Diablo 3 Paid Necromancer Class Pack Revealed

[Steven Bogos]

Diablo 3 Paid Necromancer Class Pack Revealed

The Necromancer will be available as a paid character pack for Diablo 3.

Some good news and some bad news for Diablo fans from BlizzCon 2016 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/blizzcon+2016]'s opening ceremony. The good news? We're getting some new Diablo 3 content! The bad news? It's not a fully-fledged expansion pack, and rather a paid "character pack," that includes the Necromancer class, and some free content that includes a recreation of the original Diablo map in the D3 engine!

The "Rise of the Necromancer Pack" will include the male and female Necromancer class, a pet, two new character slots, and two new stash tabs. along with a portrait frame, pennant, banner shape, and sigil. It will be released in the second half of 2017 for an as of yet undisclosed price. Check out the Necromancers in action below:

[gallery=6609]

As for the "Anniversary Dungeon" (the original Diablo dungeon built in the D3 engine) it will be a free event included in "The Darkening of Tristram" patch for free. It will be on PTR next week, and live in January. Completing the dungeon will reward you with a unique legendary gem: The Soulstone. Check out the map below:

[gallery=6610]

Finally, Blizzard also gave us a bit more information on what to expect in the future for Diablo 3. Two new zones: The Shrouded Moors and the Temple of the Firstborn, will be added, alongside "Challenge Rift" - a new type of rift that strips players of all gear and paragon levels.

Click here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/blizzcon%202016?os=blizzcon+2016] to check out all of our coverage from BlizzCon 2016!

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[Hawki]

Hmm, what's more entertaining? The patch, or the lamentations of players who are appalled that they have to pay for something in a game that's had free content given out since Reaper of Souls?

Well, anyway, can't complain myself.

 

[linkblade91]

Bummed a tad that the pack is at a price, but I can understand why. I never played D1 so a crack at the original dungeon is pretty cool.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

So... that's neat and all, but... no new expansion pack? Fuckin', christ, it's been nearly 3 years since Reaper of Souls, as fun as the necromancer might be it's gonna need a little more... you know, content to be enticing. Doing the same seasonal grind but with an army of skeletons instead is not exactly the most appealing thought to making me open my wallet here.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

Hmm, what's more entertaining? The patch, or the lamentations of players who are appalled that they have to pay for something in a game that's had free content given out since Reaper of Souls?

Well, anyway, can't complain myself.

This really should've been an expansion. It's been two years since the last one, and Diablo really is due, especially after the ending of RoS' campaign.

People aren't pissed that they have to pay for it. They're pissed because they were (rightfully) expecting more from Blizzard on the Diablo front.

 

[Hawki]

Hmm, what's more entertaining? The patch, or the lamentations of players who are appalled that they have to pay for something in a game that's had free content given out since Reaper of Souls?

Well, anyway, can't complain myself.

This really should've been an expansion. It's been two years since the last one, and Diablo really is due, especially after the ending of RoS' campaign.

People aren't pissed that they have to pay for it. They're pissed because they were (rightfully) expecting more from Blizzard on the Diablo front.

Few points:

-The material that was originally intended for the second expansion has been released for free over the past two years.

-"Expecting more" is down to personal levels of expectation, so if one overhypes themself for something, then it's their burden. Now, it was certainly reasonable to expect something for Diablo in this case, given it's the series's 20th anniversary, and, well, the anniversary was acknowledged, and forms the basis of upcoming content.

-Considering the volume of content (three zones, one of which is effectively a D1 remake, plus a new class), how exactly is Diablo lacking in regards to the other franchises here? Off the top of my head:

-StarCraft: 1 commander, 2 maps

-Heroes of the Storm: 2 heroes, 1 brawl

-Hearthstone: Adventure pack

-Overwatch: 1 hero, 2 maps

-World of Warcraft: ...hell of a lot of stuff, can't sumarize it

I admit I'm not really the person to talk about personal investment in Diablo (I've never been as invested as I have in, say, StarCraft), but at least from my reckoning, it's getting the lion's share of content, and apart from the necromancer, it's all free.

Edit: As for the RoS cliffhanger, I can sympathize there as well. Technically the story has continued (Sescheron, Greyhollow Island), and the necromancer trailer actually establishes that the Balance is broken (which was hinted at ages ago thanks to Malthael's actions), and that Sanctuary has become even more of a shithole since RoS), but then again, the Diablo series has always ended with cliffhangers in every game bar D3 vanilla, and usually those cliffhangers are resolved across games. We do know that a Diablo game is being worked on. D4, maybe? I dunno, won't speculate. But at the least, I don't think the game can be said to suffer from a lack of post-RoS content.

 

[Scarim Coral]

So much for a Diablo 4 expectation.

Eyah, I gave on this game long ago.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Hmm, what's more entertaining? The patch, or the lamentations of players who are appalled that they have to pay for something in a game that's had free content given out since Reaper of Souls?

Well, anyway, can't complain myself.

This really should've been an expansion. It's been two years since the last one, and Diablo really is due, especially after the ending of RoS' campaign.

People aren't pissed that they have to pay for it. They're pissed because they were (rightfully) expecting more from Blizzard on the Diablo front.

While I understand the feeling, The D3 team released 2 new areas for free, add that to the new area and new class in this pack that's about as much content as RoS had.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Hmm, what's more entertaining? The patch, or the lamentations of players who are appalled that they have to pay for something in a game that's had free content given out since Reaper of Souls?

Well, anyway, can't complain myself.

This really should've been an expansion. It's been two years since the last one, and Diablo really is due, especially after the ending of RoS' campaign.

People aren't pissed that they have to pay for it. They're pissed because they were (rightfully) expecting more from Blizzard on the Diablo front.

Few points:

-The material that was originally intended for the second expansion has been released for free over the past two years.

-"Expecting more" is down to personal levels of expectation, so if one overhypes themself for something, then it's their burden. Now, it was certainly reasonable to expect something for Diablo in this case, given it's the series's 20th anniversary, and, well, the anniversary was acknowledged, and forms the basis of upcoming content.

-Considering the volume of content (three zones, one of which is effectively a D1 remake, plus a new class), how exactly is Diablo lacking in regards to the other franchises here? Off the top of my head:

-StarCraft: 1 commander, 2 maps

-Heroes of the Storm: 2 heroes, 1 brawl

-Hearthstone: Adventure pack

-Overwatch: 1 hero, 2 maps

-World of Warcraft: ...hell of a lot of stuff, can't sumarize it

I admit I'm not really the person to talk about personal investment in Diablo (I've never been as invested as I have in, say, StarCraft), but at least from my reckoning, it's getting the lion's share of content, and apart from the necromancer, it's all free.

Edit: As for the RoS cliffhanger, I can sympathize there as well. Technically the story has continued (Sescheron, Greyhollow Island), and the necromancer trailer actually establishes that the Balance is broken (which was hinted at ages ago thanks to Malthael's actions), and that Sanctuary has become even more of a shithole since RoS), but then again, the Diablo series has always ended with cliffhangers in every game bar D3 vanilla, and usually those cliffhangers are resolved across games. We do know that a Diablo game is being worked on. D4, maybe? I dunno, won't speculate. But at the least, I don't think the game can be said to suffer from a lack of post-RoS content.

On top of that, Mike Morhaime, President of Blizzard actually forced the Diablo team to patch in all the content they were making for the cancelled "King of the North" expansion (Secheron, Greyhollow) for free because he realized how botched the launch of Diablo 3 was and this decision "was about winning back the hearts and minds of people who were disappointed with the original release."[footnote]link[/footnote].

Would I have liked Diablo 4? Totally, but considering that the Necromancer pack would have been the first real payment I've made for that game since I got it and it'll most likely be for less then a Monthly Stimpack in Heroes of the Storm, I'm not too salty.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Couldn't they, y'know, add D1 to B.net and patch it for modern systems as a celebration of its 20th anniversary? Instead of making a thrown together dungeon made out of existing assets with a garbage filter?

Gee, I sure can't wait to play D1 in D3's awful artstyle and no atmosphere! Oh, but it has a shitty effect on top that makes it look pixelated and the colors are slightly saturated. How faithful.

That Necro is the most blatant content from a cancelled expansion pack I've seen in a while. "Character Packs" in Diablo, the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sure most people would've wanted and willing to pay for the full expansion, rather than fluffed up leftovers that will probably be overpriced. And it isn't even coming anytime soon, why even announce something relatively so menial so much in advance? Reaper of Souls came out sooner after its announcement than this!

God, this event was horrible for Diablo.

Considering that all the content for the game since RoS has been for free strictly because of the fact Blizzard realized they royally fucked up, Necro is actually the only thing they are charging for.
Hell, even the Diablo 1 Dungeon is free and part of a larger content patch that's also for free.
I get it, it's not Diablo 4 but really, You'd swear Blizzard was murdering your pets or something.

Also, are we STILL ragging about the artstyle? Even now? :/

 

[drkchmst]

Thanks for updating the headline for headline browsers like myself. Silly me was under the impression it was free. Guess that tells you necros value to me.

 

[Saelune]

Now here is the question...is it coming to consoles too?

 

[LostCrusader]

Edit: As for the RoS cliffhanger, I can sympathize there as well. Technically the story has continued (Sescheron, Greyhollow Island), and the necromancer trailer actually establishes that the Balance is broken (which was hinted at ages ago thanks to Malthael's actions), and that Sanctuary has become even more of a shithole since RoS), but then again, the Diablo series has always ended with cliffhangers in every game bar D3 vanilla, and usually those cliffhangers are resolved across games. We do know that a Diablo game is being worked on. D4, maybe? I dunno, won't speculate. But at the least, I don't think the game can be said to suffer from a lack of post-RoS content.

I don't remember there being anything story related in Sescheron or Greyhollow Island, just new levels and enemies. Even the audio you get from notes is just barbarian lore, nothing expanding the story.

 

[Naldan]

It will really depend on the price they'll charge for the class. If it'll be 15 or 20 $/? (yes, Blizzard charges the same most of the time regardless of value), it will be disappointing to me.

As for the maps they released for free, imo, they feel like if they were made with such a low budget that it would have been unjustified to charge anything more than .50 for any of them. But I'm talking about the areas only, modi-wise like those loot dungeons and rifts, etc. they did a really generous effort for free!

It's not that I want to come across as ungrateful, but I'd rather pay 40 bucks for another pack like RoS than having watered-down content released every year or so (not talking about the modi!). I'm really a story+atmosphere player to whom gameplay is as important or slightly less. And I enjoyed both of these very much in RoS, not that much in D3.

But still, it's better than not getting anything for 10 years and then hoping that they won't botch it, like say D3. Still, I'd prefer to pay a rather high price up-front than getting crumbs for free. But crumbs, when good, are still like MN9 - better than nothing.

 

[Hawki]

Now here is the question...is it coming to consoles too?

Yes.

Edit: As for the RoS cliffhanger, I can sympathize there as well. Technically the story has continued (Sescheron, Greyhollow Island), and the necromancer trailer actually establishes that the Balance is broken (which was hinted at ages ago thanks to Malthael's actions), and that Sanctuary has become even more of a shithole since RoS), but then again, the Diablo series has always ended with cliffhangers in every game bar D3 vanilla, and usually those cliffhangers are resolved across games. We do know that a Diablo game is being worked on. D4, maybe? I dunno, won't speculate. But at the least, I don't think the game can be said to suffer from a lack of post-RoS content.

I don't remember there being anything story related in Sescheron or Greyhollow Island, just new levels and enemies. Even the audio you get from notes is just barbarian lore, nothing expanding the story.

Not explicitly, but the impression I got is that the events take place after RoS, that Adventure Mode is quasi-in-universe. That after Malthael, the Nephalem more or less does their own thing within Sanctuary, which would include visiting Sescheron and Greyhollow. At the least, Kulle's ghost can't arrive before he actually dies (again) within Act II.

 

[Saelune]

Now here is the question...is it coming to consoles too?

Yes.

Thanks.