Launch day

Diablo 3 has finally arrived and thousands of players worldwide have already started their journeys through sanctuary. But all is not good in the world of Diabo. The servers are currently down for emergency maintenance (3pm EST 5/15/12). As much as it sucks getting pulled out of the game, I think this maintenance was necessary to fix some really troublesome bugs.

Despite any issues Daiblo 3 is just as amazing as I thought it would be. I have been hyped up and nerding out on Diablo for months now ever since I got into the beta but whenever you put that much anticipation into something you get nervous it won't liveup. I have only been able to play about 6 1/2 hours but Diablo 3 has not let me down in any way whatsoever.

Deckard Cain

In my short excursion into the demon filled lands of sanctuary I managed to get my wizard to level 24 and clear acts 1, 2, and part of 3. As always in fantasy games I chose the play the ranged magic based class, the wizard. At level 24 the pros and cons to playing a wizard are becoming very clear. For instance, I am definenatly more squishy than my barbarian and witch doctor buddies. I can make up for it though with skills like diamond shield, a bubble spell that makes you invulnerable to damage for a short time.

Gameplay feels great and slaying demons is set to be my new pass time. Lots of players are skeptical about the lack of talent points but I feel that the new system for skills and runes is great. It lets players easily change builds when needed and makes the pacing of leveling great by providing a new skill or rune almost every level. It doesn't make it so that there is only one viable spec for end game, customization is still there. At level 60 I'm sure there will be many strong builds for clearing inferno with different group comps or encounters.

 About 2 quests into act 3 the story so far has been great, there have been lots of great moments and the cut scenes are absolutely beautiful. I don't want to spoil anything for those who are not as far in as I am so be warned.
[SPOILERS]
The game is jam packed with exciting, surprising moments that keep the player engaged and begging for more. In Act 1 the players venture into the depths of the cathedral to uncover the mystery of the fallen star that brought the dead back to haunt New Tristram. Deep in the dungeon players find out that the star is in fact a fallen angel. An angel named Tyrael, the arch angel of justice.

Tyrael

 Tyrael reveals that he chose to become a human rather than face prosecution for helping the mortals in the past. After killing the butcher, Deckard Cain is murdered by Magdah, who is a minion of Belial, lord of lies. in act 2 he player ventures to Caldeum to hunt down Magdah and set Caldeum free from Belial's influence. The player ventures into the desert and kills Magdah. After killing magdah, the player finds out from tyrael that Leah has been taken by the city guard who are in fact demons under the command of Belial. Players rescue Leah and find out the Adria, Leah's mother, is also being held captive by the guards. The group free adria and resurect Zolton Kulle in order to retrieve the black soul stone. After retrieving the soul stone Zolton turns on the player and is killed. The party assaults Belial and entrap him in the soul stone. This was the end of Act 2 and I am only just starting act 3 so ill stop there.
[END SPOILERS]


Overall Diablo 3 is the game I thought it would be. I've already killed countless demons, gotten to level 24. In my opinion it's at least a 9/10.

Diablo 3 Launch Issues

It's finally here! Diablo 3 has officially gone live and thousands of players are flooding the servers. Lots of players are experiencing issues like error 37. Error 37 is one of many issues keeping people out of the game but it is also the most expected. When the servers are under too much stress they give the error 37 message t players trying to log in.

My advice is wait a bit and try again. Spamming log in attempts is only going to put more stress on the servers, so wait 10-15 minutes between attempts. Eventually the servers will settle down and everyone will be into the game. Hopefully, sometime soon because I, like many, really want to play!

See you in game.

My Plans for May 15th

As anyone reading this must know Diablo 3 comes out May 15th. Many of us are coming up with detailed strategies for the long awaited moment the servers go live and lots have been sharing them with the community. This blog will focus solely on the strategies me and my two partners use for the AH and how well we do. I plan on posting regularly once the game launches. I'll be on the servers the second they come up leveling away on my wizard with my two buddies.

Another important thing to know is that I am not a gold making expert in any game. I have played wow extensively but never focused on gold, it has never excited or engaged me. Now that I have found a game with a Real Money Auction House that is no longer true. I have spent lots of time in the beta playing around in both AHs and loved it. This blog is just me sharing what I learn with anyone who cares. :) Hopefully I do well and can help you all do the same.

It's been 10 years since the last release in the Diablo series, the expansion set Lord of Destruction, came out. Are you guys ready yet???

First, I plan on level as hard and as fast as I can. This way I am one of the first players on nightmare, hopefully before the RMAH is implemented into the game sometime after launch. This will give me the advantage of selling better gear which will have a higher demand and a lower supply because most players will still be playing normal. As I continue to level and gear my group up I will move onto Hell and eventually Inferno difficulties, applying the same strategies and whatever knowledge I gain on the way.

While leveling on normal I will focus on a few things;
1)Completing quests fast while still exploring a bit
2)Selling good items (things that are usefull, based on stats) on the GAH
3)Salvage items for mats, sell on the GAH
4)Gear up enough for Nightmare while selling as much as possible
5)Buy up auctions that are obscenely cheap
6)Take note of trends

When Moving up a difficulty(Normal to Nightmare, Nightmare to Hell, Hell to Inferno);
1)Completing quests fast while still exploring a bit
2)Selling good items (things that are usefull, based on stats) on the RMAH. Never post more than 3-4 equipment auctions on the RMAH at one time due to the 10 auction limit. Either save good pieces or post on the GAH.
3)Salvage bad items for mats, sell on the RMAH (Use stacks to avoid the 10 auction limit, never sell nightmare+ mats on the GAH until prices in the RMAH drop later into the game's lifespan)
4)Buy obscenely cheap items off the GAH and sell on the RMAH if the profit is good or flip on the GAH
5)Sell Gold
6)Gear up (I think that in nightmare you will be able to use some magic find or gold find but in Hell and Inferno I will focus on dps/survival)
7)Continue to read other peoples blogs, monitor trends, and stay active.

In order to get to nightmare and beyond as quickly as possible I have taken off work next week and will be playing as close to nonstop as humanly possible. I'll be posting any small ideas I want to try, any time something suprises me, or even when I beat the game. The suspense is KILLING me!!!