Patches and Downloads

• 141101 :: LoD Patch 1.09c. The patch is 1.77Mb ((PC)) and 4.75Mb ((Mac)).
• 141101 :: D2 Patch 1.09c. The patch is 5.16Mb ((PC)) and 9.32Mb ((Mac)).
• 240501 :: [ .mov 31.3Mb ] Cinematic trailer featuring LoD, shown at E3 2001. .mov is the QuickTime format, you can download the viewer here.
• 020501 :: A pair of new cinematic trailers can be found here. They are pretty cool, so go take a look.
• 160101 :: GameSpy has an interview with the creator, along with the 50Mb download, of the D2 Gangsta’s Paradise Video.
• 100101 :: 123Mb Diablo II Demo for the Mac
• 040101 :: 135Mb Diablo II Demo for the PC

Diablo II Articles + Site Updates

• 050202 :: The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced the finalists for the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. D2:LoD received a nomination for Computer RPG GotY.
• 281201 :: More awards from the GameSpy site. Their multi-platform Special Achievements Awards give D2:LoD the prize for Best CG or Full-Motion Video Cinematics and a runners-up for Best Movie Trailer.
• 251201 :: Happy Holidays!
• 241201 :: GameSpot’s Best and Worst PC Games of 2001 awards gives LoD a nominee position for Special Achievement Awards, Best Expansion Pack; and another nomination for Genre Awards, Best Multiplayer Role-Playing Game.
• 221201 :: GameSpy’s Game of the Year awards gives LoD runner-up for PC Expansion Pack of the Year.
• 151101 :: The New York Times has a rather quaint article about D2 from the perspective of a 52-year-old father.

  Although Diablo seems to be all about preadolescent fantasies of violent destruction, I have discovered that it is actually about shopping.

• 141101 :: D2 Patch 1.09c. The patch is 5.16Mb ((PC)) and 9.32Mb ((Mac)).
• 131101 :: Diablo: Tales of Sanctuary, a comic based on the game, has been released. The Official Site is here and you can buy it here.
• 010801 :: Diablo1 is #6 on GameSpy’s Top 50 Games of All Time.
• 210601 :: A transcript of the Fansite Chat held yesterday can be found here.
• 200601 :: Patch 1.08, along with the list of fixes and improvements, can be found here. The patch is 5.05Mb for the PC and 4.10Mb for the Mac.
• 100601 :: D2 has sold 1 million copies in Korea, accounting for a third of D2’s worldwide sales.
• 020601 :: A new interview with Bill Roper has been posted at PC Zone, where he talks about D2’s unexpected success and stuff.
• 310501 :: [ .mov 28.7Mb ] I just saw the Warcraft III trailer and my jaw literally dropped. Damn, but Blizzard makes the best trailers ((without showing any actual gameplay at that)).
• 230501 :: Planet Diablo has an interview with Richard A. Knaak, the author of Diablo: Legacy of Blood. For those who remember Dragonlance, he also wrote the Legend of Huma. You can get the novel from Amazon.
• 150501 :: For those attending E3, Blizzard is giving away 100 copies of their novels to the first 100 people to stop by their booth.
• 110501 :: Diablo II Standard and Hardcore Ladders will be reset in late June signifying the start of the new season. At that time, all characters currently on those ladders will be removed. If you wish to be on the new season’s Diablo II Standard or Hardcore Ladder you will have to create a new character following the reset. The Diablo II Ladder reset will not otherwise affect any existing characters and no characters will be deleted. The Battle.net web site will list the top 10 Ladder players on each ladder for each Realm. The new Ladder season does not have a final ending date. We will provide an exact date for the ladder reset as we get closer to the end of June. The Asia 2 Ladders will not be reset.
• 090501 :: Patch 1.06 includes an updated version of the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement (TOU). A TOU FAQ is now available.
• 210401 :: This battle.net announcement warns all hardcore players to password protect their game, as there is a bug going around that allows other players to kill your hardcore character.
• 190401 :: Patch 1.06, along with the list of upgrades and improvements (including a fix for duped items), can be found here. The patch is 2.64Mb for the PC and 4.23Mb for the Mac.
• 120401 :: Please support us support cancer research. Visit the main page for details.
• 250301 :: GameSpot UK has a feature, The Godfathers of Gaming, crediting Blizzard with reviving the fantasy genre with Diablo, and a nod to the back-to-back successes of WarCraft, StarCraft and Diablo.
• 230301 :: Fixed the links to the D2 Patch 1.05B.
• 140301 :: Want to work at Blizzard?
• 080301 :: Battle.net Announcement :: A loophole that was being exploited to duplicate items has been fixed. We would like to thank those individuals who provided us with information regarding this problem. Your help was most appreciated.
• 040301 :: Computer Games Online asks Why Did Diablo 2 Eat My Brain?.
• 040201 :: Patch 1.05B can be found here. The list of improvements and fixes are also through the link.
• 030101 :: The process of restoring Diablo 2 hardcore and standard characters will begin on Sunday January 7th. More…
• 020101 :: During the past week, some players have experienced character losses. Instances have ranged from hardcore characters dying, to the loss of items, skill points and experience in normal characters. More…
• 31122k :: D2 did fairly in GameSpot’s Best of 2000 Awards, scoring nominations in Best Multiplayer Game and Role-Playing Game of the Year.
• 28122k :: On January 1, 2001 at 12:01 a.m. PT, the Diablo II Standard Ladder will be reset signifying the start of the new season. All characters created before January 1, 2001 will no longer appear on the Ladder. If you wish to be on the Diablo II Standard Ladder after this date you will have to create a new character following the reset. The Diablo II Ladder reset will not otherwise affect any existing characters and no characters will be deleted. The Battle.net web site will list the top 10 Ladder players on each ladder for each Realm. The new Ladder season does not have a final ending date however it is probable that the next Ladder reset will occur when the Diablo II Expansion is released. The Hardcore Ladder will not be reset.
• 25122k :: Merry Christmas Everyone! More Formulae for the Horadric Cube.
• 23122k :: Patches 1.04B and 1.04C can be found here. The list of improvements and fixes are also through the link.
• 20122k :: Blizzard has some holiday desktops and an mp3 for download.
• 19122k :: D2 garnered a runners-up place for RPG Game of the Year and a Special Award for Cut-scenes in the GameSpy 2000 Game of the Year Awards.
• 10122k :: TechTV interviews David Brevik, the creator of Diablo and Diablo II.
• 08122k :: GameSpy has an article featuring the Top 10 Diablo II Items.
• 05122k :: For those of you wondering why the Hell Blizzard came up with the name “Holy Water Sprinkler” for the exceptional Grand Scepter –
• The term was a nickname for Morning Stars ever since the weapon was actually in use ((yes, people actually used them on other people)). The nickname came about supposedly because the weapon caused blood to flow similar to the way water is sprikled by an aspergillum ((basically an item used by the Roman Catholic Chruch for the sole purpose of sprikling Holy Water)).
• For more information, check out rec.games.frp.dnd FAQ: 8/9 under J11: What is a morning star?
• 02122k :: GameSpy’s Developer Origins article has a segment on Blizzard, reproduced below –
  • GameSpy: Who started your company and in what year?
    Debra Osborne: Allen Adham, Mike Morhaime & Frank Pearce founded the company under the name of Silicon & Synapse in February, 1991. The name was changed to Blizzard Entertainment in 1994.
  • GameSpy: How did you decide on your company name?
    Debra Osborne: The Silicon & Synapse name was a high concept creation by Allen, Mike and Frank. The Blizzard name was randomly picked out of a dictionary by Allen.
  • GameSpy: How did you decide on the logo and are you still using the original? If it is not the original logo, what prompted you to change it?
    Debra Osborne: The Silicon & Synapse logo was created by Stu Rose, one of our long-time artists. The original Blizzard logo was also created by Stu and is still in use today.
• 20112k :: Scepters, Maces & Spears have been updated with stats for the War Club, the Lance, and the Holy Water Sprinkler. These items are now available in Realm games.
• 10112k :: Rares Item Names.
• 06112k :: Getting to the Secret Cow Level.