Close-up of the Sorceress battling sand monsters. Game Info Publisher Blizzard Developer Blizzard Genre RPG Origin U.S. Number of Players 4 Net Support YES Accelerated YES Release 11/99 Full-screen view of one of the desert environments. A render of the Vulture-Demon, one of the many dangerous creatures in Diablo II.

The fever surrounding Blizzard's next million-seller was more evident than ever at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Crowds of eager Diablo II fans surrounded the small booth waiting with growing anticipation for their crack at the terminal. Amidst the craziness, we were fortunate enough to be able to sit down with one of the game's programmers, Ted Bisson, and get the latest news on Diablo II's progress. A lot of information has been circulating lately, with several pictures care of Blizzard's "Screen Shot of the Week" helping to entice the masses. However, Mr. Bisson was able to supply a host of information that hasn't been touched upon just yet.

Among the vast array of questions being asked about Diablo II as of late are those regarding the inclusion of hirable NPC's and the control over them players will have. As Ted explained, "Although this area still needs some work, as of now NPC's will be hirable after a certain level is attained, or after a certain quest is completed. The rogues in the first Act are a good example. Upon completing one of the first quests, the rogues become available for hire. If that quest is not completed, players will have to wait until they reach an as yet undetermined level before being able to hire them. Once hired, they will follow the characters around and attack threats." Ted went on to say that, contrary to popular belief, NPC's will not have an inventory of their own, nor will they pick up items and gold. It would appear that early ideas on being able to double a player's inventory space by allowing NPC's to carry items has been laid to rest. Your hired help will have to make do with whatever weapons, armor, and items that they join you with. As far as multiplayer games are concerned, such help will most likely be available in those sessions as well, and the presence of these characters will not be counted towards the 8-player limit in such games.

Many other multiplayer concerns have been addressed as well. Many gamers out there remember the agonizing necessity in Diablo I of having to start on the first level of the dungeon in a new single player game, even if that character had previously played through the entire plot line. Thankfully, this limitation has been lifted from such games. Players will be able to start Diablo II from any point in the story, in either single or multiplayer mode, which they have already visited in the past. Therefore, a character who plays a multiplayer game through Act II on one occasion can begin a seperate game at another time at the beginning of either Act I or II. This improvement will allow seasoned players to jump immediately into the thick of the action where the abilities of their characters will be tested the most, instead of spending hours of play time tediously dispatching lesser foes for comparatively worthless items and spare change. After all, it's quite certain that your 25th level Sorceress could bring those pesky Fallen Ones to flame-kissed perfection, but her skills would be challenged far more by some of the game's more advanced enemies.

Other multiplayer concerns revolved around player killing and the inclusion of tournaments. According to Ted, "We're not sure what exactly players will drop this time around, as far as body parts are concerned. However, I doubt it will be an ear again. We are toying around with several ideas in that department. As far as tournaments go, we definitely want to include some sort of ranking system and structured tournaments. The exact composition of these haven't been determined yet. We've thought about several possibilties, including a sort of 'Highlander' game where your player's death removes you from the tournament. All players would compete until only one remained. However, all of this is still very much in the planning stages." Also discussed was the possibility of game creators being able to flag player killing, removing the option to cause player-to-player damage from their sessions. At the sacrifice of some realism, this would help to ensure that you are traveling with an "honorable" party.

Another consideration circulating the various Diablo II fan sites of the world is the talk about Battle Arenas and Guild Halls making an appearance. Although Guild Halls will definitely be implemented, "the Battle Arena idea, although we'd certainly like to have it in there, probably won't be included in the initial release. Guild Halls, however, will be fully customizable by the creator. Guild colors, flag, and other such things can be chosen upon their creation." Furthermore, the Guild Master (creator) will be the only individual permitted to spend the guild's money, and will also maintain the list of individuals allowed in the hall itself. Because of the enormity of the power associated with being a Guild Master, Blizzard is considering making that position the democratic choice of all those in the guild. Through some interface, members would be able to cast their vote to keep the current master, or replace him or her with someone else. This election-style structure would give the head position in a guild a bit more distinction, and would also help prevent the existence of inactive or reckless leaders.

When asked about just some more general improvements made to Diablo II over the original, Ted was able to bring several things to light. For instance, many players of Diablo complained about the fact that once an area was cleared in a multiplayer game by one character, that area became a veritable ghost town to travel through for all other players in that game. This time around, monsters will respawn in all areas meaning that just because you've cleared an area once, it may not be safe to just run blindly through it again. Also on the subject of monsters, the sheer number of them has increased dramatically. An impressive roster of over 100 different classes of beasties, with 3-5 palette swaps each will be vying for your gaming dignity. Furthermore, the availability of a run feature (and a stamina bar to limit its use) will add new elements of strategic planning and escape for players. Little extra touches, such as the ability to stack items in inventory (attack potions, arrows, etc.), an experience bar to help gauge advancement, and an item location feature that identifies the position of items on the screen when the Alt key is pressed are all additions that will make the Diablo II experience all the more enjoyable.

Clearly, this game is set to make an impression on the video game community. With the impressive list of features now known, and Blizzard's spotless track record behind it, Diablo II should prove to be an extremely efficient killer of free time. With the PC version not set to release for a few more months, and a Mac version not due until next year, gamers still have some waiting to do. However, if Blizzard's showing at E3 is any indication (and we believe it is), it will all be worth it in the end.

Skills

Below is a list of all of the skills present in the E3 '99 Version of Diablo II. There were several other skills listed at the show, but they were unavailable to use due to the fact that their inclusion was still uncertain by the Blizzard team. Also, it should be noted that only the active skills are listed for each character. Characters will also have a number of passive skill categories that will affect things like hit percentage with certain weapons, resistance to certain attacks, and other things of that nature.

General Skills

Throw--All characters possess the ability to throw certain items, such as exploding or acid potions. This skill will most likely consume no mana.
Convert--All characters also have the ability to transmute certain pieces of monsters' bodies into useful items. Hearts can be made into health potions, eyes into mana potions, horns in quivers of crossbow bolts or arrows, etc. The range of items available from this procedure could prove to be quite extensive.

Amazon

Magic Arrow--Formerly "Safe Shot". Fires a single arrow that is only capable of harming hostile targets.
Fire Arrow--As the name implies, a flaming arrow at the cost of a small amount of mana.
Cold Arrow--A chilled arrow that lowers the temperature of its victim, causing slower movement.
Multiple Shot--Fires (you guessed it) multiple arrows in a fan pattern at enemies.
Exploding Arrow--A Fire Arrow with some extra spunk....explodes in a fireball upon hitting its target.
Ice Arrow--A more potent version of the Cold Arrow. This completely freezes the target creature for a small amount of time.
Guided Arrow--A guided missile of sorts, this arrow seeks out a target even if none are within view.
Strafe--A highly useful skill that targets a set number of enemies and fires at all of them almost simultaneously. The higher the skill level Strafe rises to, the more enemies are targeted upon its use.
Immolation Arrow--An arrow which detonates on impact and leaves behind a small patch of fire to further damage the target, as well as damage oncoming baddies. Works great in doorways :-)
Freezing Arrow--Identical to the Ice Arrow, except this one freezes all enemies in a given radius of the target creature.
Eye of Zeus--Places a small light source above the heads of your foes. Useful in areas with low visibility.
Fist of Ares--Creates a small ball of energy which orbits the Amazon's head and mimics her arrow attacks, effectively doubling firepower.
Hand of Athena--Strikes all hostile missiles, magical and otherwise, out of the air. A normal arrow cut out of the air can prevent damage to your character. However, this same skill can be used to cause fireballs and other magical missiles to detonate early, perhaps causing lethal damage to the casters of such spells.
Jab--A javelin skill which enables a faster attack with the otherwise slow weapon.
Power Strike--An electrified javelin attack, causing lightning damage to the unfortunate recipient.
Poison Javelin--Throws javelin and leaves behind a trail of poisonous smoke, damaging all creatures who enter it, including yourself Impale--Sacrifice speed from the already slow javelin attack in exchange for devastating power.

Paladin

Note: In the E3 Version, Paladin aura skills did not use mana. According to Blizzard, it is yet to be determined whether or not this will be a permanent feature.

Smite--Your basic, everyday shield bash.
Sacrifice--At the expense of some health, an increase in damage per strike is attained.
Holy Bolt--A burst of heavenly light capable of damaging undead targets.....only.
Might--Aura that boosts damage dealt to enemies.
Holy Fire--Aura that releases pulses of fire damage.
Thorns--Aura that reflects some of damage dealt to you back upon attackers.
Resist Fire--Aura that increases fire resistance.
Resist Cold--Aura that...well, you know :-)
Defiance--Aura that boosts armor.
Prayer--Aura that grants regeneration of health to the Paladin.

Sorceress

Glacial Spike--Casts a vicious ice missile at the target.
Ice Blast--Freezes target creature.
Frost Nova--A radius effect which damages and slows surrounding monsters.
Frozen Armor--Increases AC and causes cold damage to attackers.
Ice Bolt--Slows target, similar to Cold Arrow Amazon skill.
Charged Bolt--Fires several small, speedy, electrical pulses at enemies in a random pattern.
Static Field--Attack all enemies within area of effect with electricity.
Telekinesis--Activate traps, open/close doors and chests from a distance, and keep monsters at bay.
Lightning--A concentrated burst of electrical energy is directed at monsters.
Nova--Similar to Frost Nova, except electrical damage is dealt.
Chain Lightning--A lightning spell that bounces from enemy to enemy, dealing damage to each.
Teleport--Go from one place on the screen to another....fast.
Meteor--The ultimate insult....drop a big, fiery rock on your enemies.
Firewall--Exactly what it sounds like, put up a wall of fire to impede the advancement of hostiles.
Firebolt--A weak fire projectile.
Fireball--A not so weak fire projectile, explodes on impact damaging those within a small radius.
Inferno--A flame thrower of sorts, growing in intensity as level rises.

Necromancer

Clay Golem--The base golem spell, doesn't require reagents of any kind. Creates your basic walking mud ball to bash enemies.
Familiar--Invokes a ball of light which you can control to seek out enemies, treasure, or whatever else you wish. Control of the Necromancer is lost while it is in effect.
Reanimate--Bring dead things back to life to fight for you.
Bone Armor--A bone shell surrounds the Necromancer, absorbing damage.
Poison Dagger--Um, it poisons the target :-)
Corpse Explosion--"The Best Skill of All Time" according to the onscreen description, this show-stopper detonates the dead bodies of your slain enemies, causing massive damage to those around it who still live.
Teeth--Fires a series of glowing white missiles at enemies.
Weaken--A curse that halves the strength of those stricken with it.
Amplify Damage--Curse that causes target to take more damage than usual.
Dim Vision--The target's range of vision is reduced by this curse.

Barbarian

Shout--Improve the AC of you and companions near you.
Taunt--Causes enemies to attack more ferociously. They will not retreat, and their anger may cause them to miss.
Find Heart--Use to extract the hearts from fallen foes. Useful in converting to health potions.
Howl--Frighten enemies, cause them to retreat.
Bash--Hit things.....hard. :-)
Double Swing--Got two weapons? Use 'em both at once with this skill.

-- Rich Rouse

04/15/99

We don't have any new information on Diablo II yet, but we did want to let you know we've gotten our hands on a new movie of the in-game action from the Paladin's point of view. Check it out below.

12/11/98

While games like EverQuest and Baldur's Gate have been getting the lion's share of attention on the RPG front lately, don't count out Blizzard Entertainment. It has been quietly putting the final touches on Diablo II, a sequel to one of the best-selling action/RPG games ever, honing its gameplay and getting it ready for what could be one of the biggest releases of 1999.

Of course when you're doing a sequel to a game like Diablo, the trick is not to get too fancy by adding so much new stuff that it destroys the original experience (think X-COM Apocalypse). On the other hand, the game has to evolve enough so that the gamer doesn't feel ripped off, and a sequel has to be more than just a level pack with different graphics (think X-COM: Terror from the Deep).

Blizzard is well aware of this delicate balancing act, and from what we've seen of Diablo II so far, it's managing quite well. Diablo II has enough new stuff to truly feel like a brand new game while retaining enough of the original that it sucks you in all over again.

First off, the game's visuals are spectacular. Unlike the previous version, Diablo II takes advantage of 3D acceleration, specifically the 3Dfx chipset. Now what use is a 3D accelerator in what is essentially an isometric, 2D game? Good question, and the answer is it's used for special effects--better transparency, better lighting and shadowing, atmospheric fogs, colored lighting, and overall, a faster frame rate.

What this means is that the in-game visuals are extremely impressive, something most noticeable during spellcasting, which has become something of a splendid feast. Fire sizzles in spinning rings or springs up as a dangerous, crackling wall. Monsters become frozen in globs of ice, while poisonous javelins leave a writhing contrail of noxious, green gas.

This richness carries over into the variety of environments. The artists on the project have really gone wild creating unique and original settings, varying from desert cities and Middle Eastern harems to the more traditional dank and dangerous caves. The depth of detail far exceeds that of the first game, and there will even be a zoom-in mode, which (if you have a 3Dfx card) zooms in and out smoothly, without even a hiccup. In fact, the lushness of Diablo II is such that it will most likely have to ship on four CDs.

Leaps in graphic are all fine and good, of course, but what about the game itself? Blizzard has obviously done a lot of thinking about what was wrong in the original Diablo--and rest assured, there was plenty of things to pick on, among them the interface and the dependence on finding potions. (An aspect producer Bill Roper even referred to as "Diablo: Potion Quest" in our demo with him.)

So rather than being forced to carry more potions than an apothecary does, this time around shrines dot the landscape, offering a chance to fully heal at one convenient resting point. In the same vein, the player's health and manna will slowly regenerate over time, and of course many of the characters will be able to heal themselves.

The interface has also been improved in several key areas, giving the game even faster pace, as a brisk pace is very much at the core of the Diablo experience. When a character hits an enemy, a brief flash (green, yellow or red) gives you a visual cue as to the relative health of the monster. Holding the left mouse button creates a continuous attack against one creature, meaning a lot less wrist-pounding mouse clicking is required. And by the same token, you can target multiple enemies with a ranged attack, and your character will automatically divvy up the arrows among them. But by far one of the most satisfying new features in combat is the kick--targeting an enemy and giving them the old boot backs them up a good ten to twenty feet from your character and does a little damage too. Perfect for lightly armored spellcasters who really ought to avoid hand-to-hand combat.

Another complaint some users had about Diablo was the difficulty in locating some very small items (like rings) or picking up treasure obscured by columns or dead bodies. Now, by simply holding down the ALT key, any items on the current screen that can be manipulated are highlighted, putting an end to the usual pixel hunts.

Gone are the character classes of old, like the Rogue, replaced by five new ones--the Paladin, Amazon, Necromancer, Sorceress, and a Barbarian. Each has a different mix of strengths and weaknesses, trading off between spellcasting ability and their skill with weapons. The storyline is brand new as well, and the game world has been expanded considerably beyond the quasi-medieval area of the original.

Beyond these tweaks, though, the core of the Diablo experience really remains the same. And so while the release date remains a vague question (Blizzard will only say 1999), we're pretty confident that when the game comes out the wait will have been worth it, and those who've been hankering for a fast-paced romp through a fantasy world will not be disappointed.

(Be sure to check out our recent interview with Bill Roper, too).

-- Sir Unferth