Blizzard have announced the first expansion for Diablo III, which they’re calling Reaper Of Souls (oooh, scary). Along with new places to explore, new people to kill, and new loot to, uh, loot from their dead bodies, the expansion will also add some new gameplay functionality.
The add-on centers around the character Malthael, the fallen Archangel of Wisdom, who disappeared after the events of Diablo II: Lord Of Destruction.
“In Reaper of Souls,” the announcement says, Malthael “returns as the Angel of Death and seizes the Black Soulstone, which contains the essence of the Prime Evil. It now falls to the players to track down Malthael and stop him before he unleashes irreversible havoc on the world. Fortunately, a new hero is ready to join the cause and bring Malthael to justice: The Crusader. Driven by a centuries-long quest to cleanse the corruption blighting their beloved Zakarum faith, Crusaders are warriors of righteousness who have been hardened through relentless, brutal combat with the foul evils plaguing eastern Sanctuary. In addition to wearing immensely heavy armor and wielding a wide range of cruel and punishing weapons, this new playable class in Reaper of Souls uses battle magic to strengthen allies and weaken foes. A natural walking tank, the Crusader adds power and versatility to any party of adventurers.”
In addition, Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls will also let people play as a Crusader, a new class, while the level cap for all classes will be raised to 70, with all classes getting new spells and/or abilities.
It also upgrades the Paragon progression system, adding “even more end-game character advancement and replayability,” as well as two new game modes called “Loot Runs” and “Nephalem Trials.”
Blizzard also release two videos for Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls. The first is a teaser trailer…
…while the second is the opening cinematic.
There was, however, no indication of when this expansion would be released, nor whether it would be included in the console versions of the game, which are due out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 3rd, and the PlayStation 4 sometime next year.
