(Repost)Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls corrects the mistakes of the original game

No one can stop Death," says Malthael, the Angel Of Death. But you must stop him in this expansion pack of the 2012 hack-and-slash role-playing game Diablo III.


The expansion, Reaper Of Souls, picks up where the original ended with Diablo, the Lord Of Terror, defeated and locked in the Black Soulstone. But peace is brief. Before the Soulstone can be hidden away, Malthael steals it to unleash death and destruction on the world.


Reaper Of Souls adds several refinements to Diablo III, which has been slammed for its erratic loot system. Some of the loot (items dropped after you slay monsters) were things your character could not use. The problem was exacerbated because players were able to buy better weapons and armour in the Auction House without having to grind through the game.


To rectify this, the Loot 2.0 system was implemented through a huge update patch to the original game one month before the expansion was released last Tuesday, and the Auction House was removed.


The Loot 2.0 system now churns out fewer items, but more of the rare and legendary - or most coveted - ones. The items dropped are also more likely to be of use to the character class you are playing.


The new loot system is true to its claims. For example, whenever my Crusader and Barbarian characters beat a big boss, they had never benefited from having a legendary bow dropped. Now, it is either a legendary flail or shield that is dropped after such a victory.


The patch also changed the new Paragon levels, which is the system that lets you earn stat bonuses after reaching level cap and difficulty settings. There is now no level cap for Paragon levels. In addition, Paragon levels can now be shared by all your account's characters, instead of applying only to an individual character.


Now, you do not have to play through the campaign in order to advance in difficulty settings. Just change the difficulty settings any time, before resuming gameplay.


However, you will need the expansion to enjoy these new features, which include raised Level 70 cap (Level 60 in the previous game), additional storyline chapter with Act V, the Crusader class and the Adventure mode.


The expansion introduces a new Mystic artisan who provides item enchantment and transmogrification services, and adds extra sub-quests in the new chapter.


I had plenty of fun with the Mystic's transmogrification ability to alter the appearance of my character's gear. For example, I changed my sword and shield to look like those carried by angels.


You might be expecting more character classes, other than the single Crusader class - a holy warrior who wields a shield and a melee weapon such as a flail or sword. Personally, I think one good class is enough, especially when I think it is one of the expansion's major highlights.


Inspired by Diablo II's Paladin class, which I and many other fans missed, Crusader is a mid-range melee character class which strikes a balance between the close combat skills of Barbarian and the spiritual power of Monk, while having armoured protection.


The actor voicing Crusader did a great job expressing his fervour and righteousness without being over-melodramatic.


Sound effects are realistically scary, from the creepy roars of the monsters to the eerie cries when they die. That led a friend, with whom I have played the game since the very first Diablo, to turn off the audio.


If you have an existing Level 60 character that completed the original campaign, you can go straight to Act V. But that would not be fun. I think the best way to enjoy the expansion is to play the Crusader.


Act V takes place mostly in Westmarch, a formerly thriving city featuring classical Gothic buildings. It would have been great to see the city in its full glory. Instead, you find yourself fighting through raging fires and streets heaped with corpses. Unlike the random underground cellars of the original which held nothing substantial, many of these underground cellars now have a story or time event with a mini-boss.


But even if you scour every inch of Act V, it will take you at most three hours. That is why it is better to play Crusader from the start for a more holistic story experience. If you finish Act V quickly, you now have the option of playing in the new Adventure and Nephalem Rift mode.


Unlocked upon completing Act V, the Adventure mode is where you just kill monsters to level up and pick up better items. You will revisit some campaign areas for simple quests (clearing the area of monsters, or killing a boss). You gain experience and loot as well as Rift Keystone Fragments.


Collect enough of these fragments and you can start the Nephalem Rift mode. It is a randomised dungeon with a mini-boss providing you with a short 15 to 20min playthrough.


Here, you earn experience, loot and Blood Shards that can be used to buy mysterious items from the merchant Kadala. These can range from magic to legendary. But I have yet to buy a Legendary item from Kadala.


With no cap on Paragon levels, you can play through the Adventure and Nephalem Rift modes over and over again to satisfy your thirst for more Legendary items or even sought-after Set items.

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