[Diablo III] Red alert! SHIELDS UP!!!

"I find your lack of faith.....disturbing."

Heads up Diablo III addicts and farmers players, Blizzard techs and securities has posted that they have noticed that their B.net servers have been accessed by unauthorized and illegal means. So far the extent of damage has not been publicly announced, but it is to be lauded that they admit that hacking has taken place, and countermeasures and additional securities are implemented.

But for us players, let us do our part as well. Not by complaining and trolling the official Blizzard forums that "ur securitez suxxors" or "lol bnet haxxed by nooblars" and such. Remember, hackers hack indiscriminately, so it could be that rich guy up north, the do-gooder in one place, or maybe that vagrant player just around the corner cafe. Creepy, yes.

So do change passwords, and use passwords that are strong enough to repel 'tard hackers.

Source: [Official Blizzard announcement]

[Diablo III] A friendly reminder for D3 players

Not exactly the visual example, but you get what I'm trying to say here.

From problems during launch date to choppy connection and unbearable lag, it would seem Blizzard has its hands full just to fix their Battle.net servers for their newest baby. With numerous sudden maintenance downtime, account theft and hijacking is another problem that's rising.

There have been numerous complaints about their accounts being 'hacked'. One such anecdote was a player joined in a public game, and during their farming operations quests he got suddenly booted out for some reason or another. When the player attempted to log back in, he was told that his B.net credentials and password have been changed or what. Some say because the authentication token during public games were shared, while others blamed hidden keyloggers and malware as culprits.

Like I said, it's an anecdote. I can't even verify it.

But one person had a first-hand experience with his account being hacked. Ars Technica writer Kyle Orland was one of us; a somewhat-normal player: no high-level legendary equipment to boast about and such. But when it comes to hackers and account thieves, there's no discrimination on who they want to target. And bad luck will strike at anyone, and in the internet, no account is truly safe without added security.

Read his first hand account over at the Ars Technica page, as it serves as a cautionary tale for everyone who plays online games. I remember a tip that my computer science friend told me a long time ago: use different passwords for every account you have in the internet, be it Yahoo! messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and such. If you use one password for everything, consider your life totally screwed when your accounts are compromised.

So for Blizzard fans and players, I leave it up to you on what other security measures you do on your game accounts. For further reading, head to their B.net FAQ site.

[Diablo III] Meet the Spice Boys

ME BIGGER AXE!

Ahh yes, the Barbarian class. Raw strength, with hit points that could repel a hailstorm of bullets, and not to mention the old-man-macho-look badassery. That's Blizzard's Barbarian all right.

But what, say, you wanted a real challenge when facing foes in Sanctuary? Challenged as in a total disadvantage on your side, yet you go all out and carry on anyway? Sounds like you're going for Viking mode.

And four people just did that.

Meet Robert Pooner, and his three other friends, who called themselves the 'Spice Boys'. The challenge: defeat the Skeleton King with four Barbarians with nothing except their starting equipment. That's right; no weapon upgrades, no putting on of armor, nothing. They can use skills every time they level up, but the initial conditions remain.

And did I mention that it was on Hardcore?

Will they succeed on their quest, or will they go down in history as the four Barbarians who fought the Skeleton King, stark naked?

Four Barbarians, one Skeleton King, no additional equipment, Hardcore mode. Watch the hilarity ensue.

[Diablo III] All Things D

Mooo.

The above picture is a screenshot of the website Sorry for May 15, a site dedicated for Diablo fans of giving excuses to either their boss or girlfriend, as you all may know that the 15th of May was Diablo III's worldwide release.

It's been more than a week now since its release, yet Blizzard has been plagued by numerous problems relating to the game. Most have been server-side issues like not being able to log in, which I guess from their part a deja vu from their World of Warcraft launch issues as well. For the most part the issue of logging in has been resolved throughout the week, with Blizzard monitoring most of the time.

But this article says otherwise; seems like the Asia server is still having login problems and what, they want a  refund? For goodness' sakes, access to Battle.net is free for both Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3. And besides, serves them right Koreans for finishing the game in under six hours after the launch. Dang them.

Lag in action. Pun intended.

Anyway, let's leave that. On a personal note, I was only able to buy my retail copy of D3 four days after launch, the reason being I was out of town for a conference of sorts. And also there's still a bit of shortage of retail copies for sale in some game stores, so yeah.

Tweet-tweeew.

As before, I created a Demon Hunter character; ranged attack, twin weapon wielder, evasive maneuvers, etc. Not to mention that badass hood.

And yeah, I will warn you that the last 2 pictures I will consider as spoilers. You have been warned.

I swear, his hide's so tough I have to bring out that chainsaw again.

Not really a spoiler, but you get my drift.

[Diablo III] Sanctuary, your hero has returned.

Menacing, no? 

I've been out of town these past few days (work-related, but hey, I did have fun), so I wasn't with those fanatical fools people who pre-ordered the game and such. Not to mention the fiasco of the Battle.net servers crashing due to the high amount of traffic they got (Blizzard never learned, have they? I guess the previous numbers were just the icing on the cake). And yeah, those idiotic Koreans finishing the game in 6 hours. F%^&*(#&*(ng rushers.

But heck, that doesn't dampen my craving for Diablo III. I've waited 12 years for this to come out, and finally know what happened to Sanctuary. 

And my demon hunter awaits.

So around last night I was finally able to load my retail copy into my DVD drive, and let Blizzard's magic happen. The usual activation code, the friendly reminders and such, and after under an hour of waiting....oh yeah, I really dig that guitar piece during the installation process; it was very, very nostalgic, I was finally greeted by this:

Hahahahahahahaha.

I logged in, watched the opening cinematics, and all that stuff I've done during the beta. Good fortune was on my side last night as a high school friend of mine (who's now in Raleigh, North Carolina for his PhD degree) was online, and we played coop. And after two hours or so, my character has reached this status.

Tattered sigils FTW. And yes, dual crossbows = double the badass-ery.

 Good times are back, indeed.

[Diablo III] The quick and dirty run-down on Diablo III

It's time. And you're still undecided? Do check out this short video by Blizzard.

Hell's minions are waiting. In very, very large numbers.

[Diablo III] Feel the might of Terror once more

Evil in its Prime.

One more day to go, Diablo III fans and players alike! The ides of May are upon us, as the forces of Hell and the might of the High Heavens will come crashing down upon the world of Sanctuary.

We have been given insight, showed us the perils we will face, then gave us the opportunity to fight with friends and allies. I have captured some of these memories for you to see, and how will you prepare for the fight. And know that you are not alone for this fight.

For the business-savvy, you can set up shops too.


The end is nigh; or rather, the battle will just begin once more.

As we wait for the most-anticipated game of 2012 (after all, this was 12 years in the making) to go live, I’m sure some of you have already pre-ordered the game, either digitally or through retail stores, be sure to read Blizzard's Launch Day Preparation Guide to make your installation and gameplay smooth once servers are up.

And would-be fellow Demon Hunters, I hope to see you in Battle.net soon.

To quote the Last Horadrim:

And, at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost,

as Justice falls upon the world of men. 

Valor shall turn to Wrath---

and all Hope will be swallowed by Despair.

Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all---

as Fate lies shattered forever.