Diablo II Fansite Chat

June 19, 2003

(Representing The Amazon Basin were Flick and TPJ!)

Will there be any new features added to the chat gem, or are you still satisfied with the way it works?

Bill Roper: The Gem is Perfect. Your first question has been squandered. Diablo is unpleased and his red anger has been raised.

How will the ladder change with the patch?

Battle.Net Development Team: The purpose in 1.10 is to provide an new, clean environment free of twinking. There will be new ladder-only drops of items as well as new Horadric cube recipes. Also, ONLY ladder characters will be eligible for the ladder.

Can you give us an update on the status of the patch?

Bill Roper: We are still testing patch 1.10 and are really looking at only bugs at this point. We are excited about all the new stuff going in and as SOON as it is ready to release, we will get it out...I wish I could be more specific, but all I can say is that we know everyone wants it NOW (so do we) but it has to be right when it comes out.

Why are some of the items and Horadric Cube recipes for the ladder only?

Battle.Net Development Team: We think that ladder play is going to be more fun than regular, and we want to give extra incentive to get people to try it. As a result of the new items, the balance in ladder games will be just a bit tougher than regular.

What is the plan regarding hacked and duped items?

Bill Roper: Nuke Nuke Nuke Nuke Nuke! We are going to be introducing our 'rust storm' concept where we go through and do some serious housecleaning of these items from the realms.

Have you done anything to limit the ability of higher level players to help "rush" newbies through the game very quickly?

Battle.Net Development Team: Players only get experience if they are close to the monster when it's killed. NOTE: There are several areas where you can't town-portal to unless you've completed the quests which "unlock" them.

Are all of the changes in the patch expansion only?

Bill Roper: At the very least, monster balance and skill synergies will be applicable to both Diablo II and Lord of Destruction. Some of the other changes may apply as well, but I would have to look again.

How long will a ladder season last?

Battle.Net Development Team: The season will last until just before the next one starts. :) Actually, we're not sure yet.

Are you improving Rare items?

Bill Roper: We are making rare items a little bit better. It is hard to define exactly how that applies to every single rare, but overall, the answer is yes.

Have you done any changes to gambling?

Battle.Net Development Team: We've increased the likelihood of getting rares, sets and uniques via gambling.

Will higher level runes be easier to get?

Bill Roper: Yes, thanks to the new Horadric Cube recipes. Also, the Hellforge quest now drops better runes, the Countess drops better runes, and the rune drops themselves have been improved to be more likely to drop better runes.

Can you do something about the hordes of ears in dueling games?

Battle.Net Development Team: Ears (and all items) that are left on the ground will now get deleted after a few minutes. Also, we've added the "/nopickup" command which makes it so that you have to have the "alt" key down to pick up items (preventing accidental pickups.)

Will all of the classes have new synergy abilities?

Bill Roper: Yes! Rejoicing may now commence.

What improvements have you made to Druid Elemental skills?

Battle.Net Development Team: We've improved the damage ramps, added physical damage to some of them, added synergies, made Armageddon useable in Were-form, and other tweaks as well.

Will you be able to unsocket items?

Bill Roper: Yes, through the awesome power of the Horadric Cube. There will be a price, of course. There is always a price.

Now that mana potions are available at the vendors, are you changing the cube formula that creates rejuv potions?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes, they now require a particular gem also to create in the cube.

Have you made any changes to dueling/player vs. player combat?

Bill Roper: We have made some changes in that we have reduced PvP damage. Also, a lot of the changes to skills and synergies will change the balance and strategies of PvP, so duelists should have a lot of fun!

How have monsters changed at higher difficulties?

Battle.Net Development Team: Many monsters have higher hit points, more skills, better defense, move and attack faster, more varied resistances, more abilities, etc.

Will there be a hostile timer so you won't get killed instantly by unscrupulous script users?

Bill Roper: Yes. We tried this recently through a server-side patch with, well, not so good results. We know what the issue was and will make sure this works by the time 1.10 goes live.

Are you fixing the Zod bug?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes, yes we have. We have fixed the Zod bug. Yes. It is fixed.

Is there any way to distinguish 1.09 set items from 1.10 set items when trading?

Bill Roper: There is no way to distinguish this, but if this is a concern, that is just another good reason to play in the new Ladder. Sets built with mixed 1.09 and 1.10 items will still get the full new set bonuses, however.

Will there be a chat icon for Warcraft III?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes.

Are you changing the level limit?

Bill Roper: Nope - but it will be a LOT harder to get to level 99 after 1.10 goes live.

Are you adding any new unique throwing items?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes, we are adding exciting new unique throwing items. There will be lots of other types of uniques as well!

Will the mercenaries' skills/abilities change with the patch?

Bill Roper: No. We held meetings with the Mercenaries Unions and they asked for no changes to their skills. We went ahead and rebalanced them for the higher difficulty of 1.10.

Will 1.09 items be automatically upgraded to 1.10 items?

Battle.Net Development Team: No they won't. You have to find the new ones to get the new stats and attributes.

Will the performance of the game be improved?

Bill Roper: We have found in our testing that the changes to our collision detection system has helped performance. Also, we have done some work on server performance to make it better. Darn that lag!

Are you upgrading potions?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes, we have upgraded health, mana, warmth, antidote, and stamina potions.

Will Necromancer skeletons be improved?

Bill Roper: Oh my, yes. We are bumping up the life and damage your Skeletons get from Skelton Mastery, as well as really beefing them up in their individual skills.

Have you made any changes to casting delays?

Battle.Net Development Team: We've added casting delays to Valkyrie and Shadow Master. They are beefed up to compensate for the delays.

What are you doing to the cow level?

Battle.Net Development Team: moo.

Bill Roper: Players have been steaking out their claim there for too long, so we decided to beef it up so they can't milk it for all its worth.

Can you give us any details about the "world event"?

Bill Roper: Yes. But that spoils the surprise, doesn't it? All I will say is that the reward for triggering it is unbelievable.

Are you making any changes to magic find?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes, we have made "Magic Find" no longer work on end bosses and certain uniques.

Have you made any changes to boss runs?

Battle.Net Development Team: Bosses drop better drops the first time they are killed. Magic find no longer works on them, and bosses that were too easy to get to have reduced drops. Oh, and they are harder now.

Will there be Horadric cube recipes that let you upgrade all the way to a Zod rune?

Bill Roper: Yes.

Are there any enhancements to Battle.net?

Battle.Net Development Team: We have added a lobby on entry to Battle.net that will let see your character stats and jump directly into a game; you can enter the normal chat room from the lobby.

How are charms affected by 1.10?

Battle.Net Development Team: There are new unique charms!

What changes have you made to experience?

Bill Roper: We have readjusted the experience rate (penalty) above level 70 to make climbing to the highest levels more difficult. We have also changed how experience is shared between party members, including how close they need to be to a monster death to receive experience.

Have you made changes to existing unique and set items?

Battle.Net Development Team: We have made changes to mostly the Sets and some Uniques. But previously found 1.09 items remain the same.

Will the patch be immediately available for MacOS?

Bill Roper: You betcha!

Are other skills besides whirlwind getting new graphics?

Battle.Net Development Team: Yes!!

Gil Shif: Ok, everyone, that's it ;(. I'd like to thank the following team members for joining us on the chat: Bill Roper, Max Schaefer, Brian Fitzgerald, Derek Simmons, Peter Hu, Ken Williams, Robert Bridenbecker, Chris Arretche, Geoff Fraizer, Matt Householder, Lisa Bucek, George Wang, (and me :). Oh...1 last question :)

What are the future plans for the game...is this the final patch?

Bill Roper: Currently, there are no plans for any further patch that contains new content. We will, however, continue to support the game with necessary bug fixes as well as duped item deletions and continued repercussions for those using hacks.

Gil Shif: Ok, that's it everybody. Stay tuned to http://www.battle.net for further news on the patch. We look forward to seeing you all online!