Many considerDiabloto be the most important dungeon crawler to ever release. This classic from Blizzard shaped not just an entire genre but influenced the way video games design items entirely.The franchise is known for its addictive gameplay, thousands of items, and unique atmosphere.
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As with most games, everyDiablogame has seen many changes throughout development that are for better or worse. Besides various items being removed, certainDiablotitles had entire quests and concepts removed due to developer arguments or conflicting with the game entirely. From the mysterious Maps of the Stars toDiablo III’soriginal concept, here are ten unbelievable concepts and content that were cut from theDiablogames.
10Diablo II: Cut Skills
Virtually everyDiablotitle has cut skills or altered abilities compared to earlier versions of the game.Diablo IIis no exception. Nearly every class had their skills changed and some completely removed at some point, with the most interesting pieces of cut skills coming from the Barbarian, Necromancer, and Paladin.
Originally, Barbarians had the “Find Heart” skill that could force slain monsters to spawn organs. These organs could then be converted to items based on organ type such as fangs converting to keys. Necromancers were able to control familiars and summon poison infernos at some point before launch, and the Paladin as three cut auras named Inspiration, Reflection, and Absorb. It is unknown what these auras would have granted while active. Additionally,all characterswere once able to resurrect fallen players and had a dedicated kick action that functioned similarly to the Paladin’s Smite skill.
9Diablo: Tremain The Priest
Blizzard cut a unique NPC in the originalDiabloseemingly late in development. His name is Tremain the Priest and would have guided players through two quests.
For the first quest, Tremain would ask the player to obtain the Shadowfang sword and slay the Fleshdoom demon. He would also guide the player through the “Archbishop Lazarus” quest. What’s strange is plenty of dialogue from this NPC and gossip from other Tristam NPCs is mostly complete and accessible in the game’s files. It’s unknown why he was cut, but the Shadowfang sword tied to one of Tremain’s quests did make an appearance inDiablo II.
8Diablo III: PvP
Player versus player was originally designed to be a much larger part ofDiablo III. Those that played the beta might remember arena matches that never gotexpanded on in the final game. This was the tip of the iceberg.
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Certain developers wanted to push PvP as an eSport forDiablo IIIby focusing on balance and expanding on the game’s dueling system. Other developers at Blizzard vehemently opposed this decision as it would harm the number of builds and overall fun factor in PvE. Blizzard ultimately decided to drop the PvP focus during development and has not expanded on competitive multiplayer features forDiablo IIIsince.
7Diablo II: Guilds
VeteranDiablo IIplayers might rememberthe game’s social features such as text chat and trading with others. It helped add a sense of community to the game, but it seems that Blizzard planned to do more. It seems that a guild feature was cut from the game beforeDiablo II’sbeta launched.
Files in the game show menus for creating guild emblems, displaying valuable items for the guild to see, and entire clan halls that could be expanded on by investing currency into a treasury. These menus and guild halls are almost complete, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that Blizzard couldn’t release these in the main game or expansion. Blizzard has stated it wouldn’t be possible to release a guild system without major changes toDiablo IIand Battle.net to make sure no cheating or exploitation could occur. It’s a shame they never got the time needed to flesh out this system and release it.
6Diablo: Map Of The Stars
The Map Of The Stars is an item cut from the originalDiablothat seems inconsequential at first glance. It has flavor text that implies that players aren’t supposed to find it, but its use was originally so vital that it would have impacted the pace of the final levels.
Originally, this item would be obtained in the Unholy Altar level and would display a sort of timer. Once players enter Terror’s Domain, they have exactly one hour to summon and slay Diablo himself and beat the game. Should the player fail, a cutscene plays where the stars align and give Diablo ungodly strength. Diablo effectively becomes unkillable when in this state. Since this effectively bricks characters that don’t complete the endgame quickly, it’s a good thing this quest was removed entirely.
5Blizzard North’s Diablo III
Right afterDiablo IIlaunched, Blizzard North was looking at how they could make a sequel.Diablo IIIwas originally going to be a much different game than what was shipped.
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CertainMMO elementswere planned to be incorporated, such as guilds and large hub towns that could house many more players. Heaven and Hell were going to play a large part in the game’s locations and itemization. The game would take place mostly in Heaven with parts of Hell overtaking it. Every item in the game also had an angelic and demonic version that would change its appearance and stats. It was completely overhauled when Blizzard North was shut down in 2005.
4Diablo: Cut Quests
A surprising amount of quests inDiablowas cut before the game released. Two of the most note-worthy removals are a quest to slay Izual and another quest that tasked players to kill the demon queen Andariel. Both of these enemies would appear inDiablo II.
There are also a few quests in the main game that had sections removed entirely. The Map of Stars was cut from Diablo’s quest to fight him, and the Butcher was originally fought in a unique lair that would be revealed through a unique portal where he is normally fought in the retail version.
3Diablo II: Organ Harvesting
Pre-release footage ofDiablo IIshows various organs as inventory items. This is no mistake or placeholder; players were originally able to loot organs from slain enemies and convert them to new item types.
The Barbarian’s “Find Heart” skill was the first iteration of this before Blizzard decided to make it agame-wide feature. Certain employees felt this was too graphic and needlessly gory, however, which eventually lead to its removal in the final game.
2Diablo III: Branching Story
There were plans to haveDiablo III"snarrative branch out based on decisions players made throughout the game. It is unknown what decisions would impact the flow of the narrative, but Blizzard was having trouble incorporating it into multiplayer sessions.
After many attempts at getting the system working, the team thought it was more trouble than it was worth. It was cut to make way for a linear narrative instead.
1Diablo III: The King In The North Expansion
Diablo III: Reaper of Soulswas well-received by players and helped fix many of the base game’s issues. Blizzard was planning to make a second expansion to followupReaper of SoulscodenamedThe King in the North. However, not much is known about the expansion besides its existence.
King in the Northwas being developed towards the end ofReaper of Soulswhen Blizzard decided to cancel it due to the game lacking a consistent revenue stream unliketheir other titles. Parts of this expansion were released in free updates such as the Ruins of Sescheron and Greyhollow Island zones. It is also speculated that the Necromancer class was in development during this time. While not in the game itself, it was still planned content that was never fully implemented into the game due to being canceled.
