Diablo 3 updates: loot mechanics, party looting, few class-specific gear

Looks like the Diablo 3 team is still on the burner for dramatically changing the atmosphere of Diablo for Diablo III. As the situation continues to brew in the Battle.net Forums, community manager Bashiok continues to address players’ concerns over the health globe mechanics, the nerfing of potions, and the most recent inquiry into loot mechanics. Plucking what we can through the debate, we’ve managed to formulate what Activision Blizzard has in mind for Diablo 3. On to the full story, heroes!

Blizzard community manager Bashiok, sporting the new Fallen Shaman as an avatar, responded to new inquiries regarding the established ‘fair loot’ mechanic in Diablo III. According to the CM, players may immediately make items visible to everyone else by picking up the loot and immediately dropping it on the ground.

There seems to be talk that gear won’t be class specific – well, not completely. Bashiok says, “Anyone can pick up any chest/shoulder/leg/etc item and wear it. However, there are some weapons/off-hand items that are class specific.”

Also, we’ve learned that the party system will affect the drops directly. Bashiok claims that every additional player added to the party will push back that drop percentage for everyone by “a bit,” though apparently it won’t affect how many items drop.

Health globes are a different issue – when picked up by one player, all players hurt in the party will be healed in Diablo 3, relative to their HP stats. Health globes haven’t been confirmed to drop from bosses mid-battle, however.

Questions over loot also moved over to points of party mates deserving loot. In the new mechanic, it appears that all party member get drops even without participating in the attacks. Blizzard has no official response to this issue. More updates as we get them.