Patch 1.0.4

I've been playing Diablo on and off for the past few weeks just waiting for Patch 1.0.4. I've written quite a lot about the things I didn't like about the game but was hopeful that they could be fixed. Original Diablo creator David Brevik went online to express the same dissatisfaction with the game. Diablo 3 lead designer Jay Wilson responded with "fuck that loser" which I found insulting, not only to David Brevik, but to everyone playing the game who felt changes were needed...including me.

Yes, I too felt personally insulted by it and I swore on Twitter that I've finally had it and I would give up this game for good. It didn't matter that Patch 1.0.4 sounded awesome.

So, even when the patch went live, I didn't play it. And almost as miraculous as a truly legendary item dropping with truly legendary stats, Jay Wilson gave a public apology days later, not only to David Brevik, but to the players as well.

Great! I revved up Diablo 3 once again and here I am playing the game post patch. Inferno is still difficult, but not ridiculously so. The "Paragon Levels" certainly gives that added incentive to continue playing. It gives the players something to play for, especially when they get drops that are disappointing.

I have noticed a change in drops that I've gotten most noticeably with the 2 hander weapons. In the few hours I've played, at least two Level 63 2-hander weapons with more than 1K DPS stat have dropped. I thought wow...but I couldn't use them as my Barbarian is a one hander.

One Legendary item has dropped for me so far...a Bracer but it had crap stats very much like a pre-1.0.4 Legendary. I put it up on the auction house and what the hell...someone bought it for 120K gold. Amazing.

Right now I'm actually on ACT 3, currently lighting fires at Bastion's Keep.

What's my gear like? What skills am I using? You can take a look at my Barbarian's profile here:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Komikero-6931/hero/5717457

What about you? What's your player profile?

I Finally Conquered Act I: Inferno...

Click thumbnail to enlarge.

And was promptly killed off by the first Elite Pack I encountered in Act II.

I've been having problems the past few weeks just trying to survive Diablo III: Act I in Inferno Difficulty. I realized that I focused too much on building up my damage capabilities but neglecting my vitality. I set out to rectify the situation.

I returned to Hell Difficulty and farmed for gold and jewels and bought myself the best gear (within reason) I can find that struck a balance between strength, vitality, and life regeneration attributes. Next, I returned to Inferno level and farmed the lower levels for Tome of Secrets that will allow me to create better gems. Afterwards, I tweaked my mix of skills and runes trying to find the best combination of defensive and offensive capabilities.

Having stacked the odds in my favor, I returned to do battle and managed to finish off Act I: Inferno Difficulty and off I went to Act II.

And then I died.

I guess it's back to drawing board.

Diablo 3 Thoughts

In spite of what I wrote in my last post, I did continue playing Diablo 3 on and off (10 minutes there, 20 minutes here). And in a couple of weeks I seemed to have farmed enough to get better gear at the Auction House to be able to play Act 1 of Inferno without much difficulty.

Used to be the wall of difficulty was Act 1 and I couldn't progress because I was getting killed all the time. But finding better gear was able to push this wall further back to Act 2.

And now I can't even step into the first area of Act 2 without the first Elite pack literally pulverizing me to submission. It's crazy. The difference between the level of difficulty between Act 1 and Act 2 of Inferno is just crazy.

So for the past couple of weeks or so all I have been doing is farming Act 1 to get better gear. A nice spear did drop for me while farming, which is quite of a rare thing. In all my months of playing, this was the first time I ever got a really nice weapon that I could actually use. Did the designers really intend on getting good items this hard or this rare? Or does the existence of the Auction house affect the quality of drops for both AH users and non AH users?

Whatever the case, it makes farming for items tedious, laborious and not fun.

And I do find myself playing the game even less than before.

This does not mean to say that the game is bad. In fact, I thought it was pretty great the first couple of months I played it as I leveled up my characters. Now I have two classes at Level 60. A Monk and a Barbarian.

It seems that as soon as I reach level 60, the fun just well....stops. From here on in, it's just all about finding GEAR. The designers thought that item hunt would be fun...but it's only fun if you do find good items every so often. I hardly get any really cool items at all. Sure a lot of rares drop, but much of it is just worthless, really. I've had a few Legendaries drop, but as I previously mentioned, there's nothing legendary about them at all. And I've yet to see a single "set" or green item drop. In all my months of playing....not a single green item.

When I get bored with the game I go to the official Blizzard forums because sometimes reading posts there is even more fun than playing the game.

But lately, even the forum is starting to bore me.

Diablo III Philippines Comics 3

Level 60 Barbarian

I've finally reached Level 60 on my Barbarian. I think I've gone as far as I can go with Diablo 3, at least for now. No, I've not finished Inferno. I guess I'm not really that good of a player and I can admit that without a problem.

I'll just wait for future patches before I start playing D3 again. These would be patches that would make Legendaries more, well...LEGENDARY and patches that would hopefully make the game a lot more fun to play than it already is.

I've become frustrated with the game after getting hardly any items at all while farming that I can actually use.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

I mean...why are you still getting 160DPS Level 60 rare weapons? What possible use can there be for that? And yet at the Auction House you see Level 60 weapons that are more than 1K DPS. I mean WTF is that?

I've been playing since this game came out, and I've never had an item drop that was more than 600DPS.

If you need to play a whole lot more to get these items, well, the game was probably designed for people who have lots of time on their hands. You know, people who don't have jobs, or maybe supported by their parents, and can afford to play all day and all night.

I can play only an hour or so a day...2 hours at the most. Is there anything in this game for me? Apparently not much after you reach Level 60.

As I said, I'm not giving up on Diablo 3 all together. I'll come back when it has something new to offer.

For now, it's back to Path of Exile!

Not So Legendary

I've been playing the game since May 16, 2012, and in the last 2 months I think only two Legendary items have dropped for me while playing.

Legendary items in Diablo III is a curious thing in that they're not that Legendary. I think they developers have explained why these items can be such crap, compared to the more common Rare items, but their reasons, to be honest, are just idiotic.

Legendary items are supposed to be LEGENDARY. Meaning, when you get them, you freak out, gurgle a bit, convulse for a minute or so, then run round and round the room like a crazy person, just like winning the lottery.

Legendary items that are crap=NOT fun.
Legendary items that are awesome=FUN.

I think that's the only bottom line for any game of this sort. It's a game. You're supposed to have FUN. Never mind all the other reasons and statistics and probabilities and all that crap. Always always the bottom line: IT SHOULD BE FUN.

At any rate, the developers have said that they will be upgrading Legendary drops in a future patch. I certainly hope so! Because imagine my thrill upon seeing this Legendary item drop, only to find out that I couldn't use it because it was just too weak.

And look at that...I'm at Level 33, and this is a Level 26 item. I mean come on! The weapon I have at this time already has something like 70+DPS. And you give me this...41.8 DPS?

Madness.

I tried selling this thing at the Gold Auction house for cheap and nobody's buying. Figures! Who'd want this crap?

Diablo III Philippines Comics 2

Diablo III thus far...

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

I reserved a copy at Data Blitz weeks before Diablo III came out, I waited patiently in line for my turn to get my grubby little hands on a copy of the game on D-Day, installed it and the next thing you know I was back in Tristram!

I battled as a Barbarian (but of course) and, though the new skill system with all these runes and shit took a bit of getting used to, I managed to muddle my way through.

Some observations:

1. It wasn't as awesome as I thought it would be (though that could probably be attributed to my high expectations).

2. Needing a stable internet connection to play kinda sucks sometimes (lag death, server maintenance, etc).

3. The Auction House is awesome but the price tags on some of the items are just outrageous!

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

There's lot of things to do however...like color coordinating my armor via dyes care of the local merchants. I used white dye on all of my items to make me look more like one of the archangels...and also because it was the cheapest they had.

I'm saving up on gold to try and purchase better armor and equipment.

I'm almost at Level 60 (currently at Level 59 as of this writing) and it kinda makes me sad because of the level cap at 60. After that you're going to have to rely on jewels, magical armor, and weapons with unique qualities to better your character's stats.

That being said, Diablo III is still a delight to play and I will be playing it for quite some time.

After I'm through running my Barbarian character through all the difficulty levels, I'm a-gonna take all the other characters for a spin.

Diablo III Philippines Comics 1

My Hardcore Barbarian Finally Dies

Damn... well, there you go. My Hardcore Barbarian finally dies right in Act 1 of Nightmare, just before I entered Leoric's Manor.

I encountered TWO Elite Packs in this area where I used up all my offensive skills to dispatch the first one. I didn't see the second pack until it was almost on top of me. With my offensive skills still on cooldown I was caught vulnerable, pinned by the Elite's jailer affix, and unable to run.

I didn't feel as bad as I thought I would but I have to be honest and say I didn't expect to die so soon (not after breezing through Normal with very little difficulty). It was my mistake. I got complacent. I wish I could say it won't happen again as I won't be attempting Hardcore again.

One thing this has taught me though, is how strong Barbarians really are. My first Diablo 3 character was a non-hardcore Barbarian but, because I had a hard time getting a grasp of the game that early, I ditched that character at Level 16 and went with a Monk. And it was with a Monk that went the distance until Level 60.

But now I've gotten a better handle on the game and a better handle on Barbarians that I've revisited my Level 16 Barbarian and I'll be taking him from there. It will be the character I will be playing for much of the time from now on.

Killed Diablo on Hardcore, Normal

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I finally killed Diablo on Hardcore Mode, Normal Difficulty.

Because my Barbarian is probably on a very high level for this stage of the game (he's currently Level 32) and bearing some really good gear for that level, it wasn't really that difficult dispatching Diablo.

Diablo barely made a dent in my hitpoints (life level) and at no time in the battle did I feel in danger of dying. I'm pretty sure that will all change when I enter this character into the next level of difficulty, Nightmare.

But for now, I'm just gonna take this in. I just can't believe I was able to actually finish the game without dying once.

I was never able to do it in Diablo 2.

Hardcore Barbarian, Level 30

My Hardcore Barbarian has just killed Azmodan, the boss of Act III, and now I'm currently on the last Act on the way to killing Diablo.

To be honest, I never expected to make it this far.

Yeah, it's Normal Difficulty but since I'm not a hardcore gamer (I like to think of myself as just a casual gamer) this is quite an accomplishment already.

I could have taken Diablo tonight but my connection to Battle.net seems to be lagging at the moment. I had to stop because dying a "lag death" is very possible and very real. It's happened to me several times with my softcore characters.

I would be running and fighting and then all of sudden everything stops but my character. The monsters stop and even my mercenary stops. I can still move my character and I can still make it attack a monster but nothing happens. It's like time stopped and I'm the only one moving.

And then, a few moments later, everything starts moving again trying to catch up and, apparently, the monsters had been hitting me all this time and now I'm already dead.

LAG DEATH.

It's one of the many problems of the always-on-connection of Diablo 3. This would never happen if this game had an offline mode.

And with a Hardcore character (a character that cannot be revived once it's died ), I can't afford dying because of something stupid as this so the very first indication of lagging, I immediately stop playing and close the game.

Looks like Diablo can breathe a sigh of relief...at least for now.

Banned as a Troll

I just found out I've been banned for trolling on the official Diablo III boards. Well, there's only one thing I can say about that.

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Well, okay. I have a few more things to say.

Let me just say that the official Diablo III boards at Blizzard is just hysterical. A lot of the stuff posted there are just so ridiculous that I just can't help but troll. Yes, I admit it. It was kind of an epic troll. I don't regret it.

What I find annoying about the place is the many defenders of Blizzard who can't seem to accept that there are people out there who are dissatisfied with the game for one reason or another, who have the right to say what they don't like about the game.

The idea that people should just stop playing and shut up if they don't like the game is just IDIOTIC.

My US$ 60.00 says I have every right to complain.

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I'm curious...are these people the type who just shuts up and not complain when a product they've bought is defective? Do you know what those kinds of people are? They're abused people. They're people that other people love taking advantage of because they don't say anything when they're being stepped on and kicked around.

I refuse to be abused and I refuse to be taken advantage of. That's what I do when I complain. That means I freakin' stand up for myself.

Blizzard has already officially admitted that there are shortcomings with the game.

It's all over the news and they're taking steps to hopefully improving the product. This is the result of people complaining. This is the result of people who care about the game and want it to be good.

As for being banned, I find it just hysterical. If Blizzard wants to act like an irate parent spanking a petulant child well, look for another whipping boy because this one ain't crying and begging to be taken back. You can take your forum and shove it up where the sun don't shine.

At least I can still play the game.

As for my Hardcore Barbarian...I've already killed GHOM in Act 3 and still going strong. I'm starting to feel really good about killing Diablo now.

I think I have a pretty good chance of at least finishing this game in Hardcore mode on Normal Difficulty.

Hardcore Barbarian, Level 21

My Hardcore Barbarian is still alive at Level 21!

I'm currently on the search for Zoltan Khule in Act 2 and it's going good so far.

I must admit, I almost died a couple of times. One time was against those huge Elite Bull Creatures and that huge mace weilding monster guarding the gate to Alcarnus. I thought I was a goner that last time but I managed to pull through.

I've been going very slowly making sure to search every part of the map, opening chests, and breaking pots. I do this so that I would level up more before progressing further. This makes my character stronger and more durable.

Whatever gold I make, I buy the best armor and weapons I can find at the Auction House. Low level items generally costs dirt cheap on the AH, as compared to Level 60+ items that range in the millions.

My hardcore character would most likely be dead long before then so I'm not really worried about spending that much.

I figure this character will die when he goes up against Belial, the boss of Act 2. I died there plenty of times with softcore characters before but since I've been really buffing this character up level wise and gear wise, who knows?

Hardcore

Laying off my Level 60 monk on Inferno Act 1 for now as I gather my wits about further progressing through the game successfully.

For the meantime, I decided to start a new Barbarian character...on Hardcore setting!

This means that once my character dies, that's it. Game over. He can't be revived anymore. I lose all money and gear that this character is associated with.

I have no illusions at all that I can finish the game (at least on Normal Setting) without dying once. I would just like to see how far I can go with that kind of risk looming over my head. I would like to see how careful it would force me to play and what techniques I learn here I can use on my Monk on Inferno.

I'm currently on Level 9 and I've successfully killed The Skeleton King. So far so good!

Inferno...HOLY CRAP!

I enjoyed the game vastly right up to Hell difficulty, the third, and penultimate difficulty setting on Diablo 3.

Upon entering Inferno, it was like I hit a brick wall. I actually had an easier time of it a few weeks ago but, when Blizzard implemented Patch 1.0.3, my attack speed went down from 1.72 to around 1.10 and my Damage per Second went from around 22K to 12K. Not only that, the patch made repair costs so expensive that I end up losing more gold than making it.

Pre-patch, I was able to play right up to the Butcher. But post patch, I can barely get out of the Cathedral. I banged my head into Inferno like this until I almost became broke.

Of course, the solution to all this is to be more careful playing. Be more defensive so you will die less often. But believe me, the Elite monsters in Inferno are so powerful that you're going to die with one or two hits before you can even run away.

It has been frustrating and more than once I've logged off in anger.

Now I'm staying away from Inferno for a while. I've just been playing Acts 3 and 4 of Hell over and over just to stack up on Gold. Hopefully after a few weeks of this I'll be able to have so much gold I'll be able to buy better gear from the Auction House.

Because honestly, the drops I get from the game is just simply bad. On average, I've gotten only ONE useful gear in around two weeks of playing. In that same two weeks you amass enough gold to buy several good items of the Auction House. So what do you do? Just grind and grind or use the Auction House?

So yeah, that's what I've been doing lately. Once I get better gear, hopefully I start having fun again.

Starting Inferno

I haven't been able to post much here as I've been playing the game during my breaks from work. This game is incredibly addicting. I've fought my way through Normal, Nightmare, and Hell.

Now I'm about to take out the Skeleton King on Inferno difficulty.

Inferno is not kidding around. It's been incredibly difficult. The crazy thing is, the "Elite" creatures are actually far more difficult to beat than the big bosses. In fact, once in a while, I would actually skip Elites that I just could not kill. These are the ones with immune minions, lasers, and the ones that can yank you right in front of them and kill you with one or two blows.

It's crazy.

Since I'm already at Level 60 and that's pretty much the cap on leveling up, the only way to get stronger and build up more defense is getting better gear. That can be done through three things: farming, training your blacksmith and jeweler, or using the Auction House (which I use most of the time). I realized early on that it's such a waste using so much gold and wasted so much special items training the Blacksmith when he would give me next to useless items on the level I was on.

It's far easier to find really good items in the Auction House. Yeah, items there are crazy expensive as a lot of these sellers seem to be in it to get rich quick rather then be reasonable. I mean... 99 Million for an item? Are they INSANE? It's like they don't want their items sold at all. Who would be stupid enough to buy that?

All it takes is a little patience looking for powerful items that aren't expensive. The most expensive thing I bought was a 2 hander Daibo for my Monk that gave me 1K damage. I got it for around 200K.

Right now the Skeleton King is proving hard to beat but not impossible.

Diablo is DEAD!

Yes! I finally dispatched Diablo today with my Monk (that is, of course, on Normal Difficulty).

It wasn't extraordinarily hard though, but it was pretty challenging. One tip I can give to players is to recognize your opponent's pattern of attacks and devise your own pattern of attack accordingly.

I'm not sure if I would have been able to dispatch of Diablo as easily with a Barbarian though. I'm sure other players would find the Barbarian easier but I just really liked the Monk gameplay. It's fast, lethal, and pretty awesome looking.

Now that I've finished the game, I can say that it's pretty awesome. Definitely much more exciting than Diablo 2 and yeah, even the other games I played before (Drakensang and Path of Exile). I guess it has a lot to do with the story. There is a very precise and strong narrative that drives the story along. It's not an overly complex story (in fact, it's a pretty simple one) but it's tight enough to keep one excited, especially from Act 3 onwards.

I would describe the first two acts as just coasting along with the last two suddenly going into overdrive. I would have never have finished the game so quickly if the narrative wasn't so compelling. You know, I just HAD to know what happens next. I just HAD to see where things were going.

And before I knew it... I'm face to face with the last boss.

I could quit right here, pack up the game in the box and move on to the next one but I'm still pretty much in Tristram in my head. I want to continue playing. And the best thing is, I can play it again but this time on a more difficult setting: Nightmare. And when I finish that, there are two more further difficulty settings: Hell and Inferno.

What keeps me going now, especially now that I know what the narrative is? I guess it's like watching the Titanic movie. You know the thing is going to sink, but you can't help but still watch it. The difference here is that the added difficulty makes it a slightly different game. Since monsters are harder to kill, one has to adjust his gameplay accordingly. I can no longer just coast along, blundering headfirst into mobs and just let God sort it all out.

Now, I have to think more. I have to be much more cautious and plan my attacks. I can't take any monster for granted. The littlelest creature can kill me now (and they did, actually).

Now that I'm on Nightmare, I don't have to rush it. I could just take my time.

After all, the job awaits and I can't afford to miss deadlines because of this game today (like I did so horribly in 1999). Ha, ha, ha!

ACT 3

I finally reached Act 3.

Okay, as a preamble, let me say that Acts 1 and 2 were pretty much what I had been expecting to play. It's like Diablo 2 but kind of beefed up. It's still exciting, kind of easy going, and relatively stress free playing. I get this feeling when I play other games like Drakensang and Path of Exile. I get to play an hour to a couple of hours a day. It's easy to pause and go off and do something else. It's all pretty nice.

But then I hit Act 3. And I'm like...

OH MY GOD.

The game seems to have been injected with alien steroids on crack. All of a sudden I'm on the edge of my seat, clicking like mad, floods of sweat on my face. All of a sudden I can't stop playing. Just today I played like 4 hours straight

 It may not be much to most gamers, but that's a LOT for me.

The cinematic alone that began Act 3 should have been a clue to the Armageddon that waited for me then. Never have I uttered so many profanities in quick succession in playing a game. It was just insane. I mean it is insane...I haven't finished Act 3 yet. I just had to stop and pause for breath. Maybe I should just turn in and go to sleep. I'm almost scared to go back.

It's kind of undeniable the influence The Lord of the Rings had on Diablo. I haven't played Diablo 1, but it was obvious to me in Diablo 2. It's even more obvious in Diablo 3. I'm pretty sure the designers of this game saw Two Towers, especially the whole Helm's Deep sequence and thought "hmmm... this would make a pretty good video game".

And they pulled it off amazingly well.

Just one funny thing... in the middle of a battle torn fortress, with all sorts of monsters prowling around attacking and circling. There's this little room where this guy is selling weapons and armor like it's, you know, a regular day at the local market. Where does he get stuff to eat? Where does he sleep and piss? The minute he goes out that little room, he's dead.

I just found it funny.

Switching Classes + Attributes

After playing a Barbarian for 20 or so levels, I tried playing the Demon Hunter, which turned out to be more difficult than playing a Barbarian (at least for me). I played the character for a few levels and then switched again, this time to a Monk.

And man, the Monk is AWESOME!

He seems much stronger and more durable than the Barbarian and the Demon Hunter (at least in my experience) but his moves and attacks are much more cooler. Visually, at least they look more lethal. I tried taking a screen shot of my character but it doesn't seem to work. WTF, Blizzard.

Anyway, I'm thinking I'm going to be playing the Monk for a while.

All right, now I think I can talk about how attributes are distributed in this game.

Path of Exile attributes distribution.

With something like Path of Exile, or even Diablo 2, you get to choose which attributes your character will achieve (Intelligence, Dexterity, Strength, etc). In Diablo 3, a set group of attributes is given to you each time you level up.

I only noticed this when I did level up and I looked at the bunch of text that appeared on the lower left corner of the screen. I didn't pay much notice to that area because for much of the time, it simply repeated what's being said on the screen by the characters. But when I looked again, it actually listed the attributes that were added to my character when I leveled up.

Now, for me, that takes a little of the fun out of the game. In Diablo 2, you get to choose which attributes to improve. In Diablo 3, they're spoon-fed to you.

I guess it makes the game more accessible to casual players but to someone like me who has played Diablo 2 and other games which allowed me to have bigger control over how my character is developed, well I'm kinda frustrated.

And disappointed.

Diablo III on your...iPad!?

Apparently, one can play Diablo III on an iPad if you wanted to (thanks to Jean Paul Castillo for the tip).

According to Time's Techland, all you need to play Diablo III on your iPad is Splashtop’s Remote Desktop app (currently on sale for US$ 5.00, it usually costs US$ 20.00) and the companion Splashtop Streamer desktop software.

After that you're all set to go (though it sounds kinda limiting playing the game on an iPad screen but I reserve judgement until I actually have had the opportunity to try it out).

"Splashtop mirrors the display of any Windows PC or Mac, and it’s one of the fastest remote desktops I’ve used. That makes it perfect for Diablo III, which only requires basic mouse controls to play."

There is a downside, however.

"Framerates in Diablo III aren’t as good on the iPad as they are on a fast PC, but the app has no problem keeping up with the action."

You can read the rest of the article at Time's Techland. Click here.

Thus it Begins...

Like a little kid who has dutifully finished his veggies and has thus earned his dessert, I installed Diablo III after finishing off all of my outstanding projects.

I've been putting it off for a few days now (I actually got the game on May 15, 2012) because I'm afraid that I'm going to miss all my deadlines once I start playing, similar to what happened when Diablo II came out somewhere back in the year 2000. But now that no obstacle (read: work) remains in my way, I decided that it's time to begin my decent into hell.

I brought out the box and popped that Diablo III CD in there and let 'er rip! And boy did it ever!

You're going to need to create a Battle.Net account before you start to install the game (don't worry...registration is fast and it's free). Just head on over to Battle.Net!

During installation there were was the requisite eerie background music playing which started as something like from Simon and Garfunkel and ended up as something Wagner-inspired. Aside from the music, you're treated to a story told in motion comics style (the illustration done in rough pencils was just gorgeous) giving you an overview of this particular chapter in the Diablo series.

After installation, I proceeded to create my character (Barbarian of course) and put him through his paces. I was supposed to take some screenshots of my first few adventures but it seems that I can't take any screenshots while being in-game which was a bummer.

Diablo III does take some getting used to however (it seems a lot more complicated now) but the game (thus far) remains as exciting as I remember it (more even).

I'll see you guys in hell!

First Impressions

I finally got my copy at Brochiere, Robinson's Galleria last Wednesday. I got it for Php 3,100.00 something with no extras. Jonas Diego and co-Diablo 3 Philippines blogger got the same thing for Php 2,550.00 (click here for the full details) and he got a poster for it too! What the...?

I'm kinda thinking Brochiere owes me!

That aside, I started playing it Thursday afternoon and, I gotta admit, I was pretty excited.

I do have to say that while waiting for Diablo 3 to come out, I've played other Diablo-type games like Drakensang-Online and Path of Exile, so comparisons to those games are bound to come out whenever I talk about Diablo 3.

Click for a larger image.

Having played those games for the past few months, I sort of got over my indignation over Diablo 3's requirement for an always on Internet connection. Meaning, although you can install the game in your computer and play it solo you have to go online, register with Blizzard's Battle.net and log into one of their servers for you to actually play this game.

Drakensang and Path of Exile both work with that kind of mechanics so I had gotten used to it. It has its own pros and cons, of course. The bad thing about it is that you are always at the mercy of the stability of not only your Internet connection but also of the stability of Blizzard's servers. Although you paid for this game (I'm assuming that you did), it will not always be up to you when you will be able to play this game.

Obviously, this seems to be a response to piracy but it terribly inconveniences those who actually buy their games legally.

The good thing about it is that your game will always be up to date. If the "social" thing is more your thing you might find a lot of things to like about it because you can chat, trade, and do the auction thing. But for someone like me who doesn't care about all that stuff (I mean, I just want to play the damned thing by myself without anyone else intruding on my little happy time) all of that is just unnecessary stuff.

But I can live with it.

What do you guys think? Is this always online thing something that can stop people from pirating Diablo 3? Even if you have pirated software and codes there is still the matter of logging into Blizzard for authentication so you can actually play it.

Anyway, as for the game itself...

I think it's pretty awesome. The action and effects are pretty cool. I'm playing a Barbarian (currently Level 19) and he's pretty brutal.

I'm kind of confused about customization though. I mean, the development of the character through skills is kind of confusing. One would think that you gain more and more passive skills as you go along, but from what I'm seeing you only gain access to passive skills as you level up, but you get to choose what passive skills you can use at any given moment. When you choose one skill, you drop another. Is that right? Would it make more sense for you to be able to have both passive skills at the same time as you grow?

Yeah, right now that skill system is very confusing.

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I hope to get a better grasp of how characters are developed as I play the game further. In comparison, Path of Exile has a pretty awesome skill tree. (See image on the right.) You get to choose which attributes you can enhance as you level up, no confusion at all.

I was already at Level 19 before I first encounter my first socketed item. Wow! That far in? I'm not sure what to put in it yet because I've yet to actually encounter gems or any kind of item that you can put in a socket.

I find Normal Setting rather difficult (what more in the more difficult settings of the game). I've lost count how many times I've died (I'm guessing around 15 times now). It's crazy but it's all right: a challenge is what it is.

Graphics-wise, beautiful as Diablo 3 is, I have to make another comparison. Path of Exile's graphics is really just more stunning. But what Diablo 3 has got over Path of Exile is excitement of gameplay.

And to me that's a very important part of the game.

EVIL Returns and EVIL is MINE!

May 15, 2012 Wednesday saw the release of Diablo III, one of the most eagerly awaited games of the year (if not the decade which, if you think about it, was how long most of us was waiting). Before its release, the game broke several pre-sale records and became the most pre-ordered PC game of all time on Amazon.com.

I had mine reserved just to ensure I would have a copy (read about it here).

I headed off to DataBlitz at Greenbelt 1 to get my copy around 1:00 PM and while I was expecting the game to be in demand I certainly did not expect the long line at the store.

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I dutifully got in line and waited my turn to purchase the game. While waiting I noticed a "no Diablo III Collector's Edition" sign placed at various locations within the DataBlitz store (I guess they got tired of telling people).

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After waiting for almost 2 hours outside, I finally got inside the store only to find that there's another line inside!

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After waiting another 15 minutes or so, I finally the cashier to claim my reserved copy.

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They informed me that there were two prices: the cheaper Php 2,550.00 and the more expensive Php 3,150.00 which comes with a raffle stub to join an online contest from the folks at e-Games and a free t-shirt. Frankly, I just wanted the game so I opted to go for the cheaper option (I did get a free poster though which was enough for me).

And at last! The game is mine!

The only bummer was that I manage to rip part of the box skin up top when I was removing some piece of tape.

I didn't break out the CD and install it right away (apparently there is still a lot of bugs according to several accounts that reached me from the web). I decided to wait a bit and savor (as well as document) each part of the process including the un-boxing.

Check it out!

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Aside from the CD there were also a lot of nifty things that came with it.

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Inside you'll get the CD, the Diablo III Quick Start Guide, 3 Diablo III Guest Pass, 1 World of WarCraft Guest Pass, and a stationery.

As much as I'm excited to get hacking and slashing I still got some stuff I need to finish this week so I figure I'll wait until the weekend before I install and play the game lest it wreaks havoc with my production schedule and other important matters that require my attention.

Until then, I'll see you guys in hell!

DIABLO 3 OUT TODAY!!

YEAH! Diablo 3 comes out today!

Brochiere at Robinson's Galleria sent me a message telling me I can already pick my copy up. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to Manila until tomorrow and I probably won't be able to play it until Thursday evening.

I'm not in a hurry though.

Part of me wishes I could have just bought the digital copy straight from Blizzard. I could have been playing it today. But the old fashioned me wanted the CD (or is it DVD?) and I've already paid my downpayment.

Today, millions upon millions of people around the world will literally disappear and never heard of again.

I might be one of them!

Diablo III: Wrath

Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with renowned director Peter Chung and acclaimed animation studio Titmouse to create this unique vision of a fundamental moment in the battle between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.

Peter Cheung is best known for his unique style of animation, as the creator and director of Aeon Flux, which ran as shorts on MTV's Liquid Television before launching as its own half-hour television series.

Following are some behind the scenes of Wrath stuff. Find out more about this short-length film and what it took to bring its story to life, from concept to creation.

Just a few more days!

Avoiding All The Spoilers

I know there's a bunch of trailers out there of Diablo III, including official trailer videos as well as player made videos of gameplay from the Beta. I also know (via Jonas), that there was a Free Open Beta weekend (Public Server Stress Test) a couple of weekends ago.

But I've been trying to avoid all of that because, come May 15, I want to experience the game for the first time without any previous knowledge of what to expect.

How do I manage to keep the insane urge under control?

Well, outside of work, I'm preoccupying myself with playing stuff like Drakensang-Online as well as Path of Exile, Diablo-type games of varying quality. I know that, come May 15, I will most likely drop these games like a hot potato but let's see. I've been playing Drakensang for quite a while now and I'm nearly at the level cap. I've played pretty much 99% of the game as it is now so it would be pretty easy to drop.

Path of Exile though, would be tougher for me to drop. It's actually a pretty awesome game with some spectacular graphics. I love it so much that I've even started a whole new blog about it.

But then, Diablo III is Diablo III.

I fully expect to be fully engrossed in it when the time comes. I can't wait to suit up as a Barbarian and just start killing monsters! And I will definitely write a blow by blow account of the experience of playing the game from the ground up!

15 days to go!!!

Whattup, Philippine Gaming Fans?

I've been visiting the Blizzard site in anticipation of the May 15 release of the game, and I noticed that many places across the world will be having launch events, including several places in Asia.

There's one in Taiwan, another in Singapore, and another in Bangkok.

None in the Philippines? Come on guys! I don't pretend to be a hardcover Pinoy gamer (because I'm not). I'm just a casual gamer who play at most an hour a day to relieve stress.

Outside of Diablo I really don't play any other big games like WOW or Counterstrike (wow, so 90s huh?). Sometimes I'd play something like Bejewelled Blitz or Angry Birds or the random shooter or hidden object game but that's it.

But I'm sure there's a huge audience out there of hardcore Pinoy gamers who are waiting for this game with insane anticipation. So much so that it should may very well warrant some kind of launch event. I'm kind of disappointed there isn't. Perhaps I'm mistaken? That there aren't enough gamers here to warrant it?

Or worse, there aren't enough *ahem* LEGAL users to make it worth Blizzard's while?

Play DIABLO III for FREE!

This weekend, everyone can play Diablo III for FREE!

Yes. That's right. FREE!

The good folks at Blizzard Entertainment is announcing the Diablo III open beta weekend which offers open access with a valid Battle.net account! It's a three day event as they put the Diablo III servers through a stress test as we get closer and closer to the May 15, 2012 release date.

Okay, some of you out there are probably wondering if one can still play even though you don't have a Battle.net account. The answer is "abso*fucking*lutely"!

"Just visit http://www.battle.net to create a free Battle.net account. Next, download the client from https://us.battle.net/account/download/index.xml and install it. Create your BattleTag and then log in to the game using your Battle.net account name (email address) and password to begin slaughtering the demonic hellspawn that dare stand in your way."

Download the Diablo III client right now! Click here.

"From Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), until Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT you'll be able to log in, team up with friends, and play each of the five heroic classes to level 13 as you fight to save the world from the impending demonic invasion."

Click here for more details.

Komikero: The Barbarian Trailer

Holleeee crap! I gotta play this game! Now na!

Reserved a Copy at DataBlitz

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I passed by a DataBlitz outlet in Greenbelt 1 while hanging out with Ysa Arce earlier today and I thought I'd come in and have a copy of Diablo III reserved.

The sales lady informed me that, unfortunately, they will not be carrying the Collector's Item Edition and she's not sure when it's coming in (or if they'll be coming in at all). Looks like I'll have to find some other way to get the Art of Diablo III book which is included in the Collector's Edition, of course.

She assured me however, that the regular edition will be arriving on May 15, 2012.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the reservation fee is only Php 200.00 (honestly I was expecting to shell out around Php 1,000.00). So I forked the cash over and I'll be returning to the outlet twelve days from now.

You guys out there had yours reserved yet?

What’s your Diablo III Character of Choice?

Diablo III is an upcoming dark fantasy/horror-themed action role-playing game in development by Blizzard, making it the third installment in the Diablo franchise.

In other words, evil is back!

“The game takes place in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of the Diablo series. This world was saved twenty years prior by a handful of unnamed heroes in Diablo II, heroes who, having survived the onslaught brought by the armies of the Burning Hells, have gone mad from their ordeals. It is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil threatening the world of Sanctuary.”

There will be five available character classes this time around, some familiar but mostly new ones.

The Barbarian

The Barbarian is the staple of the Diablo franchise and will have a variety of revamped skills.

This human tank will be able to whirlwind through crowds of enemies, cleave through swarms, leap across crags, and crush opponents upon landing. Fury is the fuel that powers the Barbarian’s skills which is generated through getting attacked by enemies, attacking enemies, and through certain other abilities.

Fury is used for certain strong abilities and degenerates over time which means the Barbarian has to keep fighting or lose steam.

The Witch Doctor

A new character reminiscent of the necromancer from Diablo II, the witch doctor has skills more traditionally associated with shamanism and voodoo.

The doc can summon monsters, cast spells and curses, and has great proficiency throwing poisons and explosives. Contrary to ongoing opinion among fans, the Witch Doctor is not another version of the necromancer (who, speaking of which, may or may not see a comeback with future expansion in the third installment of the franchise).

To power spells the Witch Doctor uses mana which regenerates slowly.

The Wizard

The Wizard is a new version of the Sorcerer from previous Diablo releases.

This master of magic’s abilities range from shooting lightning, generating fire and ice, slowing time (reminds of Neo in The Matrix Movies and his famous bullet time), and teleporting (around enemies, through walls, etc.).

The wizard fuels their spells with arcane power which is a fast regenerating power source which is probably a very good thing since they need to be dishing out a lot damage before the enemies can get close which is when a wizard is often most vulnerable.

The Monk

The Monk is a melee attacker, sort of like those Shaolin monks in those kung-fu movies (okay…a lot like those Shaolin monks in those old kung-fu movies).

These monks use martial arts to cripple foes (see what I mean?), resist damage, deflect projectiles, attack with blinding speed, and land explosive killing blows. It combines the melee elements of Diablo II's assassin class with the holy warrior role of the Paladin.

The monk is fueled by spirit, which has defensive purposes and is slowly generated through attacking, though it does not degenerate.

The Demon Hunter

The Demon Hunter combines elements of Diablo II's Amazon and Assassin classes (which I guess makes this class a sort of Ranger-type character).

Demon hunters use crossbows as their main weapon but can also throw small bombs at enemies. Some of their skills have been revealed and among them are arrow skills such as Chain Arrow. The demon hunter is fueled by discipline and hatred (which is kinda weird since hatred tends to have a negative light to it).

Hatred is a fast regenerating resource that is used for attacks.

So, which class are you going to play as?