Following the announcement of "Diablo III" at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, lead designer Jay Wilson led a gameplay demo and gave the following details:
[Note all screenshots were taken by my digital camera at the event.]
• The game will focus on cooperative play, with multiplayer available over battlenet.
• The game will have full zoom capability and a hotbar to access skills.
• No more potions! Floating red orbs can be picked up for immediate health recovery.
• Armor will be specific to class and provide unique appearances.
• The Barbarian class was shown, demonstrating the abilities of Cleave, Ground Stomp, Seismic Slam and the classic whirlwind ability.
• The new class shown was the Witch Doctor, who uses ancient tribal magic. The abilities include Mass Confusion, Soul Harvest, Firebomb, Horrify (scare enemies away) and Locust Swarm (locusts devour enemies). The Witch Doctor can also summon pets like mongrels. When a mongrel is near its death, the player can put it down but destroy nearby enemies in the process.
• The Barbarian and Witch Doctor classes are also available in female form.
• The game features destructible environments. For example, a wall can be smashed down to crush enemies or the player can smash through walls and doors.
• Some enemies appear larger in scale than the previous games, as was the case with a massive monster called the Siegebreaker Assault Beast.
• "Diablo" staples Deckard Cain and the town of Tristram will return.
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