Diablo III - Auction House Is No More (18th March 2014)

Auction house is no more (finally!) for Diablo III. There were many comments on why the  auction house system spoils the game of Diablo III, and yes it is now goodbye to this AH. Quite frankly I have never thought the Real Money Trade of Auction House will work for players. Even the use of gold for Auction House (with no proper gold sink mechanism in the game) is ridiculous when sellers demanded sky high prices.

I guess many players are trying to log in to Diablo III tonight, fearing that their items in the 'Completed Tab' would be lost. So this is one of the rare occasions in recent days to see this pop up when I tried to access Diablo III. Not too bad - at least I know there are still interested players for the game.

Battlenet Busy

Blizzard understands the anxiety, and naturally the players will have more time to claim the items (up till 24th June actually). The message of claiming the items in the Completed Tab by 24th June is also displayed at the bottom in red when players click the Auction House icon.

Diablo III Auction House 18 March

I wouldn't miss the auction house, and I appreciate the new loot system (what Blizzard term as Loot 2.0) such that players get more loot. After the recent patch, this is the 1st time in my many hours of playing Diablo III to get a Set Item. I've also 'looted' a number of other Legendary items, and I must say that sort of encourage me to play again.

Blackthorne Duncraig Cross

Oh well, let's see if the new expansion of Reaper of Souls will be interesting enough to re-capture all the hype of Diablo III. Crusader class - yeah! Additional Act - yeah! :)

The Weekend before Hell - Diablo III release

The waiting is finally coming to an end. The fans of Diablo have waited for a good 12 years for this latest Diablo release, and yes we will all get the game on 15th May 2012. I must say I can't wait to try out the classes and the features of the new game (more info can be found on their site), e.g. the artisans with a 'levelling' option. Five classes to try and I'm not so sure which suites my style; guess I'll know in a few days.

Diablo III Pre-order cards

Despite the huge anticipation for the Diablo III, I must say I am somewhat disappointed with how AsiaSoft handles the entire pre-order / redemption. Seems like I need to spend many hours waiting at Funan (place for box set collection) before I can get the game. There isn't interesting freebies either, just a poster (from the lucky draw) and maybe something more (as rare loot). I can only hope that AsiaSoft has planned out the entire logistical flow, such that there is less chaos that day.

Well, if Hell is breaking loose after a long 12 years wait, chaos is to be expected when Diablo III is released. :)

See related: 

- Diablo III: Online Only and Cash Accepted

Diablo III - Online Only & Cash Accepted!

News is spreading that Blizzard has made some very fundamental changes to Diablo III. I saw the news on both Slash Gear, as well as Daily Tech.

Online Only

The 1st impactful change will be that Diablo III can only be played online. This is a big departure from the previous Diablo games, where gamers could play their Diablo on a standalone, and the multi-player / online mode is optional. Thus Diablo III is the new 'World of Warcraft'? So is it going to be subscription based, or a one time payment much like Guild Wars? MMORPG wasn't how Diablo started but now Blizzard would make it so. Blizzard's Executive VP, Rob Pardo cited a number of reasons, including game piracy and character persist-ency benefits. 

I am not sure if this will appear to Diablo fans.  If I want to play MMORPG, I could stick with World of Warcraft, which I am already paying for, instead of a new Diablo III. The fun of tinkling with the characters, and different mods to see the super-duper items will no longer be possible. There will of course be the pressure of leveling up and competing for gears in a 'MMORPG' like environment for Diablo III.

A further search on Blizz Planet indicates that Diablo III is likely a one time off payment and no monthly subscription is needed. Of course, one will need to pay for further expansions, which were the case for previous Diablo games anyway.

Real-world Cash Accepted

The other impactful change is the introduction of real-money option to buy / sell loot in Diablo III's Auction House. If real money option is used, Blizzard will charge an actual listing fee, and a subsequent fixed transaction fee when item is sold.

Wow, that is like legalising 'gold farmers' in Diablo III. I am sure there will be plenty of gold farmers who hunt in areas where precious loot drops. Now the trade is actually legal when the loot is sold. Add a PVP element and I am sure the game play will not be as enjoyable. So I want to play Diablo III, I better play the game in group, where I have buddies who look after my back before I am being muscled out by gold farmers.

I understand the commercial reasons that persuaded Blizzard to adopt these changes, but as a gamer, I am not sure if I can appreciate the new Diablo III. O.k., I may have over-reacted to the news, and maybe Blizzard will introduce certain limitations and flexibility that continues to make Diablo III fun. We will see when we actually get to play the game - launch date remains unknown.

See related:
- The Weekend before Hell - Diablo III release