Note: all screenshots open in a new window.  Every attempt has been made to keep the report plot-spoiler free.  I am aware the screenshots are dark; apparently, it doesn't save my gamma rating with the shot, because it's not THAT dark as I'm playing.

Ah, dueling.  In Diablo I, lag and high damage values made it a difficult thing at best.  Fights would generally come down to stunlock, and with each character being able to kill another in a handful of hits, battles were short-lived.

After some fun fights, I think things are handled quite a bit better in the sequel.  In the beta test, at least, I'd say Sorceresses have quite an edge as resistance equipment is tough to find.  But the balance factor shines.  Let me review some PvP experiences I've had.

(Warning: *SPOILERS IN SHOTS* both shots in this paragraph show something in the screenshots that will give a plot-spoiling clue based on the spoiler quest mentioned in Beta Report 2.  I forgot about that when taking the shots.  Don't look at the screenshots unless you don't mind the plot-spoiling.)  It all began one quiet morning in the Rogue Encampment, when a noble Paladin named Locke decided that he really didn't appreciate the way I made fun of his mother.  Hostility expressed!  Be sure to note the evil-looking skull and bones symbol on the upper right, telling me that I'm in for some action.  When hostility was announced, I automatically went hostile to my new foe.  Here's a look of my opponent in the sanctity of town, with his name in red coloring.  We agreed to meet outside in the Moor and go at it.  Pressing R to engage auto-run, I charged into battle...

I had pictured a duel in Diablo II as fast-paced, with a lot of running around, quick-flying skills, and speedy potion-quaffing.  In reality, our duel was fast-paced, with a lot of running around, quick-flying skills, and speedy potion-quaffing.  So, it went as planned.  :)  WarLocke graciously evened the fight up by only having 8 potions in his belt, when he had a spiffy one that allowed him 12 slots.

My Sorceress Boltricia, at first, only used the tried-and-true weapon of death in Diablo I, the Fireball.  Combined with my ice attacks which I used whenever he got close, I was able to keep up the hit-and-run tactics I used extensively against monsters.  You can see a shot of Locke's frosty maneuvering here.  My Boots of Haste which I mentioned in report 3 were a godsend in this battle; Locke's frustration factor grew as I could simply outrun him in any dash.  This was also key since I didn't have his stamina.  I could run in short bursts and then stop to regain my running power.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say that boots with a haste suffix are a must have item in any duel; they prevent your opponent from getting away when he/she is weakened and give you the running power to set up your next assault.

I hadn't yet played a Paladin and was unfamiliar with his auras, but I noticed that 'Locke quickly had switched to a fire-protection aura to stop my fireballs.  I threw some Static Field into the mix, an area-effect lightning spell which can remove 1/3 of enemy hit points if they have no resistance to it.

And here's where a serious problem became apparent to the Paladin.  All he could do was react to what I was sending at him; he was unable to initiate.  Locke would try to second guess what spell I'd send at him next, since his character lacked resistances from his equipment and he needed his auras to provide him with that protection.  Here you can see me flinging a fireball his way, which he isn't ready for (yep, only one health potion left).  This is what I mentioned above; in the beta test it's difficult to find good resistance items, so a Sorceress has a dueling edge, for now.

I'd like to say our first fight ended with one of us gloriously victorious in battle, but it wasn't so.  We eventually stopped, laughing, after about 2 minutes of running around beating on each other.  The Paladin needed to land two hits on me in a row when using the Sacrifice aura, but thanks to my cold spells which I used every time he got close, he would be unable to string two hits together.  Then, when he was frosted down and a sitting duck, I could hit him with one (two, if I was fast enough) spell and run off.  After a verification that both of us were indeed hurting the other (we were both out of potions and didn't know it), we decided to recharge with more potions and set up for round two.  WarLocke again was gracious, giving me some mana he had stored up in his stash (you can't buy mana in town, folks!).

All the game needs is that Mortal Kombat voice saying "Round Two...Fight!" and it would have been truly impressive.  More running like mad, casting spells, and constant aura switching.  In the end, after another good two minute fight, Locke ran out of potions just a little before I did.  In the shot, you can see that another good Sacrifice-enhanced whack and Boltricia would have gone down instead.  I have to say that the fight was pretty exciting.  I did stop to get my juicy, Mike Tyson-esque reward, too.

If Locke's Paladin had resistances on his equipment, I doubt I'd have had a chance.  Also, a Sorceress who specializes in one skill tree and neglects the other two will run into some troubles; it's pretty important to have lightning, fire, AND cold spells especially or another character can prepare themselves for one kind.

But the fight raised another point: area-effect spells work just fine in duels.  I didn't have to aim my Static Field at all.  I don't know how big of an issue that'll be in the final game; after all, if a character has full lightning resistance, I doubt Static Field has much effect.

But WarLocke and I were both pretty impressed at the game balance, even with early characters who were just friendly-fighting without gear setups designed for it.  Sorceresses are very, very weak, and I wonder if a Barbarian of that level with a nice weapon could use the Bash skill to kill her with one strike.  A dueling Sorceress cannot neglect her vitality stat, that's for sure; both the stamina and hit points given for vitality are crucial.  Will the characters remain balanced in later levels?  That naturally remains to be seen.  But suffice to say that it's really not very easy to kill another character.  I had another fun fight with some partners in a later game with a Paladin versus two lower-level Barbarians, and we ran around for a good while fighting before I was forced to retreat from their might.

But let's get back to the co-op.

I might have underestimated the effects of monster improvement as more people entered a game.  My Paladin, playing solo in one game, moved to a new one where 5 players participated.  Heading back to the same area playing alone, it would take me just around 5 times as many hits to take a monster down as before.  I actually played to a stalemate with one boss who could heal himself; I wasn't able to do enough damage alone to kill him off and he couldn't hit me enough to get past the regeneration I was receiving through my Prayer aura.  In the end I just went back up to town, laughing.

No, when playing in a game of multiple people, you have to work together.  The need for it only gets worse as more people enter.  Here's a screen take from a public game with seven players, and wow, did it get messy in there.  There was my frame rate to deal with at times, dropping down to 5, but also the monsters were brutally strong.  I particularly recall a battle with my Paladin, 2 Barbarians, and a Sorceress on a Wraith boss which lasted over a minute of simply pounding on it.  How many bosses do you know in the first Diablo which can sustain that much damage?  The improvement of monsters as more people enter the game is a great feature that keeps the game fun for everyone.  I'd still say it's a little harder to die when you have so many allies with you, but at least the general challenge isn't too diminished by having a whole bunch of players with you, as it was in the original game.

And that's the whole emphasis of the game now; Blizzard wants players to work together.  Set items encourage trading.  Skills make multi-class parties much more desirable.

Some miscellaneous screenshots:
Rare items.  Rune Mark, a really great AC shield.  Death Brow, a helmet with some nice defensive properties.  Armageddon Veil, a resistance helm.  Stone Shank, a set of heavy boots for the cold Winters.

Boltholomew's rich!  Rich!  He can buy anything in the world!  Kinda.  Nice use of the Alt button.  Speaking of gold, might I add that it's pretty hard to come by?  Most of the gold you find comes from the items you find and sell in town, and not from monster gold drops.  Monsters actually rarely drop gold, and normal monsters (not champions or bosses) rarely drop any gold piles over 40.  Add to that the fact that when you die, you lose money in your stash as well as what you're carrying, and gold becomes a factor.  Of course, in Diablo 1, gold was a factor until Nightmare difficulty as well, so there's no telling yet if the game will have a good economy system.  All I can say for now is that it's hard to afford the expensive items in the shops.

And finally, here's a partial *SPOILER* shot (there's a plot spoiler element in the shot, same one as earlier, so avoid it if you don't want a clue on a quest in the game) in the Rogue Encampment showing off one of the known bugs with the beta, where Glide users see incorrect ground graphics.  The graphics on the ground, where there's supposed to be grass, have been replaced by graphics from the Monastery.  Imagine walking through town in Diablo I seeing Hell graphics all over the place, and you get an idea of how funny it looks.

Whew, that's enough for now.  More coming in the future, of course.  Until then...