#1 - Aug. 28, 2014, 1:24 a.m.
We did a post for the original version of Diablo III on console ( http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/10637003681 ) which had a great response and I’ve updated and tweaked it into this new post for the UEE release.
Now that the majority of the text is done, we'll do up video versions like we did for the old guide and edit those in for the more visual orientated folks.
The first thing we recommend to everyone is to play the game for 30 minutes or more. Get a feel for things, try a couple of classes out, gain a few levels, and get some loot. This will make this post a lot easier to follow as you will have at least some basic understanding of what we’re referencing.
We’ll start with some basic info about the game that you might not notice at first to get things rolling in this post.
Next up is the move to intermediate level knowledge to help you get more from the game: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/14058636157?page=1#2
A section dedicated to crafting, enchanting, and transmogrifying: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/14058636157?page=1#3
Details about the new Adventure Mode: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/14058636157?page=1#4
Console exclusive features are listed along with some odds and ends: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/14058636157?page=1#6
We will add a section for advanced/end game details to show you what you’ll want to be doing once you’re level 70
The Basics
a. Basic Stats
There are 4 basic character stats: Dexterity (Dex), Strength (Str), Vitality (Vit), and Intelligence (Int).
Each point of a stat does the following:
Video version: http://youtu.be/HtHBwuLW0L4
Notice those three icons with numbers below your character? Those are from left to right: Damage (sword), Toughness (shield), and Healing (++).
Damage is how much damage you do with your attacks and is calculated from your weapon’s damage number, attack speed, critical hit chance, critical hit damage bonus, and primary stat.
Toughness is a rating derived from your armor, health, resistances, and dodge rating.
Healing is drawn from effects that cause you to gain life: life on hit, life per second, life after kill, and bonus health from health globes.
Watching those numbers as you progress and get better gear will give you a rough idea of how your character is doing. I say rough because there are things that are not factored in, such as items that boost certain skills, playstyle, etc.
b. Loot System
Loot, that’s why we’re all here isn’t it? Killing monsters and getting loot. But do you know how the loot system works? When you or someone near you kills a monster or breaks an object, a “roll” (random number check vs a probability table) is made to determine if loot is going to drop for you or not. If the check is in your favor you get loot. Next up rolls are made to determine what the loot is (axe, sword, etc), what quality said item will be (normal, magic, legendary), and then the stats on the item are rolled. Speaking of the stats, most things are random but the Primary Stat (as mentioned above) is heavily favored to be picked for your particular class. So Wizards and Witch Doctors will mainly see +Int items, Barbs and Crusaders +Str, etc.
Having a higher Magic Find stat skews the rolls for loot quality farther towords legendary end of the scale, but in the end we are all at the mercy of the RNG. For more info on the Magic Find stat see the advanced info below.
Loot quality is color coded from worst to best:
Video Version: http://youtu.be/LkNSpE8tuJ4
c. Inventory & Inventory Management
Now you’ve got your character going and you’re looting things. Good good, now what do you do with all that stuff?
When you pick things up you’ll notice the left side of the screen near the bottom the item name and some upwards and/or downwards arrows. Those arrows are generalized indications of if it’s going to increase or decrease your damage, toughness, and healing. Early on you can pretty much blindly go by those arrows. We suggest paying attention to the info on the items though, so you can see why it changes those stats. Once you know why it’s changing them, you can make better choices to suit your playstyle.
There is a “quick equip” feature you can make use of by using the “up” on the D-pad of your controller. It can be handy when something looks to be an obvious upgrade or you’re just leveling and don’t really care about the specifics.
Later in the game I like to see all the items’ stats before I equip them. Bring up your inventory to get a better look at the loot you’ve collected. Your total inventory is split up by the slots the items can be equipped in (all helmets are shown in the helmet armor slot, etc.). If there is an item you haven’t looked at yet, that slot will have a gold star on it. Move your left stick to highlight that item slot and then select it. You can compare stats on the items in your bag vs what you’re currently wearing by hitting the button listed at the bottom. Looking these over will give you a feel for what the items are doing and help you decide if you want to change to the new item or stick with the old.
New to UEE is the “Stat range” feature. When you’re looking at your inventory you can hit the left arrow on your D-pad and see what range was available for each property on an item. So when you see that something has say +10% critical chance, you can hit the stat range button and see that the range it could have been was say 7-10%. That way you know you had a high end roll on that particular stat. Handy for telling just how good an item you got was and how hard it will be to replace it.
If you decide you don’t want the item, make use of the Junk system by highlighting the item and clicking down the right stick. This will mark the item as Junk, which is handy when you go to the blacksmith or a merchant as you can then bulk sell at the merchant for gold or bulk salvage at the blacksmith for crafting materials. In the UEE version all items you can equip can be salvaged for crafting not just magic quality and better.
Let’s say you like the item but don’t want to or can’t use it right now. You can hang on to it, but it takes up space in your inventory right? You’re limited to carrying 60 items so you may not want to carry around everything. You also might want to give things to a different character of yours.
This is where the stash comes into play.
In each town you operate out of you’ll find your “stash”. It looks like a large trunk or chest and can be first seen right next to the Inn in New Tristram. Your stash has a finite size and you can upgrade it via gold to a total of 210 slots. The stash is shared across all characters on your account (though Hardcore and regular characters’ stashes are separate), so it's a handy way to give things to an alt, hold on to things for later, or just to make room on your character.
Of interest, you can (and should) drop all your crafting materials and gems into the stash. When you go to craft an item/gem the game checks your character inventory first, then checks your stash and uses materials from there. So by unloading your crafting items into the stash, you not only make more room for loot on your current character, but you make those crafting materials available to all of your characters.
Video version - http://youtu.be/x4pMoVrMPrk
