Blizzcon Begins, Diablo 3 Wizard Class Unveiled

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Blizzcon Begins, Diablo 3 Wizard Class Unveiled

Posted by Soulskill on Friday October 10, 2008 @08:56AM from the zap dept.

Blizzcon is officially underway today, starting with a presentation showcasing the Worldwide Invitational tournament held earlier this year. A company spokesman went on to talk about the tournaments being held for World of Warcraft 3v3 Arena, Warcraft 3, and Starcraft 2, followed by word that Starcraft 2 was not yet ready for beta, but that Blizzcon attendees would be included in the first round of testers when the beta program starts. The big news of the presentation, though, was the unveiling of the Wizard class — the third such class to be announced, along with the previously mentioned Barbarian and Witch Doctor. Read on for some more details.

The trailer illustrating the new class showed actual gameplay demonstrating the Wizard's spells and abilities, some of which hearken back to the Sorceress in Diablo 2. Attacks such as Meteor and Chain Lightning seem to be returning, and several new spells were seen, including one invoking a spherical shield that seems to alter the flow of time within it, allowing the Wizard to dodge projectiles and approaching enemies with ease. Another spell sends tornadoes storming through the room. Here's Blizzard description of the class from their press release: "The wizard is a wielder of the elements and a master manipulator of time, who combats the hordes of the Burning Hells by launching environment-shattering lightning bolts, channeling explosive arcane energies, and creating pockets of space outside of the normal flow of time."

142 comments

Gamers' poppin' off by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 08:58 · Score: -1, Offtopic

The phrase "poppin' off" is gamer slang for a sudden verbal or gamewise assault but it also has another meaning:

When you're receiving a blowjob from a male Mac user and their very jealous boyfriend pulls up in the driveway, "poppin' off" refers to the loud "pop" which occurs when the Mac user suddenly pulls their head off of you and runs out your back door. Heh heh, back door.
1. Re:Gamers' poppin' off by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 11:02 · Score: -1, Troll
  
  you do know that getting a bj from a male does imply you are gay right? Cause you know some people my be confused. Why not a female mac user, I mean, they usually a good looking and need some one of intelligence to explain the fault in their mac love.
Your sound card by bonch · 2008-10-10 09:05 · Score: 5, Funny

Your sound card works perfectly.
Your sound card works perfectly.
Your sound card works perfectly.
Enjoying yourself?
Your sound card works perfectly.
Your sound card works perfectly.
Your sound card works perfectly.
It doesn't get any better than this!
1. Re:Your sound card by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:39 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  A quote of one of the original warcraft setup programs is hardly offtopic. They always stuck in the little extra quotes for those nutters (myself included) that insisted on clicking on a button or character so many times in a row.
2. Re:Your sound card by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:04 · Score: 0
  
  +1, Funny
3. Re:Your sound card by Thyamine · 2008-10-10 10:23 · Score: 1
  
  Definitely on-topic. +1 Funny at least.
  
  --
  I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
4. Re:Your sound card by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 12:11 · Score: 0
  
  I don't get it.
5. Re:Your sound card by nog_lorp · 2008-10-10 12:16 · Score: 1
  
  To hurl chunks, please use the vomit bag in front of you.
6. Re:Your sound card by irae · 2008-10-10 19:36 · Score: 1
  
  http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=q_A1GNx0M9M
7. Re:Your sound card by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-11 08:01 · Score: 0
  
  If you don't get it maybe you should read the responses to the parent before posting
Totally new - the Wizard! by Dutch+Gun · 2008-10-10 09:10 · Score: 3, Insightful

The wizard is a wielder of the elements and a master manipulator of time, who combats the hordes of the Burning Hells by launching environment-shattering lightning bolts, channeling explosive arcane energies, and creating pockets of space outside of the normal flow of time.

Sounds a little like... I don't know... a sorceress? Except for that cute "pockets of space outside the normal flow of time". That sounds like Star Trek.
I guess you can't really get away from the spell-flinger archtype in a fantasy RPG. I wonder why they're so keen on changing the classes?

--
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
1. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by internerdj · 2008-10-10 09:17 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  While Blizzard throws some new twists on occasion did you expect something far afield from the fantasy trope? So far we have the barbarian, the necromancer, and now the sorceress. Except the last two are a little different from their d2 counterparts. That said as long as the game is as fun to play and as addictive as D2 the next class could be the gold farmer for all I care.
2. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by SwordsmanLuke · 2008-10-10 09:28 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  You know, this is a gripe I have with the whole Action/RPG genre as a whole. Why do we even have classes? Give me some skill trees and skill points. Let *me* decide how my character should play. If I want my character to wield a sword *and* cast magic missile, let me! More choices are always a good thing.
  
  --
  Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
3. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Vexor · 2008-10-10 09:29 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  The classes are probably being reworked because of the shattering of the world stone at the end of D2's expansion. Crazy stuff is happening.
  
  --
  ~Vexed and loving it!
4. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Samantha+Wright · 2008-10-10 09:40 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I believe this came up once when someone asked a Blizz person in an interview why they didn't have stat points in WoW. The answer was that the average player apparently has an outrageous tendency to nerf his/her character when allowed such fine control. Perhaps you shall find some quantum of solace in the notion that your suffering might be an extension thereof.
  
  --
  Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
5. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Daimanta · 2008-10-10 09:43 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  "Sounds a little like... I don't know... a sorceress? Except for that cute "pockets of space outside the normal flow of time". That sounds like Star Trek."
  Yeah, the Wizard has awesome abilities like "enhanced tachyon field", "inverse neutrino pulse" and "transporter accident".
  
  --
  Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
6. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Kandenshi · 2008-10-10 09:46 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Well, you *can* have a sorceress in Diablo 2 using a sword. In fact, there are swords that are made specifically for spellcasters to use. The act 3 mercenaries are sword/shield and magic(though they very very rarely actually HIT anything with their sword).
  The problem with this is that typically wizards/etc need to learn *how* to do all the crazy physics-defying things they do. That apparently takes time effort and money, leaving your character with much less time to devote to lifting very heavy things, running quite a bit and learning the best way to stab someone with an oversized knife.
  So you'd expect they'd be kinda crummy at both.
  Diablo 2 still lets you do that if you want, it just doesn't expect you to be as powerful as a pure frozen orb/meteor sorc or a pure fighter.
  Sorceress' can hit things with their swords like Hexfire, having buffed themselves with enchant and with energy shield.
  Druids can run around shapeshifted into a werewolf form, clawing and biting things all the while calling down Armageddon. Of course, the number of skill point you need to expend in order to be really good at both is very high, but you *can* do it...
7. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by geekoid · 2008-10-10 09:52 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Balance is a lot easier with classes.
  "If I want my character to wield a sword *and* cast magic missile,
  Are you willing to be half as good at both?
  That's the problem. People want to do a lot, and then bitch when someone who specializes in something becomes better.
  That said, If I created a game, it would have 1000 skills, and each would top at about 1000 points. At about 750 points, I would make it so you need other skills to compliment skills over 750.
  
  --
  The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
8. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:55 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  You know, this is a gripe I have with the whole Action/RPG genre as a whole. Why do we even have classes? Give me some skill trees and skill points. Let *me* decide how my character should play. If I want my character to wield a sword *and* cast magic missile, let me! More choices are always a good thing.
  Basically, it just boils down to game/class balance for a game that's played with multiple people. Single player games tend to offer more flexibility (like Oblivion).
9. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:55 · Score: 0
  
  "transporter accident"
  hello new band name.
10. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by justinlee37 · 2008-10-10 09:55 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Sure, you're right, a Sorceress could use a sword. But that's besides the original poster's point that an open-ended character progression system would be more engaging.
  Get back to me when a Sorceress can put talent points into Barbarian War Cries.
11. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Nasajin · 2008-10-10 10:09 · Score: 1
  
  The Elder Scrolls series of games have had such character progression since 1994. You can pick up Elder Scrolls 1: Arena for free from the publishers if you really want.
12. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Kandenshi · 2008-10-10 10:15 · Score: 1
  
  Call to Arms is a runeword'd sword she could be using on switch. In fact, characters of many classes do.
  I know it's not quite what you're asking for, but you can indeed have a sorceress running around casting a low level battle orders and whatnot.
  
  Call To Arms 5 Socket Weapons Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm
  +1 To All Skills
  +40% Increased Attack Speed
  +250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies)
  Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
  7% Life Stolen Per Hit
  +2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*
  +1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*
  +1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*
  Prevent Monster Heal
  Replenish Life +12
  30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
13. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by PotatoFarmer · 2008-10-10 10:15 · Score: 2
  
  ...Except for that cute "pockets of space outside the normal flow of time". That sounds like Star Trek.
  It sounds more like an expanded version of the D2 Amazon's Slow Missile skill.
14. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by greyspectre · 2008-10-10 10:16 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Reroute all mana to the main deflector dish?
15. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Jabbrwokk · 2008-10-10 10:17 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I'll probably get flamed or modded down for this, but oh well.
  I agree with you, I like playing hybrid classes. The Dungeon Siege series tried to make this viable, but it just didn't work. I hated how there was only a finite number of monsters to kill, so every single hit you made with your character to level up your skills was precious. I tried to play a combat magic-fighter hybrid but he was just a gimp compared to the "pure" classes in my party.
  Titan Quest, on the other hand, is one of only two games on my computer at the moment because it's fun, caters to the Diablo loot lust factor and lets you play hybrid classes. Want to be a warrior-storm mage (a thane)? Sure. Want to be a hunter-nature mage (a ranger)? OK. Want to be a defensive-earth mage (a juggernaut)? You can do that too. In fact there are 36 different combinations to play.
  There's quite a few combinations (more with the expansion pack) and the hybrid classes are powerful, not gimped. And if you put your points down the wrong tree there's a guy in almost every city who you can pay to reallocate your skill points.
  I'm sure Diablo 3 will be great, but I've never actually played any of the Diablo games, just games labelled as "clones" (Just because a game is in the same genre does that make it a clone? Are all 3D WWII FPS games "Wolfenstein" clones?). I never liked the "oh so gothic and evil" atmosphere of Diablo.
  However, Titan Quest was the perfect action RPG for me because I love the setting and it let me play hybrid classes however I wanted to.
16. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by jlarocco · 2008-10-10 10:18 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I think you missed the point.
  The OP was complaining that the skills are carved up by classes at all. A necromancer can't put points in a sorceress skill, for example. So instead of 7 character "classes", each with 3 skill trees, just give every character 21 skill trees and let the player do as they please.
  The multitude of options might be a little overwhelming at first, but with as many players as a Blizzard game will have, I think a few stable, decent builds would emerge fairly quickly, while still giving enough variety for people to come up with viable alternative builds. One thing that disappointed me in D2 was the lack of viable character builds, especially for PvP. If you deviated very much from one of the dozen cookie cutter builds, you could almost count on having to leech in experience runs and getting owned in duels.
  The later patches of D2 actually explored it a bit, with runeword items that provided class specific skills, but could be used by any class. The items giving barbarian warcries and paladin auras were particularly popular, but there were a few items that would give necromancer and sorceress skills.
  
  --
  Maybe not
17. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:21 · Score: 0
  
  If I want my character to wield a sword *and* cast magic missile, let me! More choices are always a good thing.
  Enter Dungeon Seige, where you did what you wanted and gained in that skill as you used it. Great game imho.
18. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Ihmhi · 2008-10-10 10:35 · Score: 1
  
  Incidentally, the D2 Sorceress had a spell called Energy Shield which absorbed damage to Mana instead of health.
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
19. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Gewalt · 2008-10-10 10:45 · Score: 1
  
  And Legends of Aranna is exactly the kind of expansion pack I wanted to see alot more of. They could have sold me another 10 or 15 of those.
  
  --
  Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
20. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by lupis42 · 2008-10-10 10:49 · Score: 1
  
  Would you settle for the talent "trees" of Titan Quest? Pick any two trees. Compensates for the tendency of players to choose things that don't complement each other, but still about twice as freeform as 'classes'.
21. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:51 · Score: 0
  
  Actually if you go back and play TES1:Arena, you would rediscover they had classes back then that were not customizable, only two of which can use plate for example (knight/warrior, and they had limited/no magic ability in a game that revolved around spell casting in my opinion (passwall!!)). Daggerfall has the flexibility you speak of, and was jokingly so buggy the text bug fix file was larger than the game exe.
  I loved that game though, on a 386 that was slow enough that each time a random mob spawned the hard drive access light would chug for a good second, warning you to turn around and get ready to fight!
22. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by lupis42 · 2008-10-10 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  What if I just work twice as hard? If it requires X work to be an awesome caster, and Y work to be an awesome deliverer of stabbity death, why cannot some enterprising sod who's lived longer have expended X+Y work? Oh, right, character balance.
  
  Here's the thing: people don't want to stop advancing. As a result, the upper limit in all skills are roughly equal, and as a result of that, any work on skillset Y is work lost by skillset X. If games had a greater array of skill options, and a lower cap on individual skills, it would open up whole new kinds of customization options. With some clever game design, one could even design an MMO where characters increase in versatility, rather than power level, after hitting the level cap, thus making the game become more complex and interesting over time, but still balanced for relative noobs.
  
  If someone does this, I *might* even ever try a MMORPG again.
23. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 11:02 · Score: 0
  
  That's a bit too MMO-ish for my taste. Although, it is a bit more realistic (if you could call it that), I guess. Start out picking just a male or female character, and then choosing a profession based on the skills you learn as you go.
24. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Pebby · 2008-10-10 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  But a Sorceress implies the gender, and they say you can make any class in either gender for Diablo 3. Wizard sure sounds better than "Sorcer????"
25. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by MRe_nl · 2008-10-10 11:08 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  The Wizard has awesome disabilities too, such as
  "WIZARD NEEDS FOOD. BADLY!".
  
  --
  "Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
26. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by sortius_nod · 2008-10-10 11:58 · Score: 1
  
  If you've ever played Dungeon Siege you'd see this kind of idea has already been implemented.
  If you want to be a warrior you hack & slash, if you want to be a ranger, you pull your bow out, naturalist use nature spells, wizard use fire spells. Every time you cast one of the trees and get a kill you level that class. This allows you to create a few interesting hybrid classes. DS2 really nailed it giving you more flexibility.
  Diablo for me has always been very linear as far as development of your class goes, so It'd be nice to see some variation added to spice it up - but I won't hold my breath. I'm thinking WoW formulae will be heavily sprinkled through this iteration of Diablo.
27. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Koiu+Lpoi · 2008-10-10 12:11 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  "pockets of space outside the normal flow of time".
  See Median XL, a Diablo II mod. It's a sorceress ability.
28. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Koiu+Lpoi · 2008-10-10 12:14 · Score: 1
  
  The problem with this is that typically wizards/etc need to learn *how* to do all the crazy physics-defying things they do.
  We have the same problem in D&D. Why can't you have someone who learns magic for the sole purpose of enhancing their own abilities? Or some kind of hybrid? That class would be hugely popular in whatever game it was in.
29. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by nog_lorp · 2008-10-10 12:23 · Score: 1
  
  The Diablo series is about Hack-and-slash. Removing class distinctions makes the game more strategic and raises the barrier of entry for players.
30. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Gewalt · 2008-10-10 12:32 · Score: 1
  
  cause noone ever heard of a sorceror or a wizardress.
  
  --
  Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
31. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by SwordsmanLuke · 2008-10-10 12:54 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Are you willing to be half as good at both?
  Yes. I think that makes the choice of my skill progression *mean* something When I choose to make my swordsman/mage, I realize that I'm going to have to make an important decision about how to spend my precious skill points. That makes the choice matter and gives the game more depth.
  
  As another poster mentioned, the problem with allowing this sort of game play is that people tend to nerf their characters. This is another game design rant of mine, but I'm on a roll so... I don't like the way game difficulty is done in most games. I don't want to have to guess what my optimal game difficulty is, or want to have to adjust it back and forth. I play alot of games, so I'm only rarely unable to beat any given game, even on harder difficulty settings, but on those occasions when I do feel the need to ratchet the game back - why should I have to? Many games have had auto-difficulty adjustments built in to many of them for some time now. Is it really that difficult a concept? Especially for a game like Diablo?
  
  When a player is nearly dead, ease up. If they're wading through foes like an angry god, throw bigger baddies and drop health/mana less often. Keep the challenge tailored to the player - don't make the player step out of the game and change the challenge.
  
  This solves the character nerfing issue for single/coop play quite nicely. If you're a pvp player, I have no sympathy if your mutt character can't go toe-to-toe with a specialist. That's what I would expect to have happen. If, for instance, you've got a total of, say, 50 skill points, which you've divided equally into casting and swordsmanship, it should be no surprise that you're not as powerful with the sword as the guy who dropped all 50 into swordsmanship. Use your character's superior combat flexibility and hope for the best - that's what it's there for! If you're not able to do that, you probably need to rethink your character's abilities.
  
  Besides, it'd be kind of interesting to see what'd happen after a while with a hybrid, given the insane amount of time people end up devoting to these sorts of games. What happens when you've got each skill tree maxed out? Should death affect your accumulated skills?
  
  I think these sorts of mechanics would make for an incredibly deep RPG - MMO or not.
  
  --
  Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
32. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Sparton · 2008-10-10 13:02 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  The idea of the hardcore community finding the more optimized build with such a large array of options is irrelevant. With so many options, new players would become overwhelmed and have no idea how to make an efficient or useful character, and the chance of an inexperienced player creating a poor build increases dramatically.
  Blizzard wants their games to be appreciated by as many people as possible. Making their game more intimidating by having so many options from the get-go (instead of saying "your this class, you get to choose from these skills"), goes against their core belief of accessibility.
33. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by justinlee37 · 2008-10-10 13:18 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, the runewords were always awesome. "Leaf" was a must-have for a low-level fire sorc.
  It's still besides the point though.
34. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 13:30 · Score: 0
  
  EVE does this with its branching skill system. Since each ship/item only uses a handful of skills, its quite easy to max level in any individual ship or profession. To reach the actual cap level, however, is nearly impossible and would take years at the very minimum.
35. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by CronoCloud · 2008-10-10 14:01 · Score: 1
  
  It was called Mana Shield in D1. If memory serves me correctly the Cleric class in Champions of Norrath has a similar (but less effective) ability.
36. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by rabbit994 · 2008-10-10 14:42 · Score: 1
  
  Doesn't change the fact they could have classes and still present the option to have one class that could pick from any tree. Gamers are much more choice oriented these days and open ended is always good.
37. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Miseph · 2008-10-10 14:49 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Dude, multi-class, it works. Or you could go for one of the multi-purpose class like monk or paladin that already does that... or even go ranger and have all three branches covered!
  That said, I do agree that the rogue/fighter light infantry build is so unbelievably broken as to make nearly all other possibilities a waste of time, and that this somewhat deadens the ability to make any character one wants.
  
  --
  Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
38. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Keill · 2008-10-10 15:06 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  READ:
  http://rpgforumsonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20613
  
  --
  'Stupidity is an often fatal disease' - R. A. Heinlein
39. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Sparton · 2008-10-10 15:27 · Score: 1
  
  [...] and open ended is always good.
  Hell no it isn't. With that many more options, theres that many more ways to break the game with unbalancing skill combos. You'd either release a game with hugely imbalanced combo's or spend a ridiculously longer time balancing.
40. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Walkingshark · 2008-10-10 16:31 · Score: 1
  
  one could even design an MMO where characters increase in versatility, rather than power level, after hitting the level cap, thus making the game become more complex and interesting over time, but still balanced for relative noobs.
  The game you're looking for is called Planetside. A newbie with the basic assault rifle can, with care, kill a level 20 character. Leveling past level 6 or so is just a way to add more versatility to your character, but with just doing the tutorial and hitting level 4 you can wear medium armor and have an assault rifle, or wear MAX armor and stomp around the battlefield.
  
  --
  The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
41. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Walkingshark · 2008-10-10 16:35 · Score: 1
  
  I cast transporter accident on my girlfriend and she turned into William Shattner with a beard. It made sex akward at first but I've adjusted.
  
  --
  The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
42. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by jlarocco · 2008-10-10 16:48 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  The idea of the hardcore community finding the more optimized build with such a large array of options is irrelevant. With so many options, new players would become overwhelmed and have no idea how to make an efficient or useful character, and the chance of an inexperienced player creating a poor build increases dramatically.
  
  You're talking about people buying the third game in a best selling series that's been around for a decade. At this point Blizzard doesn't care about the casual, "inexperienced" gamer; they already know they can sell a boatload of games to the hardcore players. Their target audience is the person who doesn't mind playing for a while.
  Also, I suspect they've learned from WoW and will charge for network play, so there's even more reason to draw out the time it takes to learn the game.
  Oh, and failure to immediately create a decent build? That makes the game better. I could install Diablo 2 right now and have a fairly powerful, high level character in a couple of days because I know the basic formula characters. All the possibilities have been explored, and there's little point in searching for any new builds. Actually having to find a decent build, or being able to come up with a new combination that surprises people would be a lot more fun.
  Ultimately it's up to Blizzard, but I think it'd make the game better.
  
  --
  Maybe not
43. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Sparton · 2008-10-10 17:07 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  At this point Blizzard doesn't care about the casual, "inexperienced" gamer; they already know they can sell a boatload of games to the hardcore players.
  [...] Also, I suspect they've learned from WoW [...]
  You says Blizzard has learned something from WoW, but ignore the disproportionate ratio of casual to hardcore players who subscribe to it?
  There are a couple of game developers that are dense enough to cater to the hardcore audience at the expense of the more lucrative and larger casual audience, but I don't count Blizzard among them.
44. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Grimbleton · 2008-10-10 20:29 · Score: 1
  
  Psionics, man. Psionics.
45. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by bar-agent · 2008-10-10 23:10 · Score: 1
  
  I think a few stable, decent builds would emerge fairly quickly, while still giving enough variety for people to come up with viable alternative builds.
  Hey, you make a good point. Maybe we could call those builds "classes!"
  
  --
  i'd hit it so hard, if you pulled me out you'd be the king of britain [bash.org]
46. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by bar-agent · 2008-10-10 23:14 · Score: 1
  That said as long as the game is as fun to play and as addictive as D2 the next class could be the gold farmer for all I care.
  Hm. That might just work!
  
  Buff: +20% loot
  Skill: Locate mobs
  Ranged attack: Money magnet
  "Spawn more mules!"
  --
  i'd hit it so hard, if you pulled me out you'd be the king of britain [bash.org]
47. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by ozphx · 2008-10-11 01:52 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds a little like... I don't know... a sorceress?
  Yeah, apart from the penis, a lot like a sorceress.
  I mean "MOLTAR'S GREAT HARDWOOD STAFF OF THE BEAR" (+3 Bludgeoning).
  
  --
  3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
48. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by ozphx · 2008-10-11 01:54 · Score: 1
  
  You are thinking of Dungeon Siege.
  Best part about that is being high level in say Combat Magic and then pulling out a bow and plugging an arrow into a high level enemy. The result on your stats is like:
  *whock*... "Oh thats how you use this thing".... Brrrrrr.tika.tik.tik.tik (+5 levels to Ranged Combat).
  
  --
  3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
49. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by karstux · 2008-10-11 02:23 · Score: 1
  
  You've just essentially described Titan Quest. Best Diablo Clone ever, BTW.
  
  --
  Don't whistle while you're pissing.
50. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by JidsDB · 2008-10-11 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe they could put illithids in as a class... At least they're partially humanoid. And they should make the assassins like drow, or like Entreri, for those of you who know who he is. Now that would make for an even more awesome game.
51. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-11 03:53 · Score: 0
  
  Someone did, a while ago.
  The skill system in eve-online works exactly like that.
52. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by andi75 · 2008-10-11 05:19 · Score: 1
  
  So we know the Archer class will be next. And it will have the 'Shoot Food' special attack.
53. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by subnomine · 2008-10-11 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  D&D? Hey Diablo2ers we have a nerd among us! NERD! :)
54. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by splatter · 2008-10-12 00:50 · Score: 1
  
  "If it requires X work to be an awesome caster, and Y work to be an awesome deliverer of stabbity death...."
  Try and orchestrate your favorite song with a 50 pound hammer in your hand, when the songs done you will know why you can't cast and wield at the same time.
  
  --
  "(I) have this unfortunate condition that causes me not to believe a single thing any politician says when a mic's on.
55. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by lupis42 · 2008-10-12 03:13 · Score: 1
  
  A fifty pound hammer might be a bit much. I have a thirteen pound greatsword, which is somewhat awkward to wield, however, and your point makes sense, except that it is incredibly easy to simply put the sword up. Hanging it on the backstrap takes about 1 second. Drawing it and striking takes less than half a second. With the sword sheathed, I can do anything I could normally do barehanded, except contort myself into places it could not fit. And for those who fight with swords that are less than six feet long, this becomes even easier.
  
  But I'm also not just talking about casting while in armor with a sword, although that might be the desired end state for some. I'm talking about characters leveling quickly to the peak of power in being a caster, and then expending further experience on becoming a fighter, and then maybe a rouge, and so on. I understand most people on WOW play multiple characters of different classes, why not let one character have a similar experience? If done correctly, (with the peak power level at any one tree is not too far from the start point, and the overlap is balanced, so that the caster has some advantages over a complete newbie as they work up the fighter tree, but not enough to make it excessively easier, skilled players could spend their time working not on trying to combine items correctly to eke out another percent of DPS, but on increasing the versatility of their characters, and gaining access to an ever expanding array of new combinations of abilities. What's more, it then becomes easier for new content to appeal to both experience players and newbies, because new classes provide new opportunities for both new and old characters, and because the power level of players doesn't increase too dramatically, new challenges can be approachable to new converts, and still interesting for seasoned characters.
56. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by telarus · 2008-10-13 13:10 · Score: 1
  
  Play Earthdawn. 'nuff said.
57. Re:Totally new - the Wizard! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-14 08:51 · Score: 0
  
  line 2389, src/eat.c:
  pline("%s needs food, badly!",
  It isn't capitalized, and has a comma not a period.
Simple things by Kingrames · 2008-10-10 09:11 · Score: 5, Interesting

What I found coolest about Blizzcon so far was something very simple: a container of nickelodeon-style slime with a Hydralisk inside.

Your very own zerg unit, complete with matching creep. I thought it was an excellent example of how Blizzard is very good at taking simple ideas and making them work very well.

--
If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
1. Re:Simple things by geekoid · 2008-10-10 09:54 · Score: 1
  
  I got to get me one of those!
  
  --
  The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
2. Re:Simple things by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:27 · Score: -1, Offtopic
  
  cool! is it too small to shove up my ass? I'm getting sick of the greased yoda doll.
I like the first word non-link.... thats classy by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:11 · Score: 3, Funny

Blizzcon, no link provided.
Because if you don't have the bookmark, you must be a noob. Right?
AskSlashdot by SmarkWoW · 2008-10-10 09:11 · Score: 1

Any word on when we'll get answers to some of the questions asked in THIS thread?

People attending Blizzcon got a StarCraft II Beta Key. Lucky bastards. Anyway, a lot of Blizzcon news will reported on MMO-Champion so check there.
Get some priorities by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:16 · Score: -1, Troll

The stock markets of the world lost 20% to 50% of their value during the last few weeks. Trillions of dollars in wealth has simply evaporated. The country of Iceland is practically in receivership. The USA continues to descend into fascism under the rule of Obama/McBush .
And you lot -- the geniuses of the human race -- are concerned with the intricate details of "the unveiling of the Wizard class", which "combats the hordes of the Burning Hells" in some fancied-up child's game. It's no wonder the planet is so screwed up.
1. Re:Get some priorities by Freeside1 · 2008-10-10 09:28 · Score: 1
  
  I'm guessing that the extent of your actions to help the world economy when it's at its worst is trolling on slashdot
2. Re:Get some priorities by SmarkWoW · 2008-10-10 09:39 · Score: 0
  
  I'm sorry if my post was construed as trolling. That's not what i meant to get across.
3. Re:Get some priorities by Kandenshi · 2008-10-10 09:59 · Score: 1
  
  You posted that comment as AC despite having an account(and posting from it now). That to me indicates that you knew it was likely to draw the ire of people, and/or would be noticed for being completely off topic. Maybe you were posting from some public place and just didn't feel like logging in. Maybe. Seems unlikely though.
  So yeah, I'm thinking you did know you were trolling.
  Of course, by responding to you I'm posting even further off topic, but at least I contributed some other more pertinent stuff up above :P
4. Re:Get some priorities by Kagura · 2008-10-10 10:03 · Score: 1
  
  Listen, buddy. If you're concerned about something like the world economy at a time like this, you need to pull your head out of the sand. In case you haven't noticed, we are gradually heading towards heat death of the universe, and unless we come up with a solution you won't even be able to worry about the economy anymore.
5. Re:Get some priorities by bonch · 2008-10-10 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  While the economic crisis is big news, it's not like we haven't had economic blowouts in the past. This isn't the Great Depression. You're buying into the hype of the media--the hype that says everything happening at this moment is a critical disaster from which you will never recover. A year later, that same media has forgotten it all and is reporting on the latest exploits of Britney Spears. So calm down a little.
6. Re:Get some priorities by malkavian · 2008-10-10 11:18 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, we're fully aware of what's going on. And we're fully aware that we're not going to magically pull the solution to the woes of the world out of thin air.
  Now, that leaves us two options. Sit in a corner and worry ourselves into gibbering wrecks, or, we can concentrate on something small that's just plain fun. You know, the kind of thing that'll give you a bit of rest and respite from the doom and gloom, so that when we get back out and have to deal with it again, we're that little bit more refreshed and ready to do something if we can.
  And anyway, what sport isn't some "fancied up child's game"? Face it, we have to play to get a good social interaction, else we'll be so boring that people around would wish the world would come to an end, just to put a stop to the incessant misery.
  Now, you've just told us off for having this nice little distraction for a few minutes, when we obviously have far more serious things to do... So, please, enlighten me.. Exactly what should I be doing at this very moment in time (just gone midnight here in the UK) that will cure America's political issues, and fix the global economy?
  Nice troll though, I'll give you that.. Almost as fun to bite on as a cheese sandwich.
7. Re:Get some priorities by ozphx · 2008-10-11 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  Kadenshi has already given you a well reasoned reply, completely free of ad-homienems and other totally awesome methods of debate that the wikipedia generation tends to frown on.
  For myself, I am going to call you a cunt.
  You are a cunt.
  
  --
  3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
Oh boy! by paroneayea · 2008-10-10 09:16 · Score: -1, Troll

This sounds like a story totally worthy of slashdot's front page. Almost makes me wish that Slashdot had made a post informing us that Mario had fireflower powers again in Mario Galaxy again, as soon as that information became available!

--
http://mediagoblin.org/
1. Re:Oh boy! by rotide · 2008-10-10 09:31 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Worlds largest game developer (arguably) throws a convention where they are profiling their biggest titles (starcraft/warcraft/diablo). Yes, this gets attention.
  
  Quick math:
  10,000,000 world of warcraft subscriptions equals:
  10,000,000 copies of wow @ $40 a pop = $400,000,000
  10,000,000 active subscriptions @ $15 a pop = $1,800,000,000 per year.
  
  We're over 2 billion dollars for 1 game for 1 year (it's been out for 4 years now AND has 1 expansion out with another releasing).
  This isn't some rinkidink little company, they ARE the mmo scene AND the RTS scene (arguably).
  It makes news, sorry.
  
  P.S. Did you not get to go to Blizzcon? If that was just a rant, there is still time to fly down for tomorrows show.
2. Re:Oh boy! by Shadow+of+Eternity · 2008-10-10 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  Except how many of those are actual individuals and not just people running multis, and have they been verified or are they just blizzard's marketting at work?
  
  --
  A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
3. Re:Oh boy! by dave562 · 2008-10-10 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  But your math is WAYYY off. Most of their players are in Asia. Most of the players in Asia are playing in internet cafes where one disk is used to install the game on numerous machines. Most of the players in Asia are playing with game cards and therefore aren't monthly subscriptions. I also think that Blizzard counts accounts that have been played within the last 90 days. A person who never bought a copy of the game and is playing for 10 hours every 90 days isn't exactly the cash cow that your numbers would suggestion. Now I'm not saying that WoW isn't popular or that Blizzard isn't raking in the dough. What I am saying is that your math needs a reality check.
4. Re:Oh boy! by rotide · 2008-10-10 09:55 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Agreed, and I used rough numbers all around. Fact of the matter is that WoW is a billion+ dollar making game which was put out by a company that puts out #1 ranked titles year after year.
  
  http://seekingalpha.com/article/94051-ride-out-the-recession-with-activision-blizzard
  
  "For the full year ended March 2008, Activision had revenue of $2.8 billion, operating margins of 16.55% and operating income of $479.61 million. For the calendar year 2007, Blizzard's revenue was $1.2 billion, up 58% year-over-year. Operating margins at Blizzard were estimated at 40% in the Vivendi press release announcing the spin-off. The combined company reported revenue of over $1 billion in the June quarter and according to this BusinessWeek article, Activision Blizzard is projected to have annual revenues of nearly $4.5 billion."
  
  Check the link.
5. Re:Oh boy! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 11:28 · Score: 0
  
  Worlds largest game developer (arguably) throws a convention where they are profiling their biggest titles (starcraft/warcraft/diablo).
  Just out of curiosity, what are their smaller titles?
6. Re:Oh boy! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 14:02 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  Lost Vikings, duh.
  I guess you haven't heard the latest on Lost Vikings 3. People in Korea are already killing themselves over it to get a leg up on the competition.
7. Re:Oh boy! by Walkingshark · 2008-10-10 16:43 · Score: 1
  
  I'd say Relic is quickly eclipsing Blizzard in the RTS space with Company of Heroes and 40k DoW 2, both of which were much more fun for me than SC or WC3.
  
  --
  The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
8. Re:Oh boy! by bonch · 2008-10-10 17:06 · Score: 1
  
  It was so worthless that you clicked Read More, clicked Reply, and typed an entire message to LET US KNOW how worthless it is! You go!
9. Re:Oh boy! by MWoody · 2008-10-13 11:47 · Score: 1
  
  This just in! A game that came out in 2006 plays better than a game that came out in 1998. News at 11.
SC2 Beta by ILuvRamen · 2008-10-10 09:17 · Score: -1

Why let psychotic fanboys beta test? Beta testing has become an advertising measure, not a quality control process. I've played SC BW forever and I have a dual monitor system, which makes every full screen game act screwey and I'm a PC software programmer so I can test and crash anything AND send you the exacty conditions that caused it and probably how to fix it too. But no, I'm sure someone walking past your booth at a convention is WAY more likely to be helpful. If they want to stop the flood of "WOW, SC2, AWESOME!" comments on the beta instead of "hey, it crashes when you do this" then they should tighten it down a bit. How would people prove they're the type of person to beta test it? Well, I don't know but there's probably a way. They could start by having a booth at a programming convention instead!

--
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
1. Re:SC2 Beta by Jubedgy · 2008-10-10 09:54 · Score: 1
  
  I imagine they have in-house beta people specifically trying to break the game. The public beta tests have traditionally been more for balance purposes. The 'room full of monkeys' effect of public betas do find some glitches but, imho, balance is the important thing for them.
  
  --
  Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis hebes
2. Re:SC2 Beta by Kagura · 2008-10-10 10:07 · Score: 1
  
  If there's one thing Blizzard does wrong, it's gotta be Quality Control. Yeah, right.
How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by CrazyJim1 · 2008-10-10 09:20 · Score: 0, Offtopic

I'd be willing to pay 100$ - James_Sager_PA@yahoo.com

--
God spoke to me.
1. Re:How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:25 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  If you are serious, you are pathetic.
2. Re:How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:30 · Score: 0
  
  There's one on listed eBay. It's $107 as I write this, with a $200 buy-it-now. It's not my auction, so I can't vouch for the authenticity.
3. Re:How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by rotide · 2008-10-10 09:37 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  He's AC for obvious reasons.. But food for thought. People paying money for something they want isn't a new concept. Some people spend wayyy more than that a month on booze and/or cigarettes.
  
  Why bash someone for paying a nominal amount of money for entertainment?
4. Re:How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by Kamokazi · 2008-10-10 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  I think he's serious. Someone crazy enough to believe the garbage in his signature (and live in Pittsburgh, apparently), could easily be crazy enough to pay more than retail to beta test a game.
  
  --
  As our way of thanking you for your positive contributions to Slashdot, you are eligible to disable Slashdot 2.0.
5. Re:How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by dave562 · 2008-10-10 09:57 · Score: 1
  
  Oh ya, he's serious. You should have seen his post the other day where he was asking how to get his "Friend of Blizzard" status back so that he can test the game.
6. Re:How much for a Starcraft 2 beta seat? by RichiH · 2008-10-10 23:27 · Score: 1
  
  A friend of mine told me he had a WotLK Beta key, but did not play WoW enough to use it. Asked me if I knew anyone who would want it. We ended up selling it for Euro 150 on ebay & splitting the profit. Go figure.
thi5 FP for GNAA!? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:23 · Score: -1, Troll

the paFrty in street Jesus Up The can be like
1. Re:thi5 FP for GNAA!? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  Stop posting my wedding night photo's to /.!
2. Re:thi5 FP for GNAA!? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:26 · Score: 0
  
  Dude, site's dead use another one...
Casting spells? The hell? by Shinmizu · 2008-10-10 09:23 · Score: 5, Funny

The trailer illustrating the new class showed actual gameplay demonstrating some of the Wizard's abilities -- including the casting of spells

The hell? Can't Blizzard keep any of their lore consistent? Next thing you know, they'll have a "Fighter" class that uses melee weapons or some crazy shit like that.
1. Re:Casting spells? The hell? by tenton · 2008-10-10 10:48 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  He's called a barbarian and they already showed him off. :P
  I'm waiting for the long ranged weapon class (maybe a ranger? How about an elf ranger?) and some sort of defensive style class (a knight, perhaps?).
2. Re:Casting spells? The hell? by steveo777 · 2008-10-20 12:07 · Score: 1
  
  Honestly, it is this sort of blundering about that is going to kill a company which is already in its death throws. I think it started back at The Lost Vikings. I was both shocked and appalled to find Vikings sporting beards. Won't these people ever get their act together?!
  
  --
  This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
Wizardry Classes? by c0d3r · 2008-10-10 09:24 · Score: 1

That makes me wonder: Is there any place that actually teaches wizardry. In todays world, I'm sure there some one out there teaching it, but is there an actual reputable university teaching wizardry or something near wizardry (besides teaching EE, Physics or CS - if you call that wizardry).
1. Re:Wizardry Classes? by pjt33 · 2008-10-10 09:33 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Yes, but you'll have to learn to run through walls to even get on the train that takes you there.
Re:I like the first word non-link.... thats classy by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:29 · Score: 0

Lool I wonder how many idiots are struggling to click that link RIGHT NOW.
"dude. link is SO broken. bogus!"
"dude, you're just high."
"no dude, it's broken. like, unfollowable, dude."
"dude. this is SLASH dot. they don't have broken links. dude."
"DUDE."
Here you go: by geekoid · 2008-10-10 09:36 · Score: 4, Funny

Places that teach magic:
http://www.chiropracticschools.com/
http://www.ncnm.edu/
http://www.homeopathyschool.com/
woowoo! all aboard the woo woo train.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
1. Re:Here you go: by Kagura · 2008-10-10 10:09 · Score: 1
  
  +1 James Randi terminology ;)
2. Re:Here you go: by Nightspirit · 2008-10-10 10:12 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  With the exception of homeopathy, your assertion is ridiculous. The NIH has concluded the pain benefits of chiropractic care (when applied to lower back pain), and licensed naturopaths (depending on the state) receive similar training to MD students, although unfortunately some fall under the homeopathic bandwagon.
  If you really want to look at magic look at the research behind antidepressants, particularly effexor. Some studies not done by the manufacturer show a ~22% improvement compared to 20% placebo, and while statistically significant, isn't really applicable to the general population. To me, that isn't much better than homeopathy. /no I'm not looking up the studies, if you care enough search pubmed
3. Re:Here you go: by Rakishi · 2008-10-10 10:26 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  If you really want to look at magic look at the research behind antidepressants, particularly effexor. Some studies not done by the manufacturer show a ~22% improvement compared to 20% placebo, and while statistically significant, isn't really applicable to the general population. To me, that isn't much better than homeopathy. /no I'm not looking up the studies, if you care enough search pubmed
  Saying "some studies" isn't that much better than saying "well it didn't help my cousin bob." Welcome to statistics and randomness, if you do enough studies then they will cover every single possible result. Show me a proper meta-analysis and I may consider what you said but otherwise it's just hot air. That's not even counting the tons of lovely ways you can fuck up a study.
  That said, unlike various other drugs specific antidepressants aren't used alone, aren't expected to cure every single case of depression and don't have as much of a time crunch (ie: the patient probably won't die if you give them a useless drug at first). If a drug is better for some subset of people compared to other drugs then it's a useful drug even if you don't know what subset it's better for. This also means that certain types of studies are useless for evaluation such drugs.
4. Re:Here you go: by Nightspirit · 2008-10-10 10:47 · Score: 1
  
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16172440?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15110490?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
5. Re:Here you go: by Toonol · 2008-10-10 11:32 · Score: 1
  
  Chiropractic does have some benefits; it can provide temporary relief of some muscular tension, around the spine.
  
  But prominent figures in the field claim it can help fight cancer, help the function of various bodily organs, and so forth. That's the magic hoodoo-voodoo part. If they admitted that they were really just glorified Massage Therapists, there wouldn't be a problem... but they make false claims.
  
  I'm sure tribal shaman sometimes helped their patient with weird concoctions brewed from roots; but that doesn't mean the exorcism they're about to perform on you is true.
6. Re:Here you go: by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 12:15 · Score: 0
  
  Chiropractic does have some benefits; it can provide temporary relief of some muscular tension, around the spine.
  So can masturbation. Plus it's cheaper and doesn't require nearly as much training.
7. Re:Here you go: by nog_lorp · 2008-10-10 12:28 · Score: 1
  
  Hey, Hoodoo and Voodoo are totally different.
8. Re:Here you go: by Rynor · 2008-10-10 19:56 · Score: 1
  
  Chiropractic does have some benefits; it can provide temporary relief of some muscular tension, around the spine.
  That's called a massage.
9. Re:Here you go: by Xel'Naga · 2008-10-10 21:31 · Score: 1
  
  May I suggest that you go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic and edit the "ridiculous" article to be more in line with facts.
other countries don't pay the same way by way2trivial · 2008-10-10 09:41 · Score: 1

they pay by the logged in minute for example.. and much less money
how is your korean?
http://www.worldofwarcraft.co.kr/billing/

--
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
1. Re:other countries don't pay the same way by Kagura · 2008-10-10 10:05 · Score: 1
  
  They don't allow foreigners to sign up for their service. I specifically emailed them and asked to sign up, since I was involved in heavy-duty Korean study. This was back in 2006.
Wha? by geekoid · 2008-10-10 09:41 · Score: 2, Funny

"Starcraft 2 was not yet ready for beta"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tim5nU3DwIE

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
A WoW arena tournament??? by mc900ftjesus · 2008-10-10 09:45 · Score: 0, Troll

Why not just call it like it is:
"Which shut-in, fat, virgin has spent the most time grinding the best pair of magic pants?"
1. Re:A WoW arena tournament??? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 09:57 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  A: Any shut-in, fat virgin would be lucky to grind some pants.
2. Re:A WoW arena tournament??? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:32 · Score: 0
  
  mod parent hilarious :)
3. Re:A WoW arena tournament??? by Wowlapalooza · 2008-10-10 10:41 · Score: 1
  
  I think I smell someone's arena rating as being in the neighborhood of 1200.
Re:I like the first word non-link.... thats classy by Fozzyuw · 2008-10-10 10:00 · Score: 3, Informative

Speaking of which... it's all , including game trailors.

--
"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
Not Blizzard fan, not a Fred "Wizard" Savage fan by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 10:11 · Score: -1, Flamebait

but I just want to get a bot Wizard named Fred Savage to go into all the channels and pimp out pictures of the Power Glove associated to Goatse. It's about time Nintendo updated their product list to a better All-Powerful Glove that has a Windii DS "pooper" on the wrist. This should get even with Apple's Iphone/Itouch pedo-raver hardware, puting some power back into those that were receivers all those unhappy years -- from the richkids that bought Power Gloves anticipating Next would morph into their modern beatnick OSX so they could doosh on shag-carpet while converting their 17MB Wave to an MP3 at their gig.
But for the love of God, someone sue Blizzard for tainting D&D intellect: it's like Monopoly, and every roll of the dice you pay the fuckin' Game Master 10 credits for your turn and after spending 250 credits to go around the board you are only refreshed to 200 credits. They are a bunch of Smack dealers, using psychologists to profile the demographics on how many nerd boners they can get to keep everyone from putin' down the sauce.
D&D is meant to be SATISFYING whether you WIN or LOSE. Blizzard is tarnishing this, to loop it forever into a corporate 411 scam. Look, our lives and parents suck: we don't want anything worse, so give us somthing moddable that you can't kill like Hellfire mod to Diablo 1, or non Blizzard Battle.net lockin.
Fuck you Sam Lantinga, you libSDL turncoat! Ryan "icculus" Gordon is turning in his New Jersey basement because you work for Blizzard and continue eating the stale health-chips.
level 3 wizard by floatingrunner · 2008-10-10 10:53 · Score: 0

I put on my robe and my wizard hat.
and you just wait there till i finish reading my spell book.
good to see some asian faces in the world of diablo
mod doWn by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 12:00 · Score: -1, Redundant

file was opened tUrd-sucking*ly is dying and its As little overhead
D3= Baldur gate in Gauntlet? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 13:42 · Score: 0

Okay, let get serious here.
1: Since when Mage became an assault class?
2: Since when Mage cuts like a ninja?
3: Since when Mages have no CAST TIME?
4: Since when Mages tank??
He looks like an assassin, acts like an assassin, cuts like an assassin, uses elemental techniques like an assassin, but we call him a MAGE?
Blizdorks, I know you read this, so tell me- WHAT IS THE TRADE OFF, more power for less armor, and slower response time? What is the point in visual differences when they all do thesame thing, the SAME WAY??
Archer shoots arrow, u shoot a lightning bolt! Barbarians slashes and cuts...MAGE slices like a ninja!
Holy shit, bring in the pirate then next.
and yeah, it looks like.. BALDUR GATE!
Great job on creativity, change NAMES!
*thumbs down from me*
Gauntlet clone with Baldur Gate look.
I know you will succeed, you copied previous games so successfully you will do great here too.
What's Really Sad About Blizzcon by Skeetskeetskeet · 2008-10-10 15:01 · Score: -1

Everyone that walks into Blizzcon a virgin leaves a virgin....how sad.

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Yeah, my karma sucks....but so do the mods.
No Linux version, no care by diego.viola · 2008-10-10 15:11 · Score: 0

When Blizzard start to port their games to Linux I will care.

Otherwise I'm not buying their games.
1. Re:No Linux version, no care by ckblackm · 2008-10-10 15:56 · Score: 1
  
  They seem to work fine with WINE. (You just need to bring the cheese) :-)
Rate my girlfriend. by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-10 19:43 · Score: 0

She's about 29, Arian, long-hair platinum/yellowed blonde, from Czechos/Slavakia nationalities, about 6-feet and 7-inches tall, body toned and hard as nails, attitude to kick everyone's ass, and a voice deeper than mine. Also, her teeth aren't yellow like Rob Malda's wife. How does that rank in Slashdot points? In a pussy-eating contest, who would win; Mrs. Malda or Mrs. Trziskyasdfopkaokas;dvxcvm,.[pk? I think she preferes PK'in other people online than actually playing the game (anyone grinding their pants yet?).
There was a racing game for the Xbox by 512k · 2008-10-10 20:19 · Score: 1

that worked like that. It wasn't fun at all, because the game wasn't about being a skilled racer, it was about playing the meta-game. If you drove as hard as you could, the game would make the computer racers so fast they were unbeatable. The only way to win, was to to time it so that you crossed the finish line WHILE the computer was ramping up its difficulty, if you went full throttle too soon, then the computer would reach unbeatable difficulty, retake the lead, and that was it. If you waited too long, you couldn't catch up.
Oblivion also had dynamic dificulty, that could easily be abused.

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------ Work is so much easier when you don't
1. Re:There was a racing game for the Xbox by Dutch+Gun · 2008-10-10 21:45 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Oblivion also had dynamic dificulty, that could easily be abused.
  Yep. Oblivion's auto-scaling was on a whole different level of crapola. Let me count the ways:
  * When your skills increased, you increased in power. When your level increased, the enemies increased. If you simply avoided sleeping, the game became easier and easier. I normally don't mind obscure "exploits" in single-player games (I tend not to actively seek them out), but this was ridiculous.
  * Certain missions (like the Kvatch mission) had NPCs that didn't scale up with the monsters. When I first played the game, I ran around and leveled up quite a bit before that mission. The enemies scaled up so bloody far above the guards it was an absolute massacre. I eventually realized one NPC was unkillable, so I hid in a corner while he fought, died, and was resurrected about a thousand times over the course of few hours.
  * Since enemies (and rewards) level up with you, there's absolutely zero point to running around the world, delving into dungeons, and getting more powerful.
  * Bandits eventually are routinely seen wearing *glass armor* (most expensive and best light armor in the game, worth many thousands of gold). Yet they still stop you and demand 100 gold, just like when they were wearing rags earlier in the game.
  The point is, it's easy to say "scale difficulty with the player", but I think it's actually fairly hard to do in practice without potentially causing other issues. Oblivion just happened to be the poster-boy for this sort of system destroying an otherwise really cool game for me. I really wish they had just used the following simple rule to scale difficulty in the game: the farther you are from civilization, the harder the enemies get and the greater the rewards dropped.
  At least I'm pretty certain Blizzard would never do anything this boneheaded...
  
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  Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
2. Re:There was a racing game for the Xbox by SwordsmanLuke · 2008-10-11 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  Which is why I favor changing difficulty around the player's performance - not their current level. As you've noted, it's too easy to screw that up. It seems to me, though, that it's really the player's *experience* of difficulty we want to manager, so if the player is currently getting slaughtered - spawn monsters with less hp, increase health drops, etc. If they're currently slaughtering the monsters, increase the strength / number of monsters, decrease the number of drops.
  
  I never played Oblivion, but it sounds like their difficulty adjustments were poorly designed and under-tested (or just poorly designed and too expensive to change). Try playing Max Payne some time. It does auto-difficulty pretty damn well (though there are still selectable difficulty levels). If you're dying regularly, the enemies' aim worsens and their numbers decrease (to a point). If you're slaughtering them, they eventually become psychic sharpshooters and fly at you in droves. But it keeps adjusting constantly, by minute amounts. You almost never notice these changes, but they make the game more enjoyable by keeping the difficulty just challenging enough to give you a hard time - but not impossible.
  
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  Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
Waiting for the announcement by SupremoMan · 2008-10-11 22:09 · Score: 1

That the game will arrive in installments... 1 for each class!
Battlenet will cost money by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-12 03:49 · Score: 0

Battle.net will cost money to play on :S
http://diablo3x.com/parts-of-battle-will-cost-money
hmm think its too much, they also splitted starcraft up in 3 to make more money.. arrgh comon blizzard
Thundercats! by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-14 03:33 · Score: 0

Thundercats, HOOO!