Diablo III fans all over the world have been speculating over the method of skill runes progression in the game. Recently, answering to a fan’s question, Blizzard broke its silence on runes in Diablo III. It seems that right now, Blizzard is set on dropping all ranks in the game and incorporating other methods of acquiring runes. However, keeping in line with Blizzard’s eccentricities, fans should not be surprised if the ranks of runes are retained in the game when it releases.

From what Blizzard has indicated, gaining the highest rank of a rune may be a rather quick process in Diablo III. Hence, all skill runes will drop in a game and there will be no need to craft them. Gems, on the other hand will drop slowly. The downside is that easy advancement of the ranks in a rune could lead to an excess of skill runes in Diablo’s economy. How the developers at Blizzard combat the problem will be known only after Blizzard releases an official statement.

Diablo III will have five runes, namely Crimson, Indigo, Obsidian, Golden and Alabaster. The skill runes- combinations and how they can be used in different builds still remains hazy. Blizzard has indicated that Diablo III may have an arrangement such that every rune has equitable utility to all builds and people. Also, the mechanism within runes will continue to be similar to the previous versions. However, Blizzard may include additional eatures in the runes for Diablo III.


Even though much has been revealed related to Runes and skill progression, a lot is still left to the imagination of Diablo fans. Blizzard is not known for consistency in its ideas and may as well have switched to a whole different method of skill runes progression by the time the game releases.

Diablo 3 Facing Competition?

Blizzard seems to be months away from the completion of Diablo III. In the meanwhile, two new games have entered the Diablo III domain. Bloodline Champions and Dungeon Siege III are both role play games (RPGs) which may give stiff completion to Blizzard’s much awaited Diablo III.

Bloodline Champions is a free Role Play Game. Developed by Stunlock Studios, Sweden, it launched last Thursday and is available on their website for free download. It offers a five-on-five battle and runs in a player vs. player format. The game began as a college project and soon developed its own small cult following which led 200,000 participating it’s beta testing. It may be a threat to Diablo III because it follows the same online arena pattern and is available free of cost for a limited download. Bloodline Champions has had mixed reception. It has been panned by several users for providing only player versus player format as compared to Diablo’s player vs. environment format. Also, the controls and agility of characters is reportedly sluggish as compared to Diablo III’s preview at the BlizzCon last year.


Dungeon Siege III is the second threat to Diablo III. This one of the RPGsis being developed by Obsidian Entertainment and is slated for 20th March, 2011 release. It is available for pre- order at Amazon at a price of $49.99. Interestingly, Amazon also lists Diablo III for pre order at a price of $59.99 without a definitive release date.


Till now, Blizzard has remained tight-lipped on whether or not it considers Bloodline Champions and Dungeon Siege III strong enough to pose a threat to Diablo III. Blizzard has given the world nothing but best of gaming. It also has a loyal fan base which may refuse to turn to other RPG franchises. Although, these new games seem a possible threat to Diablo III’s monopoly, whether or not they can outstrip Diablo will be known only after its relapse. Meanwhile, these two games are credible enough fix for RPG addicts.

A news that might come as a relief to Diablo III fans is that the male demon hunter character might be out soon. In a reply to a fan’s query as to when the male demon hunter character will be available to view, Diablo III developers have given a tentative estimate in the coming week. However, Blizzard doesn’t really work with strict deadlines and it may be several months to the actual release of the male demon hunter.



The male demon hunter is one of the most delayed parts of Diablo III. BlizzCon 2010 showcased a silhouetted figure of the male demon hunter. If we are to go by the silhouette, male demon hunter is to be a muscular man with a slim build. His hair is of medium length and appears to be slightly wild. The character appears to be wearing tight clothing (or may be bare-chested) with combat boots that gather beneath the knees. The actual version of the male demon hunter may be completely different from the teaser the fans were given at BlizzCon last year.

Blizzard has been laconic in its answers to the questions that its fans keep putting from time to time, perhaps to sustain the public’s interest. The male demon hunter character will complete the set of ten characters that will be available for play in Diablo III. Also, let us not forget that even when the male demon hunter character is released, players will not know anything of what it feels to actually control the character. For that, fans will have to wait till the release of Diablo III. Hopefully Blizzard will keep its loyal fans updated and perk them with the likes of Andy McKee visit from time to time.

Blizzard seems to be set on making Diablo fans drool some more. Acoustic guitarist and YouTube sensation, Andy McKee dropped by the Blizzard Offices and got to lay his hands on the much anticipated Blizzard III. He probably played the demo that was featured on BlizzCon 2010.

Andy’s remarks about the game have been hugely positive. Encapsulating the sneak peak on his FaceBook page, McKee quoted - So, to all of you Diablo fans, let me assure you that D3 kicks ass! I played the Monk character and he was killer. They dropped me in at around level 9 and I had some cool skills and was able to level up twice. The skill set looked cool and offered a good chance for customization. Plus, there are dyes in D3 allowing for further customization. The gameplay was there and I was hooked! Can't wait for the release!!!

Speculations continue if McKee would record a few sound tracks for the game. Neither Blizzard nor McKee have commented on this yet. Blizzard played the perfect host and apparently loved having Andy over at the headquarters. Blizzard [posted an update on its FaceBook page which reads - It was our pleasure to host guitar virtuoso Andy McKee on the Blizzard campus this week! It's always gratifying to inspire those who have inspired us in the fields of art and entertainment. Diablo fans all over the world are literally writing in anticipation of the game. A FaceBook user even commented that she hopes that McKee had inspired Blizzard enough to release the game soon.


Andy McKee’s drop by the Blizzard headquarters may have been a PR affair considering that McKee is both a popular YouTuber and a avid gamer or it may as well have connotations to the game. Whether or not McKee was graced the blessing of composing something for the game will be known only after Diablo III’s credits get public.

Blizzard announces ‘Shared Stash’ in Diablo III

Much to the joy of Diablo fans, Blizzard has announced that ‘Shared Stash’ will indeed be a part of the final version of Diablo III. Shared Stash will make item sharing in the game much easier than before. It was discussed as a possible item sharing solution in BlizzCast Episode 5 and revived later at BlizzCon.

In the previous Diablo games, Blizzard did not attach much importance to the ease of item sharing. The original Diablo had a feature called ‘Corner Stone of the World’ which was
nothing but an area where the item to be shared could be put by one player and collected by the other. Diablo II gave on ‘Corner Stone of the World’ and the players had to resort to trading items by mutual cooperation of online friends or by using other characters as mules. Blizzard quoted that it did not want the players to mule and hence provided a shared stash for everyone to store away spare items.


The concept of a shared stash one is being welcomed by the players. For starters, it eliminates the use of mules to tow spare items. Players can just go to the shared stash and put their items there, which will be accessible to anyone. Also, as Diablo III’s economy will be based on real gold, there will be no need to stash away junk. The Shared stash has a few downsides as well. To begin with, people who need to store excessive amount of junk may have to resort back to mules. Also, some Diablo fans have been commenting that the shared stash is an unnecessary addition and Blizzard should just have created a room where you go with a person to exchange things.

The world of Diablo III has been a heated topic for discussion ever since the game was announced in June, 2008. It is said to be in its final minor revisions and may hit the markets soon.