Diablo 3 Walkthrough

Class Overview On the surface the classes of Diablo 3 may seem like facsimiles of their Diablo 2 predecessors. On closer examination each class' core mechanics have be revamped and streamlined for linear progression. Note: this information is based on the Diablo 3 beta and may change drastically with future patches. Attributes In Diablo 3 attributes are automatically granted to each class upon leveling up. The only means of customizing attributes is through equipment and some passive skills. There are four attributes in Diablo 3: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Vitality. Because attributes cannot be freely customized, equipment in Diablo 3 do not have strength or dexterity requirements. Strength boosts base armor, granting damage reduction when hit; strength also gives more attack power to Barbarians. Dexterity allows a character a higher chance to dodge attacks and boosts the damage of both Demon Hunters and Monks. Intelligence enhances the use of health globes, boosts resistances to elements and improves the skills of Witch Doctors and Wizards. Last, Vitality boosts the hit points of each character. Resource All five classes in Diablo 3 use a different resource type to unleash their active skills. Witch Doctors are the only class that still use slow recovering Mana from Diablo 2. Monks have Spirit that also regenerates slowly, but can be filled faster with certain skills and combos. Wizards on the other hand have the ultra quick recovering Arcane Power, and several of their skills do not cost resource. Barbarians use Fury, which is generated via certain skills and spent with others. However, Fury depletes when out of combat. Demon Hunters use dual resources: quick recovering Hatred for attacks and slow regenerating Discipline for defensive moves. Active Skills Active skills are the main abilities of all five classes. They are unlocked through linear progression as a class levels up. Classes gain active skills from level 1 through 30. All five classes have three basic skill types: Primary which either generate resource or spend very little, Secondary which cost large amounts of resource and&#47;or have cooldowns, and Defensive which help to avoid damage. Each class also has three more unique skill types to help differentiate them. Active skill slots are unlocked at levels 1, 2, 4, 9, 14, and 19. By default each of these six slots is reserved for a specific skill type. However, selecting "Elective Mode" within the game's options will allow you to allocate any skill type into each slot. Rune Skills Rune skills are means of customizing each active skill. Each active skill has five runes which are unlocked through leveling up. Rune skills are gained from levels 6 through 60. A rune might change an active skill by granting more damage, less resource cost, increasing range, hitting multiple targets, cripple enemies, or more. Each of the five runes is not a straight upgrade from the last, and some runes even have drawbacks to offset their power. The right rune for a skill is situational and often a matter of personal taste. A rune gained in the teens might be more effective than one granted in the 50s. It all depends on your build and style. Passive Skills Passive skills are traits that are always in effect. A passive skill may bolster or change the effect of attributes, grant extra resources, or alter the properties of active skills. Passive skills are unlocked as a class levels up from 10 through the mid 50s, or even to 60. Passive skill slots are unlocked at levels 10, 20, and 30. Barbarian Barbarians are the only returning class from Diablo 2. They are powerful close range fighters that attacks with melee weapons and withstand large amounts of punishment. A Barbarian hits hard with brutal attacks and gains shouts to buff their team. The Barbarian's resource is fury. Many attacks generate fury, while others cost fury to use. When out of combat fury will drain quickly, requiring you to begin each fight with primary and defensive skills. The Barbarian skill types are primary, secondary, defensive, might, tactics, and rage. They have 22 active skills and and 16 passive skills. Barbarians can equip mighty belts and weapons which offer more protection and attack power than items of a similar level. Level 15 Skills Bash Unlocked at Level 1 Primary Generate: 6 Fury per attack Brutally smash an enemy for 150% weapon damage with a 20% chance to Knockback. Rune Skills Clobber Unlocked at Level 6 Instead of Knockback, each hit has a 35% chance to Stun the target for 1.5 seconds. Onslaught Unlocked at Level 13 Add 2 reverberations that cause 22% weapon damage per strike. Removes the chance for Knockback. Hammer of the Ancients Unlocked at Level 2 Secondary Cost: 20 Fury Call forth a massive hammer to smash enemies directly in front of you for 200% weapon damage. Hammer of the Ancients has a 5% increased Critical Hit Chance. Rune Skills Rolling Thunder Unlocked at Level 7 Create a shockwave that deals 155% weapon damage to all enemies within 22 yards in front of you. Smash Unlocked at Level 15 Strike a smaller area for 270% weapon damage. Cleave Unlocked at Level 3 Primary Generate: 5 Fury per attack Swing your weapon in a wide arc to deal 120% weapon damage to all enemies caught in the swing. Rune Skills Rupture Unlocked at Level 9 Enemies slain by Cleave explode, causing 85% weapon damage to all other enemies within 8 yards. Ground Stomp Unlocked at Level 4 Defensive Generate: 15 Fury per attack Cooldown: 12 seconds Smash the ground, stunning all enemies within 12 yards for 4 seconds. Rune Skills Deafening Crash Unlocked at Level 12 Enemies in the area have their movement speed slowed by 60% for 3 seconds after they recover from being stunned. Rend Unlocked at Level 5 Secondary Cost: 20 Fury A sweeping strike causes all nearby enemies to Bleed for 210% weapon damage as Physical over 3 seconds. Rune Skills Ravage Unlocked at Level 11 Increase the range of Rend to hit all enemies within 17 yards. Leap Unlocked at Level 8 Defensive Generate: 15 Fury per attack Cooldown: 10 seconds Leap into the air, dealing 85% weapon damage to all enemies within 8 yards of your destination and slowing their movement speed by 60% for 3 seconds. Rune Skills Iron Impact Unlocked at Level 14 Gain 300% additional Armor for 4 seconds after landing. Ancient Spear Unlocked at Level 9 Might Generate: 15 Fury per attack Cooldown: 10 seconds Throw a spear to pull an enemy back to you, briefly slowing the target's movement by 60% and dealing 185% weapon damage. Rune Skills Grappling Hooks Unlocked at Level 15 Throw 3 spears. Each spear will pull back the enemy that it hits. Pound of Flesh Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Increases the chance of finding a health globe by 25% and you gain 100% additional Life from health globes. Ruthless Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Critical Hit Chance increased by 5%. Critical Hit Damage increased by 50%. Frenzy Unlocked at Level 11 Primary Generate: 3 Fury per attack Swing for 110% weapon damage. Frenzy attack speed increases by 15% with each swing. This effect can stack up to 5 times for a total bonus of 75% attack speed. Seismic Slam Unlocked at Level 12 Secondary Cost: 30 Fury Slam the ground and cause a wave of destruction that deals 155% weapon damage and Knockback to targets in a 45 yard arc. Ancient Spear Unlocked at Level 13 Might Revenge has a 15% chance to become active each time you are hit. Inflict 220% weapon damage to all nearby enemies. You heal 5.0% of your maximum Life for each enemy hit. Nerves Of Steel Unlocked at Level 13 Passive Your Armor is increased by 100% of your Vitality. Weapon Throw Unlocked at Level 14 Tactics Cost: 10 Fury Hurl a throwing weapon at an enemy for 120% weapon damage and Slow the movement of the enemy by 60% for 2 seconds. Demon Hunter The Demon Hunter combines the ranged fighting style of the Amazon along with the use of traps favored by Assassins. They are experts at crippling enemies from afar and escaping heated melee encounters. They have use of some limited dark magic to conceal themselves and further hinder their foes. Demon Hunters use two resource types. Hatred is their main resource used for mainly attacking. While most attacks cost hatred, some will regenerate the resource. Hatred will also restore quickly on its own. The second resource is discipline, which is used for more defensive skills. It regenerates slower than hatred, requiring a wise amount of rationing. The Demon Hunter's skill types include primary, secondary, defensive, hunting, devices, and archery. They have 23 active skills and 15 passive skills. Demon Hunters can equip light weight cloaks in place of body armor, granting them protection while not encumbering movement. Their unique weapon is the hand crossbow, which while weak can be dual wielded for rapid shots. Additionally, Demon Hunters can use quivers for added attack speed and magical effects. Level 15 Skills Hungering Arrow Unlocked at Level 1 Primary Generate: 3 Hatred per attack Fire a magically imbued arrow that seeks out targets for 115% weapon damage and has a 35% chance to pierce through targets. Rune Skills Puncturing Arrow Unlocked at Level 6 Increase the chance for the arrow to pierce to 50%. Impale Unlocked at Level 2 Secondary Cost: 25 Hatred Impale a target for 250% weapon damage. Rune Skills Impact Unlocked at Level 7 Impale has a 65% chance to knock the target back and Stun it for 1.5 seconds. Chemical Burn Unlocked at Level 15 Your target will also Bleed for 125% weapon damage as Physical over 2 seconds. Entangling Shot Unlocked at Level 3 Primary Generate: 3 Hatred per attack Imbue an arrow with shadow energy that deals 75% weapon damage and entangles up to 2 enemies, slowing their movement by 60% for 2 seconds. Rune Skills Chain Gang Unlocked at Level 9 Hit up to 4 targets. Caltrops Unlocked at Level 4 Defensive Cost: 6 Discipline Lay a trap of caltrops on the ground that activates when an enemy approaches. Once sprung, the caltrops Slow the movement of enemies within 12 yards by 60%. This trap lasts 6 seconds. Rune Skills Hooked Spines Unlocked at Level 12 Increase the slowing amount to 80%. Rapid Fire Unlocked at Level 5 Secondary Cost: 20 Hatred initially, and an additional 10 Hatred while channeling Rapidly fire for 228% weapon damage as Physical. Rune Skills withering Fire Unlocked at Level 11 Reduces the initial Hatred cost to 5, and ignites your arrows, causing them to deal Fire damage. Smoke Screen Unlocked at Level 8 Defensive Cost: 14 Discipline Vanish behind a wall of smoke, becoming momentarily invisible for 2 seconds. Rune Skills Displacement Unlocked at Level 14 Gain 35% movement speed when activated. Vault Unlocked at Level 9 Hunting Cost: 8 Discipline Tumble acrobatically 35 yards. Tactical Advantage Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Whenever you use Vault, Smoke Screen, or backflip with Evasive Fire you gain 60% movement speed for 2 seconds. Thrill of the Hunt Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Every 10 seconds, your next bow attack will immobilize your target for 3 seconds. Bola Shot Unlocked at Level 11 Primary Generate: 3 Hatred per attack Shoot out an explosive bola that wraps itself around its target. After 1 second, the bola explodes dealing 130% weapon damage as Fire to the target and an additional 110% weapon damage as Fire to all other targets within 7 yards. Rune Skills Volatile Explosives Unlocked at Level 14 Increase the explosion radius to 14 yards. Chakram Unlocked at Level 12 Secondary Cost: 10 Hatred Fire a swirling Chakram that does 150% weapon damage as Physical to enemies along its path. Preparation Unlocked at Level 13 Hunting Cooldown: 45 seconds Instantly restore all Discipline. Vengeance Unlocked at Level 13 Passive Your maximum Hatred is increased by 25. In addition, gain 20 Hatred and 2 Discipline whenever you are healed by a health globe Evasive Fire Unlocked at Level 14 Devices Generate: 4 Hatred. Cost: 4 Discipline if you backflip Shoot for 125% weapon damage. If an enemy is in front of you at close range, you will also backflip away 15 yards. Grenades Unlocked at Level 15 Primary Generate: 3 Hatred Throw out three grenades that explode for 95% weapon damage as Fire each. Monk The Monk uses martial arts like an Assassin and has mantras to support parties similar to a Paladin. They attack with spirit energy and move swiftly during battle. The Monk's resource is spirit. Spirit can be restored by use of various skills and by comboing together attacks. Their skill types are primary, secondary, defensive, techniques, focus, and mantras. They have 21 active skills and and 14 passive skills. Monks can equip special head armor called spirit stones. Their special weapons include rapid hitting fist weapons and the sweeping daibo staves. Level 15 Skills Fists of Thunder Unlocked at Level 1 Primary Generate: 6 Spirit per attack Unleash a series of extremely fast punches that deal 110% weapon damage as Lightning. Every third hit deals damage to all enemies in front of you and knocks them back a short distance. Generates Spirit faster than other Spirit-generating skills due to the high attack speed. Rune Skills Thunderclap Unlocked at Level 6 Teleport to the target and release an electric shockwave with every punch that hits all enemies within 6 yards of your primary target for 35% weapon damage as Lightning. Lightning Flash Unlocked at Level 14 Increases your chance to Dodge by 16% for 2 seconds. Lashing Tail Kick Unlocked at Level 2 Secondary Cost: 30 Spirit Unleash a deadly roundhouse kick that knocks enemies back and deals 200% weapon damage. Rune Skills Vulture Claw Kick Unlocked at Level 7 Release a torrent of fire that burns nearby enemies for 220% weapon damage as Fire and causes Knockback. Sweeping Armada Unlocked at Level 15 Increases Knockback distance by 150% and slows the movement speed of struck enemies by 60% for 2 seconds. Deadly Reach Unlocked at Level 3 Primary Generate: 6 Spirit per attack Project lines of pure force over a short distance for 110% weapon damage. Every third hit extends 25 yards. Rune Skills Piercing Trident Unlocked at Level 9 Increases the area of effect of the second and third strikes. Blinding Flash Unlocked at Level 4 Defensive Cost: 10 Spirit Cooldown: 15 seconds Create a flash of light that blinds all enemies within 20 yards for 3 seconds. Elite enemies recover faster, but suffer a 30% chance to miss with attacks. Rune Skills Self Reflection Unlocked at Level 12 Increases the duration enemies are blinded to 4 seconds. Tempest Rush Unlocked at Level 5 Secondary Cost: 15 Spirit plus an additional 10 Spirit while channeling Charge directly through your enemies, knocking them back and hobbling them, slowing their movement by 60% for 2 seconds. Also deals 50% weapon damage while running. Rune Skills Northern Breeze Unlocked at Level 11 Reduces the channeling cost of Tempest Rush to 8 Spirit. Breath of Heaven Unlocked at Level 8 Defensive Cost: 25 Spirit Cooldown: 15 seconds A blast of divine energy heals you and all allies within 12 yards for 6202 - 7442 Life. Rune Skills Circle of Scorn Unlocked at Level 14 Breath of Heaven also sears enemies for 80% weapon damage as Holy. Dashing Strike Unlocked at Level 9 Techniques Cost: 25 Spirit Cooldown: 15 seconds Quickly dash at the targeted enemy or location, striking for 100% weapon damage and rooting the target for 1 second. Rune Skills Way of the Falling Star Unlocked at Level 15 After striking an enemy, your movement speed is increased 25% for 3 seconds. Fleet Footed Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Increases movement speed by 10%. Resolve Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Damage you deal reduces enemy damage by 25% for 2.5 seconds. Crippling Wave Unlocked at Level 11 Primary Generate: 6 Spirit per attack Unleash a series of large sweeping attacks that cause 110% weapon damage to all enemies in front of you. Every third hit damages all enemies around you and dazes them, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 3 seconds. Wave of Light Unlocked at Level 12 Secondary Cost: 75 Spirit Focuses a wave of light that crushes enemies for 215% weapon damage as Holy, followed by an additional 45% weapon damage as Holy to all enemies in a line. Exploding Palm Unlocked at Level 13 Techniques Cost: 40 Spirit Cause a target to Bleed for 220% weapon damage as Physical over 3 seconds. If the target dies while bleeding, it explodes and deals 30% of the target's maximum Life as Physical damage to all nearby enemies. Exalted Soul Unlocked at Level 13 Passive Increases maximum Spirit by 100. Cyclone Strike Unlocked at Level 14 Focus Cost: 50 Spirit Pull all enemies within 24 yards towards you, followed by a furious blast of energy that deals 100% weapon damage as Holy. Way of the Hundred Fists Unlocked at Level 15 Primary Generate: 6 Spirit per attack Unleash a rapid series of punches that strikes enemies for 140% weapon damage. Witch Doctor Witch Doctors play similar to Necromancers from Diablo 2. They mainly use pets in the form of creatures and undead, though in small groups rather than as a massive army. Witch Doctors have access to enfeebling curses, direct attack spells, and damage over time. Their overall role is crowd control by crippling enemy targets and directing aggression towards their pets. Witch Doctors use the classic resource of mana. Mana recovers slowly and there are very few skills that will regenerate this resource. The best option is to summon minions and cast curses before waiting for mana to return. The Witch Doctor's skill types are primary, secondary, defensive, terror, decay, and voodoo. They have 22 active skills and 15 passive skills. Their special armor type is voodoo mask headgear. Witch Doctors may wield ceremonial knives in their main hand and mojos in their off-hand. This combination can provide swift attacks and powerful boons to magic. Level 15 Skills Poison Dart Unlocked at Level 1 Primary Cost: 10 Mana Shoot a deadly Poison Dart that deals 100% weapon damage as Poison and an additional 40% weapon damage as Poison over 2 seconds. Rune Skills Splinters Unlocked at Level 6 Shoot 3 Poison Darts that deal 60% weapon damage as Poison each. Numbing Dart Unlocked at Level 13 Toxins in the Poison Dart reduce the target's movement speed by 60% for 2 seconds. Grasp of the Dead Unlocked at Level 2 Secondary Cost: 122 Mana Cooldown: 8 seconds Ghoulish hands reach out from the ground, slowing enemy movement by 60% and dealing 20% weapon damage as Physical for 8 seconds. Rune Skills Unbreakable Grasp Unlocked at Level 7 Increases the Slow amount to 80%. Groping Eels Unlocked at Level 15 Increases the damage done to 26% weapon damage as Physical. Corpse Spiders Unlocked at Level 3 Primary Cost: 5 Mana Throw a jar with 4 spiders that attack nearby enemies for 16% weapon damage as Physical before dying. Rune Skills Leaping Spiders Unlocked at Level 9 Summon jumping spiders that leap up to 25 yards to reach their target and attack for 19% weapon damage as Physical. Summon Zombie Dogs Unlocked at Level 4 Defensive Cost: 49 Mana Cooldown: 60 seconds Summon 3 Zombie Dogs from the depths to fight by your side. Each dog deals 9% of your weapon damage as Physical per hit. Rune Skills Rabid Dogs Unlocked at Level 12 Your Zombie Dogs gain an infectious bite that deals 9% of your weapon damage as Poison over 3 seconds. Firebats Unlocked at Level 5 Secondary Cost: 122 Mana Cooldown: 8 seconds Call forth a swarm of fiery bats to burn enemies in front of you for 150% weapon damage as Fire. Rune Skills Dire Bats Unlocked at Level 11 Summon fewer but larger bats that travel up to 40 yards and hit for 220% weapon damage as Fire. Horrify Unlocked at Level 8 Defensive Cost: 37 Mana Cooldown: 20 seconds Don a spectral mask that horrifies all enemies within 12 yards, causing them to run in Fear for 4 seconds. Rune Skills Phobia Unlocked at Level 14 Increases the duration horrified enemies run in Fear to 6 seconds. Soul Harvest Unlocked at Level 9 Terror Cost: 59 Mana Cooldown: 15 seconds Feed on the life force of up to 5 enemies within 16 yards. Gain 130 Intelligence for each affected enemy. This effect lasts 30 seconds. Rune Skills Swallow Your Soul Unlocked at Level 15 Gain 39 Mana for every enemy harvested. Circle of Life Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Whenever an enemy dies within 12 yards, there is a 5% chance that a Zombie Dog will automatically emerge. The range of this effect is increased by items that increase your gold pickup radius. Jungle Fortitude Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Reduces all damage taken by you and your pets by 20%. Plague of Toads Unlocked at Level 11 Primary Cost: 34 Mana Release a handful of toads that deal 130% weapon damage as Poison to enemies they come in contact with. Haunt Unlocked at Level 12 Secondary Cost: 98 Mana Haunt an enemy with a spirit, dealing 575% weapon damage as Arcane over 12 seconds. If the target dies, the spirit will haunt another nearby enemy. Scrifice Unlocked at Level 13 Terror Banish your Zombie Dogs and cause them to explode, each dealing 275% of your weapon damage as Physical to all enemies within 12 yards. Spiritual Attunement Unlocked at Level 13 Passive Maximum Mana is increased by 20%. Regenerate 1% of your maximum Mana per second. Zombie Charger Unlocked at Level 14 Decay Cost: 140 Mana Call forth a reckless, suicidal zombie that deals 205% weapon damage as Poison to all enemies in its path before decomposing. Wizard Wizards are the new Sorceresses of Diablo 3. They harness the power of fire, ice, lightning and arcane. These spells take the form of large area of effect attacks or personal shielding. Their resource is arcane power. Arcane power is similar to mana, but instead regenerates quickly. A Wizard's most basic signature spells do not deplete arcane power. Their skill types are primary, secondary, defensive, force, conjuration, and mastery. They have 25 active skills and 15 passive skills. Wizards can equip special wizard hats into their head slot. They can also wield wands that not only boost their skills, but act as a ranged weapon. Finally, Wizards can hold orbs in their off hand for even more bonuses to magic. Level 15 Skills Magic Missile Unlocked at Level 1 Primary Signature spells are free to cast. Launch a missile of magic energy, causing 110% weapon damage as Arcane. Rune Skills Charged Blast Unlocked at Level 6 Increases the damage of Magic Missile to 143% weapon damage as Arcane. Split Unlocked at Level 13 Fire 3 missiles that each deal 50% weapon damage as Arcane. Ray of Frost Unlocked at Level 2 Secondary Cost: 20 Arcane Power Project a beam of frozen ice that blasts 215% weapon damage as Cold to the first enemy it hits, slowing the target's movement by 30% for 3 seconds. Rune Skills Numb Unlocked at Level 7 Increase the amount the target's movement is slowed to 60% for 3 seconds. Snow Blast Unlocked at Level 15 Using continuously on a single target increases damage over 1.5 seconds to inflict a maximum of 280% weapon damage as Cold. Shock Pulse Unlocked at Level 3 Primary Signature spells are free to cast. Release a medium range pulse of 3 unpredictable charges of electricity that deal 105% weapon damage as Lightning. Rune Skills Explosive Bolts Unlocked at Level 9 Slain enemies explode, dealing 70% weapon damage as Lightning to every enemy within 10 yards. Frost Nova Unlocked at Level 4 Defensive Cooldown: 12 seconds Blast nearby enemies with an explosion of ice and freeze them for 3 seconds. Rune Skills Shatter Unlocked at Level 12 A frozen enemy that is killed has a 50% chance of releasing another Frost Nova. Arcane Orb Unlocked at Level 5 Secondary Cost: 30 Arcane Power Hurl an orb of pure energy that explodes when it hits, dealing 175% weapon damage as Arcane to all enemies within 10 yards. Rune Skills Obliteration Unlocked at Level 11 Increase the damage of the explosion to deal 228% weapon damage as Arcane. Diamond Skin Unlocked at Level 8 Defensive Cooldown: 15 seconds Transform your skin to diamond for 6 seconds, absorbing up to 10853 damage from incoming attacks. Rune Skills Crystal Shell Unlocked at Level 14 Increases the maximum amount of damage absorbed to 21707 damage. Wave of Force Unlocked at Level 9 Force Cost: 25 Arcane Power Cooldown: 15 seconds Discharge a wave of pure energy that repels projectiles and knocks back nearby enemies. This also slows the movement of enemies by 60% and deals 200% weapon damage as Physical. Rune Skills Impactful Wave Unlocked at Level 15 Increases the distance enemies are knocked back and Stuns all affected enemies for 2 seconds. Blur Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Decreases melee damage taken by 20%. Power Hungry Unlocked at Level 10 Passive Gain 30 Arcane Power whenever you are healed by a health globe. Spectral Blade Unlocked at Level 11 Primary Signature spells are free to cast. Summon a spectral blade that strikes all enemies in your path for 135% weapon damage. Arcane Torrent Unlocked at Level 12 Secondary Cost: 20 Arcane Power Hurl a barrage of arcane projectiles that deal 175% weapon damage as Arcane to all enemies near the impact location. Energy Twister Unlocked at Level 13 Force Cost: 35 Arcane Power Unleash a twister of pure energy that deals 360% weapon damage as Arcane over 6 seconds to everything in its path. Evocation Unlocked at Level 13 Passive Reduces all cooldowns by 15%. Ice Armor Unlocked at Level 14 Conjuration Cost: 25 Arcane Power Surround yourself in a barrier of ice. Melee attackers are either Chilled or Frozen for 2 seconds. Lasts 120 seconds. Electrocute Unlocked at Level 15 Primary Signature spells are free to cast. Lightning arcs from your fingertips, dealing 80% weapon damage as Lightning. The lightning can jump, hitting up to 2 additional enemies. Tales of Torment: Monk'in Around By Kurtis Seid, 5&#47;18&#47;2012 Diablo III has been out for four days now, though that's questionable from the amount of server crashes and login queues. I've been sampling all of the classes, but settled on the Monk as my main character. He’s hard to kill, buffs and protects the party, and I can't pass up a chance to write about Tony Shalhoub. It is in fact a jungle out there. I've steadily made it into act 3 at level 25. Now, I'm sure the die hard Diablo fanatics will be raising their hamfists towards the heavens and proclaiming "I got to Inferno day of release. Stop being bad at games, GameSpot". Due to other obligations and a need for luxuries such as sleep, I'd say my progression is adequate. Though I'm certainty not above plowing through levels, cumulating in keeling over dead in a Korean internet cafe, covered in Cheeto stains. The term "walkthrough" is a little misplaced here. In fact it's an outright lie. This is more a journal of my adventures as a Monk, with tidbits of strategy regarding my own playstyle. You'll unlikely find useful information here if you want to know about Witch Doctors and Wizards. I also fundamentally play multiplayer with three other people if possible. The always on DRM is small proof that Blizzard doesn't want to you to be antisocial. In turn, this means I don't know much about using the three followers. Being a hypochondriac would make me likely to pick the healing Templar, even when paired with the already sturdy Monk. Because I play with other people my skills aren't designed for pure soloing or amazing damage. Instead, I've come to mostly rely of protective skills, healing, and area of effect attacks. My build is based around two passive: Transcendence and Chant of Resonance. The first passive heals me every time I spend spirit (with my current level and skills it heals 6.8 life per every spirit spent). The second passive restores my spirit while a mantra is in use. Now let's talk about my active skills and runes. First, I selected elective mode from the options menu. I quickly dismissed almost all of the Monk's secondary skills and found myself wanting to use several techniques and&#47;or focuses at once. Because my character is about heavy spirit use, I'd need at least a primary to generate my resources. I seem to change primaries with every new rune I get. For the most part I've settled on Way of the Hundred Fists and the Hands of Lightning rune. The damage is adequate and the spirit generate is suitable. Another nice skill I sometimes switch to is Crippling Wave with Mangle, mostly to hamper groups of enemies. Via elective mode I've replaced my right mouse button with Dashing Strike and the Way of the Falling Star rune. This allows me to quickly close the distance with the enemy and give myself a quick speed bonus. The Flying Side Kick rune didn't seem like it would help much against most groups. Now for my main action bar attack I picked Cyclone Strike with Implosion. This hits many enemies at once for a fair amount of damage. It's true power comes from the fact that it has no cooldown and it's 50 spirit cost means that it heals me for 340 life. The rest of my skills are defensive in nature. For my Mantra I'm using Mantra of Evasion with the Hard Target rune. I've coupled this with Mystic Ally (which doesn't have a rune until level 27) and a panic button in the form of Serenity with Peaceful Repose. All in all I'm a tough cookie to kill and can offer some handy crowd control and support to my team. Now the biggest problem comes from damage output. I can take out bosses and champions from pure attrition. However, any enemy that flees away can be a problem, mainly those shadowy thieves that wandered out of Golden Axe. It could be from lackluster equipment. I've switched from dual wielding to a powerful daibo, but I can't say I care for the slower attack speed. So far I've only be using the magic and rare items I've found on my own. Despite always being online I've yet to purchase any of the overpriced items on the auction house, though I've done my fair share of selling. Much like those illusive thieves, I've been hording gold for mostly myself while Haedrig remains a mere level three smith. I've trained Covetous as far as I can with pure gold, but now Lo Pan is requesting pages to advance further. Setting a perfect ruby into a weapon looks like it will add in great damage. At present my gear isn't anything to write home about. I'm debating on trying a few Belial runs for possible drops, or just continuing on with the main story. For now, Fred Kwan will be waiting at the digital conveyer. Tales of Torment: Demon Hunting, Vol. II By Peter Brown, 5&#47;18&#47;2012 At this point my Demon Hunter, Tetsuo, is at level 42 in the very beginning of Act II on Nightmare difficulty. I was level 32 when I defeated Diablo, and it took about eight tries to get it right. The first six were at 4 AM and not what I would call elegant or focused, so I had to postpone subsequent attempts until the morning. When the sun rose (mere hours later) I was wide eyed and ready to demolish the Prime Evil. At level 32, with equipment sourced from Normal mode (no auction house goods), I managed to defeat Diablo. It wasn't what I would call easy, but this is the formula that worked for me: It's pretty similar to my loadout in last week's entry. I changed the rune for Entangling Shot to Shock Collar, since I only need to inflict damage and recharge hatred, rather than entangle multiple enemies. Caltrops is now augmented by the Jagged Spikes rune that causes 45% weapon damage per second to an enemy within the Caltrops ring. This will also help recharge health with the well timed triggering of Shadow Power with the Blood Moon rune. I also subbed the Chakram secondary attack on the "4" quick-slot for Preparation with the Punishment rune. When activated, Preparation will completely recharge my hatred at the cost of discipline rather than a cooldown. My passive skill slots grew by one so I made a few more changes. Vengeance boosts my Hatred by 25 as well as recharges both Hatred and Discipline when I pick up health globes. Cull the Weak causes 15% additional damage to slowed enemies, which goes well with the Rapid Fire rune that inflicts slow, Web Shot. Lastly, the addition of steady Aim boosts my damage output by 20% as long as there are no enemies within 10 yards. All in all, my loadout this time works well because it incorporates traits from numerous skills, boosting damage and recharging resources in a particularly efficient manner. It all takes an amount of juggling to properly take advantage of these connections. A typical skill trail plays out like so: Rapid Fire > Vault (to stun) > Caltrops > Shadow Power > Rapid Fire > Preperation > Entangling Shot > Shadow Power > Vault (to stun) Maintaining this order complicates the fight a bit, but at least I was able to defeat Diablo this time around and honestly, who doesn't like a challenge? Babies, I'm assuming. While I don't have footage of this fight, I would like to start the transition to discussing Nightmare difficulty with a clip of my level 40 DH taking on Diablo on Normal to illustrate how quickly the difficulty and loot scales once you upgrade to Nightmare. If you paid attention, you might notice that once I entered the arena with Diablo I didn't move an inch. I also relied solely on Shadow Power and Chakrams. In otherwords, this was a fight that was too easy. You'll also notice the loot is rather underwhelming. Now let's fast forward into Nightmare Act II and illustrate how the difficulty and rewards scale between modes. First, allow me to show you my character's current build: And here are details on a few of the items I'm using. As you can see, I'm favorable towards items with Dexterity and Vitality boosts. Apart from health, which all classes need, Dexterity is the damage multiplier for the Demon Hunter. As I work my way through Nightmare, I go back and forth between favoring health and damage output. Of course, when facing a rare Vampiric Plague beast, it makes no difference what I favor, I just lose. Those two stats are the worst to have stacked against you because not only is your health being leeched as the enemy damages you, but there is more damage than usual due to the poisoning (plaguing?), so I'm losing health rapidly, and my foe is regaining his health faster than I can damage him. Yeesh! So far, Nightmare difficulty is more challenging and rewarding than Normal, which makes me sound like Captain Obvious, but I'm continually grateful for this reality. Nightmare feels like proper Diablo (Diablo II, really). I would advise anyone playing on Normal to ignore the optional dungeons and uncovering every rock. Get through Normal as quickly as possible and save the loot hunt for Nightmare. You'll thank me later. Tales of Torment: Demon Hunting, Vol. I By Peter Brown, 5&#47;18&#47;2012 I've been playing as the Demon Hunter for the better part of this week and so far, I'm happy with my first choice. I'm currently level 26 at the beginning of Act III and most of my gaming sessions have been solo affairs. Superficially, the Demon Hunters strengths lie in their ranged-DPS and evasion capabilities, but there are some nuanced abilities that prove to be equally useful depending on the scenario. One thing's for sure: If you stand still for too long, you are asking to get trampled, especially now that potions require a 30 second cooldown between uses. Compared to Diablo II, this has drastically changed health management. The Demon Hunter does possess some skills that restore health, but using them often means putting more iconic (and useful) skills on the sidelines. Skill Loadout A lot of these skills are earned early on, but they've proven their worth time and time again. Here's an example of how combat tends to play out with this loadout: Entangle > Caltrops > Vault > Shadow Power > Rapid Fire or Chakram Entangle allows me to slow my enemies, Caltrops traps them in place, Shadow Power enables reduced hatred cost and health-leeching, and Rapid Fire and&#47;or Chakram takes care of dealing damage. The choice between the two comes down to the number of enemies I'm facing. Chakram is superior to Rapid Fire for larger groups, although starting with Rapid Fire enhanced by the Web Shot rune is effective at slowing enemies before unleashing your Chakrams. If you find yourself constantly running out of hatred, a good tactic is to escape the fray, enable Shadow Power, and use the Entangle skill. Both of those skills will replenish your Hatred in no time, allowing you to continue dishing out the pain. The biggest hangup with this loadout is the reliance on the Entangling Shot and Caltrops. If not executed properly, you'll end up wasting a lot of discipline without slowing down the advancing demon hordes. On the other hand, when you properly entangle and trap your foes, you're in the clear. Shadow Power will keep your Hatred and health in check, two things a Demon Hunter can run out of rather quickly. Stats and Equipment When using the Demon Hunter you want to maximize three stats: Dexterity, Vitality, and Armor. Vitality and Armor are your health and defense stats, respectively. Dexterity controls your damage output as well as your ability to dodge attacks. A great way to increase these stats is through the use of gems and magic or rare items, with the proper modifiers of course. The suffixes you want to look for in magic&#47;rare items are Hawk (Dexterity bonus) and Bear(Vitality bonus). When collecting and refining gems, Emeralds and Rubies are the two types you should focus on. Here are the three most useful items I have equipped at the moment: And a shot of my stats&#47;inventory: Last but not least, here's a glimpse of my Demon Hunter in action against a minor boss in Act III, Gohm. Until next time, happy hunting!