Welcome new Diablo III players! You passed up the game on PC, held out for a more complete console edition, and your patience has paid off. Youâre ready to plunge headlong into the Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition. Here are some tips to help you get started.
Feel Free To Skip The Older Games
Diablo III, as the Roman numeral indicates, is the third game in an action role-playing franchise that began nearly 16 years ago, so youâre not going to want to begin without a basic understanding of the seriesâ lore. Hereâs everything you need to know about Diablo lore in order to enjoy Diablo III: Evil is happening and youâve got to kill it.
In other words, despite the game being preceded by two award-winning games and various expansion packs, not knowing a single thing about the town of Tristram, the war between Heaven and Hell or heroes plunging evil crystals into their foreheads (ouch) will not be a problem. If you really must know, let Wikipedia be your guide.
Choose a Class â Theyâre All Pretty Good
Now that youâve been briefed on the backstory, itâs time for a big decision. Which of Diablo IIIâs six character classes should you play? Ultimately youâll want to give each of the six a try, but thatâs not very helpful advice. Why waste important leveling time on a class youâll be bored with a couple hours down the line?
We could argue all day long over which class is the best/strongest/sexiest (check out the Diablo forums, where that exact thing is happening constantly). Instead, hereâs a quick and dirty rundown of each class aimed at helping you decide for yourself.
Barbarian: Large agile warriors that thrive in the middle of a massive melee. The Barbarian is powered by Fury, a resource that builds as he or she is damaged by or damages enemies. Perfect for players who want to charge mindlessly from battle to battle, but lacking a certain finesse. You can get a pretty cool jumping attack that feels really good with a console controller.
Crusader: Silver-shelled party animals. The Crusader is another wading-into-battle type, though unlike the Barbarian theyâre as at home chasing down a solo enemy as they are in large groups. Theyâre a slightly more nuanced melee class. The newest of the six classes, the Crusader is considered by many to be overpowered. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Demon Hunter: Do you consider yourself clever? Do you want to wield a crossbow in each hand and pepper the battlefield with traps and turrets? Do you want to be the sexiest person in any party? Hereâs your class.
Monk: Monks are melee fighters, but with the ability to heal and protects allies and disorient the enemy, one could consider them the gameâs support class. Monks are all about mobility and speed, so if you gotta go fastâŠ
Witch Doctor: The choice of crazy people everywhere. The Witch Doctorâs bag of tricks is very large, containing a score of pets, jars of spiders, pools of poison â they really are insane. They start off slow, but as their levels rise they grow more frightening and satisfying.
Wizard: Do you want to feel powerful from afar? Shoot death rays out of your hands or lay down a field of freezing cold so powerful your enemies canât even touch you? The Wizard comes out of the gate with the awesome power of the universe at their fingertips, though in later levels its easy to fall into a repetitive routine.
Or just pick the one you think looks the coolest.
Avoid Playing On Normal
Once youâve chosen a character class another important decision awaits. Which difficulty level do you choose? Caution and unfamiliarity would suggest you start the game at ânormalâ difficulty. Do not do that.
The gameâs first difficulty level is mis-named. It should be called âlaughably easy.â Even âhardâ difficulty is a cinch. Start on Expert, the highest difficulty that is initially available (there are plenty more that you can unlock later). Youâll die a fair amount if youâre not careful but that will help you learn how to play skillfully. If youâre playing easier difficulty levels you might as well be mowing a lawn. Playing on tougher levels automatically gives you extra XP, so youâll likely level up faster for your troubles.
Note that you can change difficulty levels after youâve started playing. You can bump the difficulty level up or down one notch while youâre mid-game. If you quit to the gameâs main menu, you can switch to any difficulty level.
The game will be tougher if you play with friends, which can be a blessing since managing to defeat tougher enemies will let you level up faster â the game doesnât always bump the difficulty level back down after your friends leave, but you can ensure a proper reset by quitting out and jumping back in.
Once that decision is made, youâre in the game. Congratulations! Welcome to the outskirts of scenic Tristam. Mind the smell of evil. Once youâve acclimated yourself to the gameâs controls and the whole accepting a quest/completing a quest mechanic, the rest is so simple I can put it in a more structured format.
Enable Elective Mode To Customize Your Controls
In Diablo IIIâs default mode, youâll have one button locked to one type of attack or ability. But if youâd like to map more than one ability from a group, or re-arrange your abilities so that they feel comfortable to you, you can do that â youâll just have to enable elective mode in the gameâs options menu. Go to options, then select gameplay, and then check the box next to âelective mode,â and youâl be free to assign whatever ability you want to whatever controller button.
See the Map? See ALL of the Map
As you wander through the lands of Sanctuary the map is slowly revealed, marking the trail of your travels. Or it would mark the trail, but thatâs not how you want it to work. Use the map as a tool to ensure that youâve visited every square inch of every area. Leave no stone unturned. Leave no log unshattered. Diablo III is full of secrets, treasures, and special events that are incredibly easy to miss if you just make a beeline for your current quest objective.
If You See a Door, Go Through It
Along the same lines as the map tip, the random dungeons scattered about the Sanctuary countryside are packed with unique creatures that have somehow ingested powerful magical weapons, armor, and gold. Weâve been doing this sort of thing so long weâve stopped asking how this happens.
Even better than treasure, these random dungeons can also house special events outside of the main storyline. You might have to survive against hordes of enemies for a certain amount of time, or help lay a restless spirit to rest by killing whatever it is thatâs keeping it restless. These are rewarding encounters in more ways than one, and theyâre waiting for you behind those lovely optional doors.
Pick Up Everything
Evil creatures in Diablo III are magical life forms which, instead of flesh and blood, are composed of random items and coins. Collecting those things in order to make your character more powerful is what the game is all about. Your inventory is limited and you can only carry so many items, but youâll eventually learn a Town Portal spell that takes you back to your home base no matter how deep you are in a dungeon. Every time you fill up, portal home and sell, break down, or store your items. Donât worry. You can hop back into the portal and get right back to where you were.
It may be tempting to sometimes leave the loot that drops from enemies where it dropped, maybe to avoid filling your inventory and having to head back to town â do not do that. Why would you do that? Thatâs crazy.
As Soon as You Can, Start Crafting
Some of the most powerful equipment my characters are currently wearing did not come from monster guts, but rather from my own personal blacksmith. I bring him the items I donât want, he breaks them down into components, and uses them to fashion truly wondrous magical items.
As you increase in level and your challenges increase in difficulty, youâll begin to discover rare green crafting plans that can be used to create amazingly powerful items. Youâll forget these are in your inventory until theyâre useless for your current character, but the next one will be so well dressed.
Play With Real Friends
While single-player is nice, Diablo III is a game meant to be played with other people. And who are our favorite other people? Our friends. Well, your friends. My friends are generally dicks.
But your friends? They are pretty great. And the wonderful thing about friends? The more you have in your party the tougher the game gets, and the tougher the game gets the better the rewards are.
Playing local co-op works well enough, though youâll have to stay fairly close to each other. If you play online, you can wander apart.
Play With Fake Friends
When you canât play with real friends, make sure youâve got a fake friend by your side. Over the course of the game youâll unlock three followers: special characters with unique powers who are ready to follow you to the ends of the Earth, because theyâre programmed to.
Thereâs the Templar, a healer/tank perfect for delicate casting classes. The Enchantress will turn your enemies into chickens, which is pretty handy. Finally thereâs the Scoundrel, whoâs a less-sexy Demon Hunter. Choose him if you like hanging out with sleezeball.
Your Followers will always be there for you, and as long as you remember to upgrade their equipment, theyâll always make a difference. Got that? They wonât have their coolest gear or abilities activated by default. You need to pause the game, go to the Follower tab and set them up, just as you would your own character.
Most Importantly, Have Fun
I like to end all of my tips posts with this one, but in the case of the Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition I really mean it this time. Play this game long enough and hard enough and there may come a time when you care more about numbers and statistics than you do simply enjoying yourself. Itâs how the game is built â once you start moving into more extreme difficulty levels every point of resistance, every dollop of damage mitigation and every gem you socket will directly affect your ability to progress.
Iâm not saying thatâs not fun. Iâm just letting new players know to cherish the games earlier moments. Take in all the sights and sounds in your first couple of plays, because eventually youâre going to be too busy surviving to enjoy it.
Now itâs your turn. Well, the veteran players whoâve read this far to see what Iâve gotten wrong, not the new folks who wouldnât know any better. What advice would you give to our new Diablo III-playing friends?
