Diablo III Preview

The guys at Hot Hardware have cranked out what they’re calling “the definitive Diablo III preview”, which spans five pages of firsthand impressions for Blizzard’s soon-to-be-released action RPG threequel. An excerpt:

So how’s the gameplay?

In a word, fantastic. The game’s mechanics have evolved considerably since Diablo II, and almost entirely for the better. Skills, for example, have been entirely redesigned. Unlike Diablo II, where skill points were invested and locked-in ever-after (until Patch 1.13), Diablo III’s skills are entirely dynamic. Various attacks, AoE abilities, and passive skills become available as you level — as do hotkey options. In the beginning of the game, you’re confined to the two mouse buttons and a potion key; hotkeys 1-4 unlock as you gain experience. Players can have up to six skills available at any time.

Unlike in previous games, you’re free to switch your hotkeyed skills out in any combination, but there’s a time delay before the new skills can be used. Unlike in Diablo II (post-Lord of Destruction), there’s no fast switching between weapon sets; skill swaps are meant to provide this flexibility while the time delay prevents mindless min/maxing.

Skills are further modified by the use of runes. Runes also unlock as you level and change the function of a basic skill. The beginning Barbarian skill Bash, for example, normally knocks an opponent backwards. The first rune you gain, Clobber, changes the effect from a knockback to a chance to stun. Swapping runes also triggers a cooldown on the related skill. As in many games, certain endgame skills are on a timer and can only be used every few minutes. Skills and runes are linked — you can’t bind Bash+Clobber to one key and Bash+Onslaught to another.