Diablo 3 loses companion pets and 'Scrolls of Reforging'

Diablo 3 has already seen sweeping changes throughout its life in beta, but Blizzard isn't shy about making more changes in its quest to perfect the next game in its famed series.

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Diablo III has already seen sweeping changes throughout its life in beta, but Blizzard isn't shy about making more changes in its quest to perfect the next game in its famed series.

New changes coming to the current version of the game were announced earlier today, which cut companion scrolls and scrolls of reforging. The companion scrolls would summon an adorable minion that would run around and loot gold in your name. According to Blizzard community manager Nethaera, the creature's 'adorableness' was only part of the problem: "The companion pets felt like they were mandatory to maximize play efficiency and some of the pets were too cutesy for the gritty, dark world of Sanctuary."

Citing the Scrolls of Reforging as "underdeveloped," Blizzard also decided to kill the parchment, which allowed players to change the properties of an item.

"Neither of those are issues we felt like we could solve without a lot of additional work, and we’re trying to close in on a solid release date for the game, not move further away," Nathaera said.

While these elements were removed because they didn't mesh with the quality level Blizzard was looking to hit, they could return later. Blizzard says that they think companion pets could be, both mechanically and visually, turned into a "much cooler system" while making the intention of the reforging more "meaningful."

[via PC Gamer]

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    January 27, 2012 6:30 PM

    Xav de Matos posted a new article, Diablo 3 loses companion pets and scrolls of reforging.

    Diablo 3 has already seen sweeping changes throughout its life in beta, but Blizzard isn't shy about making more changes in its quest to perfect the next game in its famed series.

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 6:31 PM

      when is this stupid game coming out.

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      January 27, 2012 6:37 PM

      wait HOLD THE FUCK UP. does this mean removing the gold-gathering little buggers?

      • reply
        January 27, 2012 6:50 PM

        yep they are gone in the latest patch

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          January 28, 2012 9:28 AM

          hmmm you are correct sir. interesting developments. lots more of town portaling to sell stuff. and you NEED lots of stuff to sell because you strictly pay to upgrade the blacksmith now, no more of the other lesser reagent to craft.

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      January 27, 2012 6:38 PM

      well.. atleast they now have ground works for an expansion pack...

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 6:39 PM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 6:53 PM

      Bummer, That was an improvement.

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 7:05 PM

      Last post :(

      Thanks guys.

      No more links... I promise.

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 7:41 PM

      Someone high up is getting upset this game isn't out yet and are cutting shit to get it done.

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        January 27, 2012 7:46 PM

        Thats my thoughts as well. They chopping shit left and right

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          January 27, 2012 11:52 PM

          It's often been said in the course of game development that the best games that reached the point where nothing else could be cut.

          i.e. Cutting isn't always bad, if it means they're focusing on what really makes the game excellent.Sucks to lose "cool features", but I'd rather have the awesome features, polished to a fine mirror finish.

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        January 27, 2012 8:06 PM

        Activision I wonder? Blizzard has always been so good with "when its done" I'd hate to see that change.

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          January 27, 2012 8:07 PM

          i agree, it began with that producer. Shit was too fishy with that departure.

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        January 28, 2012 1:08 AM

        Oh BS. This is Blizzard we are talking about. Dragging out development and tweaking things forever has been their mantra for 10 years. This is classic Blizzard we are seeing.

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          January 28, 2012 6:13 AM

          I dunno, kinda sounds EXACTLY like that

          Neither of those are issues we felt like we could solve without a lot of additional work, and we’re trying to close in on a solid release date for the game, not move further away. When weighing these systems against releasing the game, we decided to cut these scrolls and stay on track for the game’s release.

          http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/3967947023

      • reply
        January 28, 2012 2:45 AM

        Lol.

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        January 28, 2012 3:09 AM

        I love how Blizzard can take a step back and look at big parts of their games and just go 'oh that just doesnt work, lets replace it'. Maybe I'm reading too much into it from following years of WoW development, but I think It shows vision and focus with a (fairly) uncompromising critical eye. It must be quite hard to facilitate this culturally in the apparent scale of their projects. Even if it was something that just wasn't to my taste (MoP pokemon), I can respect that.

        Look at all that's going on in WoW:MoP and just losing some pet isn't a big deal.

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        January 28, 2012 11:05 AM

        They've done this with every game they've done.

        Flying mounts before wow was released.
        Player housing in wow.
        Hunter was added right before release.
        Diablo II had zones cut I believe.

        I could go on....

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      January 27, 2012 7:47 PM

      the companions, really? they didn't last very long and were kind of useful. What an odd thing to cut

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        January 27, 2012 9:33 PM

        It is probably for boss balancing and cutting inflation. Putting up barriers to gold farming will be super important - even if it's using legitimate methods.

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          January 28, 2012 9:28 AM

          it's likely to add usefulness to the "get gold and orbs +5 meters" type of stat

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      January 27, 2012 7:59 PM

      gotta keep companions. gotta.

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 8:09 PM

      [deleted]

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        January 27, 2012 9:37 PM

        It's like 2 hours of gameplay. You're really not missing out on much. Play half of Diablo 2 Act 1 again and pretend it's really fancy looking.

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        January 27, 2012 9:40 PM

        there's plenty of time, this shit ain't coming out Q1

    • spl legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      January 27, 2012 11:39 PM

      It's feeling better every patch though. It really feels like it should be close now...

      • reply
        January 28, 2012 12:06 AM

        Rrrggglldlkkffgglllllllrrggllljggffffff

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      January 28, 2012 2:34 AM

      Still missing the cauldron and cube, otherwise I like the changes so far.

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        January 28, 2012 10:00 AM

        yeah the town portal will be used a LOT. there will be lots of BRB SELLING STUFF in dungeons.

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      January 28, 2012 9:46 AM

      YOUR PET HAS NOT RETURNED

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      January 28, 2012 10:22 AM

      What happened to "When it's done Blizzard?" Looks like you've got a little Activision dribbling down your chin.

      "Neither of those are issues we felt like we could solve without a lot of additional work, and we’re trying to close in on a solid release date for the game, not move further away"

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        January 28, 2012 10:55 AM

        10+ years hasn't been long enough for you, eh?

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        January 28, 2012 10:57 AM

        Since when is this new for Blizzard? They've dropped whole games they felt would not meet their standard of quality -- lest we forget SC: Ghost and Warcraft Adventures.

        Also, Warcraft 3 + TFT and WoW changed drastically during beta even close to release. I didn't follow SC2 beta progress as closely so I can't comment on that one. They aren't afraid to change even core stats and drop features leading up to release.

        I doubt Activision has much to do with this.

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          January 28, 2012 11:00 AM

          I agree. Add original Starcraft to the list of games where major features were dropped or redesigned prior to release.

      • reply
        January 28, 2012 11:00 AM

        [deleted]

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        January 28, 2012 11:12 AM

        Oh man I know!! It's exactly like every other release they've ever done!!!! Wtf????

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          January 28, 2012 11:37 AM

          Well, if we can reduce the ammount of Blizzard circle jerk sessions around here, I'd say it's a good thing.

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        January 28, 2012 11:14 AM

        clearly they should postpone the game indefinitely repeatedly to make it absolutely perfect. It worked for DNF.

    • reply
      January 28, 2012 11:03 AM

      still never got into the beta, so sad :(

      • DM7 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        January 28, 2012 11:07 AM

        The game is still going to take a while I believe. They are adding new people into the beta everyday, you still might get in!

    • reply
      January 28, 2012 1:02 PM

      Is it just me, or does this article seem unsubstantial? "BREAKING NEWS: A Developer On Diablo III Scatches Ball, Smells Finger."

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      January 28, 2012 1:47 PM

      Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Granted this is a pretty good sign they're pushing for release if some features are getting sacked if my experience means anything. I'm actually glad there aren't going to be companions-I prefer cutsy stuff stays in the WoW universe.

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      January 29, 2012 2:37 PM

      lol you know Blizzard is one of the if the only developer that takes great care with their products and make more critical decisions then any other company.. they deserve more respect.

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