Diablo III Adds Pseudo-WoW Crafting

[John Funk]

Diablo III Adds Pseudo-WoW Crafting

Diablo III's hero will be able to get a nice set of hand-crafted gear - he just won't be the one making it.


The Diablo series has always traditionally been about the acquisition of randomized phat lewtz from the corpses of evil monsters, and Diablo III is no exception. You won't just be getting your rare items from the slaughter piles, though - at Gamescom, Blizzard revealed its newest gear-crafting system for the upcoming hack-and-slash.

Rather than making all the equipment yourself - after all, wouldn't it feel weird to have your character sitting around banging on an anvil when the world was at stake? - your character will be able to collect an entourage of artisans that will follow you around in a caravan.

As you collect gear (from killing monsters, naturally) that you don't need, you can still sell it or drop it as you normally could. Or, you could take a chance and refine the items down into base components that craftsmen can use to make new items, becoming more skilled in the process. If that sounds like a WoW tradeskill to you then don't worry, you're not alone. Still, it's a very Diablo-ized take on the matter, with randomized stats and a focus on killing the hell out of everything you meet to get items.

On a completely different note, it's good to see that Blizzard hasn't stopped poking fun at the "art controversy" with items like the "Emerald Happy Armor" and producer Jay Wilson's closing line about rainbow viewing.

If Diablo III doesn't have at least one double rainbow [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0D4oZwCsA] joke, Blizzard, I will be disappointed.

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[Aratus]

I like the idea on paper, guess we'll have to wait and see what it looks like when the game is actually out.

 

[blitz609]

Well at least theyre attempting to do something different.

 

[Deofuta]

Sweet! I like the idea, although I am sure someone is going to barge in screaming something along the lines of "WHY ARE YOU TURNING IT INTO WOW!!!1! WHATS NEXT, SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!1!!!!!"


ANGST!!!!

 

[Optimystic]

But will I still have my Horadric Cube?
Come on, that thing was the most useful item in all of D2.

 

[Wolfram23]

Hmm I wonder how this will work in multiplayer. Will the game only have the hosts Artisans? I can see that being abused, someone with max Artisans could invite lower levels in and they can craft some epic gear or get their stuff socketed. Ah well, looks like it'll be really cool.

 

[Tony2077]

sounds neat and now how about a release date

 

[Megacherv]

Well, hopefully there'll be a big gap between this and the Torchlight 2 release, because goddammit this game looks good.

 

[Optimystic]

Hmm I wonder how this will work in multiplayer. Will the game only have the hosts Artisans?

I don't see why it would - after all, each client had his own merc in D2.

 

[BioTox]

Well, at least that beats trying to get lucky buying the random unidentified gear in D2. LoL Gold wasn't much of the issue, just the waste of time. I hope this turns out well and makes more useful gear then vendor garbage.

 

[Lorechaser]

Very much in keeping with the gambler merchants and the Horadric Cube. I approve.

 

[Tzekelkan]

This is awesome. It's entirely different than WoW's crafting system, since you don't do the crafting yourself. Can't wait for this game.

 

[Wolfram23]

Hmm I wonder how this will work in multiplayer. Will the game only have the hosts Artisans?

I don't see why it would - after all, each client had his own merc in D2.

Right but that was just a body guard. These artisans set up shop in towns, I don't think they follow you out into the field/dungeons etc. If they take up a spot in town, there'd either have to be big towns to allow for everyone's artisans or else people will have to share. Maybe, I suppose, it will superimpose each client's Artisan in the same spot, so one person might have top level blacksmith while the other person has a low level one... or something.

 

[Wolf Devastator]

Sweet! I like the idea, although I am sure someone is going to barge in screaming something along the lines of "WHY ARE YOU TURNING IT INTO WOW!!!1! WHATS NEXT, SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!1!!!!!"


ANGST!!!!

Sad part is, I'd rather pay a subscription for an online Diablo with large expansions than with WoW

 

[Naheal]

Sweet! I like the idea, although I am sure someone is going to barge in screaming something along the lines of "WHY ARE YOU TURNING IT INTO WOW!!!1! WHATS NEXT, SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!1!!!!!"


ANGST!!!!

WHY ARE YOU TURNING IT INTO WOW!!!1! WHATS NEXT, SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!1!!!!!


ANGST!!!!

Happy?

 

[toomuchnothing]

Hmm I wonder how this will work in multiplayer. Will the game only have the hosts Artisans?

I don't see why it would - after all, each client had his own merc in D2.

Right but that was just a body guard. These artisans set up shop in towns, I don't think they follow you out into the field/dungeons etc. If they take up a spot in town, there'd either have to be big towns to allow for everyone's artisans or else people will have to share. Maybe, I suppose, it will superimpose each client's Artisan in the same spot, so one person might have top level blacksmith while the other person has a low level one... or something.

Gonna go out on a limb and just guess that main encampments will have enough room to house 1 of each artisan (assuming their is more than 1 type) and each player will access the same one however the skills they provide would vary from character to character. For instance lets say I maxed out their skill, I would be provided with that level of services from them while someone who has just started crafting would only have access to much lower quality service despite it being the exact same NPC. Just an educated guess.

 

[spinFX]

Oh god do want. I don't even think the art style is that much different to previous entries. Obviously it has that cartoony type texture WoW and WC3 had but still seems pretty dark. I hope they get guild halls into it this time like they were going to in D2. I hope they make it far more social than D2 was, but retain the awesome gameplay. I really wanna play D2 now

 

[sentient_afterbirth]

I love the franchise and this style of game play in general, but the more I see of it the less enthusiastic I become. I'll probably still end up getting the game first day, but the excitement I had at announcement has dwindled with each video.