Blizzard developers still working on PvP for Diablo III

Back when Diablo III was in development, Blizzard had said that a PvP game mode would be available soon after the game’s launch. The company has now made a post on the Diablo III blog about the state of the PvP update.

According to the post, the company is working on getting the Team Deathmatch mode available as soon as possible, but it doesn’t want to release it without it being ready. The original aim was to make the more formal duelling modes available for the players from Diablo II. “We wanted to give players some kind of structure that would not only make it easier for you to duel with one another, but also allow you to have duels that were team-based,” the blog stated.

Imagine this, but with another player on the business end of the beam

One of the biggest things to keep in mind, according to the post, is class balance. The game has been balanced around players killing monsters, as opposed to each other. The post stated, “We want to be able to carry over as many of the crazy runes, items, and skills as possible, with their crazy effects, and alter them as little as possible.”

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But it wasn’t very popular with the company’s testers without more varied objectives or rewards. “We’ve brought a lot of people in to try out Team Deathmatch and, while some found it entertaining, most of our testers didn’t feel like it was something they’d want to do beyond a few hours,” stated the post.

Back in November, Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime confirmed an expansion pack for Diablo III during an investor call, but did not reveal any possible release dates. Judging by Blizzard’s track record, the release of the next expansion pack could happen any time between 2013 to 2015. “So we do have a plan,” he said. “An expansion planned for Diablo. I don’t have any timeline to talk about. I think that the most important thing for us always comes down to the quality of the expansion and the gameplay, and so that will be a big factor in terms of driving our schedule.”

Blizzard’s release schedule was leaked two years ago, and according to the schedule, the expansion pack should see the light of day in the second quarter of 2013, with the third one being released in the last quarter of 2014. However, it should be noted that the release schedule has been proven to be outdated, especially with entries such as the World of Warcraft movie scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2012, and the supposed first expansion pack for Starcraft II scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Morhaime also talked about Blizzard’s attempt at a MOBA game. So far, not much is known about it other than the name – Blizzard All-Stars. “Blizzard All-Stars is in development, and we’re doing some great work,” Morhaime said. “Some internal testing is under way. We’re doing a lot of things to experiment with game play, and I don’t really have anything concrete to announce on this call, other than we’re very excited about the game.” The only other mention of the game in recent times has been the legal battle between Valve and Blizzard about the Dota name.