Live: Blizzard Gamescom conference
Going deeper into hell?
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Blizzard has announced the first Diablo 3 expansion, Reaper of Souls, at Gamescom. Read Martin's live report below for details of its new endgame, loot system, story and character class: the Crusader. Also, check out the cinematic and gameplay trailers below.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Rodpad: Is this being broadcast or just text updates this time?
There's no stream that we know of, so it will just be Martin's text updates filling you in.
Hey hey, I've just taken my seat in the Press Hall within the Kolnmesse.
The stage is flanked with Diablo 3 banners, and they're playing music that sounds super-similar to Han Zimmer's Man of Steel soundtrack. Is Superman going to be revealed as a new character class?
Yeah, probably not. Diablo 3 console's just around the corner, so it's more likely this is an update or - excite! - an expansion.
Other than a selection of cheese and ham baps at the back of the room there's not much to report yet. We're due to kick off in three minutes.
Sorry, it's cheese or ham, not cheese and ham. I went for both.
Small dollop of cream cheese and a walnut on the emmental one, which seemed a bit unnecessary, but still pretty good.
Srift: @MartinRobinson ah I see what you did grabbed both and combined. Sandwich crafting unlocked trophy obtained.
Ha! I might be more experimental and throw in some of the salami one too.
Putting baps aside for one moment - the lights have dimmed and we're about to kick off.
There's lights and ominous music. Feel like I'm at a very polite Iron Maiden gig.
And we're in with a cinematic for Diablo 3.
'Diablo was defeated, and for a time it seemed we were at peace. But it was not to be.'
It's the pencil sketch style that swoops through a dungeon, and we cut to some typically impressive CG.
It's kicking off - scythe wielding demon comes in and makes all sorts of mischief with a selection of heroes. Christ they know how to put together a cinematic.
Our hero thrusts his blade through the demon, only to be picked up and have his life sucked slowly away. 'Brother, why?'
Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls is announced in quite some style.
And game director Josh Mosqueira comes on stage.
Reaper of Souls is the next expansion for Diablo 3.
And we're going to have a look at it today. Genuine excitement.
Diablo 3's about epic heroes - and there's a new villain in the fallen angel of wisdom.
And Diablo 3, more importantly, is about epic loot -pleasing after the original's somewhat anaemic offering.
A new hero, the Crusader. That's who we saw in the cinematic.
And a whole new act is in as well.
And they're rethinking the end-game, providing players with as many options. One's loot runs, another's an update to the Paragon system.
Brian Kindregan here to take us through the story.
It's an age of peace. There's a problem though! It's the sodding Black Soul Stone.
It's hidden in sanctuary, but Maltheal, the Angel of Death returns to generally be a bit of a sod.
So Malthael's back, and he wants to end the eternal conflict by destroying all the demons. And it's the humans that really get his back up.
Malthael can turn the dead against their loved ones. Not particularly nice.
Christian Lichtner, the art director, is up now. He's excited to talk about Malthael.
This is a darker expansion.
That's something you can see in Malthael's look - he looks proper miserable.
He can drain the souls from his victims, and he's pretty much death incarnate. He has angelic wings, but they're skeletal.
New monsters are getting involved too. The Seraph, a chubby demon is first. Summoner of the Dead's more wirty, and the Executioner's a hulking beast. Death Maiden, who looks quite stylish really, is last.
Westmarch is the setting, and it takes influence from Gothic western locations. It's more medieval.
Within Westmarch is the story of a fallen city.
And you've got to save it, basically. Kevin Martens, the lead designer, will let us know how you can go about that.
The Crusader's taking the limelight - wielding shield and long sword, he's a heroic looking chap.
He's linked to Diablo 2's Paladins.
They're a mid-range melee character.
A Sparten ethos with the power of a modern tank. They've got crusader shields, and flails. They can get right up in the midst and crack skulls. A war machine made human.
We're seeing the crusader in action now - there's a shield bash and fist of the heavens, a mid-range melee ability.
Falling sword's related to that - you become the missile, raining down on enemies.
This is playable on the show floor.
And we're seeing that demo now.
Starts on the ouskirts of Westmarch.
Eppo: No cameras allowed?
There isn't one, I'm afraid.
You're hight up, and down below you can see Westmarch peeking out of the gloom.
Shield Flare's being highlight, which can blind your enemies.
Transitions between internal and external places is more seamless now.
We're on the streets of Westmarch, a very urban backdrop.
The Law of Valour ability's being activated - and he's showing off Falling Sword, which makes light work of a small pack of enemies.
stardazzled: any mentioning of a level cap?
It's been pushed up -not sure where to exactly though.
Voarea: hey, what kind of primary stat/gems does this new crusader use?
We haven't seen that yet - sorry!
Now we're inside Zakarum Cathedral, where a Death Maiden lies in wait.
Made short work of that.
Screamer-RSA: If Reaper of Souls does not allow offline play, I have no interest in it whatsoever.
Let's wait and see - I'm sure we'll get news regarding that shortly.
Loot time - just picked up a God Butcher, a flail that's every bit as awesome as it sounds.
Mosqueira is back on stage to talk about Loot 2.0.
Loot drops less, but the drops are better and more meaningful.
You'll get Smart Drops - every time one drops, there's a chance its stats are tweaked to suit the character you're playing.
Comparing original D3 and the expansion - in Act 3 you'd find 256 common, 399 blue, 275 yellow and one legendary.
In Reaper of Souls, it could be 73 white items, 266 blues and 83 yellow items - but there's more chance they'll be smart drops.
And it'll throw 6 legendary items your way, and this time they'll be build changers.
We're looking at how they're making loot more meaningful - a wizard's legendary wand now has a greater chance of summoning Hydras, and summoning more of them.
A new artisan in Reaper of Souls can transmogrify your items - so you don't have to sacrifice your look for more power.
And there's enchanting, allowing you to reroll an affix in a rare of legendary item.
And the endgame's being rethought completely. Something for everyone once you're done with the story.
New level cap of 70, so every class gets more skills, runes.
Loot Runs are 15-20 minutes dungeons that are completely randomised.
Paragon 2.0 - there are three big changes. It's now account wide, so all your characters will benefit. And there's no longer a cap.
And that's it with the changes.
One last surprise! It's the gameplay trailer - which isn't that exciting for you as there's no stream (sorry)
It's on the show floor, and we're meeting with Josh tomorrow so hopefully we'll be able to get to any unanswered questions.
From what I understand, though, this is very much addressing all the concerns many had with Diablo 3, and answering many of the criticisms.
From what I've seen it's done so very well.
And that's a wrap. Thanks for joining us!
We'll be back later with a livetext of Phil Spencer's keynote. See you then!