Of all the recent BlizzCon Diablo rumours, this is the one that I believe, simply because it's exactly the kind of desperate, pandering bullshit that Blizzard have been doing for years, trying to convince Diablo II fans to come back to Diablo III (and buy its expansion pack) in spite of the fact that D3 is simply an inferior game, in spite of its gloss and polish.Well, wait no longer, Diablo fans, because the pandering is real.
From polygon:
Diablo 3 players will get access to a brand new character, the oft-requested Necromancer, as an update to the Reaper of Souls expansion next year.
Blizzard showed off a trailer for the Necromancer during its BlizzCon 2016 Opening Ceremony Friday. Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce said its addition was something fans had been asking for since Diablo 3’s launch in 2012.
The new Necromancer, Pearce said, is inspired by Diablo 2’s version of the character, and "takes advantage of everything Diablo 3 has to offer."
No details yet on exactly what the hell a "character pack" is -- my guess is paid-for DLC, because the players who've been begging for Blizzard to add Necromancers to D3 for years will obviously be stupid enough to stump up some green for that shit. I'll tell you what a "character pack" isn't, though. It isn't an expansion pack, or a sequel, or prequel, or even an HD remake of D2.
The class itself will be shit, too -- even if it takes advantage of
everything D3 has to offer, D3 is such a shallow, hollow shell of a game
that "everything" amounts to more of the same boring skill system,
broken itemization, and mind-numbing gameplay that have sent D2 fans
fleeing en masse.
So... Blizzard have now delivered basically nothing for their Diablo fan base for a third straight BlizzCon, and on the 20th Anniversary, no less, except for one new class that should be added to the game for free but which will probably cost $20. Diablo fans have every right to be disappointed, and so far, it looks like quite a few of them are.
Did I mention that Path of Exile is running an all-weekend race event? And has a huge content patch coming in the next 2 weeks? With the beta for their even huger 3.0 content patch coming on the heels of that? And that PoE is completely free? No wonder the Father of Diablo calls it the ARPG that's actually pushing the genre to new heights.
GG, Blizzard. GG.
Fuck you, Blizzard! Of all the shitty things you could've done, even I wasn't expecting your BlizzCon bullshit to stink this badly.
There! Closure achieved, just like that.
From Motherboard:
UPDATE: The pandering is even realer than I thought.
From The Verge:This year marks the 20th anniversary of Blizzard’s dungeon crawler Diablo, and to celebrate, Blizzard is remaking the classic game — inside of Diablo 3.
The original Diablo returns in the form of a new anniversary update called "Darkening of Tristram,” which brings the graphics, gameplay, and style of the first game to Diablo 3. The update will include a 16-level dungeon with the four main bosses from Diablo, and will limit players to the 8-degree-of-freedom movement along with applying an old-school filter to invoke the original Diablo atmosphere. The “Darkening of Tristram” will be free when it releases, and can be played as early as next week in the Diablo 3 Public Test Realm server.
Great! Except that it's Diablo II that we wanted a follow-up to, not the original 20-year old game. And also that D3's problems were in its mechanics, not its cosmetics, so unless they've been busy rebuilding D3 from the core outwards to implement D1's attributes, skills, itemization, and combat mechanics as a mod, I don't see how this works. And if this is basically a mod, do we now get actual support for player-created mods, or are we limited to watching Blizzard recycle the far superior content that Blizzard North had made before they closed that studio and let them all go.
I'd say I don't care, except that this is just barely an interesting enough concept that I'll probably end up having to reinstall the PTR client again, just to test how shitty it actually is in practice. Remember when I said that all I wanted from BlizzCon was closure, that I wasn't expecting to get it? Well, consider that 100% confirmed.
I'd say I don't care, except that this is just barely an interesting enough concept that I'll probably end up having to reinstall the PTR client again, just to test how shitty it actually is in practice. Remember when I said that all I wanted from BlizzCon was closure, that I wasn't expecting to get it? Well, consider that 100% confirmed.
Fuck you, Blizzard! Of all the shitty things you could've done, even I wasn't expecting your BlizzCon bullshit to stink this badly.
UPDATE: I've changed my mind.
I won't be downloading the D3 PTR client again. In fact, I won't be reinstalling any Blizzard game again. Ever. I've just emailed them to delete my account, permanently. Fuck you, Blizzard. You've seen your last dime of my money.There! Closure achieved, just like that.
UPDATE: The games media is still oblivious.
While Diablo fans grapple with their crushing disappointment, the gaming media has been predictably oblivious to it all, gushing over Blizzard's decision to replicate a 2-year-old SC2 Arcade mod in D3, and adding a single D2 class as $15-$30 DLC (but not until late next year, LOL), as Pure Genius. I wish I could say I was surprised.UPDATE: Motherboard finally deigns to notice the obvious
At least one gaming media outlet has taken notice of the actual fan reaction to Blizzard's bullshit.From Motherboard:
Diablo 3 finally has a name as a fine RPG after going through hell and back via a series of game-changing patches, but at its genesis players howled like the damned at its differences from 1996's Diablo and its 2000 sequel. Now, almost 20 years after the series' launch, Blizzard's poised to give those players a taste of what they've wanted all along. And wouldn't you know? They're not that happy about it, but then again, some of their arguments aren't without merit.
As announced at Blizzcon yesterday, players who own both the base Diablo 3 game and its Reaper of Souls expansion will get to play a 16-level dungeon called "The Darkening of Tristram" that's based on the original Diablo and its four main bosses. That's likely the Butcher, the Skeleton King, Lazarus, and Diablo himself. Strangely, it'll only be around for a month or so every year before retiring to the Blizzard crypts to await reanimation at a later time.
Exciting stuff in theory, but on the whole it sounds like the current game briefly masquerading in a new set of duds as if for Halloween. On paper, it leaves the faint aftertaste of one of Blizzard's famous April Fool's jokes, leading one player to remark that "I actually thought it was a prank before the real announcements."
... And if that's not enough nostalgia for you, the news accompanied the announcement of a separate backward-looking and paid patch that'll bring back Diablo 2's Necromancer class along with two new levels to Diablo 3 proper sometime next year.
It's not going over too well in the community, to put it lightly. Very few loyal players like that they'll have to pay to play the Necromancer class, and many others find the "Darkening of Tristram" dungeon a poor way to celebrate 20 years of such a storied franchise.
... The controversy carries over to Reddit, where the Diablo subreddit is dominated with topics like "What a huge letdown" pulling in over 1,100 upvotes. It's even carrying over into other subreddits, where players of the competing action RPG Path of Exile are posting welcome threads for once-loyal Diablo 3 players jumping ship.
Well, at least someone noticed the way actual Diablo fans are receiving the news this time, and not just parroting the Blizzard PR hype machine.