Diablo 3 isn't out yet, but that doesn't stop Blizzard from telling us what changes they're making to the game (coincidentally reminding us we are not playing it, sadface). While we are a long ways away from being able to compile a Diablo 3 strategy guide we can survive for now on the occasional press release to hold us over. Recently, Blizzard announced several system changes they would be implementing, ranging from interface tweaks to item removals to stat changes. If you're interested in the cliffnotes, we've trimmed it down to the short and sweet.
* No more scrolls of identification: items will still come unidentified, but players will simply have to right click the item to examine it. This maintains the getting a present and unwrapping it feel, while taking out the bothersome item.
* Dedicated potion button: Quickslot 5 will be remapped to be a dedicated potion button
* Removed mystic artisan (crafting): since Blizzard didn't feel that the mystic was adding much to the game and that further changes to the customization options would delay the game, they have removed it from the game. They hope to implement the mystic sometime after the game's release.
* Removed Cauldron of Jordan and Nephalem Cube: Originally these items were implemented to combat the fact that the game at that point of time had no quick way to get back to town (they can be used to break down dropped items into reagents and gold). Since the addition of Stone of Recall, however, Blizzard felt that they were detracting from the benefit of returning to town and also did not allow the player a chance to break up the combat and evaluate their items. With their removal, Stone of Recall is also changed to Town Portal, and will now display on the skillbar UI. The blacksmith will now salvage items to compensate for the removal of the Cube.
* Stat changes: Changes to the primary attributes Strength, Vitality, Intellect, and Dexterity as well as secondary attributes Armor, Physical Resist, and Crit Chance have been made to decrease the amount of item overlap between classes. This should make for a cleaner itemization system.
* Stats to now appear directly in inventory UI: Now when you equip a new piece of gear, you can clearly and easily see how your stats go up or down.
For the full, detailed notes, make sure to check out the source link. Diablo 3 should be out sometime early this year on PC with 4-player online co-op.
Source: Us.battle.net