According to the official Diablo Twitter account, the team is considering removing mana from Diablo 3- that's the blue stuff - and replacing it with class specific resources instead.  While the team had asked for feedback on it, it appears that mana has already been cut from the game for some of the announced classes.

If you listened to Blizzcast Episode 8 you'd know the Barbarian doesn't use mana, but instead uses a new resource called Fury Orbs.  To Blizzard, it simply didn't make sense that a physical natured character would drive his power from mana.  Makes sense.  But in the interview with Jay Wilson, Diablo 3's designer, it appears that even the Wizard might not use mana.

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Diablo 3 is coming, and we're all dressed for the prom. We've got the brutish Barbarians with their beautiful Wizard cohorts. Now, we just need our support characters. In a recent interview with Blizzard Lead Designer Jay Wilson, the Monk class is delved in to a bit - and could fill that co-op strategy "support" role nicely. Diii.net asks the big questions, and we love the big answers.

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While waiting for Diablo 3 to be released next year...or the year after...you might want to crack out your old Diablo or Diablo 2 discs for some good ol' fashioned co-op gaming.  Perhaps a friend never returned them, or you are in need of another copy for some late night co-op sessions with the family.

Amazon is running a killer deal right now on the Blizzard's various battle chests.  You get both Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 as well as the Lord of Destruction Expansion for Diablo 2.  Packed in with all that goodness is a Diablo 2 strategy guide and you'll be ready to take on the hordes of hell with your friends.  The pack works on both Mac and PC, and there's also chests for Starcraft and Warcraft for the same price.

The pack usually retails for $39.99 but Amazon has their Deal of the Day today with the Battle Chest for only $19.99.  The deal expires midnight tonight!

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Gamasutra sat down with lead technical Artist Julian Love, and lead content designer Kevin Love from Blizzard to talk Diablo 3.  Despite the game being shown at Blizzcon twice so far, as well as playable on the show floor of E3, PAX and other conventions - we may be over a year away from its release.  

Gamasutra wants to know why.

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Game Name: Diablo 3
Co-Op: Yes
Co-Op Type: currently 4 Player story/quest based
Publisher/Developer: Activision (Publisher) / Blizzard (Developer)
Release Date: Not Soon Enough (2010/2011)

It seems like we've been talking about Diablo 3 for years now, and in fact, we may be talking about it for a few more years until it's finally released. I got a small tease of the game on the PAX show floor, getting my hands on one of the game's new classes, and I gotta say - the wait is way too long!

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A few tidbits of news are still trickling in from last week's GamesCom.  Jay Wilson, designer for Diablo 3, told Joystiq that parental controls will be in the game.  In addition, the game will be edited for violence for release in some regions.

We're going to have to be able to turn off blood, change the color and things like that, because you can't have red blood in some regions, regions that we would very much like to sell the game in.

Presumably, the parental controls would allow for users to do the same on their own copies of Diablo 3.  I am a huge fan of games that allow me to tone down the violence so I can enjoy them with my children, so this is great news for me.  No word yet if the different varieties of blood will include rainbow, pink polka dot, or tutti fruiti as of press time.

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According to CCO Paul Sams, Blizzard wants to make their games on consoles as well as the PC platform. In fact, Diablo 3 is the first to be considered, thanks to pressure from disc manufacturers who want more pie to take a piece from.

We've seen that modern hack'n'slash RPGs can be handled just fine with console controllers, and much of our community here is console-oriented... What do you think, Co-Optimers? Would you rather have Diablo 3 on a console or your PC and why?

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First it was the rainbows...then the Carebears...now this?

I know what you're thinking – the title doesn't make any sense, but this is very serious business. Fantasy is the theme of Diablo, so why can't the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man make an appearance, or a Unicorn that “dispenses” rainbows as a weapon? These are the "fantasies" of geeks and gamers around the world all rolled in to one! Okay, maybe the Unicorns are pushing it, but I hear if you drink their blood you live forever. Look forward to some awesome bonuses by wiping out armies of baddies with a rainbow burst death-ray, and roast some marshmallows while you're at it!

It may be a farce,  but it's pretty amusing.  I guess Blizzard finally cracked after all the "too colorful" jokes?  Ghostbusters have been a big thing this year, and Unicorns...well, I believe in them, so why can't Blizzard? Blizzards very own representative “Bashiok” put together these (unofficial) images for us, so who knows – an easter egg or two may be hidden within the game, and we like delicious, hilarious, easter eggs.  

Ready for the Unicorn's special attack?  Click the Read More link.

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