At its Gamescom press conference today, Blizzard revealed Reaper of Souls, a new expansion for Diablo III.
Reaper of Souls is described as a "dark and terrifying new chapter" in Diablo's story and takes place "from the sprawling streets of Westmarch to the ancient walls of the Pandemonium Fortress." It follows Malthael, the "fallen Archangel of Wisdom" who "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."
The new class is the Crusader, a "fierce melee warrior whose command of the battlefield is matched only by his unwavering conviction." The Crusader wears "immensely heavy armor," wields "a wide range of cruel and punishing weapons," and "uses battle magic to strengthen allies and weaken foes." He's described by Blizzard as a "natural walking tank."
Reaper of Souls will add Act V and increases Diablo III's level cap to 70, plus new spells and abilities for existing Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard, and Monk characters will be added. According to Blizzard, Reaper of Souls "also accentuates the key features of the Diablo franchise, with a greater emphasis on randomized environments to explore; epic new quests; horrific new monsters to defeat; and substantial updates to the loot experience, enabling players to further customize their characters with new and improved multilevel Legendary items, new Blacksmith and Jeweler item-crafting options, and more."
The expansion will also offer new quests, new monsters and two new game modes: Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials, which are "designed to provide players with a highly replayable (and highly rewarding) end-game experience." The Paragon progression system will be "majorly upgraded" for Reaper of Souls, and "more end-game character advancement and replayability" will be added as well.
