Video: Gamescom '10: Diablo III Caravans
Diablo III remains one of those titles about which big pieces of news still make me squee and perform a giddy little dance. This morning saw such, obviously.
It has been a while since anything of significance was announced (the most recent thing I can recall, that wasn't just concept art of female versions of the characters was the monk--last year), so today's Gamescom announcement of caravans was quite welcome.
Yes, you will have a band of people, including quest givers and artisans, following your hero, offering their services. Rather than craft yourself, artisans will do this for you. There will be a blacksmith, mystic, and jeweler. They'll handle creating sockets (!!!), new items, scrolls, et cetera. They gain levels if you spend resources on them, and you can hand them recipes you find during your monster killing. Lots and lots of monster killing. Click, click, click and all that.
In fact, that's why there's a caravan. The developers want you to focus on killing and plot-advancing, not on being a crafter. Makes sense. After all, the follower bit isn't really all that new, if we consider Cain's advice to us through all of Diablo II.
How does one get resources? Apparently we will acquire an artifact that lets us break down items into its component parts. The components will take up inventory space, but the artifact will not. Good thing--it always annoyed me to have that 2x2 Horadric Cube in my inventory, where other things could be instead.
Hit the jump for a more fully answered FAQ from Blizzard.
Diablo III Caravan FAQQ: What is the caravan?
A: The caravan is a persistent group that follows the heroes across Sanctuary, providing a centralized hub for players to find quest givers, crafters, and other important NPCs. As your character moves through the world so too will your loyal band, setting up in specific locations to remain close by should you need them.Q: Who are the artisans?
A: In order to access the professions in Diablo III, you'll need to gain the loyalty of various artisans through your travels in Sanctuary. The blacksmith, mystic, and jeweler will each provide unique services over the course of the game.Q: What do the artisans offer?
A: Skilling up your artisans will unlock unique recipes, granting your character access to benefits that may not be found anywhere else in the world. The blacksmith crafts weapons and armor, and can add sockets to some items. The mystic creates scrolls, potions, magical weapons, spell runes, and charms, and can also enchant items. The jeweler crafts gems , amulets, and rings. The jeweler can also remove gems from socketed items and can combine gems to improve their quality.Q: How do I find the artisans?
A: Finding the artisans will be part of the main quest. Each artisan has been fleshed out to include their own story and quest line.Q: How do I use the artisans?
A: You'll collect loot as a reward for slaughtering the forces of the Burning Hells. Unwanted items can be salvaged in your inventory, converting these goods into raw crafting materials--higher-level items are salvaged into higher-level materials. You'll then take those raw materials and hand them over to the artisans, putting them to work crafting or enchanting for you. Upon returning to the caravan after a lengthy foray, you may also find that the artisans have been hard at work plying their trade for your benefit.Q: How do I salvage my items?
A: Players will find an item while progressing through the main quest that will allow them to convert unwanted gear into crafting materials from the inventory. This item will not take up any inventory space. This should be a more satisfying option for offloading unwanted loot than the alternative--dropping things on the ground or making frequent trips to a vendor.Q: Why are you including crafting professions in an action game?
A: Professions add depth to the item collection gameplay that drives the action of Diablo III. We want to provide players with an alternative way to acquire gear, potions, and other randomly found items. We also want to provide additional forms of customization for players--adding jewels, enchants, or sockets to existing gear allows players to further tailor their characters. Many rare crafting recipes and materials are only found as world drops, enhancing the item acquisition process by increasing the diversity of items dropped by monsters.





