As with the World of Warcraft announcements thread, I’ve decided to amass all the information I can get my grubby mitts on with Diablo: Reaper of Souls, the latest expansion to be released in the Diablo series.
As you can expect, it all looks pretty sensational.
First and foremost, if you haven’t seen the trailer for Diablo’s latest expansion, you should check it out below. Malthael, the absent ex-Archangel of Wisdom, has fallen from grace and stolen the Black Soulstone – and you, the Nephalem, are going to have to go and get it back.
The level cap has been extended from 60 to 70, and the difficulties have been renamed – they are now Easy, Normal, Hard, Torment, Demonic and Apocalypse.
Crusaders are the new class being introduced with the new expansion, and Blizzard were thoughtful enough to release a video showing players what they’re capable of.
Adventure mode is a new feature which allows the player to explore the entire world, waypoints included, and complete the new Bounties and Nephalem Rifts features.
Bounties span the length of the game, and ask you to either kill a unique monster or boss, complete a certain event or clear a dungeon. You can take part in the game as normal, but completing these bounties rewards you with additional experience and a Rift Keystone.
Nephalem Rifts are a new feature which replace loot runs. They take place in 1-10 level dungeons, consist of randomised terrains with randomised mob density and encounters. Players will also receive random buffs through these Rifts too.
Clans and groups are now also a feature actively supported in-game.
Alongside the already existing Blacksmith, a new artisan is also making an appearance – the Mystic. She will enchant your gear, for a cost.
Transmogrification, a successful feature introduced in World of Warcraft, will also be a new feature in Reaper of Souls. Sick of looking like a mismatched mess? No worries – simply pick how you want an item to look, and the visual will be replaced with your stats left untouched.
Paragon levels have also been updated.
Pandemonium is the new zone to explore, and also the place where Angels and Demons duke it out on a regular basis, so expect all the most horrific kinds of traps and encounters known to man. Pictures will be uploaded soon, but so far it has been described as very dark and otherworldly. Spooky.
New monsters are also being introduced, and I have updated the bestiary post I made last week to reflect what we now know.
I’ll update this as I find out more – stay tuned!
graemefinch.com 