Blizzard have just updated the Diablo 3 site with new screenshots and a new beast: The Unburied.
“Being born out of pits of human misery, these beings feed on human suffering. Wherever bodies are dumped together unceremoniously, the unburied may rise.”
That’s neat. I wonder if my Barbarian should pack a shovel to dispose of bodies in individual graves now. Or God forbid, the unburied will arise again.
Anyway, check out the updated media section.
Blizzard has just announced a theme park contest. If you’ve ever imagined taking a Diablo ride, this is your chance to get acknowledgment for your imagination.
Here’s the theme park contest rules:
What thrills would you seek in the Blizzard Entertainment theme park of your dreams? This is your chance to show us.
We’re challenging you to design and illustrate your own Blizzard Entertainment Theme Park, including roller coasters, water rides, shows, shopping areas, food courts, game areas, patrons, and whatever fantastic attractions you desire.
Submit your original park design by March 30, 2009, and we’ll choose our favorites based on the creativity of the design, artistic technique (including the medium and style), and how your park reflects the lore and spirit of Blizzard Entertainment’s games.
In case you’re wondering, there is a prize: Wacom Cintiq 12WX Digitizing Tablet, a pair of StarCraft II beta keys, and more.
The runes (thought not runewords) make a return to Diablo 3. They’ll still drop from monsters, however, they will be used in a way that is VERY different from Diablo 2.
OK, let’s go over how runes worked in Diablo 2. There are 33 runes that drop from monsters. Note that some runes drop often while others drop extremely (e.g. Zod rune). Also, there are items with sockets that are able to take runes (or jewels). Some rune combinations (called runewords) create Runic Items, which are among the most powerful items in the game.
For example, socketing the runes Hel + Ohm + Um + Lo + Cham gives your axe or hammer a whole bunch of additional stats and it also adds the label “Doom”.
OK, so what are the changes to the runes in Diablo 3? Runes will still be used to CUSTOMIZE your character, however, runes no longer modify ITEMS. Instead they’ll be added to skills (each skill has a single rune slot).
Also, to make runes easier to use, rune names will be changed to reflect their effect, e.g. Rune of Multistriking. How does this affect gameplay?
For example, a Minor Multistrike Rune attached to the Skull of Flame will make projectile skip along the ground once , but higher quality Runes like the Major Multistrike Rune may raise the amount of bounces and the distance traveled by the projectile.
Jay Wilson, Diablo 3 Lead designer, expressed his strong desire to make each skill customizable while at the same time retaining the uniqueness of each class. In other words, he doesn’t want the Barbarian to be able to mimic the Wizard by adding certain runes to skills.