Bait and Switch

A sponsored ad for League of Angels in Facebook is using a screenshot from Diablo: Reaper of Souls. I don't think they did this deliberately but someone in LOA's digital media team is going to get it big time for this.

Time to get Buffed

Experience buff, that is!

Reaper of Souls is turning one year old and to celebrate, all heroes who log in to Diablo III this week on any platform will receive a +100% bonus to Gold Find and EXP! This bonus Gold Find and Experience period begins in the Americas region on Monday, March 23 at 12:00 a.m. PDT and ends on Monday, March 30 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

For more details, check out the official blog here.

SALE! SALE! SALE!

This week only: save 50% on Diablo III and Reaper of Souls! Click here.

My Top 4 Albums to Listen to while Playing Diablo

I believe that a good soundtrack is absolutely essential when playing any game, especially Diablo.

While I personally think the people behind the music of the game has done an outstanding job, I like to play something else from time to time, especially on late night adventures. Various types of music give the game a different feel and enhance the overall game experience for me.

Here are my top 4 favorite albums to listen to while playing Diablo: Reaper of Souls.

One X by Three Days Grace

One-X is the second album by the Canadian alternative metal band Three Days Grace but the first one to feature lead guitarist Barry Stock who took over lead guitar from lead singer Adam Gontier. Three Days Grace’s One-X is my absolute favorite album to listen to (thus far) when playing. It’s particularly apt when “Pain” comes up in the middle of a battle with a particularly challenging group of Elites.



Greatest Hits by Queen

Queen has been provided music for movies such as Flash Gordon and The Highlander to great effect and I find that they do the same when playing. Their single “Don’t Stop Me Now” is a riot going through a gauntlet of monsters but “Princes of the Universe” is priceless when facing down a boss (except when you’re losing that is). It’s funny when you’re fighting and “Fat Bottomed Girls” start to play though.



Metallica by Metallica

Imagine this: you’re faced with a horde of monsters and several elites with overwhelming odds stacked against you and your resources are running low. There’s no other recourse but to fight but just as you’re about to engage the enemies “Enter Sandman” starts playing. You’re going to die, there’s no doubt about it but you’re going to take as many of them with you before you bite the dust.



Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack

The musical score of Conan the Barbarian was composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris, and it was performed by members of The Orchestra and Chorus of Santa Cecilia and The Radio Symphony of Rome. Nothing inspires you before you head on to the battlefields quite like the “Anvil of Crom” complete with Mako saying, “Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!”



Who do you listen to when playing?

Odds and Ends

I sold my Cartographer's Toolkit which was going for 50,000 gold.

This item was part of the legendary crafting materials which were removed from the game in patch 2.0.6 in June 2014.

It doesn't have any use anymore according to the Diablo III Wiki (click here) and I can use the gold, perfecting gems (my old obsession).

The most gold I had at any given time was around 20,000,000 but I squandered it all away most on combining gems.

I just can't help myself. They're so nice and shiny!

Also got a Keystone of Trials from one of my adventures enabling me to teleport to the Realm of Trials.

The Realm of Trials is an area where players fight waves of monsters to earn higher level Greater Rift Keys.

I tried going at it solo and died at around wave 19. It should be more fun with a group.

This is only found in Adventure Mode in Reaper of Souls or the Ultimate Evil Edition.

Ans speaking of Greater Rift Keys...

I got one!

Higher level Greater Rift Keystones, enables players to start in higher level Greater Rifts.

Wave after wave of monsters spawn attack you with each wave tougher than the one before.

This process continues until you're unable to finish a wave within the time limit.

Don't forget though: there is also no way to respec your skills or change around equipment while in a Trial.

I might try a different build next time and see what happens.

The Bottomless Potion of Mutilation

I was playing the other night and one of the monsters I killed dropped a Bottomless Potion of Mutilation. According to the Diablo III Game Guide the potion instantly restores 60% life and
increases life per kill by 4000–8000 for 5 seconds.

Apparently, aside from the Health Potion, there's a whole variety of potions out there now.

Bottomless Potion of Kulle-Aid
Bottomless Potion of Mutilation
Bottomless Potion of Regeneration
Bottomless Potion of the Diamond
Bottomless Potion of the Leech
Bottomless Potion of the Tower

Haven't had the chance to use it. Frankly I'm worried I won't see one again so I'm keeping it until I get new ones (or one of the others, whichever comes first).

Barbarian Level 70, Paragon Level 191

I've been thoroughly enjoying Reaper of Souls, so much so that I've skipped posting here for some time (sorry, guys) and just concentrated on leveling-up my barbarian character. As you can see from the screenshot below, I've been spending quite some time transmogrifying and buying up dyes making sure everything's coordinated and shit.

Right now my barbarian is the most powerful (i.e., the one able to dish out the most damage) among my characters but I have a feeling that my crusader is going to overtake him really fast (at least until he levels up to 70 - just 2 more levels to go). Also, he's the sugar daddy of the bunch, the one tasked to make the most money for spending by the group.

I've given him some rest in the last couple of weeks however, preferring to adventure with my crusader and exploring his different abilities. I'll be getting him back on track soon enough though as the barbarian is my favorite class. I'm currently playing at Torment II but I hope to progress to Torment III as soon as I reach Paragon Level 200 or perfect my gems, whichever comes first.

How're you guys doing with your characters so far?

My Level 70 Crusader

I've been playing Diablo 3 almost exclusively with a Crusader ever since I got Reaper of Souls. I like it a lot. It is without a doubt the most powerful character in the game. I think Blizzard pretty much admitted it as such. I like feeling powerful in a game so I'm really enjoying this a lot.

Fellow player Jonas Diego did mention that this character has a weird dissonance in that his fearsome posture and demeanor seem at odds with an almost swashbuckling dialogue. I tend to agree. But I think that's apparent mostly in Campaign mode, but not at all noticeable in Adventure Mode. I've never played Campaign ever since I beat Act V. I've been playing exclusively on Adventure Mode since then. I've never really looked back.

I like playing in Adventure mode because it allows me a complete gaming experience in a relatively short amount of time. For instance. If I only have time to play for like 15 minutes I can do so in Adventure mode and within that time I would have completed tasks that's both satisfying and rewarding.

I'm currently Level 70, Paragon Level 116. My gear:

Win Diablo III: Reaper of Souls shirts!!

Are you one of those gamers who bought Diablo III's amazing expansion pack; Reaper of Souls? Want to win some limited edition shirts? Do you live in the Philippines? Then simply answer the survey below to win!!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FLR7D4enSKikgXPSIP9oq1tRdr20_uD-ETE73a5vpHg/viewform

The said survey was done by Asiasoft Online (the Philippine distributor of Blizzard games), and they want to know what gamers think of the latest expansion pack. Here's the details from the survey:

"Get a chance to win a limited edition Diablo III: Reaper of Souls T-shirt! All you have to do is participate in this survey and you may be proud new owner of an exclusive D3 shirt. The quiz will be from May 19 to June 1 2014 and we will announce the 3 winners on June 2, 2014."

So what are you waiting for? Join now! :D

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is COMING TO CONSOLES!

YESSS!! After much speculation (and worrying on my part), Blizzard has finally unveiled that the much awaited expansion pack to Diablo III is coming to the consoles on August 19th 2014!! :D You can read about it more via this link: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/14096399/reaper-of-souls%E2%84%A2-coming-to-console-august-19-5-12-2014

Back then, I've only heard of rumors that the expansion pack will be launching on next-gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox one respectively), but there was no news about the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions. I was worried that Blizzard might skip the previous console gen in favor of the next-gen consoles, which would leave me stuck on the base Diablo III game, with no way for me to experience the expansion pack because:

• I don't plan on buying a PS4 anytime soon, due in part to its high price tag and a very small library of games to get me interested.
• I don't plan on buying the PC version anytime soon, as I've already invested alot of time on the console version, and I don't think I can start a new character again.
• Add the fact that the PC version requires internet to play is another turn off for me.

All is good, however there is a catch to this. Labeled as "Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition", the game will feature both the original Diablo III + Reaper of Souls expansion set, as one game. The caveat to that is those who bought the original Diablo III game, will need to buy the new game to play, thus rendering their old copies of Diablo III virtually useless. Expect tons of for sale threads for Diablo III copies coming as soon as the game is available in the Philippines.

To help sweeten the deal (and lessen the hurt of those who bought the original Diablo III game), those who preorder the game, will receive a bonus item; the Infernal Pauldrons!!

These shoulder plates are wearable at level 1 for all classes, and is primed and ready for transmogrification.

Overall, I'm pretty much happy and excited with the announcement and I can't wait to jump back in with my Barbarian beauty. :D

Back to My Monk

I went back to my old Monk and see what it has in store in Reaper of Souls. I found I enjoy the Monk much much more this time around. I leveled up quickly to Level 70, and since Paragon levels are shared between characters, this one is already up at Paragon Level 88. With better weapons and armor, the Monk has become much more powerful than I remember it. In fact, I enjoy this character now more than my old Barb. I think I'll be sticking with this one for a while.

I leveled up this Monk from Level 60 to 70 exclusively through Adventure Mode, doing bounties and rifts at the Master Level. It seems to be holding up pretty well at that difficulty level, more more than my old Barb. After a few more Paragon levels I think I will try and go back again to Torment.

Reaper of Souls First Impression

I noticed a vast improvement in latency on the Americas server so I decided to continue playing my Barbarian there.

There was a big patch a while back, Patch 2.0 which upgraded the game and has in fact changed the log in screen to "Reaper of Souls". It came with an adjusted loot system (which is awesome), additions to the game like "Pools of Reflection" which allowed you to level up faster. But it wasn't until March 25 did the expansion "Reaper of Souls" was finally activated.

It comes with a new act, Act V, raising the level cap to 70, allowing more powerful items into the game.

Before the launch, I made it to Act 1 of Torment 3, Paragon Level 74. Torment 1 didn't seem all that hard, and the only thing that made Torment 2 slightly more difficult was that it took such a long time to kill monsters.

I thought I'd start over the game on Torment 2 after the launch, and just level up my character from there. What I noticed was the game had suddenly become more difficult, much more difficult than Torment 2 was before the launch. That's probably because the monsters are now leveling up the same time as me. Now that I'm up to Level 65, the monsters have leveled up to 65 as well. In fact, it's become so difficult that I've lowered the difficulty to Torment 1 and the monsters...just mobs and not even elites are STILL KICKING MY ASS. Holy crap. They seem to have a much higher damage this time around.

The joy in all this is that I've started to get much more powerful items, although I've noticed I haven't gotten much legendaries as I used to. Leveling up from 60 to 65 I only got ONE legendary item, but it's a really good one and it's now my primary weapon:

Additionally, the default gem that drops now is the "Marquise" gem, which automatically made all my other gems that I've been keeping and upgrading quite useless. I don't mind though. It's levels higher than the previous default gem which was I think "Flawless". As long as it makes my items much more powerful, I won't complain!

I've yet to see Act V or encounter the new artisan. But I'll get there eventually!

Serious Latency Issues

I continue to have serious latency issues. In an earlier blog entry I posted about how it became virtually impossible to play properly on the Americas server, causing me to switch to the Asian server. I was able to play OK for a while, but very soon it too became plagued with really bad latency issues. My new Crusader above already died several times because of it.

Can you imagine how frustrating it is when encountering a pack of elites, and you engage them, and everything just stops? You keep on hacking and nothing's happening. 8 seconds later everything moves again but you're dead. I'm like WTF.

Hardcore playing is SO out of the question.

This is not just because of Launch Day because I've been experiencing latency issues for about a week now. It's really soured my playing of the game. It's too bad because my Monk has been kicking ass and this new Crusader holds a lot of promise. Diablo 3 seems like a new and revitalized game. I'm so stoked to play it. But well...

It's just not me though. Looking over the forums at Battle.net, you have an endless list of people having the same issues worldwide. And yes, that includes quite a number of complaints from the Philippines.

Perhaps it is because of the launch. People have started to play Diablo 3 again after a long time and lots of people are starting to log in. Notice how I'm on a queue in the graphic above. I mean, that hasn't happened since the game first launched a couple of years ago.

With a renewed interest in the game, Blizzard has to recognize the fact that they need to make people happy at this time. This time more than ever. Many of these people have already swore off Diablo 3 (including me) and are coming back right now.

You are being given another chance Blizzard...don't blow it.

New Character, New Server!

Fed up by the frustrating lags on the Americas server, I switched to the Asian servers where I'm able to play without lags at all. Unfortunately, my Barbarian, along with all the contents of my chest, don't come with me. I have to create a new character and build up its own inventory.

That's just fine. I created a Monk, which was the very first character I ever played on D3. I found myself leveling up incredibly fast. I mean, I just started this character today and I'm already at Level 24! Something must be in the air, and it turns out I was right!

Apparently, Blizzard has further boosted the Experience bonus to 100% on the eve of the Reaper of Souls launch. YEAH!

I'm not sure how long I will be playing on the Asian server. I will check again upon the ROS launch how playing on the Americas server will be. If it still lags, I will be playing Reaper of Souls, with a brand new Crusader, on the Asian servers for the time being.

50% OFF on Diablo III

To celebrate the upcoming launch of the Reaper of Souls expansion set, Blizzard is currently offering the original Diablo III on Windows and Mac for just US$ 20.00. That's 50% OFF!

Click here!

Offer ends at 11:59 PM PT on March 23, 2014 Sunday.

The Crusader

)

Things are Challenging Again

For a time, my main concern was getting the best gear (which really meant going shopping at the Auction House) and accumulating as much gold as possible. After Patch 2.0.1 it became more of the adventure again and less of the daily struggle to earn gold.

Aside from the improved system, the bosses were challenging again particularly this guy...

I've died several times and I just couldn't beat him.

Decided to level up first so off I went.

The 50% XP Bonus was particularly helpful. Maybe I'll stand a chance this time. I'll find out tomorrow.

In the meantime, check out what's new with Patch 2.0.1! Click here.

Paragon Level 79

I'm happy of course but I wonder what will happen to my Paragon Levels once I upgrade to the Reaper of Souls expansion pack?

Where to Reserve your Copy of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls! (UPDATED!)

The good folks at Asiasoft has now shared with us the list of locations where you can pre-order and reserve your copy of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls!! Here's as follows:

• All Datablitz branches (click the link for list of locations and branch information)
• iTech/GameOne branches (click the link for updated list of locations and branch information)
• Asianic branches (click the link for updated list of locations and branch information)
• Gameline branches (click the link for updated list of locations and branch information)

Whew! That's a lot of branches! :D As recently announced by Blizzard, all who pre-ordered the game will get two (2) Epic Bonus Items!! And they are:

• The Wings of Valor: Summon the radiant wings of the Archangel of Valor for your characters in Diablo III.
• Valla the Demon Hunter: Unlock Valla the Demon Hunger in Heroes of the Storm - Blizzards free-to-play online team brawler featuring iconic Blizzard characters, fast paced combat and epic battlegrounds.

Just make sure you redeem your pre-order bonus items on or before March 31st, 2014. So what are you waiting for guys? Pre-order your copy now! :D

Loot 2.0: Best Pants Ever!

I'm loving the massive new Diablo 3 patch that most recently updated the game. I had stopped playing for a while because it had gotten too difficult and it was so hard finding really awesome gear. I started playing again in anticipation of, not only this patch, but Reaper of Souls in general.

In the few days I've been playing, I've gotten so many awesome gear that I've pretty much replaced everything that was given to me by Diablo pal Jonas Diego. Just today I picked up what is probably THE BEST PANTS ever.

"When 3 or more enemies are within 12 yards, you release a vile stench that deals 305% weapon damage as POISON every second for 10 seconds to enemies within 15 yards."

I mean whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

I wouldn't wear that for real though!