Question about game progression.

[Dak]

Hey, I've never played an action RPG before, I've only played MMOs. So I was wondering how the progression in Diablo works? Does the difficulty go from normal to nightmare as you progress or do you choose what to play at the beginning?
Also, How does multilayer work? do I meet people in the world as I'm playing like in Wow or is it sort of like dungeon instances?
Cheers.

[Dhurn]

Complete all of Normal -> Nightmare unlocked
Complete all of Nightmare -> Hell unlocked
Complete Hell -> Inferno

It's all the same story/content just with vastly increasing monster toughness per difficulty. Personally I'm hoping for some Inferno-only content to be implemented by it's probably not likely.

Co-op is done through isolated game worlds with a maximum of 4 people per game. Currently they're using a matchmaking system in which you select what quest you're wanting to work on, and then automatically join up with other people on that quest. Alternatively you can start a game on a certain quest and select "open to public" in the main menu and other people will be able to join your game.

[Deleted]

Everytime you start a session (login) you get the options of starting a game (public or private), at which you can choose the difficulty setting (must have unlocked it previously). The only way to meet other people is to either enter a public game, create a public game (then random people can join in with you), or to invite friends into your game. If you're not in a public game then there is no way to meet a random person, your own game is personal and isolated.

[Blitzdoctor]

To clarify above: Difficulty unlock is per char.

Normal is char level ~1-30
Nightmare is same content but more difficult, char level ~30-50
Hell is same content but even more difficult, char level ~50-60
Inferno is same content but almost insanely difficult, char level 60

[Herecius]

Complete all of Normal -> Nightmare unlocked
Complete all of Nightmare -> Hell unlocked
Complete Hell -> Inferno

It's all the same story/content just with vastly increasing monster toughness per difficulty. Personally I'm hoping for some Inferno-only content to be implemented by it's probably not likely.

Co-op is done through isolated game worlds with a maximum of 4 people per game. Currently they're using a matchmaking system in which you select what quest you're wanting to work on, and then automatically join up with other people on that quest. Alternatively you can start a game on a certain quest and select "open to public" in the main menu and other people will be able to join your game.

To elaborate on this, as the difficulty gets higher, the mobs start behaving more dangerously and have more abilities. The most dangerous enemies are also not bosses, but rather random roving champion/unique packs.

[Dak]

Great, thanks guys. I've been watching the blizzcon panel to see how the game is like, you guy know when I can look to get a better feel for the game?

[Leggomyeggo]

Dak, there are a lot of videos out on YouTube that show gameplay. Have you watched any? That will give you an idea of how the game actually plays.


The game consists of a story that takes part in 4 different Acts. Each Act will have a series of quests you complete and finish with an Act Boss. When you defeat that Act boss you will be able to continue to the next Act. While going from quest to quest and Act to Act you will see the story of the game play out in front of you. Each Act is a different location so you will see pretty big scenery and general theme changes moving between the Acts.

You will start the game on Normal difficulty. Once you have defeated the last boss of the last Act you will unlock Nightmare difficulty. Each difficulty will play through the same series of quests and the same Acts but the monsters will increase significantly in strength and level. As stated above, you unlock Nightmare by defeating Normal. Unlock Hell by defeating Nightmare. Unlock Inferno by defeating Hell and reaching level 60 (which is the level cap).

When creating or joining a game you decide what difficulty you would like to be in as well as which Act and Quest. You can replay any Act or Quest you have completed before. If there is a particular Act or Quest you really like, you can continue to make or join new games that start with that place in the game. Each game is a separate entity. It isn't a living world like World of Warcraft. It would be more similar to the instances in World of Warcraft (but much larger considering it holds the entire world of Diablo in it). Each game is separate and on it's own.

There are some public chat channels where you can talk to people when you aren't in a game. You could decide to invite them to a party and start up a game with them if you wanted to play together. You could do the same with people on your friend list as well. Of course, you can talk to people in game as well. There are 4 people allowed in a game and you would be working together to complete quests and the Acts. You may decide you aren't really interested in the quests and might just wander around on your own killing and exploring. That is fine too.

If you are playing in a group, it will usually be best to stick with your group. The health of the monsters scale up so they are stronger based on the number of players in the group. So when you can handle easily solo will be a little trickier if you have 3 other people in your game.

Well, hope the wall of text is helpful to you.

[Deleted]

Isn't diablo 3 a hack n slash dungeon crawler?

[Deleted]

also the difficulty is different than in mmos. there is no tank/heal/support classes. you just hack and slay your way though. difficulties may occur by special monsters like multishock monsters that release spells everytime you attack them...

[Leggomyeggo]

Isn't diablo 3 a hack n slash dungeon crawler?

Yes it is.