What We Want From a Diablo 3 Expansion

Diablo 3 faced colossal expectations when it came out in May, and though it did deliver dozens of hours of hack-and-slash action, it fell short in several important areas. Now, with official word that an expansion is in the works, Blizzard has the opportunity to shore up some of those weaknesses and give Diablo 3 the kind of shot in the arm that Lord of Destruction gave Diablo 2. Aside from an offline mode that lets us play single-player without fear of lag (which is a given, but highly unlikely), here are the areas we hope and expect that Blizzard will focus on when it makes Diablo 3 bigger.


Dan Stapleton, Editor in Chief: In my view, the biggest error in judgment that Blizzard made with Diablo 3 was to assume that all players wanted to play together all the time, when in fact that's only a portion of the audience. The goal of this expansion should be to make a more compelling, more replayable experience for us loners who want to have our own rewarding adventures.


Obviously, something has to be done about the Real-Money Auction House. While I personally didn't go near it in the 70 hours I played Diablo 3 because I didn't want that influence in my game, I know that a lot of Diablo fans are bothered by its very presence. I don't expect Blizzard to kill it off entirely -- it's not something you just pull the plug on -- but perhaps adding an option to play with all auction houses completely disabled, along with appropriate tuning to make sure loot drops feel rewarding without it, would go a long way toward ditching the feeling that I'm having to exercise restraint as I play.

I also request -- nay, demand -- randomized level maps. I can't stress this one enough. By this point we've all gone through the same four acts of Diablo 3 enough times that we've got a pretty good idea of how long virtually any amount of campaign content Blizzard could possibly deliver can keep surprising and delighting us with the feeling of exploration, and it's not very long. I'd be fine with more linear story-driven levels as long as I also have the opportunity to leave that path and venture out on my own into randomized dungeons and zones.


For mechanics, I'd love to see Blizzard put the RPG back into Diablo by making at least some character-development decisions permanent. Either make me pick my final ability loadout when I get above level 60, or give me the option to do so by giving me an ability stat boost if I choose to lock in a power.

Finally, can we please have a better story with less cheesy dialog?


Mike Sharkey, Editor: I'm gonna make like Nostradamus and prophesize this one (without the vague quatrains): like the Lord of Destruction expansion for Diablo 2, the Diablo 3 expansion will feature a fifth act (putting players on the hunt for Adria), a couple new classes, and an armory full of new weapons and equipment.


I want a more open world I can explore without feeling like I'm stuck on the storyline's rails, I want more side quests, I want real RPG options to define my Demon Hunter and make her unique, I want to be able to play on any damn difficulty I choose at any time, and I'd love randomized maps like everyone else.

I want the expansion to bring Diablo 3 closer to the Diablo 2 experience I expected. At this point, though, it would take a horadric cube to make that kind of transformation. I'll gladly hunt down Adria and make her pay, but I foresee a one-playthrough-and-done Diablo 3 expansion experience for me.


Mike Nelson, Editor: I'm with you guys. I think adding randomized maps/dungeons would add a great layer to Diablo 3 that's painfully absent right now. Now that monster difficulty has been jacked up, its static level design is by far one of my biggest deterrents preventing me from replaying D3.


I think it's a foregone conclusion that the plot will involve Adria, and I suspect we'll return to the remnants of Mount Arreat that was introduced in Lord of Destruction. Of course, I'd love to see the expansion move away from giving us a "greatest hits" of Diablo locations -- I love Tristram and Caldeum as much as the next guy, but I'm tired of going back there. Personally, I'd like to see some sort of dreary ocean-side town, or hell, have us travel under the ocean into a Rapture-like world. Water is, afterall, the birthplace of all life so it'd be great to see that element come into play.

I'd also like to see the character roster expand by one or two more characters, and I bet we'll see the return of the Druid. Having a character that can transform into a variety of creatures fits well within the universe, much more so than a Witch Doctor or Monk in my opinion. I'd also like to see an angel become a playable character. Not Tyrael, exactly, but someone assigned by him to personally see to it that the root of all evil is put in its place. It fills the role of a holy character, like the Paladin in Diablo 2, and I bet there are more than a few folks up in Heaven who have a few scores to settle with Hell.