Diablo III‘s hero will be able to get a nice set of hand-crafted gear – he just won’t be the one making it.
The Diablo series has always traditionally been about the acquisition of randomized phat lewtz from the corpses of evil monsters, and Diablo III is no exception. You won’t just be getting your rare items from the slaughter piles, though – at Gamescom, Blizzard revealed its newest gear-crafting system for the upcoming hack-and-slash.
Rather than making all the equipment yourself – after all, wouldn’t it feel weird to have your character sitting around banging on an anvil when the world was at stake? – your character will be able to collect an entourage of artisans that will follow you around in a caravan.
As you collect gear (from killing monsters, naturally) that you don’t need, you can still sell it or drop it as you normally could. Or, you could take a chance and refine the items down into base components that craftsmen can use to make new items, becoming more skilled in the process. If that sounds like a WoW tradeskill to you then don’t worry, you’re not alone. Still, it’s a very Diablo-ized take on the matter, with randomized stats and a focus on killing the hell out of everything you meet to get items.
On a completely different note, it’s good to see that Blizzard hasn’t stopped poking fun at the “art controversy” with items like the “Emerald Happy Armor” and producer Jay Wilson’s closing line about rainbow viewing.
If Diablo III doesn’t have at least one double rainbow joke, Blizzard, I will be disappointed.
