Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Ed. - "Hints & Tips"

For those of you just now jumping into Diablo 3's hellish adventure there are a few hints, and tips you might want to consider when facing off against the lesser, and greater evils of the burning hells, and the high heavens. The world of Sanctuary, as it is known in Diablo lore is a treasure trove of equipment, weapons, gold, and other items of value. While you can collect a lot of items on your epic journey into the maelstrom the amount you can carry with you, and can store away are limited. As such choosing what to keep, and what to do away with will take some educated management on your behalf. Aside from item management I'll also be disclosing details on how to score the most gold as well as which character is best for beginners. Keep in mind there's a lot that goes into a Diablo 3 playthrough, and that you can invest an exceptional amount of time experiencing all that the game has to offer. It's best to make the most of each, and every playthrough as your in-game rewards can be grand in scale should you choose to do so.

Carry, Sell, Store, or Scrap ...

In "Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Ed." you will being traveling forth as one of six different characters. These characters include female, and male versions of the 'Barbarian', 'Demon Hunter', 'Crusader', 'Witch Doctor', 'Monk', and the Wizard/Sorcerer. Whomever you choose to go along with you should know that they do have a carrying limit that ties in with their ability to gather items. This means that as you kill off hell's minions, loot chests, and find hidden items/equipment, and pick up said equipment you will only be able to carry so much. Since their is a carry limit it is best that you always prioritize what you choose to gather. Equipment, like weapons, and accessories each come in a rather colorful variety that can help you to decide what is most important. Once an enemy drops an item, or you score some loot from a treasure chest, or rack of some sort you'll notice that the items are sometimes glowing blue, yellow, or even amber. In regards to these different colors you'll find that Diablo 3's enemy inhabitant's like the dropped items are colored coded for a reason, and that reason is to let you know you are about to fight, or gain something of significance.

When it comes to looting the world of Sanctuary for it's vast supply of riches you'll find a wide variety of wonders fit for wearing, or using in some sort of way. These said items of course come in a small spectrum of colors as I mentioned before. If a dropped, or found item you happen upon is colorless you'll find that that means it is a standard issue item which is basically the lowest in value, and stats that you can find. Blue items, which are a step up in value, and stats usually offer you something with bonus effects, or greater damage output/resistance. The yellow glowing items that you'll also find from the more difficult enemies of a similar color (blue/yellow), treasure chests, and other means (blacksmithing, shops ...) are what are called 'Legendary' weapons, and are a step up from the blue items in that the damage output/resistance, and added effects are of greater significance to your character. Lastly you'll occasionally happen upon an item, or piece of equipment with an amber/orange glow. These items are usually nameless to begin with, and must be identified by clicking "SQUARE" on the item in your equipment setup menu. Amber items are the rarest you'll find in your first playthrough, and are more scarce than any other piece of equipment.

Keeping these item categories in mind you will want to only pick up the blue, yellow, and amber items frequently for future use. By "future use" I mean that you will have to make a decision as to whether you're going to store it in your in-town chest, sell it to one of many shopkeepers, or scrap it for materials from the local Blacksmith. When it comes down to storing items in the chest your space is extremely limited in comparison to what your character can carry on their person, so filling it wisely is a must. The only way to make more space in your stash is to pay a hefty price for a chest/stash upgrade. This will usually only set you back $75,000 each time (with the exception of later upgrades), but is well worth it if you aim to save a lot of your finer equipment pieces. Being a seasoned Diablo 3 player I usually only make it a point to store legendary, or rare equipment pieces, and will sell some of the Legendary items as I grow out of the need for them.

Once your happy with your character's current equipment setup, and are overburdened with items when you make it back to the town hub you can sell the blue equipment you won't be using for some quick cash ... er, gold. Should you find you have some 'Legendary' items you no longer need you can also sell them as well for an even higher price value. Gold is not the easiest thing to come by in Sanctuary, but by equipping equipment with gold boosting effects, and selling the equipment you don't need you can upgrade your stash often as well as treat yourself to some other shop goodies, and services.

One last thing I should mention in regards to storing, and carrying equipment is that the Blacksmith can breakdown equipment pieces for materials used in the blacksmithing process. While this is definitely good for crafting some noteworthy weapons later on in your playthrough you will have to weigh whether, or not you need the gold, or the materials more. Scrapping equipment pieces is slightly rewarding in it's own way, but you must also understand that materials needed for crafting equipment can be found on your many outings into the world of Sanctuary. I'll usually only scrap an item if I have leveled the Blacksmith up to his max limit, and if I'm ready to craft a more noteworthy piece of equipment.

Gold Digging 101 ...

Gold in the world of Sanctuary is a precious commodity. It can buy you upgrades, help you to learn various merchant skills, help you to afford the finer equipment pieces from shop vendors, and even help you get health items for those harder to endure tasks. Seeing as some equipment will bestow unto your chosen character gold gathering increases it's always best to have at least one, if not more equipment pieces with such attributes. While this is a biggie when it comes to "Gold Digging (LOL!)" you will find that there are also some other ways to score gold throughout your many adventures. One such way as I mentioned just a moment before is to sell gathered equipment, and items for profit. Selling the rarer items, whether they be blue, or yellow will earn you some decent gold which can then be used for other needs/wants. Lastly it is always wise to leave no destructible environmental object whole, and to run across the corpses of the fallen as often as you see them. Both things will occasionally score you a lump sum of gold that pours forth like a fountain from glory. It should also be noted that some corpses have hidden items such as journal entries, and even weapons.

Choosing a Character ...

Choosing the proper character to start your initial playthrough off with can make for a difficult decision even with the skill information displayed for you. I've personally always found that the 'Demon Hunter' class makes for the easiest character class in the game. His, or her attacks are ranged, and the skills that they have to unlock will help you slowdown, or quickly kill enemies that should get to close for comfort. If you are a little more brazen though, and don't mind a proper challenge the up close, and personal fighters such as the 'Barbarian', and the 'Monk' will give you a proper run for your money ... er, gold. In the end it all depends on your favorite playing style. If you are more comfortable with a ranged character the 'Demon Hunter', 'Witch Doctor', and 'Wizard/Sorcerer' will be of better use to you. If you are more for the personal war the 'Barbarian', 'Crusader', and 'Monk' will give you that much more personal approach to combat. Either way you choose to go just know that it's fun to experience what all characters have to offer, and that investing time with each class can be a reward of it's own.

In Closing ...

I think I'm gonna wrap up this article here. I hope these small, but important tips will help you make the most of your "Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Ed." playthroughs. The game has a lot to offer both online, and off. Whether you choose to go at it alone, or with friend you can rest assured this is one of the most content rich next-gen console experiences that you'll ever find, and that it's well worth the $60 asking price. Do not miss out!