Blizzcon 2010: Diablo 3 demon hunters, PvP, and Protoss iron chefs

Another Blizzcon has come and gone and, as per usual, the annual convention of all things Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft featured quite a bit of interesting news. Diablo III is getting some new features and a new class, while Starcraft II is getting Blizzard-developed mods. Here’s a rundown of the biggest news to come out of Blizzcon 2010.

Starcraft

The biggest non-news to come out of Blizzcon is that Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, the second chapter in Blizzard’s real time strategy epic, was nowhere to be seen and still doesn’t have a release date. And given Blizzard’s track record, it could be a while before it comes out. But there was still plenty of news to keep Starcraft fans happy: namely, the announcement that Blizzard will be releasing four mod maps, several of which are based on popular gaming franchises.

Starjeweled is Blizzard’s take on PopCap’s Bejeweled, and has players matching gems in order to produce power, which can then be used in a Starcraft battle that takes place on the same screen. There’s also Left 2 Die, which is a co-op map that has two players fighting off swarms of zombies. There’s a day-night cycle, buildings to protect, and plenty of zombified zerg to fight off. There’s also a remake of Defense of the Ancients using the Starcraft engine, and Aiur Chef: a bizarre map that features Protoss Zealot chefs competing in an Iron Chef style cook-off.

The Demon Hunter

Diablo and Warcraft

For the upcoming Diablo III, the big news is the announcement of the fifth class: the demon hunter, who will now be joining the ranks of the barbarian, witch doctor, wizard and monk. The new class will take on the role of a ranged warrior, but one that can also use a bit of dark magic as well. In fact, the demon hunter can actually acquire dark spells from defeated enemies. The bounty hunter-like character gives the game a current total of five classes; you can read more about it here.

It was also confirmed that the game will be getting PvP battle arenas, which will be located throughout the Sanctuary. Few details were given, but it looks like the only ranked battles will be team-based.

With the Cataclysm expansion almost upon us, there wasn’t a whole lot of news regarding World of Warcraft. But there is some good news for fans who don’t want to leave their house: Cataclysm will be available as a digital download on launch day, a first for the series. Pre-orders are expected to be available on Blizzard’s site soon, as the expansion is set to be released on December 7.