Who got the axe?

[Sogeking]

maybe if its a woman? i think the class might be unisex like witch doctor or barbarian

i dont think it'll be the same name as something from wow...

 

[AZN_FLEA]

****ing female barbarians look silly. theyre just as bad as teh orcs from wow. its downright pathetic. they have to have a female version of everything now.

i just really damn hope that the pally got the axe. he just pisses me off.

 

[Vadriel]

Unfortunately, the class with the most potential for this new reworking of the Diablo engine, the Assassin, is so forgotten that she's probably tossed completely. After seeing how the Barbarian is being thrown around as operating in combat, characters with a variety of melee skills for wading through hordes are going to be able to work quite well...sadly though the Sin just isn't as popular.

Keep in mind also, these classes need to have a feasible story for why they'd be around. After 20 years of general peace, how many evil-smiting Paladins are going to be running around Tristram? Even if they're added, I forsee an unfortunate reworking of them into the cliched "lol u died i'll rez j00" MMO role.

I'm really happy to hear about the Necs potentially sticking around, since they're my favorite by far, but the Witch Doctor is so similar I don't see how they'll co-exist too well without overlapping in their roles and playing styles. I mean, a Witch Doctor can at the present call up a wall of zombies...awesome skill, but if there was intent to be a Necromancer class, why wouldn't they put that skill on the Nec and not the Witch Doctor?

Amazons are so incredibly popular, I see them as almost having to make an appearance, although Jenny's right and they'll have to adapt them to a gender-neutral role...and what do you get when you take out the female aspect of Amazon idealogy? Barbarians who use pointy sticks and bows instead of hulking axes. I'm afraid they'll merge Amazon with Barbarian and just give them a larger range of weaponry choices.

And furthermore...with the Witch Doctor, it almost feels like a merging of Necromancer and Druid...we have a natureboy who uses pet spells, disease, curses, fire spells, and limited control of undead. Kinda infringes on the ideas of the Druid as much as it does the Nec.

If you ask me, I see the four integral classes that are likely to come out of this as being;

Barbarian - All-around battletank, large variety of weaponry for melee smashing.
Witch Doctor - Natureboy/Spirit World manipulator...caster class with pet spells.
Mage - Generic caster class, probably heavy on the elemental magics like Sorceress was.
Ranger - Solution to Amazon's gender specificity. In some games, Rangers use javs as well as bows.

That leaves a spot for another opening class...talks say Necs are staying, but I can't see that working in the same space as a Witch Doctor. Paladin would be a reasonable fit for final complement to a party, with group healing and vs undead skills, but who knows really. Blizzard's pretty creative, and they generally don't screw their loyal fans by keeping them from things they know and love...so we'll just see how things roll later in development.

 

[Darkmatter]

Peace? I wouldn't assume so...from what I remember, the worldstone was destroyed. The world is probably at anything but peace. :/

 

[Vadriel]

I've been reading the backstory on the official site. Things have been pretty smooth for the last two decades. Tristram's quieted down and actually been settled. Originally the people who built New Tristram were looters of the cathedral, but now that it's been stripped bare it's just a kind of ghost town.

I wouldn't say it's been peace per se, but it's been pretty uneventful until recently. The goatpeople are flaring up again, and tales of bad stuff going on in Tristram Forest are starting to surface. It's been quiet for almost 20 years, up until just recently.

Until stories started circulating, there's been no reason to think anything bad's been afoot. In fact, the "narrator" character whose writings are fulfilling the role of site info and critter/area descriptions said he was actually disappointed when he went to Tristram and found it devoid of its sense of forboding that it was so famous for.

Face it bro, things have been chill. Maybe the new rumors may have drawn some pallies, but as for anybody already there it's just ragged miscreants trying to keep a crappy old town together.

 

[Sogeking]

i actually think druids might be in the game

 

[concrete_sox]

renzo it could be if ur sorc is a female its called a sorceress and if its male a sorceror

 

[AZN_FLEA]

if there is a sorceror id be thrilled. the sorc was a whiny bitch and i didnt play her in d2

 

[Brandon]

witch doctor is like a necro druid, so both will be taken out, who knows though

 

[Johnny]

The Barb got two axes. Watch the gameplay trailer.

 

[Renzokuken]

The Barb got two axes. Watch the gameplay trailer.

 

[Glowy]

sorry cheeze i pray for no more tele wind druids >.> I dont' care about any class except the nec....They can't axe the nec its the biggest character type in the storys...

 

[Vadriel]

Nec = axed. The Witch Doctor doesn't leave much room for the Necromancer as a playable class.

Way I see it, classes will probably be:

-Barbarian (yarr me hearties, good ol' bruisin fun)
-Witch Doctor (Druid + Nec, summoner/caster/undead fun)
-Rogue (Amazon + Assassin, done in a very Diablo character that's genderfriendly)
-Sorceror (Sorceress/Mage, fulfills the role of main caster class)
-some new class, possibly a Cleric of some sorts to replace Pally as team healer/undead repulsion.

Red denotes pure conjecture.

 

[Sogeking]

they already had rogues...

i think we might see a new class next monday

 

[Emperor Pan I]

Personally I hope none of the classes came back (barb included), you know to give us something new like how D2 didn't have any of D1's classes.

 

[Darkmatter]

Sorcerer/Sorceress.

 

[Vadriel]

they already had rogues...

i think we might see a new class next monday

Note that in that video conference, one of Blizzard's panel members said that they decided to show off the Barbarian first as "one of the characters that is returning to Diablo 3." That implies that at least one of the 3 unseen characters will have been in a past game. Rogue would fit the bill quite well, and honestly I very much hope that it appears.

 

[Emperor Pan I]

Rogues Suck. Some sort of hunter Class with bows and awesomeness.

 

[Vadriel]

Rogues Suck. Some sort of hunter Class with bows and awesomeness.

You mean a Rogue?

-Stealth skills
-Poison abilities
-More concerned with avoiding damage than being a meatshield (like Zons did)
-Ranged skills working with bows
-Melee dagger skills.

Overall, it'd fit nicely IMO. Best of Assassin + Amazon, just like Witch Doctor is sapping the Necromancer and Druid to get summons, elemental skills, plague abilities, and curses.

 

[Sogeking]

barbarian returned from d1.(expansion class . along with monk and something else).

i remember reading that they(blizz) wants to do what sid meyer does. 1/3 new, 1/3 old, 1/3 refurbished(or something like that) in terms of gameplay. i'm guessing there will be 2 old, 2 new, and 1 redone old one