Solo Self Found mode essentially makes it so that players won’t get any bonuses from playing as part of a party in Diablo 3. The mode also doesn’t allow for trading between players, and revolves entirely around playing through the season solo. The mode will feature its own leaderboard for regular, as well as hardcore players.

The other headlining feature of Diablo 3: Season 29 is the addition of Visions of Enmity, which creates Diabolical Fissures around the world. Stepping through these fissures will send players to pocket dimensions containing enemies, as well as new rewards. Fissures are also unstable, and could potentially produce additional fissures within them once a certain number of enemies are killed.

Diabolical Fissures will feature enemies with three affixes: Enervating, Necrotic, and Resource Leech. Enevervating mobs have an area around them reducing the player’s movement speed and cooldown reduction. Necrotic reduces player healing, and Resource Leech reduces a player’s resource when hit by enemies.

Diablo 3: Season 29 will be getting a host of other features, including a new cap of 800 Paragon Points for season characters, as well as a host of other changes for the sake of gameplay balance. The season is currently available to play through Diablo 3‘s PTR until August 29, and will be making its way on to the game’s main servers down the line.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct – Group Hug

Also known as that other game starring Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct can be excruciatingly annoying to play. Should you find yourself saddled with it, you can at least unlock one of its easiest Trophies/Achievements. Basically, get close to a group of at least four zombies. A grapple sequence will start, which involves moving the right thumbstick and then stabbing them when the R2/RT prompt comes up. Do this with four zombies, one after the other, and you get the Group Hug Trophy/Achievement.

Bomb-Master Cannon – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Upon arriving at Windfall Island’s Bomb Shop, you’ll be shocked to learn just what kind of prices are on offer. For 10 bombs, you need to pay a whopping 10,000 rupees. Sure he’s the last bomb-maker left but that’s enough to crowd-fund ten of Ganon’s deaths. Thankfully, once Tetra and her crew give him the ol’ rundown, Bomb-Master Cannon sees fit to lower his prices.

Diablo 4’s development apparently ran into trouble, with Blizzard flat out not being sure about the direction to take the franchise in in the future. However, even before then, it seems like Diablo was having some development troubles at the company, with Jason Schreier’s report digging into the state of the Diablo franchise on Kotaku mentioning a second planned expansion for Diablo 3, also scuppered in development.

Said second expansion was something fans have been expecting for a while now, and it looks like Blizzard did intend to deliver on that front. However, around 2013 or 2014, right before the release of Reaper of Souls, Blizzard internally announced that Diablo 3’s second expansion would be canceled.

“What they told the team was, ‘You’ve finished Reaper of Souls, it’s really good. But we think the best thing for the IP is to move to Diablo IV in whatever form that’ll be.’ The overall sense on the team, at least in my impression, was that there was a vote of no confidence from the executives. They thought Diablo III was a giant ****-up,” an anonymous source is cited as saying.

“The perception overall was that management thought, ‘This team really screwed up’. They could’ve held off a few months and seen how Reaper did, but in their mind [Diablo III] was irredeemable.”

Apparently, even the eventual success of Reaper of Souls, widely credited with having turned the game around, was not enough for Blizzard to budge, and development would instead move on to Diablo 4, initially codenamed Hades—a game which would run into its own share of trouble.

I do wish Blizzard had just stuck with Diablo 3 for a while—it was clear that they were on the right track with salvaging the game, but they chose to abandon it at a critical moment instead. Diablo 3 is out now on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

One day before BlizzCon 2018, Diablo will roam the Earth once again, but this time, he’ll be on Nintendo Switch. Blizzard has announced that Diablo 3: Eternal Collection will hit the platform on November 2nd, bringing the base game, the Reaper of Souls expansion, and the Rise of the Necromancer character pack for $59.99 collectively. Head over to order it on the Nintendo eShop.

Diablo 3: Eternal Collection will take advantage of the Switch’s functionality by allowing four players on a single screen. It’s also possible to link consoles and play wirelessly, or head online and play via Nintendo Switch Online. Also exclusive to this version is the Ganondorf armour set, inspired by the villain of The Legend of Zelda series.

On top of endlessly scaling Greater Rifts, Adventure Mode for completing Bounties across different acts, and seven classes to play with (each with their assorted gear sets and items), Diablo 3: Eternal Collection will also have Seasons. This a period where players can create new characters and complete challenges for the sake of Seasonal rewards, gear sets, and leaderboard rankings.

Blizzard had already teased Diablo 3 for Switch earlier this year, and in spite of their subsequent denials, enough independent reports had verified that it was happening that most people knew it was just a matter of time. And now, it looks like the Switch version’s existence has been leaked in its entirety ahead of its announcement thanks to the announcement article for the game going live on Forbes ahead of embargo breaking.

The article has since been taken down (obviously), but Reddit and ResetEra have both kept screenshots (which we won’t include here), as well as transcripts, of the article, so we know what to expect from this Switch version- the base game, plus all DLC, plus all expansions, plus all updates, plus special Nintendo themed content, including the Legend of Ganondorf cosmetic armor set, Tri-Force portrait frame, Chicken pet, and Echoes of the Mask cosmetic wings- yes, you can play as Ganon and save the world from evil in Diablo 3 now. We live in the best timeline.

The game will also support local co-op for up to four players on the same system, as well as local co-op for up to four players across multiple systems, as well as online co-op via Nintendo Switch Online. The game will also support cloud saving.

It is due out by the end of this year, making this the first game by Blizzard for a Nintendo system in 15 years, and, presumably, one of the Diablo projects the company had teased a while ago.

A More Connected World

Diablo 3’s story was divided into Acts. This had the effect of each significant story section being distinct, with a beginning, middle and ending before seguing into the next chapter. However, this also meant the world was more like a series of stand-alone areas than a unified whole. There’s nothing wrong with this approach – each map was big enough to have enough activity going on while feeling unique enough with their enemies, environment, aesthetic and overall mood.

For Diablo 4, I’d like to see the world be more connected. This doesn’t mean a vast, open world should be created but it would be interesting to have more seamless progression between areas. Furthermore, enemies from one area could potentially affect another – perhaps there could be different climate changes or modifiers that may cause enemies from one region to migrate to another and cause havoc. I’m hesitant to really go with a sandbox approach but perhaps such encounters could appear spontaneously and motivate players to explore the world more in the end-game.

Better Mission Rewards

In Diablo 3, post-Reaper of Souls, loot was on a steadily rising progression curve. You’d often receive something better than what you already had, and it felt natural and right. Diablo 4 should stick to the same approach but take some pages out of Nioh’s handbook. In Nioh, completing missions nets you special weapons that are completely unique from the ones you pick up. These are more along the lines of guaranteed rewards. Of course, you also receive Smithing Texts later to craft your own version of some of these weapons that could be superior to the one received. If you enjoyed using a particular weapon, then it was possible to bring its level up rather than throwing it away.

If Diablo 4 has a more connected world, then I’d love to see quest chains that reward you with a special weapon. Not only does this create more attachment to the weapon but there’s a special experience the player could have as opposed to simply earning it from a Rift run or through Kadala. Maybe other variants of that weapon could drop in end-game activities going forward but the important thing is giving that one definitive drop to the player after they’ve worked for it.

Revamped End-Game

With a more connected world, Diablo 4 could present tons more variety to its end-game. The Greater Rift system shouldn’t be done away with completely but it should be more involved. Path of Exile’s Maps system is a great example as players have to venture into areas to earn maps, which can then be used in the Atlas of Worlds to access specific instances. If implemented in Diablo 4, players would have great incentive to visit regions, searching for maps. The possibilities are endless: you could take on a bounty to assassinate a high level target, complete a series of quest steps – each step having a chance to drop a certain map – and kill a certain number of enemies in the meantime for another reward. Unlike Diablo 3, Diablo 4 should allow players to pick up multiple bounties at a time, constantly refreshing stock as they’re complete.

Heck, the aforementioned regions with special modifiers, climates and settings could also provide more spontaneous instances of gameplay. There could be special Rifts that open at specific points, thus granting you access to tougher areas with the potential for greater loot and maps; World Bosses that players need to inflict large amounts of damage on within a specific amount of time and then fight across other regions; or certain objectives that must be completed – like, say, capturing control points or escorting precious substances which could be taken on with other players. Also, it wouldn’t be too bad to have other players’ ghosts inhabiting the world, lending precious loot for those tough enough to best them.

Frequent Events

Diablo 3 often had double XP weekends along with the chance to earn double Gold and whatnot. Sure, the game has Seasons but the changing meta is the only real thing that makes each different (depending on which areas, classes and whatnot were introduced between). One doesn’t just need to look at Path of Exile for its Leagues like the Abyss League which requires you to kill monsters steadily emerging through cracks in the ground while following said cracks to a loot chest and facing bosses in the meantime. Take a look at Tom Clancy’s The Division with its Global Events that add unique modifiers and offer increased chances at Classified Gear Sets, the equivalent of Diablo 3’s Ancient items.

Perhaps Diablo 4 could offer options for more difficult versions of every activity with different modifiers, promising guaranteed Ancient items but with currency that could be redeemed for potential Primal Ancients, the absolute best-rolled items in the game. Players could also have a chance at netting Primal Ancients while grinding these activities. Then again, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a completely separate side activity that unlocks special items, be they loot or cosmetics, from mastering entirely new activities (raids, anyone?). There could also be an entirely new approach to Seasons with intriguing modifiers thrown in.

More Character Customization

I love the different Gear Sets and how they synchronize with the different builds that players have developed in Diablo 3. I love the sensation of a Gear Set being pushed to its absolute limits with different min-maxing possibilities. That being said, Diablo 4 needs a lot more customization for one’s character. This has been a recurring complaint since Diablo 3 first launched and has heavily contributed to the popularity of games like Path of Exile and Grim Dawn. Players want more control over how their character is customized.

Granted, Diablo 3 does this in many ways with Augmented Gems, Paragon Points and whatnot. And I can understand why this approach was taken – sometimes, you want enough depth to encourage replayability and experimentation while also emphasizing all the demon slaying. However, long-term players like stats, customization and different choices. This isn’t to say that Blizzard should just throw in a bunch of different stats and let the players hash it out – that was one major problem with Diablo 3’s initial loot. But a large, passive skill tree filled with meaningful choices that encourage players to stick with a build for the rewards it could offer and enough variety to keep them coming back is a must. If titles from smaller studios could accomplish this, Blizzard has to at least consider that possibility with Diablo 4, even if that means throwing in a bunch of new things that players might not be familiar with.

What would you like to see Blizzard change with Diablo 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Blizzard Entertainment had quite a people intrigued recently when it unveiled a tweet containing a nightlight of Diablo being switched on and off. Many presumed this to be a clever hint that Diablo 3 would be coming to the Nintendo Switch at some point. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case for now.

Speaking to Polygon, a Blizzard spokesperson said that, “We can assure you we’re not that clever. [It was] meant to be a fun community engagement piece. We have nothing to announce.” The keys word here are “nothing to announce”, which isn’t a complete denial.

Of course, Blizzard does love its teases. The developer has indirectly indicated that remasters will be coming for Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 with the latter receiving significant patches and a professional invitational recently. However, it still hasn’t confirmed whether either remaster is in development.

Diablo 3 is currently available for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. It’s seen great success on consoles so the company is no stranger to bringing the game to non-PC formats. Besides, with the success of the Nintendo Switch, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Blizzard wanting a piece of that pie. Stay tuned for more information to see if Diablo 3 actually comes to Switch or not at some point.

“Reskins!” “Reused assets!” “Copy and paste!”

"“Reused assets” is an argument that comes up a lot in video games. I’ve seen it before when animations where used for Call of Duty: Ghosts that seemed to directly resemble the ending of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3."

And to be honest, these have been complaints for a pretty long time. Well, at least they were in the first year or two of Destiny 1. But then everyone was sort of okay with it when raid armour made a comeback in Age of Triumph? Oh but then people got upset again when assets were reused for weapons in Destiny 2’s first Iron Banner. Don’t do too much Reddit kids. It’ll melt your brain.

Why was the exact same message seen for Curse of Osiris? First off, the social space from Destiny 1, namely the Lighthouse, is now available to all. It’s definitely been spruced up, don’t get me wrong, but it’s pretty much the same structure from the first game…except now everyone could just pay money to get to it instead of going flawless in Trials of Osiris. Mercury itself is pretty similar in aesthetic to the Burning Shrine PvP map from Destiny 1 but that was more or less expected (and to be honest, there’s a whole lot we didn’t see).

It’s when travelling into the Infinite Forest that the “reused assets” complaints started to take off and exploded when it was revealed that there would be no new raid. Instead, Curse of Osiris would take players back to the Leviathan for a “raid lair” which is a smaller raid experience. There are new challenges, a new boss, more puzzles and new loot to earn but you’d be forgiven for thinking that Bungie was going to make a brand new raid. Then again, we didn’t really see inside of this one all that much so there’s no telling how different it actually is from the rest of the Leviathan.

“Reused assets” is an argument that comes up a lot in video games. I’ve seen it before when animations where used for Call of Duty: Ghosts that seemed to directly resemble the ending of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. When Destiny 2 was announced, the main argument was just how similar it looked to Destiny 1. Then again, when you look at a game like Fallout 4, the argument wasn’t that it looked different from Fallout 3 and New Vegas but that it didn’t look that much better. The fact that the gameplay had been pretty simplified to feed into a loop of “explore, kill, loot, repeat” didn’t help either.

"When thinking about reused assets, I’m often reminded of the practice of asset-flipping."

In the case of all of these games, the real argument wasn’t that the games reused assets or looked too similar to their predecessors but that they didn’t really feel like a huge step forward. And in areas where they could have made major strides, they felt significantly dumbed down.

Let’s take another example – Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls. The expansion launched with something called Nephalem Rifts. These were challenging dungeons with random assortments of enemies and tile sets that could be farmed for better loot. The tougher version of those were the Greater Rifts, more action-packed Rifts (depending on the difficulty) that required you to finish in time to upgrade your Legendary Gems. But these Rifts were basically reused assets from the entire game. Think of an area in an act or an enemy type and it appears in a Rift, though Blizzard has been adding new enemy types and tile sets since the game’s launch for free.

Granted, the randomization of these aspects and how they’re mixed up along with different enemy modifiers and totems adds to the overall fun factor. But as much as I love Rifting in Diablo 3, I can agree with players who simply don’t like them being the be-all, end-all end-game. Then again, there are a large number of people who will keep coming back to Diablo 3 and loving it because everything else – from the combat to the loot drops and the overall gameplay (unless you’re hunting for Primal Ancients, in which case lord help you) – is top-notch. That’s a different subject altogether though.

You could really go on from that point though. Tom Clancy’s The Division has an upcoming mode called Resistance which reuses enemy character models that have been in the game since day one to present a new, wave-based challenge for experienced players. Warframe’s environments also rely on tile sets that are arranged in interesting ways with unique objectives but still pretty similar from area to area regardless of the planet you’re on.

"Yes, it’s kind of lame that many of Destiny 2’s bosses and enemies are essentially recycled from the first game, just bigger and with a few new bells and whistles."

When thinking about reused assets, I’m often reminded of the practice of asset-flipping. Developers often times purchase asset packs and use them during development as placeholders while the final assets continue to be worked on. They can also serve as starting points when creating original character models or when you don’t want to spend a bomb on creating stuff like trees or wall textures. The name “asset-flip” is used in a more negative sense though.

It’s when developers use assets from a package and re-package it into a full game. The amount of effort used in this case is circumstantial but you need look no further than Silicon Echo Studios which recently saw 200 of its games removed for being low-quality and relying almost entirely on existing Unity assets. It was a means for players to effectively boost their profile levels and sell as cheap trading cards but even in terms of actual gameplay content, it was all the same.

That’s not really what’s going on with games like Destiny 1, Destiny 2, Call of Duty, Diablo 3 or really anything else. Yes, it’s kind of lame that many of Destiny 2’s bosses and enemies are essentially recycled from the first game, just bigger and with a few new bells and whistles. However, putting together all the environments – even if assets like the European Dead Zone and Mercury existed beforehand – is not easy. Creating all these different gameplay systems, cutscenes, animations, weapons, Supers, sub-quests, Adventures, Public Events and what have you while ensuring they all run with nary a hitch is tough. People tend to say that micro-transactions and DLC are necessary because the cost of development is ever-soaring and companies need to have additional revenue streams. So why is the practice of reusing assets to cut down on development time and effectively save money so frowned upon?

I think there’s a fine line somewhere to all of this. I’m not someone who will complain about reused assets or environments so long as they’re used in a clever way. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt reused a number of environments and areas that I had already explored for its story mode but it didn’t bother me because the overall gameplay and direction was different. I mean, sure, the same character models appearing in more than one place was kind of creepy but I’m a reasonable person when it comes to a game’s overall unique content.

"Maybe it’s just that some developers get a free pass for doing this kind of thing while others don’t."

The recent ECHO didn’t bother me with its pristine albeit repetitive setting and continuous usage of the same character model because it was clever as all hell. I didn’t pitch a fit upon learning that Horizon: Zero Dawn had “corrupted” enemies with some different attacks or similar looking grassy/snowy environments because there was always a unique direction to what I was doing. Life is Strange: Before The Storm uses the very same aesthetic as the first game with some similar-looking character models and environments but it’s still a brand new story that I know will make me sad. In a good way, that is. Have you kept track of the number of times that Kamurocho appears through the various Yakuza games? Give it a shot and see how that goes.

But I can understand players who feel that FIFA 18 doesn’t look like all that big of a step up from FIFA 17. Or the Madden games or NBA 2K titles that make small improvements to visuals but look fundamentally the same while pushing some new form of micro-transaction or the other. Ditto for when Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood was announced to be releasing just a year after Assassin’s Creed 2 and annoyed its fair share of players with the number of similarities in assets. Even then Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood ended up being a fantastic game with many interesting gameplay hooks and ideas despite the “similarities”.

Maybe it’s just that some developers get a free pass for doing this kind of thing while others don’t. It could be that Bungie’s reputation of over-hyping and under-delivering is just a pale spectre that looms over their every work. I mean, did you see the number of complaints about Halo 3 not looking all that better than Halo 2, never mind all the talk about how they were initially meant to be one game?

It’s probably the fact that for all the asset re-use and repackaging that Destiny 2 does, there just isn’t enough compelling gameplay this time around to really excuse it, especially when players have already seen so much of it in Destiny 1. Oh, and it also doesn’t help that asset reuse cuts down on development time and cost but Bungie is still pushing micro-transactions (along with that neat little cooldown on XP gain that’s almost meant to push you towards buying Bright Engrams) and DLC content that’s certainly not cheap.

"At the end of the day, developers have to walk a fine line between developing interesting environments that players will hopefully admire while also re-using certain assets to save money."

There may be no “right” or “wrong” way to reused assets unless it’s a blatant asset-flip that’s trying to game the consumer. At the end of the day, developers have to walk a fine line between developing interesting environments that players will hopefully admire while also re-using certain assets to save money. I can’t help but think back to this one cave in Destiny 2 on Nessus (which Zero Punctuation also pointed out in his review of the game). It was Vex architecture but with intricate lines and patterns that were not at all similar to each other. The art direction in these aspects of the game is mesmerizing and takes lots of work. How often do you think such details will make it into a game when there’s a huge time crunch to work with?

You could debate all you want about Mercury being finished or the Curse of Osiris being developed before Destiny 2 launched. It’s just not impossible to make everything unique. I mean, I’d like developers like Bungie to try but it’s not a mandatory requirement to my enjoyment of a video game. Hopefully, as time goes by, developers like Blizzard Entertainment, Bungie, Ubisoft Massive (and all the other Ubisoft studios), Bethesda Softworks and whatnot can breathe a little easy knowing they won’t be crucified for not making new assets completely from scratch, year in and year out, that may or may not be appreciated.

If you’re still hooked up to Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo 3 despite it being the only game that wasn’t featured at BlizzCon 2017, then take heed – Season 12 is live. That means new Conquests, new gear sets to earn via Haedrig’s Gift and new cosmetics to grind towards.

The cosmetics for Season 12 include the Fiacla-Géar Wings and Heaven Portrait Frame. As for gear sets that are earned at the end of each season (for those complete their goals), they are as follows:

• Barbarian – Immortal King’s Call
• Crusader – Seeker of the Light
• Demon Hunter – Natalya’s Vengeance
• Monk – Uliana’s Stratagem
• Necromancer – Trag’Oul’s Avatar
• Witch Doctor – Spirit of Arachyr
• Wizard – Vyr’s Amazing Arcana

Keep in mind that you have to play as the class in question and complete Conquests in order to receive Haedrig’s Gift at the end of the season. Still, for those who want to earn a gear set quickly, this is one of the best possible ways. As for Conquests, they are as follows:

• Boss Mode – Kill the following bosses at max level on Torment X or higher within 20 minutes of the start of the game.
• Curses! – Kill 350 or more monsters in a Cursed Chest event at level 70 in Torment X difficulty or higher.
• On a Good Day – Level three Legendary Gems to level 65.
• The Thrill – Reach Greater Rift Level 45 Solo without any Set items equipped.
• Years of War – Reach Greater Rift Level 55 Solo with the full bonuses of six of the following Class sets.

Though Diablo 3 didn’t receive much attention at BlizzCon 2017, it has received its most significant balance patch in a long time with patch 2.6.1. This patch effectively re-balanced a number of sets, buffing them up to all be capable of clearing Greater Rifts past 90 with ease. So don’t worry about which Seasonal character you go with – the rewards will ultimately be worth it.