#1 - May 17, 2012, 5:25 a.m.
Blizzard Post
It can be difficult to choose which hero you want to take into battle against the legions of the Burning Hells. To help inform your decision we’ve compiled all of the gameplay and story information you need broken down by class.


Monks are sacred warriors who channel divine power through sheer force of will. Healing waves, mantras of protection and attacks empowered with holy might are all within their purview.

Skilled monks deliver rapid-fire attacks unarmed or with a variety of well-balanced weapons. In combat, they emphasize high maneuverability over staying power, darting in and out of melees and avoiding protracted slugfests.

Monks’ attacks are primarily melee-focused. They can eliminate single foes with extreme damage, or deliver short-range area-of-effect assaults with waves of elemental power that emanate from palm strikes or crescent kicks.

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Character Background

Unyielding (Excerpt)

"The Patriarchs ask a hard task of you, one reserved only for the most devout of our order," the Unyielding had continued. He stared at Zhota for a moment, furrowing his brow. "You have attained the rank of monk, but there are times when I wonder if you are truly ready. There are times when I think you are still that fool boy who first came to the monastery. More beast than man, really... a wild thing with eyes clouded by emotion and intuition and all those other fleeting feelings that change on a whim just as swiftly as the winds. Are you that boy, or are you a monk?"

Fist of the Gods

In the cold northern lands of Ivgorod, hidden amongst the peaks of the Kohl Mountains that run from the Sharval Wilds and up along the shadow of the Dreadlands, are the monasteries of the Veradani monks. Apart from housing a veritable army of fighters, teachers, and acolytes, these austere and remote locations contain the collective wisdom that the order has gathered over long centuries.

As the militant arm of the Sahptev faith, the Veradani monks are priest-warriors who follow the divine injunctions of their Patriarchs, the rulers of Ivgorod. Known as the "City of the Patriarchs," Ivgorod is a religious oligarchy that, in ages past, held sway over a vast domain stretching to the deserts of Aranoch. The depredations of war and political turmoil have taken their toll since then, and now this holy city is all that remains of a once-great civilization.

The monks of Ivgorod present a unique profile among the leather and iron-clad peoples of the Western Kingdoms. They eschew heavy armor, relying on supernatural speed and catlike reflexes to avoid attack. Their foreheads are marked with two crimson circles, symbols that display their understanding of the balance between darkness and light, and icons of the Veradani order. The monk is a warrior of light, but one who can comprehend the darkness… and use that knowledge to utterly destroy it.

Now, as demonic forces rise across the world, the Patriarchs have dispatched their most vigilant disciples to purge the evil at its source and usher in the divine will of the thousand and one Sahptev gods.