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

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!

Diablo: Storm of Light

Blizzard has just released an excerpt from it's upcoming novel, Diablo: Storm of Light.

Written by Nate Kenyon, author of The Order, Storm of Light is a bridge between the events of Diablo III and the story that is to come in its first expansion, Reaper of Souls. In Storm of Light, the Angiris Council has recovered Diablo's Black Soulstone and they now stand vigil over the cursed artifact deep within the glimmering Silver City, unwittingly condemning the High Heavens to its dark corruption.

Check out the cover after the jump!

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls now ready for pre-order!! (UPDATED!)

Happy New Year everyone!! And to start off 2014 right, our good friends at Asiasoft Philippines (Blizzard's exclusive distribution partner for Diablo III in the Philippines) just shared with us the awesome news that starting today, you can now start pre-ordering digitally the much awaited expansion for the PC and Mac version of Diablo III in the Philippines!! :D

Official boxart for the Standard Edition of
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion

For those who isn't aware of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion, here's a quick teaser trailer:


As shown in the teaser trailer, the upcoming expansion pack will feature:

• Act V: A dark and terrifying chapter sending players on a final confrontation with the Angel of Death; Malthael, itself!!
• The Crusader: A brand new class, that is highly reminiscent of the holy Paladin from Diablo II, that brings the might of the heavens upon those who seek its destruction.
• Increased Level cap from 60 to 70!! Also there will be new spells and abilities for all classes to unlock giving returning players more options in dealing punishment towards the denizens of hell.
• Adventure Mode: A new game mode that give players the freedom to go anywhere and slay anything. Perfect for leveling up or grinding in a particular quest/spot. :D
• Bounties: Randomized objectives that reward players in new ways for exploring the world of Sanctuary. Think sidequests... Diablo-style. :D
• Nephalem Rifts: Fully randomized dungeons offering endless replayability and heaps of amazing loot. Perfect for loot-runs and finding that ever so elusive legendary items you're looking for. :D
• The Mystic: A powerful new NPC that appears who will provide heroes with the ability to customize the look of their loot among others. Best suited for those fashion-savvy adventurers of Santuary. :D
• Loot 2.0: Yes its finally coming folks!! The much talked-about Loot 2.0 arrives with the expansion pack and with it the removal of the Real Money Auction Houses (RMAH) for much satisfying loot-runs in Sanctuary!!

And all of this amazing content comes with the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Standard Edition, which players can pre-order at a SRP of Php1,800!! Not too bad if I may say so, and its quite close to our estimates (we predicted it to be roughly around Php1,400) on our post regarding the price of the expansion pack once it hits our shores locally!! I'm pleasantly surprised with this news and good job to our local distributor Asiasoft Philippines in keeping the price relatively affordable. :D

And to make the announcement even more awesome, we also have confirmation that Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition will also be arriving here in the Philippines!! 

Official boxart for the Collector's Edition of
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion

The Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition comes with the following bonuses for the hardcore Diablo III player:

• A full complement Diablo III helms, and weapons that are primed for transmogrification.
• A Ghost Wolf minion players can summon to keep them company on their journey.
• Three additional character slots to accommodate new heroes.
• A World of Warcraft in-game companion pet, the Treasure Goblin, ready to compete in Pet Battles.
• A set of StarCraft II Crusader-themed Battle.net portraits and Malthael-themed decals.
• A full-color hardcover artbook.
• A behind-the-scenes Blu-ray/DVD two-disc set.
• A limited edition Diablo III: Reaper of Souls mouse pad.

UPDATE: It was previously announced that the Collector's Edition will be available for Php3,500 locally. However according to the official distributor of Diablo III here in the Philippines; tax, freight charges and other unforeseen expenses caused the price to bump up significantly, and the revised Philippine SRP will now be Php4,500.

We also now have the Philippine launch date. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be available nationwide on March 25th, 2014.

As for the console versions of the expansion pack, as well as what game stores will the expansion pack be available, kindly keep posted on our blog for more updates in the future!! :)

So what are you waiting for? Pre-order the expansion pack today!! :D

Diablo III - Reaper of Souls BlizzCon Trailer...Leaked!

Just this morning, a new trailer for the upcoming expansion for Diablo III was leaked via YouTube! The supposed trailer was to be released for BlizzCon, found its way online. The said trailer shows tons of amazing new features you can expect from the expansion pack and more!! Just when I thought I saw everything the expansion has to offer, this trailer showed me a whole lot of content and features for the upcoming expansion.

Here's the video:



What new feature of the expansion pack are you most excited about? Tell us what you think! Write on the comments below!

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls to cost Php 1,400?

Blizzard just recently released a survey to owners of Diablo III, which revealed some interesting information about the upcoming expansion pack.

According to this news article, the upcoming expansion pack of Diablo III will be coming in 2 flavors, just like the original version:

• Standard Edition - includes the Reaper of Souls expansion only. To be priced at $29.99 (around Php1,400) 
• Collector's Edition - includes the Reaper of Souls expansion, exclusive in-game content and other bonus items. To be priced at $49.99 (around Php2,200)

Interestingly the survey also asked participants of the survey to rate the features of the expansion pack in order of importance, as shown in the following screenshot:

Since most of us can't participate in the said survey I've made a little poll of my own, and ask everyone what you think is the most important feature of the upcoming expansion pack.

What is the most important feature of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls are you most interested in?
	Raise maximum character level cap to 70
	Loot Runs
	New Crusader playable character class
	Gear transmogrification
	New Act V
	New Paragon level and point system
	Nephalem Trials
	New Loot 2.0 system
pollcode.com free polls

What do you guys think? Sound off your comments below! :)

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls coming to Consoles!

Console gamers rejoice!! In an interview with console senior level designer Matthew Berger, Blizzard confirmed that they are indeed planning on porting the anticipated Diablo III expansion pack: Reaper of Souls, to the home consoles. Click this link to the said news report.

Here's an excerpt of the interview:

"So, is it going to come to console? Yes. Obviously we wanna bring this expansion to console, we don't exactly know how we're going to do it yet (we haven't announced that), and we're going to treat the expansion in the same way we treated Diablo III when we moved it onto console, which means that we have to make sure that it is adapted to the console eco system in a way that is going to play the best way possible." 

I'm definitely relieved to hear this news, as I was worried they would skip out porting Diablo III onto the home consoles, considering I already invested alot of time playing the game. Speaking of which, Blizzard also confirmed that people will be able to carry their characters over if they plan on upgrading their home console (PS3 to PS4 / Xbox 360 to Xbox One) which is a neat feature.

So to those of you worried if you'll be left out of the expansion if you play on the console, fret not as Blizzard has got you covered. :D

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

"The lords of hell rage within the Black Soulstone, their souls screaming for vengeance and release. Before the artifact can be sealed away forever, Malthael - Angel of Death - manifests in the mortal realms with a deadly new purpose: to steal the Black Soulstone and bend its infernal power to his will.

So begins the end of all things..."

Reaper of Souls is the expansion for Diablo III coming in 2014 according to the official website.

It features a new bad-ass character class: The Crusader packing "impenetrable armor, gleaming weapons, and heavy damage" which really sounds like the Barbarian to me only with more armor.

He's described by Blizzard as a "natural walking tank."

If it means more ass-kicking however, who am I to complain?

There's also a new act (Act V) featuring the sprawling streets of Westmarch and the ancient walls of the Pandemonium Fortress where you will battle with a host of deadly new enemies.

Reaper of Souls increases Diablo III's level cap to 70 (thank goodness), plus new spells and abilities for existing Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard, and Monk characters.

But wait...there's more!

There's two new game modes: Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials, which are "designed to provide players with a highly replayable (and highly rewarding) end-game experience."

Check out the cinematic for Reaper of Souls below: