It’s been years in the making, but finally fans all over the world are getting their first look at the newest Diablo title from Blizzard Entertainment. The Diablo III beta was launched late last week and Blizzard was kind enough to let us check it out firsthand.
To call the Diablo franchise a success is a huge understatement as many fans are still playing Diablo II nearly 12 years after its original release date. Some gamers might recall seeing these long, long wait times for sequels in the past. In some cases the new games were worth the wait like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which took up several years of my life. However, other games, like Duke Nukem Forever, turned out to be a major flop. Only one way to find out whether Diablo III shares the same fate, let’s dive into the gameplay.
The beta is made up of the short segment of the first act of the game and ends at the defeat of King Leoric. All character classes are available, including Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor and Wizard. I was able to grow to about level 10 before completing the beta, and I will say it was a solid 3 hours or so of excitement. Movements, attacks, potions, items, and inventory are all very similar to its predecessor.
From a performance standpoint, I was able to play the game at the highest graphic settings available including 1920×1080 full HD with my unlocked Sapphire HD 6950 card. I also tested out the game with a HIS HD 6770 and was noticing some lag and artifacts at the highest settings. This card was not designed to handle HD gaming, so it’s not really a big issue. At lower settings, this GPU managed to handle the game flawlessly.
The graphics were outstanding, in my opinion. For a game of this nature, graphics are not usually a focal point but the effects were solid, especially the lighting and shadows. Although improvements can be made according to longtime Diablo fan and Overclockers.com editor Matt Green, who hopes AA and dynamic lighting are available in the final game release:
AA should be there since it’s an option in the settings, but there’s just no mode other than off. Dynamic lighting would be nice, to see abilities light up the environment, like a Wizard’s spell shot down a cave would light up the cave along the spell’s path.
As stated above, there are some settings that do appear in the graphics menu that cannot be toggled in the beta. It is likely that these enhanced effects will be added in the final version of the game, although we cannot confirm that.
For your viewing pleasure, we created a gameplay video to showcase the full experience of Diablo III (please note the gameplay was not created in HD resolution, so graphics may be less impressive):
Also, check out some screenshots:
- Official Diablo III Logo (Courtesy Blizzard Entertainment)
To stay up to date on the latest game releases, rumors and performance data, keep a close eye on the OC Forums Games section. Currently there are several active threads on the upcoming Battlefield 3 beta, Resident Evil 6 trailer and the discussion that inspired this article, Diablo III NDA Lifted.
Additional Resources from the official Diablo III website:
If you have the beta, please share your impressions with us regarding GPU performance, gameplay, and anything else.






















09-29-11 09:10 AM
And he said it lagged at the highest settings??? because it wasn't a HD gaming card??? really, then what chance does a GTX 460 have? since i'm assuming that the 5770 and GTX 460 were in competition with one another, (I was actually tossing up between the two when I built this comp) and since the 6770 is the next gen graphics card, would perform better than a GTX 460... unless someone can assure me otherwise that would be terrific.
09-29-11 12:10 PM
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/291?vs=313
You can see in the graphs in the link above that the cards trade blows back and forth for the most part, so the 6770 would have less performance than the 6850.
Or compare the 5770 (the 6770's predecessor, which ironically beats it in some benchmarks)
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/296?vs=313
the 460 blows it out of the water.
09-29-11 12:38 PM
On the game itself, it looks awesome. I played Diablo (the original) for a long time. This looks right up my alley. If only I had time to game!
09-29-11 12:43 PM
The 460 is way faster than a 5770/6770/GTX 260 216, so you have a chance.
Thanks for the vids, and pics mdcomp!
10-01-11 07:44 PM
10-02-11 03:26 AM
10-03-11 08:51 PM
10-08-11 09:57 PM
but personaly i think Diablo II should be the last one
10-09-11 03:43 PM
10-18-11 06:03 PM
And whoever controls that account. Put a link in the description to the OC.com article.
11-05-11 09:17 PM
101122
Diablo III Beta Patch 5 – v.0.3.1. 772
- All characters have been wiped. As part of this process, artisans, gold, and items (including those placed on the auction house or in a shared stash) have also been reset.
- Switching out class skills will now require the use of a new feature known as the Nephalem Altar. Nephalem Altars are currently located in New Tristram, as well as in key locations throughout Act I. Clicking on an altar will open up the skill UI, allowing both active and passive skills to be selected or exchanged.
Quests- Gold rewarded from quests has been significantly reduced.
- Experience rewarded from quests after level 4 is now based on the number of mobs you’d have to kill to earn the same amount of experience, rather than being a strict percentage of a level
Skills- New passive skills have been added for all classes. See individual class notes below for more information.
- AoE (Area of Effect) skills for all classes have had their damage reduced.
- Single-target skills for all classes have had their damage increased.
- All skills are now based off weapon damage.
User Interface- The in-game UI has been updated with general art and usability improvements
ClassesBarbarianDemon HunterMonkWitch DoctorWizardFollowers
TemplarGeneral
- Players now start with 5 health potions
- Health globes now heal you over 1.5 seconds rather than over 5 seconds.
- The number of chests, shrines, and other interactable items (e.g. bookcases and loose stones) has been greatly reduced across the entire game
- Items sold from vendors will now be at least one item level lower than those that are currently available to a player via drops from monsters
- The level of an item is now much more likely to match or be close to the level of the monster from which it dropped, and the affixes that appear are much more likely to be from the upper range
WeaponsBug Fixes- Fixed an issue that was causing two-handed Monk combat staves to not receive the proper damage bonus
MonstersBossesCraftingArtisansItems
11-05-11 11:07 PM
101127
11-06-11 01:20 AM
11-06-11 01:42 AM
EDIT:
Also is it just more or on the well, that root that's sticking out the bottom, does it look out of place? something just doesn't seem right about it to me. then again I'll probably miss it once i start playing the game.
11-11-11 04:10 PM
11-12-11 02:58 PM
11-14-11 09:19 AM
if that makes sense.
11-14-11 11:53 PM
11-16-11 03:57 PM
11-19-11 03:49 AM
11-24-11 03:40 AM
In my opinion, the most noteworthy changes of this patch are in the "Battle.net" section.
11-29-11 04:15 AM
Pick up EVERY item dropped. Even the broken/cracked ones. After a bit, you get the Nephalem Cube, which can be used to break items down for creating new items via the crafting NPCs. Don't bother selling them, even most magic items are only worth 30 or so gold, and you get plenty if you check everything (barrels, etc) and kill every enemy. I have managed to get a few Fallen Teeth (rare requirement) and somehow a Petrified Bark (Legendary requirement) from a Magic item
Sadly, I've found only a few rares, no legendary, and no set items yet. Only had a 30% MF so far, but got some new stuff crafted that should bump that up a bit.
It's been very fun so far, and I can't wait for the real thing.
12-01-11 06:44 AM
12-01-11 01:43 PM
12-01-11 02:40 PM
12-06-11 06:16 AM
12-08-11 08:46 AM
12-08-11 01:22 PM
12-08-11 02:12 PM
..........crawls back into his starcraft hole again.
12-08-11 02:50 PM
12-08-11 04:42 PM
12-08-11 04:45 PM
12-15-11 03:06 PM
PEACE
12-20-11 05:39 PM
Released 12/15/11
12-21-11 05:25 AM
Released 12/20/11
01-19-12 07:36 PM
Quick bullet point summary, but much more detail in the link above.
- Scrolls of Identification are no longer in the game.
- Moving the fifth quick slot button, which is becoming a dedicated potion button.
- We're removing the Mystic artisan.
- We've decided to remove the Cauldron of Jordan and Nephalem Cube.
- The Blacksmith artisan will now salvage items.
- Common (white) items will no longer be salvageable.
- We're changing core character attributes to Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Vitality
- We're now displaying character stats directly on the inventory UI.
The changes above should be implemented in the future beta patch(es). There are also "blue" comments on the Battle.net forums about beta patch 10 coming in the next few days, possibly as early as tomorrow.01-20-12 02:13 PM
01-20-12 02:24 PM
01-23-12 09:35 PM
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/3941896296
01-23-12 10:42 PM
Anyone know if there's been any recent beta invites sent out?
02-02-12 04:43 AM
02-02-12 04:48 AM
02-02-12 05:12 AM
02-02-12 05:15 AM
02-02-12 05:17 AM
02-02-12 05:18 AM
02-02-12 05:24 AM
02-02-12 05:25 AM
02-02-12 05:42 AM
02-02-12 09:38 AM
It's party time!
02-02-12 09:51 AM
02-02-12 10:11 AM
02-07-12 11:23 PM
(solved I think) I also notice lag even in town, but I can't tell if its from internet/beta testing or my computer. The lag does lessen when going from 1920x1080 to 1024x768, but I am surprised I am even having trouble running at 1920x1080.
I am on 285gtx evga
Even with low settings it is worse tonight and so is browsing the internet....so this leaves me to believe it is an internet/lag issue.
02-21-12 10:49 PM
A number of significant changes have been made to the character skill and rune systems, as well as to the gold and currency-based auction houses. To learn more about these changes and why they were made, please read the Skill and Rune Changes blog written by Jay Wilson and the Beta Auction House Changes Incoming forum post.
02-22-12 09:24 AM
It has helped me a lot with my 285gtx
03-09-12 04:00 PM
Monsters do more damage!
Public games fixed so people can actually join games and play together!
Elective mode Skill UI allows drag and drop!
30% DR to melee classes!
Diablo III Beta Patch 14 – v. 0.8.0.8815
Released 3/8/12
03-15-12 02:11 PM
Diablo III Launching May 15 – Digital Pre-Sales NOW OPEN
03-15-12 02:12 PM
03-15-12 02:16 PM
03-15-12 03:22 PM
03-15-12 03:33 PM
@ Everyone planning on buying D3 (or already have SC2/WoW):
Be sure to go to the OCF Battle.net BattleTags thread and post up your tag so we'll have familiar faces alongside us while we murder the demons of hell
03-15-12 03:58 PM
03-15-12 05:16 PM
03-15-12 05:26 PM
You just need to drag her into D3 with you
03-15-12 05:37 PM
03-15-12 05:49 PM
03-15-12 06:45 PM
03-15-12 07:15 PM
03-15-12 07:25 PM
argh!!
Two must play games released on the same day..
I think my head may explode.
I'll probably do D3 first though as most of the games I've been playing lately are FPS.
03-17-12 12:59 AM
03-17-12 01:01 AM
03-17-12 01:17 AM
03-17-12 02:18 AM
03-17-12 02:22 AM
If I had a fast connection, I wouldn't mind.
03-17-12 10:18 PM
03-18-12 01:19 AM
03-18-12 01:22 AM
03-21-12 08:11 PM
03-22-12 05:35 AM
04-01-12 01:47 AM
Source
04-01-12 01:56 AM
04-05-12 09:40 PM
04-10-12 04:04 AM
04-16-12 02:12 PM
04-16-12 02:43 PM
04-16-12 02:54 PM
after reading that i sound like such a nerd.... for diablo? I will accept that title.
04-16-12 04:09 PM
04-16-12 04:28 PM
04-17-12 05:27 PM
May 1st is the end of the beta.
04-17-12 05:29 PM
04-17-12 06:24 PM
04-17-12 07:54 PM
04-17-12 08:03 PM
Should be in the latest email newsletter, it's a 48hour sale by the way...
04-19-12 12:29 AM
Oh well 27 days to go.
04-19-12 06:37 PM
04-19-12 06:51 PM
http://www.1up.com/news/diablo-iii-starter-edition
04-19-12 06:58 PM
04-19-12 07:17 PM
04-20-12 01:39 PM
04-20-12 01:48 PM
04-20-12 02:04 PM
04-20-12 02:12 PM
04-20-12 02:20 PM
The ladder also had it's own ladder-only features/content.
04-20-12 03:03 PM
04-20-12 06:19 PM
04-20-12 06:34 PM
04-20-12 07:23 PM
04-20-12 07:24 PM
04-21-12 04:15 AM
I may need to go through as some other classes now.
04-21-12 04:40 AM
04-21-12 11:44 PM
04-22-12 12:04 AM
04-22-12 02:45 AM
Thats what inferno should be called.
04-22-12 11:36 AM
04-22-12 02:28 PM
Yup can't wait to get more fun. Just tried to get in but couldn't log in.
04-22-12 05:29 PM
04-22-12 09:06 PM
I know barbarian is high on my list... always like the up front and personal with my enemy.
04-22-12 09:26 PM
04-23-12 07:05 PM
04-23-12 08:06 PM
04-23-12 08:25 PM
Eyefinity isn't as useful for dungeon crawler games with isometric graphics. Eyefinity will be fine out in open areas, but when you are confined to paths like in a dungeon, Eyefinity become useless. This is because the paths are diagonals, so in dungeons you would need more monitor space corner-to-corner rather than left-to-right. So the monitors to the left and right would never be used since your character stays in the middle of the center screen and the paths are diagonal. The wizard's teleport ability is the only way I see Eyefinity being useful in a dungeon.
When using long range characters you'll want to hold shift a lot to keep your character stationary while using abilities, just like in D2.
04-23-12 08:28 PM
EDIT: you beat me to it....
04-23-12 08:30 PM
04-23-12 08:33 PM
04-23-12 08:56 PM
04-23-12 08:58 PM
04-23-12 09:09 PM
04-24-12 01:33 PM
I am VERY torn on the lack of attribute points, str, dex, vit, mag, stamina etc. alot of people are saying "everyone put only enough into str for armor and dex for dodge/block and dumped everything else into vit" and maybe they did but i feel like opening up stuff along the way with lvl is kinda shallowing the play. Now, maybe with the rune stones and crafting etc. ill get the decision making/craft a custom avatar experience i felt like i missed, but in the beta at least i felt like save for luck fo equipment found, every lvl13 DH would be essentially identical to mine... maybe not on the end game..
even a skill tree like say Hell Gate London (if anyone else ever played that one) would be good because you can still have separation between 2 avatars of the same root class...
Thoughts?
04-24-12 02:19 PM
I like the skill tree because it's familiar, but it didn't really give us much customization in D2. It was usually max 2 skills and put rest of the points in synergies. So, there was probably 3-4 viable builds per class and everybody who had a specific build used the same skills and synergies.
The barbarian in D2 had a total of 30 skills to unlock and use (every character had 30). In D3, the barbarian has 38 skills plus 5*38 runes, so that comes out 6*38=228 different skills. However, not all runes completely change a skill, but many do make a significant change. I think there's possibility for quite a bit more diversity in D3 than there was in D2.
I think what a lot of people don't like about the new system is that there aren't really any permanent decisions to make about your character. Whether that's a good or bad thing is debatable.
04-24-12 03:18 PM
04-24-12 03:27 PM
04-24-12 03:47 PM
04-24-12 05:45 PM
04-24-12 06:05 PM
I think I'll like my Barbarian again as usual! Though not totally sold on the WH yet, though I would play him but probably take a little interest into the Sorc.
So how many days?
04-24-12 09:03 PM
04-28-12 09:56 PM
04-28-12 10:17 PM
04-28-12 11:59 PM
A single xbow + quiver seemed to give me better DPS than dual xbows, so don't forget to try that out too. Don't just assume dual xbows is better, I did that for a while
04-29-12 03:07 AM
04-29-12 04:04 AM
- Strength increases damage for Barbarians
- Dexterity increases damage for Demon Hunters and Monks
- Intelligence increases damage for Wizards and Witch Doctors
IIRC, each point equals 1% more damage.04-29-12 04:13 AM
05-01-12 03:17 PM
Source
05-01-12 03:21 PM
Source
05-01-12 03:53 PM
05-01-12 05:30 PM