Diablo III Console Preorder Bonuses and Exclusives
Blizzard Tracker: June 12, 2013
Prepare your couch and consider fortifying your living room, because on September 3, Diablo� III will unleash hell on both the PlayStation� 3 and Xbox 360�! It pays to be prepared against the forces of the Burning Hells, so get your preorder lined up for the PS3� or Xbox 360, as added bonuses are in store for those who take the fight for Sanctuary to their big screen TV.
Xbox 360� and PS3� Preorder Items:
All preorders of the Xbox 360 and PS3� versions of Diablo� III will include the following diabolically enticing items, available to all five mortal heroes of Sanctuary�be it the Witch Doctor, Barbarian, Wizard, Demon Hunter, or Monk (players who�ve been keeping on top of console-related news will notice that the bounty for preorders has expanded):
"Infernal Helm" � Wearable at level 1, the console-exclusive Infernal Helm in-game item confers a +EXP bonus to help you whip your new PlayStation� or Xbox characters into shape
"Angelic Wings" � Taunt the forces of the Burning Hells by sprouting a cosmetic pair of glowing angel wings
"Bottled Cloud Dye" � Dye your armor sets a cloudy white with this heavenly dye
"Bottled Smoke Dye" � Dye your armor sets an eerie smoky black with this sinister dye
Exclusive PS3� In-Game Items:
Players who purchase Diablo� III on the PS3� will also receive five additional PS3-exclusive in-game items:
"The Hero�s Journey" � A Legendary shoulder item that includes a �Journey� style scarf
"Drakes Amulet" � A Legendary amulet that bears a striking resemblance to the ring that Drake wears around his neck in Uncharted
"Leorics Gauntlets" � These Legendary gloves summon a ghostly skeleton to fight for you
"Crimson Angelic Wings" � This cosmetic enhancement calls forth a set of red Angelic Wings
"Leahs Ring" � A Legendary ring, originally given to Leah by Deckard Cain, thats usable at level 60 and provides bonuses to Magic Find, Gold Find, movement speed, and defenses
Please note that console preorder bonuses and PS3-exclusive in-game items cannot be transferred across platforms, and players will need a connection (to Xbox LIVE� or PlayStation� Network, respectively) in order to receive these items.
The fate of Sanctuary rests in your hands, and the PlayStation� 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Diablo� III will be out before summers end, so make sure to place your preorders with your local retailer soon.
Ready your reflexes and prepare your thumbs for the demon onslaught ahead!
After my first post here, some people asked me alot of questions regarding the console version of Diablo III. One of the biggest was, how was it different from the PC version. Well heres a breakdown of the key differences between the 2 versions. WARNING: Long post ahead.
No Real Money/Gold Auction House
One of the most controversial features of the PC version; the Real Money Auction House (RMAH), is not present on the console version of Diablo III. For most old-school Diablo fans (like myself), this brings back the core Diablo experience of finding awesome loot in-game, NOT in auction houses. Another positive thing about the lack of RMAH is...
You can play Completely Offline
Yes you read that right. You can play the game OFFLINE. A side-effect of removing the Auction House, was removal of any need for any online verification to play the game. Thus Blizzard was able to make the most requested feature of alot of Diablo fans a reality. No more logins. No more "Error 37". No more need for Internet connection to be able to play the game... ever! Just pop in the disc, and you can start slaying the denizens of hell to your hearts content.
With yesterdays announcement of Blizzard removing the Auction Houses on the PC version, Im hopeful that an Offline mode will be the next thing that will be implemented by Blizzard.
Loot Rate is FUN again
Yes, Blizzard fine tuned the loot, and made it awesome again. The picture above just show how amazing loots are now in the console version. It actually reminds me of Diablo II (particularly patch 1.10-onwards) where the loot is so rewarding (and addicting) that it keeps you hooked in finding more evil things to slay. It captures the very core of the Diablo experience. The best news is, loots are now custom tailored to drop a higher percentage of items that are suited to whatever class youre playing as. In my personal experience, I have actually gotten my fair share of awesome Legendary items. Heres some of what my Demon Hunter found in-game, when I was just starting out at Normal Mode.
If this is but a taste of what "Loot 2.0" will be for the PC version, Im all for it!
Reworked Boss Fights
Some of the Boss fights in the console version of Diablo III, has been retweaked. They are either given new abilities, new attack patterns, new dialogue, and even new view angles (as seen on top with the Belial boss fight, which looks more epic than ever before) which gives the game a fresh new look and feel, even if youve played the game before on your PC.
A completely new way of playing... using a Gamepad
Mouse + keyboard controls are NOT supported on the console version of Diablo III. Instead, the game is controlled using a gamepad. And after spending much time playing it this way, I actually prefer this method than the mouse + keyboard config. Now, before you raise your pitchforks and claim "sacrilege", I suggest you give it a try first. It feels as if you have a much more direct control over your character than using mouse + keyboard. Yes you will lose the precision of directly targeting specific enemies from afar using this setup, BUT with the games smart auto-targeting system and Target lock, you wont feel too frustrated dishing out punishment to the denizens of hell. Which brings me to...
The new "Evade" Button Mechanic
As I mentioned in my previous post, exclusive to the console version of Diablo III, is the new "Evade" mechanic. It is an indispensible ability that ALL CLASSES have, which can save you from very hectic situations. It has no cooldown, no cost to use, ensures you dont get hit by monsters/incoming projectiles if timed correctly and is totally very useful throughout your adventure. You can see it in action by watching the clip above (being spoofed by Team Coco at the 1:05 mark).
Completely reworked Inventory System
This is how the Inventory system looked on the PC version:
Its got the usual, familiar look as in the previous Diablo games. Item management in your inventory is pretty much a mini-game of its own, where you try to fit in as much loot that you can, using Tetris-like skills to make everything fit. On the console version, it looks like this:
It may be a stark change from the usual, since the console version of the game doesnt support mouse + keyboards. As clunky as this may look, it actually has some benefits:
All items are now organized by its item-type, making it easier to sort thru items.
If you noticed below, theres an "Inventory" limit (which says 22/60). This means you can loot as many as 60 items at a time, regardless of its size, as each item is treated as a value of 1. This means lesser trips back to town and time spent making every item fit in your bag.
Its easier to compare detailed stats between 2 items as they are placed side by side. Heres how it looks like:
Theres is now a quick stat guide for those who are not into reading tons of stat effect text. This is great for new players, so that can quickly and easily see whether or not an item is better than the one they are currently holding by just looking at the quick stat guide.
Mutliple ways of Playing Multiplayer
First off, there is no cross-platform multiplayer for the console version of Diablo III. What this means is, PC gamers cannot play with PS3/Xbox360 gamers, just as PS3 gamers cannot play with Xbox 360 gamers. That being said, there is alot of different options for console gamers to play multiplayer with friends:
Offline local co-op - one of the highlights of the console version of Diablo III, is this mode. Playing with friends on a single console in the same room, is an experience that is hard to beat. No internet required (but pizza and chips are recommended).
LAN Play - if you dont want to share the screen with buddies, then you can hook up 2 PS3 via LAN cable and play multiplayer with your respective screens all to yourself (just like in the PC version).
Invite Only - if you want to play online, but you dont like random people popping in your game, then you can invite friends over to join in your game.
Friends Only - similar to "Invite Only", but in this mode, you dont need to invite friends to come play. If you set your game to this mode, you simply put up a game room online where only your friends on your friends list can see and join in at anytime while youre playing.
Open to Public - similar to "Friends Only", but in this mode you put up a game room online where everyone online can see and join in your game at anytime while youre playing.
Quick Match - in this mode, you can search for hosted online games and automatically joins you in the said game. You can set the search based its on its Difficulty level, Mode, Quest, etc.
Adjustable Difficulty modes
As I mentioned in my previous post, the console version of Diablo III allows players to adjust the difficulty to suit their tastes. Unlike the Game mode (Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno), Difficulty simply adjusts a monsters health, damage and number of monsters that appear on the screen.
This is perfect for players with varying experiences with the series. If youre just new to the series (or youre a PC player who isnt used to playing using a gamepad), set it to easy. If youre a Diablo vet and youre comfortable playing with a gamepad, then set it to either Medium or Hard. All 3 difficulty modes (Easy, Medium, Hard) has no differences in terms of item drop rate and experience points bonuses, thus you can switch between difficulties with no problems.
However, if you are up to the challenge, you can set the difficulty to Master I or higher. Setting up the difficulty in this level gives bonuses similar to "Monster Power" mechanic found on the PC version, but works differently for the console version. Heres a quick guide:
Master I = +60% Magic Find, +60% Gold Find, +120% XP Bonus
Master II = +70% Magic Find, +70% Gold Find, +140% XP Bonus
Master III = +80% Magic Find, +80% Gold Find, +160% XP Bonus
Master IV = +90% Magic Find, +90% Gold Find, +180% XP Bonus
Master V = +100% Magic Find, +100% Gold Find, +200% XP Bonus
Other Notable Differences
Aside from the ones I posted above, here are some notable differences from between the console version & the PC version of Diablo III:
Paragon Levels are included in the console version. However, whats different is, Paragon Level bonuses are account wide. This means all characters under your account will receive the bonuses unlocked by a SINGLE Paragon leveled character in your account. So even new characters you create will get those bonuses as well.
Nephalem Glory globes are added in the game. These are similar to Healing globes, but they give characters a boost in stats and skills when picked up.
Stash space is much more larger than in the PC version when fully upgraded.
Crafting gems & gear now have different costs, due to the removal of the RMAH. All ingredients can be easily found in-game.
Players are now given a choice how they should be resurrected (go back to town, revive on your last checkpoint, revive on spot).
Vendors now actually sell better (useful) gear. Most of which are actually powerful rare items.
So what do you guys think? Sound off your comments below! :)
Diablo III Console Hands On Preview from Edge Online
Edge Online has posted a review of their time spent with the console version (PS3, PS4 is also planned) of Diablo III. To see the full article, check out the Diablo III PS3 hands-on article over at Edge Online. Here is a quote from the article:
"A 15-minute demo isn�t the best way to experience Diablo III, admittedly. The long game lies in the gear management, in kitting out your chosen character with absurdly powerful weapons and armour in order to cut an effortless swathe through the demonic hordes and pick up even more powerful loot. What is clear from the demo is that Blizzard�s made a considerable effort to retool skill and item management for a controller and a big TV screen.
The pause screen is home to radial menus for speedy selection of gear and attacks, but tweaks to the game design are focused on having players spend as little time in such menus as possible. There will be fewer but better loot drops than were found in last year�s PC version of the game, for instance. Stand over an item and you�ll be able to see immediately whether it�s worth your time, and you can either equip, collect or discard it with a quick press of a face button.
The decision to minimise time spent in menus chimes well with a game that, thanks to free left-stick movement and that right-stick dodge, feels a little pacier than the original.
�It�s far from a complete picture, then, but it does feel like Diablo III has been cut down a little for consoles. It certainly feels more like an action game than before � a genre for which PS3 players are hardly starved. And we can only imagine that the subset of PC players who want to play a lighter, pacier version of a game they�ve already played is rather small, even if they can do it from their sofa."
There is currently no exact release date for the PlayStation 3 version of Diablo III (we know it will be released sometime this year though) but there is information that the console version will have tweaked drop rates and no auction house.
Diablo III Console Demo Versions and Transmogrification Information
Blizzard has announced a free console demo of Diablo III for those who want to try the game on consoles before they buy it:
The hellgates stand fully open, as now you can try Diablo III�absolutely FREE�on your platform of choice!
Each of these options allows you to play Diablo III for free up to the Skeleton King in Act I, so if youve been looking try out the game for the first time, or even get just get a feel for the controls on a new platform�your hour has come.
If youre looking for more info on any of these free editions of Diablo III, you can check out the full Console Demo FAQ here or the PC/MAC Starter Edition FAQ here.
Transmogrification Information:
Some new information has been posted about the upcoming transmogrification feature in Diablo III:
Question: Are we gonna need the gear we want our current gear to look like in our stash or there will be a void storage ? or is there going to be a full list of all items you have acquired at least once, even if you dont have it anymore that you can choose from?
Blizzard: We know inventory space is precious, so you wont be required to keep the "visual" item in order to use its appearance. Instead, youll unlock the items appearance across all Normal (or Hardcore) characters on the account once youve picked it up. Any item appearance thats been unlocked will be stored in the transmogrification UI.
Here are the first Diablo III console hotfixes. Blizzard Tracker: September 9, 2013
Below youll find a list of hotfixes for the month of September which address various gameplay and service issues affecting Diablo III on console.
Hotfixes are updates we make on our end without requiring you to download a new patch. Some hotfixes will go live the moment they are implemented, while others may require a restart to go into effect. As always, please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a patch (Sony) or title update (Microsoft).
SEPTEMBER 9:
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that caused specific set bonuses on the following four item sets to permanently modify a hero�s core stats (STR, DEX, INT, or VIT) each time they were equipped and the hero was loaded into the game:
Blackthornes Armor
Endless Path
Guardians Contingency
Zunimassas Whispers
Please note that this hotfix will only prevent new occurrences of the bug. In order to correct core stats on heroes who were affected by this bug prior to the hotfix going live, we will need to provide a separate patch (for PS3 users) and title update (for Xbox 360 users). Were currently hoping to deploy this patch/title update by the end of the month, and will provide another update once its live. Source
