeshifting, and summoning will get slapped onto the 5 classes here as secondary traits. Looking back to D2, 4 out of the 7 classes had some kind of summon, and they all had more than a single type. That never made anyone think that D2 had 4 summoner classes, only the Necro was recognized as the summoner. I think it will be the same deal in D3.

SIDE NOTE: Just to clarify, the Fishynecro is one of the most, if not the most, safe and gear-independent classes viable for hell play. Also, someone mentioned the Amazon as a fighter. While that's true lore wise, in practice, she is a ranger and/or caster.

[ItzaHexGor]

Yeah, I read that in one of the other Diablo threads. That really sucks balls. They should just keep all the heroes separate, in my opinion, as everyone chooses different characters and everyone will choose different characters to the ones they played Diablo2. The transition from Diablo1 to Diablo2 was perfect, with the 'hero', an unnamed hero, potentially being any of the three Diablo1 heroes, basically being overwhelmed while trying to control the soulstone, becoming Diablo himself. No evidence of any prior class, so no damage done to the storyline. But now, with introducing the same Barbarian that succeeded in Diablo2, it just disrupts the whole continuation. In my opinion they'd be better to say... 'The old hero(es) became withered with the trauma of their past experiences, those who were able to keep their sanity growing old and weary. Now, as the threat rises up again, new champions rose to the occasion to prove their strength.' After all, it's not as though they need to keep the same Barbarian. It's not like there's a shortage of them or anything.

I wouldn't really agree about the Amazon having to make a return due to the Barbarian returning. I definitely don't consider the other classes as being 'job-like' and they all have a strong culture backing them up. The Necromancer and Druid with their questionable culture the Paladin with his religious culture, the Assassin with her martial culture and Sorceress with her mystical background, it's only really that you physically see the Amazon and Barbarians that I feel they have the strongest culture. Even given that though, I'd only really say that the Assassin would truly be the only 'job-like' class.

I definitely agree about a spellcaster class, but with the Paladin or other holy class, perhaps the conflict between heaven and hell would be a reason not to include them? We've seen that the Necromancer's been replaced, the Necromancer obviously having a close affinity to hell, so perhaps we can expect the same for the Paladin. The heavens and hell are clashing, and the heroes are just the ones in between.

What build is a Fishynecro? I've never heard that used before.

[Meee]

I wouldn't say Amazon 'must' return. Actually I'd question that, can Amazon return? We will now be able to choose gender for every class and you can't really have male Amazon, can you?

[Wlck742]

^LOL^

Either way we need a class that does magic damage like Bone Spear and Bone Spirit did. I'm a necro fanatic, okay?


@Itza: Fishynecro = Summoner necro

[furrer]

Good reading Remy, you guesses seems great, espcially the Amazon part.

Ok Meee just destroyed the idea, thank you very much :(

[ItzaHexGor]

Realistically speaking, there have to be some male members of an Amazonian society, otherwise they'd be gone within a generation. Obviously they would either be rarer or less important, but looking at it realistically, they still have to be there. However, looking at it from a mythological standpoint, then Meee's pretty much just shot that theory to the ground. Then buried it. Then dug it up and shot it a couple of times with arsenic laced rounds. Then buried it again. Then had the burial site mulched, burnt, and thrown into the sea. However! Is there anything actually in Diablo lore that says there aren't male members? Or is that just the stereotypical view?

@ Wlck. I'm fairly sure that the Witch Doctor's pretty much covered the Necromancer in almost every possible way, except for possibly Teeth, Bone Spear and Bone Spirit, which would most likely be covered by the spellcaster, what with Lightning spells and all. They lined up pretty exactly, except for Bone Spirit of course.

Fishymancer's are Summoners? I'd only ever heard of them as Necro Summoners Summonmancer and even Summancer once or twice. Where's the 'Fishy' come from? Also, which elements of Summoning are they using? Golems or Revived?

EDIT: Also Lagmancer. :p

[Remy]

"Culture" tied to a class is irrelevant, as there is obviously lore behind any character class in any game. However, unlike Barbs and Amazons, the other classes are for the most part schools of magic, training, discipline, or order. While D2 lore tries to tie the other 5 classes to certain groups of people, clans, or tribes, they are still job titles. For instance, Nihlathak is a Barbarian by race, yet he is a Necromancer. A person born as a Barbarian can study magic or whatever else to become a Necromancer or another class, but other people can't train to become a Barbarian or Amazon. Rogues also use bows, but they are not Amazons. Barb and Zon are like races, while the other five are what you train to become.

While I agree that Meee has a good point with the gender selection option, I don't think it's an impossibility. Even the all female Amazons gotta make their baby Zons somehow right? It could just be that traditionally, it has been the females doing the hunting and whatnot while the males guard their homeland. Female lions do all the hunting, but that doesn't mean male lions are not capable.

Fishynecro, aka Fishymancer, is not a Summon Necro. The biggest focus of Fishy is Corpse Explosion and max Skellies. Less focus on Revives and Curses, which are usually just used as 1-point wonders. Fishy is like the most cookie cutter Necro build, safest, cheapest, easiest.

[furrer]

Arent the WD´s from a tribe, so not just some kind of training-class?
And as far as I know the Amazon culture (it can be an other they use in D3), the mens are looked down at "lower-people", not being worth the same. So they just do all the homework, and dont have the same rights as the women. A bit like 18XX´s women.

[ItzaHexGor]

Ah, k. I see what you mean now. Essentially, they're a race as opposed to a class. Well in that regard, I'd just assume that the playable 'Barbarians', are actually just Barbarian Warriors and playable 'Amazons' are actually just Amazon Marksman. So, Nihlathak, being a Barbarian Necromancer, would, in-game, just be a Necromancer as the 'Barbarian' class refers to Warriors. So yeah, in effect, you'd have to think of the 'Barbarian' class being Warriors, and not just a member of the Barbarian tribe, and the same goes for Amazons.

So how are Fishymancer's supposed to take on the Lesser and Prime Evils? Especially the ones like Duriel and Diablo, even Baal. No corpses to explode, provided that you actually use Corpse Explosion for the damage rather than the buff, and Skeletons would get creamed by any nova's or anything.

[Remy]

At first glance, I think like me, anyone would dismiss the WD as a renamed Necromancer. I originally disliked the idea of WD, since the D2 Necro was darker and cooler. However, after listening to the D3 panel and Blizzard's reason's for the character and skills, I changed my mind. I think it goes a little beyond just changing the name for the hell of it, or just to mix it up. Blizzard is putting a very big focus on lore this time(more so than before), and they have a specific direction they they take things.

I like how they are keeping the same specific Barbarian hero from D2. Usually games try to stay vague and not have your character say too many things, they try to stay very safe and keep with the "this character could be anyone" kind of deal. But this time, Blizzard wants to do away with the nameless, faceless, run of the mill heroes. They want the PCs to all have distinct character, strong flavor, and a clear part in the story. They talked about a lot of small details that would help indirectly define your character as you play. They might be taking a small bit of risk doing so, but I commend them for it.

Fishys usually do bosses with full Skellie army, Decrepify on boss mob, and a Golem for tank. You also have a merc. If there are mobs near the area, you can also tag some Revives with you. It's usually not a big deal, act bosses are a very very small part of the game. For players who want to run more bosses, there is always Crushing Blow. Fishy is such that, you can beat the game on hell naked, that's what it's known for. Many people beat the game on hell in hardcore mode untwinked with Fishy. I really hope we get CE back in D3 in some way.

EDIT: What the hell happened to your avatar Hex?

[ItzaHexGor]

Oh hell yeah. If the Witch Doctor isn't the new Necromancer, I'd hate to see what is, though I still tend to think of it as a different character, just one that fills the same role, than a remodelled Necromancer. The one problem I have with it is what is it doing there? The whole idea seems right, but looking at it closely on the official website, or even in the concept art, it just looks like it seriously shouldn't be in this situation to begin with. It seems too distant and, as far as I'm aware, there's no lore tying it in yet. If there is, I'd love to read it, but I haven't found any yet.

I'm definitely against the Barbarian returning as the same character. It just doesn't fit in with the rest of the scene. I mean, if all the characters returned from Diablo2, although I'd still be against it, it would make more sense, but this just seems to be almost limiting the game from the Barbarian's point of view. All the other characters, so far, are new, so why would there be the same Barbarian? It just restricts the character's storyline. For all the other classes, they're brand new heroes rising to the occasion, yada, yada, yada, but with the Barbarian, it's all just deadset. In fact, before I go on, I better clarify, it the Barbarian meant to be just the same character as the Diablo2 Barbarian, not necessarily having killed the Evils or even fought against them, or is he supposed to be the one who physically took them down? If he's just the same character, who didn't necessarily get the opportunity to slay them, then I guess it's ok, but if he's the one who took them down, I'm definitely against it.

Haha, running through hell naked seems like a bit of a challenge. :p But from that I assume most of their attributes are put into Vitality and Energy?

Corpse Explosion basically has made a return. I can't remember what they called it off the top of my head, but the Witch Doctor can explode his or her Mongrels, dealing what looked like pretty decent damage, keeping in mind that it was actually a demonstration video. It would seem pretty intense and mana inefficient, what with having to raise Mongrels, costing mana, and then explode them when they reach combat, costing more mana. Still, you wouldn't have to blow them up immediately, just wait until they've taken about as much damage as they can, remembering to infuse them with locusts or even fire, as you can see when the female characters come to the rescue.

In another thread, when I was told to clam down, I asked why people always assumed I was angry. furrer suggested it might be my avatar, so I should change it to something a bit happier. It's only temporary though. :p

EDIT: It seems as though the pet-explosion spell is called 'Dispatch', though I'm not certain. Just the way the guy says it in the demonstration implies that it might be.

EDIT EDIT: Mongrels can definitely be imbued with the Fire Bombs. You can physically see it before the fight with the Treants. That's going to be a really awesome ability. In Diablo2, Golems had a fixed damage type, but now you can change it accordingly. If you're up against something that's immune to fire, you can imbue it with Locusts, if something's immune to poison, you can imbue it with Fire Bomb, if something's immune to physical, they can still deal damage, etc, etc.

[KuraiKozo]

I think the WD is somethign new, though also a bit on the necro side. It seems like they've mostly moddled him after a necro, but he seems to have his own variety of unique things as well. While I was strognly against them taking away my best and pretty much only class, I have littlr quarall with our schizo, tritchy new character the WD. However, I don't like the fact they introduced a whole other tribe, it made me kinda iffy. Like, how come, even if they were rare, there was no lore about them in the other games. Ofc, I know it's because he's new and they hadn't thought of him, but still. And yes, the WD looks like he's going to have so uber mad skills. When you remember, the mongrel-which it seems like you can imbue with many many spells-is only the first summon in the WD's array of unholy curses and masses.

I would be elated to see the necro return, but I doubt it's going to happen. The WD steals a few of his main, key concepts. There might be an expansion for D3 later, where you get a whole new class, or maybe the old classes again, but right now as much as I want it, the necro seems to be thrown out een if the WD has not stolen all his unholy and otherworldy tactics like bone spirit etc.

And as for the barb remanining the same, I think it gives the game diversity. You can see it from different points of veiws, from all sorts of angles. Besides, they're going to give the other characters ackgrounds, so it's not like they're just throwing new things out to go fight. they're ofc going to provide depth to these characters and make them catch right along with the barb.

[ItzaHexGor]

Like, how come, even if they were rare, there was no lore about them in the other games.
Same reason we never heard of Druids and the like until Diablo2. They've got to introduce new characters at some point, and it would only really make sense if these new-found races were rare. Otherwise, where would they have been all this time and what would they have been doing?

I think it's safe to dismiss the Necromancer. The Witch Doctor is practically the same concept, what with all the evil magics, etc, and has adopted a lot of his skills as well.

About the Barbarian remaining the same, well if it's alright for all the other characters to be brand new, why is there a problem with having a new Barbarian? All classes will obviously have their own background, so why make that background potentially contradict the whole storyline? There are tonnes of Barbarians to choose from, so it's not like they're aren't any others to choose from, and seeing as they're part of a warrior-based society, how can there not be any other candidates?

[KuraiKozo]

It's most likely to reserve some nostalgia. I wondered that myself, but to me it seems like an awesome idea.

[Remy]

The whole idea seems right, but looking at it closely on the official website, or even in the concept art, it just looks like it seriously shouldn't be in this situation to begin with.What situation is that?

Hell's invasion that was imminent and should've been, never took place. But that was at the end of D2, 20 years ago. 20 years later, there is obviously some stuff going on. In the cinematic trailer, we see that there is some kind of large scale demonic invasion. The WD's lore(which is of course, currently very limited) speaks of how they believe in selflessness for the greater good of the tribe, maybe it has to do with their tribes being threatened, or even their god's "Unformed Land." Your guess is as good as mine on that one though, we just gotta wait.

About the Barb, I was under the impression that they meant it was THE guy that took down Baal and the rest. But of course, I could be wrong, that was just how I understood the Blizz guy at the panel. Most ones who fought the Evils firsthand, either died or have gone mad. But it's not logical to say that every single one of them have gone mad. And if there is at least one sane one left from the last conflict, I see no reason why the player can't play as him.

In other games, players play as specific characters in the story all the time, especially in story focused games like RPGs or adventure games. Frankly, I think it's a much better approach than going all vague only things keeping the player characters as "one of the guys that fought in the conflict." Even fighting games often have specific characters designated as winners of each tournament, it's much less of a problem in an RPG or adventure title.

The best thing about having the Barb as a returning character LORE WISE, is that, now there is would be a significant difference when you play the game through as different characters. In D2, everything was vague enough that it didn't matter who you were, the lore related play experience was guaranteed to be the same. Now in D3, for folks who really enjoy their lore in games, it can actually means something to playing the game through with different characters.

I think Dispatching Mongrels might be the closest thing we'll get to CE in D3. I watched the demo again and I noticed that bodies disappears after a few seconds. But more than CE, I really wanted Assassin's Death Sentry to be back, it was so badass. I will really miss my Death Sentry CE chains.

I've also gotten the avatar thing before btw, but I ain't changing nothing. Stare into my red eyes and cry sucka~!

EDIT: Hex, why would keeping the same Barb contradict the story? That doesn't make any sense. And it doesn't make sense to think that because some are new, all must be new either.

[ItzaHexGor]

The situation of leaving their tribe, going out, questing for others and slaying daemons. They're given the appearance of an old mystic or spiritual healer who's even an outsider in their own tribe. Essentially, I just didn't feel as though it fit in with the other classes. Talking about the greater good of the tribe certainly does help. It fits and does give a reason for him to be there.

I'm just uneasy if it's the Barbarian who physically took down the Prime Evils. If it's just the same character choice, then I guess it'll work, but if it's the guy, then, I dunno. It seriously just doesn't sit well for me. Also, I'm not even sure if I'm explaining about him being the same character choice or a continuation of the victorious Diablo2 Barbarian correctly. It's times like there where you really need to hear it being said and see all the frantic gestures of flailing arms, etc.

I wouldn't be disappointed with Dispatching pets being the closest you'll get to Corpse Explosion. It's pretty similar and a great substitute in my opinion, though I never did focus on Corpse Explosion. Which is the Death Sentry again? Isn't that the trap with the lightning and fire? Personally I didn't like traps in Diablo2, although they were the most viable option for Assassins. Still, it's the Assassin who's meant to be doing the killing, not the things she just puts on the ground. I hope traps are more utilities in Diablo3 rather than the damage dealers, as Assassins are meant to be... Well... Assassins. My brother got about halfway through Nightmare on a hardcore, non-Traps Assassin... Either Martial Arts or Discipline or whatever it is. It was funny though. He ground his way to level forty before taking on Duriel. He got some pretty decent gear while grinding as well. :p

[Remy]

Death Sentry is a trap that shoots Lighting bolts, but if there are corpses within its range, it will auto-cast Corpse Explosion. So you kill one enemy, put down DS, then you usually have a crazy chain reaction of CE all over the place. You clear entire screens incredibly fast. Flashdancers, which are K/T Sins(kick trap hybrid), are incredibly strong, kill things(mass mobs as well as single bosses) ultra fast, and above all are super fun to play.

I've played the heck out of multiple builds of Amazons and Assassins. MA Sins, while incredibly fun and strong it normal and NM, is very very hard to take through hell without some pretty godly gear. It is usually a frustrating experience for most people.

I disagree with you on Assassins killing with traps. One of the best things about Diablo 2 was that there were so many different ways to play the same character class. Diversity and variability only adds to the game. Besides, using tools and gizmos is part of the Assassin's design. She uses ninja stars and the like, that sort of stuff has traditionally been a major part of assassination in Eastern culture, which the Assassin is modeled after. It's all still part of the Assassin's arsenal, just like how the Necro or Druid can have summons do a lot of the job for them. It's part of the characters' traits, it's what makes them different, because they each get the job done differently.

While I welcome the WD and the Dispatch ability, I really think D3 should hold onto CE. Dealing damage based on the HP of a fallen enemy's corpse is an incredibly unique mechanic. You rarely find a game where they do anything with an enemy corpse, much less use it to deal significant damage. Not just CE though, I think D3 should keep the corpse mechanic, it's very original. Since WD lore mentions human sacrificing, the WD can also make a lot of use out of corpses I think. Using it to regain HP/mana, using it to fuel his spells, or whatever else, possibilities are endless.

We'll see though. D3 is not like SC2, which rely heavily on having excellent balance in competitive play. So I doubt I will do anything but fall in love with whatever Blizz ends up doing with the game. It's gonna rock so hard.

[BloodHawk]

I for one never gave a **** about all the D2 lore. Then again, I never played Diablo 1. Badass mother****ers fighting other baddass mother ****ers is enough for me.

I enjoyed D2 for the cool classes that could tear through bigger and badder mobs as you played. Looking more stylish along the way. That's my biggest complaint agasint the WD. Pretty certain the necro is out, a much better looking model.

[Meee]

you should definately try out something from Monster Hunter series ;)

[Wlck742]

I don't think 'Dispatch' is a suitable substitution for Corpse Explosion. From what I hear Dispatch's damage is going to be fixed, which is a step backwards from Corpse Explosion where the damage was based on percentage. The beauty of CE was that you could take a corpse in any difficulty and turn it into hundreds of more corpses. With Dispatch you just can't do that without having enough mana to summon a ton of pets.

[Remy]

After some thought, I suspect that my beloved Assassin will not make a return. If the stealth aspect of is to be absorbed by another class, it makes the most sense that it would go to the ranged class(Amazon or not). Ranged classes are usually strong damage dealer from afar, yet fragile up close. So using stealth to get out of trouble and reposition etc. makes the most sense with a ranged class.

Traps also compliment a ranged class very well. The Blade skills(ninja stars) of the D2 Assassin sucked immensely and were rarely used. The fire traps of the trap tree were also rarely used. Since most of the Assassin's Trap tree were flawed or just not used, there should be little problem in D3's ranged class taking over the traps category. However, I suspect there will be all brand new traps that will be used more for crowd control instead of dealing damage since the ranged attack can already do that very well.

So my guess is, the ranged class in D3, will have a ranged tree, stealth/dodge/survival tree, and traps tree. We don't know if how skill learning will be structured in D3 and if there will only be three trees per class, but my guess is that the ranged class will have those three categories covered. The great majority of the Assassin's Martial Arts tree was not used, especially beyond nightmare into hell, so I don't think we'll see it here. At least not absorbed along with other Assassin traits into the ranged class. Perhaps martial arts will go to the holy-themed class as a monk type character.

[joester3]

I wish the assassin would return, That would be amazing. Probably have a ranger class, maybe a force ranger, he can imbue his arrows and such with magic, so he can freeze people, turn them into stone, etc. etc.

[Major Willy]

...So the Amazon?

Whoever came up with the theory of a blend of Assassin/Amazon I think deserves a high five and slice of pie.

Too tired to go back and reread at the moment.

[Redlazer]

1. Barbarian (Melee Offensive role)
2. Witch Doctor (Support Spellcaster role)
_________________________________
3. Mage/Sorcerer-like Class (Offensive Spellcaster role)
4. Rogue/Archer-like Class (Ranged Offensive role)
5. Paladin/Knight-like Class (Support Melee role)


That's my guess!

[ItzaHexGor]

Would a Rogue honestly be considered as a Ranged Offensive role? It'd classify a Rogue as being more of a Support Melee role, grouping it in the same category as the Paladin and Knight.

[Meee]

Rogue was the ranged class in Diablo.

[ItzaHexGor]

True, and I was going to say that that Rogue is seriously outdated now, but just remembered the Rogue encampment in Diablo2. Still, the term 'Rogue' applies far more to an assassin than a marksman now. And no I'm not just saying that because of World of WarCraft.

[Ursawarrior]

bounty hunter - class specialized in stealth kills and bombs

[Hodl pu]

Justiciar - Like a paladin but splits casting and melee uses equally. (DII paladins either only meleed or threw hammers)
Lore wise - they could be suffering paladins from zakarum enraged with revenge losing their truly holy ways.

http://i36.tinypic.com/1zzjigz.jpg
http://i38.tinypic.com/289e9oo.jpg

I think Lord Marshal's armor (from the chronicles of Rid****) would fit the style too.



edit:
wtf? I cant type in Rid****!? Its his name, not the organ! Damn filter :(

[CyberPitz]

One thing I would find interesting is a magic user class, much like the sorceress. But instead of just damage dealing spells that she could go for, there could be 4 trees. Two offensive spells then two defensive spells. That way she, I guess it could be a he as well eh?, you can get a party with someone who can put defense "buffs..for lack of a better work" on your party making it slightly easier to live in battle, or if you need a damage dealer, you can have a magic user that deals a decent amount of damage.

That way, that kind of holds nicely to the Sorceress side of the game, and mixes in the Paladin. Since there are only going to be 5, or whatever, classes, we can start combining others to make way for brand new classes. This should be fun.

[the8thark]

One thing I'm seeing here a lot is many class ideas being a few little things all rolled into one character. But for me:

A jack of all trades equals a master of none.

That's why I felt the original 5 were better than the added in two. I used the druid a lot not only 2 of his trees.

And now how does this fit into the topic. I'm just hoping they create 5 specialists. Not a part of this and part something else. it'd really make you want to play the game over with a different character.

But there is a skill I'd like to see. I dunno what it is. Anything really. But it is not based on mana. But no the number of kills. A skill tree all about the soul. Like say the first level skill could be say a magic holy bolt. But it after 3 kills it activates and it can be used. But you change the skill hotkeyed and you have to get more kills. It'd be like a cooldown timer. And the left skill could be 5 kills and the right one could be 3 kills. And they are independant of each other. But one kill would work for both. So 3 kills makes the right one usable. And 2 more and the left one works.

Another idea is something like the bloodlust from D1. Where you used health instead of mana to cast the spell. A good idea for beefy barbarians with 5x more health than mana. And this way given a little management the character could be free of using mana ever.

Not really answering the topic's question. But they are two ideas I had.

[ItzaHexGor]

With your first spell, the one based off kills, I don't think it'd be too plausible in certain stages of the game. For example, it'd be great for when there're tonnes of zombies, an army of skeletons or a clan of Carvers, but when it gets to stronger opponents, like champions, unique characters and the Evil at the end of each act, then it would basically just stop working. There'd be nothing to get the kills off, so you wouldn't be able to activate your stronger abilities, so you'd be stuck trying to take on the most powerful daemon in the act with your weak magic holy bolt or whatever. There're some clear example of where it wouldn't work in the Diablo3 announcement video we were shown, one being the Cultists who were possessed by the daemons, where there'd be too few kills to take out such strong opponents, another being at the end of the dungeon where the five or so Cultists sacrificed themselves to create that massive brute-type creature, where there'd be no kills to take it on, and the last being the Siegebreaker at the very end where there'd again be only the remnants of the Treeants to take on the most powerful creature yet.

About Bloodlust, I reckon that could work, but it would have to be done carefully. A Barbarian's health is already there to offset the fact that they have to spend the majority of their time in melee combat with whatever they're fighting, so just having five times more health than mana doesn't mean they're able to use it all up just so that they can use more of their abilities. It could definitely work, but it would have to be done carefully. Also, I reckon it'd suit something like the Witch Doctor a bit more, seeing as they depend on their mana, as opposed to the Barbarian who depends on health, so they're in more trouble when they run out. Not to mention that the Witch Doctor would suit having more sadistic and masochistic spells and abilities than most other classes, especially the Barbarian, would, especially when you consider some of the spells it's already got, like the Locusts, the fearing and confusion spells, the animation of their Fire Bomb spell, Zombie Wall, and their ability to detonate their pets.

[VodkaChill]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54765

Well no one else from D2 is coming back except the Barbarian

[ItzaHexGor]

Oh-ho-ho-ho! *devilish laugh* Even the title by itself sounds juicy. :p

In my opinion, it'll relate to the sorcerer/sorceress. Barbarian aside, it's the most iconic Diablo class. It's been there since Diablo1 and is the number one, not only caster, but ranged character in my opinion. The Paladin and Assassin have enough overlap with all other melee heroes for their removal to be understandable, the Druid and Nerco overlapped with each other's pets and now overlap with the Witch Doctor's pets, concoctions and curses so again it's perfectly understandable that they'd be removed, which leaves the Amazon and Sorceress, both practically having existed right from the get go, but, in my opinion, the Amazon can't hold a candle to the Sorceress. I can't really pin down an overall reason why it wouldn't be the Amazon, but I wouldn't say that its removal would definitely anger fans, no question about it. With the Sorceress, it's a no-brainer. Not to mention that some adaptations of Sorceressesque abilities have already been taken up by the Witch Doctor, like the Zombie Wall and whatever the Fire Bomb's called.

[VodkaChill]

We will mourn the Mage/Sorceress. Let's hope that Blizzard can bring up a cool class to replace it. They made the error to replace a "Badass" (necro) class, with a "cool" (doctor) class. Let's hope they can readjust that by replacing the Cool sorcerer with a Badass class of semi-stole sorcerer skills.

[Gasmaskguy]

Wow, I actually like that all following classes will be new. Moar change! I d'no why, but lately I got this idea that I can't get out of my brain. Key word: Guns. Basically, I think that a ranged class which uses gunpowder would be badass. It would also differ it from mage-like ranged classes since most of the attacks would have near insta-hit projectiles which of course would niche and help this ranged class.

[Meee]

no guns plzkthxbai

[Gasmaskguy]

Not miniguns but medieval ones.

[ItzaHexGor]

Medieval guns certainly could work. Don't shout at me for this because I'm merely mentioning it due to them sharing a similar pre-gun timeframe, but the do work in World of WarCraft, and it doesn't turn have a modern age feel to it. When you combine that with the classic witch/vampire hunters, who're laced with fancy contraptions, oversized trenchcoats, slanty hats and silver bullets, it easily could work. Remember, we're talking like Muskets here, not automatics.

[VodkaChill]

I HATE WOW.

Lol just kidding. This time it was shown under the right perspective of comparaison. You could have just related to Warcraft lore. haha ;)

I don't think that guns would apply well in D3, since everyone seems pretty Human, and that no Nations seems to be akeen to high technology. They could, but I don't think it would fit as much as in the Warcraft lore . Dwarfs and Gnomes are race that likes to play with tech, that gives more race definition which is a good thing in a multiple race lore (Dongeon and Dragon). Diablo seems to be more about human and monsters, Heaven and Hell...

It's true that human can evolve and get access to tech. I just don't think Diablo should be emmerge in that.

Medieval rocket luncher !

[Meee]

Who said anything about miniguns, geez

Medieval guns certainly could work. Don't shout at me for this because I'm merely mentioning it due to them sharing a similar pre-gun timeframe, but the do work in World of WarCraft, and it doesn't turn have a modern age feel to it. When you combine that with the classic witch/vampire hunters, who're laced with fancy contraptions, oversized trenchcoats, slanty hats and silver bullets, it easily could work. Remember, we're talking like Muskets here, not automatics.

I think WoW suffers from enough "they stole this and that from Warhammer", let's not add Which Hunters to the pile okay? What you described sounds a lot like the one from WH

[ijffdrie]

i never played anything from WH and it still looks familiar to me, i dont think that cool contraptions for vampire hunters are solely for WH

[Meee]

All the more reason not to put it in. I'm just saying that if it'll look anything like WH, it's gonna be "stolen" from there

[Gasmaskguy]

@Vodkachill. Just like how the Witch Doctor came from a far away place to join the fight, a gunpowder-using something could come from the other side of the world where some aspects of warfare simply evolved faster.

[ItzaHexGor]

@ VodkaChill. I could have related it to WarCraft lore, but it actually first took place in World of WarCraft and I said how it didn't effect the fantasy feel to the game, the game being World of WarCraft, not the WarCraft series or lore.

About the guns, twenty years have passed since Diablo2, so relatively simple technological advances like muskets, especially when distant tribes have already developed handheld explosives, could have taken place quite comfortably. As we've been told, no more existing heroes will be returning, which will allow Blizzard to pull in different and potentially more foreign aspects, like what they've already done with the Witch Doctor. Dwarves and Gnomes may tend to be more technologically adept in other games, movies, books, etc, but that doesn't mean they'd have to introduce them if they want guns. Humans could easily have picked them up.

It doesn't even have to include high tech, for Diablo's time, guns. They could be the most awkward contraptions ever, with an epic cooldown when firing, huge chance to miss or extremely expensive ammunition or reagents. Nothing eluding it to being 'high tech', but still classic firearms.

Nothing along the lines of a Medieval rocket launcher, OK? :p

@ Meee. Everyone said everything about miniguns. :p But seriously, regardless it's worth clarifying. This'd, at most, include muskets, hand cannons, blunderbuss's, pistols, etc, which would definitely work in my opinion.

About World of WarCraft stealing from WarHammer... They were originally the same. WarCraft1 was going to be a WarHammer video game, until the Games Workshop cut the deal. That's why their Orcs and so many of their influences are so similar.

I can't see how something along the lines of witch/vampire hunters cannot fit in with Diablo lore.

[Meee]

What took place first in WoW? Guns that dwarven riflemen, steam tanks and gyrocopters had in WC3?

I know what kind of guns you are talking about, I just don't want guns in Diablo, as simple as that. Btw. What's the point in having guns at all if you can't have medival rocket launcher? ;)

I know very well that they were the same, I'm just saying that lots of people whine about WC stealing from WH and if which hunters in diablo were similar to WH ones, it wouldn't help the case. Well, this still isn't quite as bad as people saying that Warhammer steals from WoW... ><> Blop

[ItzaHexGor]

Ah yeah, forgot about the Dwarven guns in WarCraft3... Probably being I never played as Humans. Like... Almost literally. I cannot remember a specific instance where I played as the Humans. Still, World of WarCraft's the one where it becomes available as an equipped weapon, similar to how it would in Diablo.

I just reckon that it would fit in so well with the whole Diabolic atmosphere. It is basically a witch hunter's game, so why not continue down that line instead of retaining to the same game it was before? I'm aware that characters are the main way to make this a brand-spanking new game, as opposed to DiabloII in 3D, but weapons compliment the characters. Like how bows and crossbows compliment Amazons, maces and sceptres complement Paladins, claws complement Assassins, etc, etc. It obviously wouldn't just be introduced as a new weapon, it'd complement a hero and heroine. It wouldn't behave like other weapons, so other weapon specific ranged classes, like the Amazon, wouldn't just be able to use firearms like Hunters and such are in World of WarCraft, again leading to a bit more diversity and a mutual benefit between introducing these types of weapons and potential heroic classes.

[ijffdrie]

what about those old japanese style one-shot guns: a stick with on it a sort of minidrum containing gunpowder and a chunk of metal, instead of using bullets you use these sticks, just like javelins

[Meee]

Bow: "That was great shot!"
Amazon: "Aww, you really think so?"
Bow: "Yeah, you're the best boss!"

Btw. Didn't gnomes in warcraft 2 have submarines? That even beats (not to mention predates) dwarven guns from 3.

[ItzaHexGor]

@ ijffdrie. That may work, and it'd make for a pretty good start-ranged-and-continue-melee, kinda weaken-them-all-from-range-and-finish-the-rest-off-in-combat-regardless-of-whether-they-are-actually-
melee-fighters-or-not class, but, although it may have worked in a war where, basically, once you're in combat you stay in combat until it's over or you die, in Diablo you've got to keep moving on to new fights, to the next fight. So long as Blizzard develops a way to include that one-use ranged weapon in a way where it can be used again in the next fight, it'd be great. Maybe they could just be like javelins, seeing as they're so simple, but yeah. They'd need to refine that.

@ Meee. You know what I mean by compliment... I hope.

About the submarines, it's not as though they were deep sea divers, they just needed to be watertight. Aside from that they just acted like any other ship. Seeing as they progressed onwards to handheld rifles, I don't see a problem. Cannons are far simpler than rifles anyway. Regardless, this doesn't subtract from my point that World of WarCraft works perfectly with guns. It doesn't become a shoot-fest or anything, as they're only used by some Hunters and apart from that, even though other classes can still use them, they're just used as a way of pulling. I might have been wrong about World of WarCraft being the first with guns, but it's definitely the most relevant as the characters are equipped with the guns, just as they would in Diablo3, and because they're both fantasy RPG's (but yes, I'm still aware they're different), and having guns in World of WarCraft didn't ruin it, so adding gunpowder weaponry to Diablo3, much later on and with a much more calculated approach, wouldn't ruin it either. Especially when it's already got the witch hunter feel to it.

[Meee]

"start-ranged-and-continue-melee, kinda weaken-them-all-from-range-and-finish-the-rest-off-in-combat-regardless-of-whether-they-are-actually-melee-fighters-or-not class"
That works for classes like Hunters in WoW because you're mostly pulling one by one. In diablo it's always masses, so if you weaken a mob from range and finish it in melee, there's still a ton to melee that aren't weakened.
Yes, I'm aware of the alternative - kill mobs from range thus weakening the cluster of mobs as whole. But with that, would it be better to keep killing them from afar and running away?
Unless ammo was that expensive, but that's be hard to balance

I wasn't pointing out a typo, I just had to do it :D

Warcraft had guns, WoW has characters equiping guns (like_Diablo_chars_would_have), that's settled, no need to elaborate any more.

[VodkaChill]

Just like how the Witch Doctor came from a far away place to join the fight

Well maybe I missed the lore of where the Witch Doctor came from. But tribesman did not come from nowhere or around the globe. We saw them in D2, Flayers, it's kind of a Tribe, so it was something we were already "introduce too" a know fact that strange tribes do inhabit this world.

But yeah they could come out of another tech savvy part of the unknown world. Still don't like the idea of guns : /

@ ItzaHexGor : They could be the most awkward contraptions ever, with an epic cooldown when firing, huge chance to miss or extremely expensive ammunition or reagents. Nothing eluding it to being 'high tech', but still classic firearms.

They could make an awkward contraption that would fit. Epic cooldown / huge chance of miss D=. Talk about a weapon that sucks ass against hordes and hordes of enemies XD.
I saw that Medieval rocket launcher as one of the hell difficulty weapon upgrade .... Guess I'm no good game designer then ;)

[ItzaHexGor]

@ Meee. I already stated that 'alternative'... weaken-them-all-from-range, and yeah, relating to the groups as a whole, not individual enemies. It wouldn't always be better to run and keep attacking from range, as you'd loose far too much ground, not to mention that a lot of enemies would simply be able to charge after you. I was mainly saying, with the one-shot-boomsticks character (sorry, I'm in the mood for a lot of long-chained-descriptions-that-I-can't-find-single-words-for-because-most-of-the-time-they-don't-exist type descriptions) that they would start the fight from range when they can, cause as much devastation as possible from afar, and, being a competent melee fighter as well, finishes the fight in melee combat. The advantage to starting in range is that you're not taking damage. It's not necessarily more damaging to attack from a distance, but you're not being harmed. Obviously would still have enough health to survive in melee, but wouldn't have vast reservoirs like the Barbarian or anything. Anyway, yeah. I was just speculating upon ijffdrie's suggestion.

Yeah. So I still reckon guns could work well in relation to a specific character, but obviously not be limited to said character.

Yeah. My point was just that it wouldn't ruin the atmosphere is all. So, yeah, moving on... If it doesn't, and if it even potentially adds to the shroud of one of the heroes or heroines, along with Diablo being a very Medieval/witch hunter sort of game, how come you're against it? They already have things like repeater crossbows, though they weren't depicted too well in Diablo2, and advanced repeated crossbows and primitive firearms go hand in hand.

@ VodkaChill. About the tribes, you said yourself it's a known fact that strange tribes do inhabit this world, being Sanctuary. In Diablo2, all kinds of new tribes and groups were introduced. The Amazons of Act I and as a playable character, Kurast in Act III and the Barbarians in Act V obviously also as a playable character, and a heck of a lot of enemies as you've said. Basically these are just tribes that the character him or herself has actually run into on their quest, so there could be countless others that haven't even been mentioned, just as there were between Diablo1 and Diablo2.

I was just saying that there's nothing saying that they have to look and act all 'high tech'. It could easily just end up as the 'normal' tech, for the time, especially with other complex contraptions like crossbows. Doesn't have to be a higher tech, just a different tech.

[Meee]

how come you're against it?

How does "I don't like guns" sound for a reason?

[ItzaHexGor]

Not too bad. I understand where you're coming from, but you play StarCraft don't you? I can understand not liking guns, as I don't either, but there's nothing wrong with them in video games. Especially if they're not FPS's.

[Meee]

I did play starcraft, but it's entirely sci-fi, so guns come with thee package. Diablo didn't have guns, so it doesn't need any. And if there's no need for guns, I could very well do without them. Your points about how they could fit into lore are valid, I just don't like guns, is all.

[ItzaHexGor]

Ah yeah, but a similar thing could be said about Diablo's lore. If it's implemented, then it's entirely part of the Medieval fantasy, just as with StarCraft how it's part of the science fiction. Still, yeah. I see the difference. For StarCraft, guns are basically a requirement, but with Diablo, seeing as it'd need to be newly implemented, it'd be a supplement.

I assume you're not the FPS type then?

[Meee]

I like Unreal Tournament (and 2k4) and some of the classics. Not really much of an FPS player, but I don't mind them every once in a while. My all time favourite is Heretic though and it doesn't have guns ;)

[ItzaHexGor]

Yeah, I don't play many either... Just replace 'many' with 'any' and 'either' with 'at all'. :p It's mainly that I don't find the gameplay interesting, and the visuals don't really help an awful lot. Then there's the fact that I'm no good at them, so my dislike and skill basically go hand-in-hand. In fact, enjoyed the Halo series (never got any of them though), though still wasn't even remotely competent.

But yeah, I find it very different in RTS's and RPG's, though in World of WarCraft I do make a conscious effort not to end up with those massively oversized and completely unrealistic rifles. I just don't reckon it'd have that much of an impact in Diablo. I reckon it could just fit in such a way that you'd never really give it an awful lot of thought.

[Gasmaskguy]

From the Battlenet forum:



Jay Wilson said the next class that is unveiled will make Diablo fans very angry. What would make 99.9% of the Diablo 3 fan base so angry? That's right....GUNS in D3! Diablo 3 will be adding Guns as a new droped items in Diablo 3. Now not like AK-47's and what not, but Muskets and gun powder loaded guns. Hand cannons and such. Yes ladies and gentlemen they WILL be added into D3 and there WILL be a class that will use mainly that! Heck, since Blizzard is going to be adding GUNS into D3 they might as well convience the team behind God Of War to add GUNS into that game aswell.... LOL!!!! But don't stop there! Lets put GUNNS in the movie TROY and 300!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!

Yes it's all a rumor, but if you google it there is a HUGE and reliable source that says Diablo 3 will have guns.....LOL What a joke!



Well, you have to realize that it's been 20 years, and in technological terms that can be a very long time. We're trying to create a world that's not static, its filled out, and with that it's an advancing world. With that amount of time, and also the loss of the Arreat Summit much of the remaining barbarian culture has focused on... nah I'm just kidding, there aren't any guns.

I guess there won't be any guns in D3. You can relax now Meee. :)

Mah source: http://www.sc2pod.com/trackers/blue/?id=475#1287

[Light]

awww, but some gunpowder would be awesome

[Gasmaskguy]

That's what I thought too, but I guess "there aren't any guns" coming from Bashiok pretty much blows that idea up. Love the way he replied though. He had me believin' for a minute.

[Meee]

ditto, nice find bro, gave me a laugh :D

[MarineCorp]

LOL! Bashiok did a nice joke there '...nah just kidding there won't be any guns' funneh guy :>

[freedom23]

Nice sh!t oops Shot!

[VodkaChill]

No guns Priceless

I told you so! =D

^^'

[ItzaHexGor]

Haha, oh well. Might've been interesting, but I guess it's just not the case.

Lucky Meee! I'm happy for ya. :D

[Fo®Saken]

Hehe, that would have been quite a sight.

"I'm going to charge my super god spell! I will blow you away! I will..."
*BANG!*
"Headshot! Muhahaha, stupid outdated wizards..."

It would take away a lot of the fun though... Wizards and Warriors FTW!

[ItzaHexGor]

Okay then... Now we got a melee character, a ranged character and a hybrid with pets. So, now if we just fill in all the blanks we'll be able to know what the role of the last two classes will be...

*Clicks pen*

Hmmm...

[Hodl pu]

someone that throws/shoots projectiles, not magic. But that's too obvious, so I'll think of someone else.

Hmm... someone that does a lot of flips?

[ItzaHexGor]

*Snaps fingers*

Got it. The next class will be the Pacifist. After all, that's the only area that not only hasn't been covered in Diablo3, but hasn't been covered at all in the Diablo series. It would be completely new, and completely innovative. Unlike existing classes the Pacifist would share absolutely no overlap with the other classes, keeping it as a fresh and distinct class, and just as being able to choose between tough melee classes and delicate spellcasters helps specialise your champion, this new character would allow you to specialise your champion to a whole new level. What he lack in strength he makes up for in his strong stance against pain and violence, ladies and gentlemen it is my proud honour to present to you... The one and only Pacifist (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Gandhi_studio_1931.jpg)!

[Wlck742]

...You've fallen a long way itza.

[Meee]

We still don't have a class with tons of auras and it's not a paladin

[the8thark]

Or one that excels with a bow.

[RobGreyscale]

How about Gadgeteers?

You know, a class that does tinkering with technology. Maybe they could use a pathetic excuse for a gun as a weapon! :D

[Meee]

Or one that excels with a bow.
I think bow user is a given, there's no reason for them to give up on a good portion of weapons

How about Gadgeteers?

You know, a class that does tinkering with technology. Maybe they could use a pathetic excuse for a gun as a weapon! :D
It was confirmed that there won't be guns in D3

[VodkaChill]

Well maybe the bow will not be given so easily.

They started with Rogue -> Bow exclusive
Then Amazon -> Bow / Spears

Maybe they will take the other alternative and go with a Spear exclusive model.

[Meee]

I'm not saying it wil be using bows exclusively, but if no class has skills for bows there's no point in having them. And c'mon, Diablo with no bows?

[VodkaChill]

Okay then... Now we got a melee character, a ranged character and a hybrid with pets.

Melee =Barb, ranged= Wizard? maybe, hybrid with pets=Doctor? It's a caster for god sake it can't melee :O. A real hybrid is Paladin or Druid or D1's rogue

We need 2 Physical damage
2 Casters and 1 Hybrid

We have Barb physical
We have 2 casters Wizard and Doctor
Missing in action, 1 hybrid and 1 physical. 1 Physical with bows/spears like the Amazon and 1 hybrid like paladin's aura hammerdin zeal/shield.
That's my take at the classes’ breakdown.


@Mee: I always had the idea that a bow might be strong enough so that any phisical class can use one. It would be a neutral weapon and usefull for any class. So most physical damaging class can switch bewteen their bow when in long range situation and switch back to melee. It would be hard to implement in Diablo since everyone is used to a more class specific bow setup.

[ItzaHexGor]

Well I definitely wouldn't consider the Witch Doctor as a conventional caster, and his dagger appeared to be enchanted or something. From the direction of his character I wouldn't be surprised if he got skills reminiscent of Poison Dagger or something, what with sacrifices and ritual killings, and all.

Also, the Wizard isn't genuinely a clear-cut spellcaster either. A lot of she abilities revolve around dealing melee damage, like Spectral Blade and Magic Weapon, and she's got a lot of spells to deal with the perils of combat without being as durable other characters like the Barbarian, like Mirror image and all her different kinds of Armours..

[Meee]

From the direction of his character I wouldn't be surprised if he got skills reminiscent of Poison Dagger or something, what with sacrifices and ritual killings, and all.
No no, it's all the diseases on the knife from all the killing and never washing it. All the sacrifeces add up and you never know what those people might've had before dying

[overmind]

as i posted but it appears to have disappeared, i would like to see a atlatl as an alternative to the usual bow.

[ItzaHexGor]

No no, it's all the diseases on the knife from all the killing and never washing it. All the sacrifeces add up and you never know what those people might've had before dying

You mean like... Hepatitis and HIV?!

*Shudders*

I'm sure glad I wasn't stabbed through the heart by his serrated stone dagger otherwise I could have contracted something! Haha.

as i posted but it appears to have disappeared, i would like to see a atlatl as an alternative to the usual bow.

That's not a bad idea. I remember they were used in Redwall at some stage. But if that was the case, javelins and spears would have to act as both a primary weapon, like bows and crossbows, as well as acting like a secondary weapon, like arrows or bolts.

Along the lines of more exotic ranged weaponry, I'd like to see a sling. They'd be able to get some awesome visuals when using a weapon like that, for both ranged and melee combat.

[Meee]

Atlatl could and range, damage and other bonuses to spears/javelins, that'd be neat.

Also maybe sling could be used in similar way for some of WDs skills if he's got more throwing skills like that fireball

[ItzaHexGor]

There'd need to be a way to add it though. Bows and crossbows are two handed weapons, so they can have the free slot available for their arrows and bolts, but javelins and throwing spears are one handed and often used with shields, so there wouldn't be a place for the atlatl. Also, range doesn't really matter in Diablo. Another nice bonus for it could be projectile speed. I reckon increased projectile speed would work really well for ranged attacks.

Well I'd like for the sling to be a universal weapon. Just like the atlatl wouldn't just be used by a physical ranged class like the Rogue or Amazon, the sling shouldn't just be used for the Witch Doctor's concoctions. Besides, I can't imagine cracking down on a monster's head with a sling of Skull of Flame going down too well for either the monster or the Witch Doctor.

[Meee]

Atlatl would take the shield slot, like in case of having 2h weapon instead of sword & shield, you'd sacrifice some defense for more power.
Yeah, range doesn't really work for that one, but damage and projectile speed could

As I've said before, I'm of opinion that if there are no skills associated with a weapon, there's little point to choose it over one that you have skills for.
Of course sling would be usable by most/all classes, I just thought it could give an added bonus if used with some skills. In case of WDs fireball it could add range since it has short one to begin with. I'm not saying it should be specific weapon for WD, but he'd get a little boon for using it, others could have other little bonuses for using various weapon types.

[ijffdrie]

sling should have knockback

[ItzaHexGor]

Atlatl would take the shield slot, like in case of having 2h weapon instead of sword & shield, you'd sacrifice some defense for more power.
I guess. Using javelins with a shield might work, but using an atlatl with a shield wouldn't.

As I've said before, I'm of opinion that if there are no skills associated with a weapon, there's little point to choose it over one that you have skills for.
I wouldn't say that's the case. I often carried around a ranged weapon on my Barbarian, just in case it was wiser to stay back, and none of them had skills associated with them. The same applied to melee weapons if you decided not to take up a Mastery. Weapon choice is just based on what's available to you and your own preference. There are still skills which relied solely on a weapon, like with the Amazon, but that was related to the weapon being a requirement, so wasn't as simple as having a skill associated with it.

Slings could either be like a bow or crossbow, with the sling in one hand and the pouch in the other, or like javelins and throwing knives, with the sling in one hand and a shield or other weapon in the other, or it could even be a combination, like a bow or crossbow but also having a melee attack.

Bows and crossbows work fine, so I don't see why slings couldn't work as a stand-alone weapon.

Of course sling would be usable by most/all classes, I just thought it could give an added bonus if used with some skills. In case of WDs fireball it could add range since it has short one to begin with. I'm not saying it should be specific weapon for WD, but he'd get a little boon for using it, others could have other little bonuses for using various weapon types.

Ah, k. But it's not that the Skull of Flame has shot range, it's just that it takes longer to travel further.

[Meee]

I guess. Using javelins with a shield might work, but using an atlatl with a shield wouldn't.

You'd be using atlatl in one hand and javelins as ammo in the other. Only it would be weapon raising the javelins' damage unlike bows, where arrows are just ammunition and all power is in the bow

[ItzaHexGor]

Yeah, I know. I was agreeing with you there. You'd require two hands to fit the javelin or throwing spear inside the atlatl and the other to hold and throw it, just like bows and crossbows. In fact, assuming that the shield is lashed to the arm, which it should be, seeing as you're only using one hand to throw it, you would actually be able to have both.

I reckon if there was going to be something like the atlatl that it should be the main weapon and introduce another type of ammunition being the throwing spear or something. Keep throwing spears and javelins separate. After all, the weapon itself is the atlatl, not the throwing spears, just like with bows and arrows, the weapon itself is the bow, not the arrows.

[ijffdrie]

just googled atlatl.... quite a nice idea for a weapon you got there, maybe it can be used as a spear or javelin socket filler...

[ItzaHexGor]

What, like an atlatl gem? Why can't it be a weapon? The bow's a weapon, and it fires arrows. The atlatl's a weapon, so why can't it just normally fire throwing spears?

[ijffdrie]

i understand what you mean, only i am all pro for making the weapon types more unique

[ItzaHexGor]

But in that example you're more removing it as a weapon an adding it as an accessory, like Runes are to Skills. If this is going to be its own weapon type, then it'll need to actually be a weapon.

I'm still all for the sling. It's more unique. Hasn't been done at all before.

[Hodl pu]

how about a yoyo, haha. They used to be a weapon in Philippines :)

atatl seems interesting though

[the8thark]

Haha. There used to be a really old game for the NES. Back in the 80's called Startropics. The game was meh in my opinion. But the point was a yo-yo was the first weapon you got there. And it worked alright. But would it be a little too modern for this setting, you know the old age of magic and steel that Diablo is trying to portray.

[overmind]

i don't really the sling as a general weapon but i think it would be interesting if the witch doctor could use some of his skills with it.

[ItzaHexGor]

Bah! How come everyone's against the sling? :(

Along the lines of more exotic weaponry there could also be a blowpipe, which would against work for more tribal characters like the Witch Doc, but would work for hefty characters as well. Not as well as the sling, obviously, but still work. :p

[Major Willy]

If a Barbarian's so physically fit...?

The lung power he must have for a blowpipe.

O lawd.

[overmind]

lol

the reason i think an atlatl would work better than a sling or blowpipe is because it is quite unique, yet widely used. plus they don't require a huge amount of skill to use.

now, maybe you could use those minerals of yours to change my mind? ;)

[ItzaHexGor]

They still require a bit of training, but that's what the Dexterity stat's there for. Dexterity is basically skill, so more skill intensive weapons, like flails, etc, require much more Dexterity than weapons which require next to no skill, like daggers.

Yeah, the atlatl is a unique weapon in itself, but is it really unique gameplay-wise? It obviously doesn't need to act in a completely different way, but isn't it basically just like a bow or crossbow? The sling could act in a different fashion to other weapons, like if it acted as both a bow or crossbow with a melee attack. It'd be held like a bow, but provides a strong melee attack, after all, getting thokked on the head with a sling isn't too pleasant, which could let players not have to switch between a set of ranged and melee weapons when entering melee combat. I'm aware javelins and throwing knives and axes were able to be used in a similar way too, but they're purely one handed melee and ranged weapons and were seldom used for melee.

Anyway, I'm rambling. The atlatl would obviously be unique as well and is widely used, but you can't say that that doesn't apply to slings.

Along the lines of more exotic weapons, seeing as there appears to be an abundance of ranged weapons now, I've found a few more exotic melee weapons. Not too many are particularly innovative, but would be interesting to see in the game. There's the macuahuitl, which is the Aztec wooden sword studded with obsidian, making for a nice sword/club/possibly even axe type weapon, maybe one that benefits from multiple weapon masteries, assuming weapon masteries make a return? Nunchuks, and I don't mean ninja-style nunchuks, I mean clubbing-style nunchuks.

Anyone else think that all this weapon talk should have its own thread?

[overmind]

yeah, this is straying too far from classes, i'll make one now! :D

I guess a sling would be pretty cool, used in coalition with a shield since it would be single handed unlike most ranged weapons.

as a melee weapon i see a sling being average at best, i mean sure it would be quick but not really anything compared to a barbarian with an axe, although i guess the shield would help that.

maybe the atlatl could be used to augment the javelins, in the sense that it makes it 2 handed for added power while removing the ability to weild a shield sacrifysing defense for power (as meee, i think, suggested)

its probably the fact that slings aren't really percieved as fearsome weapons, even though they were that put me off, but the idea is growing on me.

as for the aztec weapon, i think they are too localised.
i like them but maybe they would be a bit too exotic (but i would love to see a jaguar warrior cutting a swath through zombies :D)

[ItzaHexGor]

Thanks. I'll continue this discussion in the new thread.

[Banned]

MAJOR WILLY BRODEUR. You get to BED, Mister.

[Major Willy]

ofux last names. And Banned, 4:15 AM el oh el.

So we're still waiting on a ranged weapon user, possible shapeshifter, and other melee character or...?

[Banned]

Rouge. Rouge. We Ned A Rouge 4 Rade.

[Hodl pu]

Ok now back to characters :)

How about a character who is specialized in a shield and parrying. Not only in blocking, but specialized in shield + 1 hand weapons and shield bashing.

I recall in troy Achilles using a curve in his shield to stick a spear out and block at the same time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjIGEiiPx3M

should be in that video. I think it would be pretty fun to implement fighting like that in D3

[ItzaHexGor]

Rouge. Rouge. We Ned A Rouge 4 Rade.

They should, but it shouldn't be able to stealth or anything. Not to mention the explosion of complaints that would burst out of the Diablo3 Battle.Net forums onto your lap about how it's a direct copy from World of WarCraft, it would basically be like an uber-Teleport, which people already dislike. Maybe if it cost like twenty mana per second or something, so you can only use it to sneak up on things and perhaps use an opening move, but otherwise, it just shouldn't.

I'd like to see a cross between a rogue and a marksman, similar to in Diablo1. I reckon it could work quite well. Something like a Poacher or something, but with a less wimpy name.

Ok now back to characters :)

How about a character who is specialized in a shield and parrying. Not only in blocking, but specialized in shield + 1 hand weapons and shield bashing.
That could be interesting. We've already got the Barbarian who's pure weapons, so having a shield-based melee character could work quite well. The only problem really is that the Barbarian's basically already a tank, so they might overlap in that regard. Otherwise, great.

[Hodl pu]

Yeah, I hope they implement more shield use with a character too.
The barbarian wasn't really a tank, he seemed like he did a lot of jumping around and bashing in the demo rather than tanking. Even if he is, I'm sure it won't matter, diablo 2 didn't really have a predominant tank in the first place. It depended on what build you wanted.


but then again, Diii's stat system is automatic now I think :(
unless it just depends on what gear you are wearing.