Did you just buy Diablo 3 and think you would jump right in to the full game? Too bad! Blizzard has decided that everyone who purchases the game will be limited to the 'Starter Edition' for 72 hours. That means new players cannot go past Act I, they cannot progress past level 13, and there is no access to the Auction House (real money or gold).

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5889089807

Thanks Blizzard. I was on the fence about getting Diablo 3 and you've made my decision to pass that much easier.

This only affects players who purchase the digital version, which is insanely overpriced anyway.

The link says that it applies to digital copies of the game, so I guess if you purchase a hard copy you can bypass the restriction. I wonder what their reasoning for doing this is?

Why do they hate the digital version so goddamn much? Sure, chinese hackers and what not, but fucks sake, just force everyone to get some sort of authenticator.

This doesn't really affect me, but why are they doing this? It seems rather odd, especially for people that are just getting into it and want to play a whole bunch. It's especially shitty since players actually can't go past the Skeleton King. You can get there in 2-3 hours. I guess you can get all the other characters up to level cap in that time?.

Is this real?! I thought they had already solved their server issues.. seems like this sort of measure means there are still HUGE issues to be addressed.

I hope this is not how they will handle things from here on, because people should be able to choose how much they want to play (2 sick days, anyone?)

@BigDaddyTool The game is a lot of fun and worth getting even if its a hassle sometimes. Maybe you could wait a couple of weeks until the smoke clears? Well, at this point I´m not sure it will ever clear.

ActiBlizz strikes again...

It seems it's to prevent gold farmers from gaining access to the full game before their accounts are flagged for bans due to payment for the game not going through. At least that's what some are saying.

@WinterSnowblind said:

This only affects players who purchase the digital version, which is insanely overpriced anyway.

It's the same price as the box ... what about that is overpriced?

This is an odd move, I bought the physical copy out of necessity but the Auction House delay and things like this* make me glad I did. What's the benefit on Blizzard's end?

*Edited: the original post was inaccurate about the time until the full game would activate (until payment clears).

They should have done this at the start because Blizzard gives away the digital/starter edition in a couple of ways. Anytime you give easy access to account creation, it invites abuse from Gold Farmers and other types of annoying things.

@cmblasko said:

I wonder what their reasoning for doing this is?

This... if this is about server issues, I thought Blizzard had worked all that out with the monster that was WoW/they had the coin to spend on servers to properly support their game. If it's about about gold farmers, they're certainly putting way more interest in their stupid digital economy than they are on their customers, and I hope people take notice.

I don't think it would be a problem to me, personally, because I don't think I had the time in the day to reach the end of act 1 within 72 hours and I didn't even use the auction house until I started getting items worth putting on there, but I see it being a huge deal to the many who like to take a day to marathon a game; especially a game they're excited about and have been waiting a decade for. It's also a matter of principle because, if you're buying this thing digitally, you're giving them a steep $60 or more already.

The debacle that Diablo III has become is the first ever chink in Blzzard's armor that I've seen. You may have a rabid following of fans right now, but that fanship was based on awesome games and good will, and things can indeed turn.

I deem this to be a stupid and indeed, dumb move.

This move seems like a bandage on a larger problem. There's got to be a better way to handle spammers and farmers without impacting legitimate players like this.

One would think that simply changing something on the billing side would make the 72-hour wait unnecessary .

D3 has been getting more and more infested by goldfarmers so this is obivously meant to counter them.

72 hours seems like a lot though, act 1 and lvl 13 is reached by the average player within a couple of hours. Still, I'd say it's worth it in the long run, those goldsellers are amazing at being many and annoying.

Honestly this doesn't sound nearly as bad as anyone is trying to make it. This generation is getting a little out of hand with impatience. So you have to wait for 72 hours? So the fuck what.

There is obviously a reason Blizzard is doing something like this, regardless of whether or not you agree. Also, all this was is a pity party for the OP to exclaim why he's cool enough to not jump on the Diablo III "Bandwagon."

@AndrewB: If you think this is the first "chink," in their armour, you obviously have not either played or followed WoW or SC2. People complain about WoW on a daily basis that changes ruin the game. Starcraft 2 straight out the gate was hailed as "not as competitive" as the original Brood War. People will bitch and moan as much as they want, but in the end the only reason they are doing it is because it inconveniences them in a minor way, but they exaggerate it to the umpteenth degree.

I think I can explain things with this picture.

@Superfriend: It looks like a lot of fun and obviously I've heard plenty of good things about it. I'll probably still end up getting it down the road but like I said this news just makes it that much easier to hold off right now.

So that's what's going on? My friend finally convinced me to buy it on Monday night. We've been trying to figure out why I can play HC and Join his games but we can't clear the Skeleton King if I'm in game and I'm blocked from trading. I didn't see anything about a delay mentioned besides 'New Players have to wait 3 days to access public chat channels'. I'm thinking I should call them instead of waiting on an e-mail reply.

I'm sure they have a good reason for this, why would they do this to annoy everybody? This isn't that big of a deal to me, I still find it more annoying that if you lag the game lags even if you're playing alone. It's probably what @mariachimacabre is saying

It seems it's to prevent gold farmers from gaining access to the full game before their accounts are flagged for bans due to payment for the game not going through.

It's a shame but hardly a surprise, now that real money is involved Blizzard has to do everhthing in their power to protect that economy. They're essentially forging new ground for the entire gaming industry so there are bound to be some growing pains but this is a pretty huge one. It's a big shame.

@MariachiMacabre said:

It seems it's to prevent gold farmers from gaining access to the full game before their accounts are flagged for bans due to payment for the game not going through. At least that's what some are saying.

Is it really THAT big of an issue? It sounds like a pretty huge hindrance on anyone who actually wants to buy the game digitally. Hell, at that point, I'd just recommend purchasing it through Amazon and waiting for shipping, and download the demo/starter edition and play that for a couple days while it's delivered.

I can understand their reasoning for this. It would be nice if it was only temporary while they work out another solution to the problem. I feel like odds are they calculated the risk and figured that most people that don't already own the game won't be getting a digital version anyway and will just be getting a boxed copy which is why they're instituting this now in an attempt to fight gold sellers and what have you. Not to say it isn't a little crappy, but, I still can see the reasoning there.

Honestly this doesn't sound nearly as bad as anyone is trying to make it. This generation is getting a little out of hand with impatience. So you have to wait for 72 hours? So the fuck what.

There is obviously a reason Blizzard is doing something like this, regardless of whether or not you agree. Also, all this was is a pity party for the OP to exclaim why he's cool enough to not jump on the Diablo III "Bandwagon."

@AndrewB: If you think this is the first "chink," in their armour, you obviously have not either played or followed WoW or SC2. People complain about WoW on a daily basis that changes ruin the game. Starcraft 2 straight out the gate was hailed as "not as competitive" as the original Brood War. People will bitch and moan as much as they want, but in the end the only reason they are doing it is because it inconveniences them in a minor way, but they exaggerate it to the umpteenth degree.

@blueduck: I understand the reaction to it, but honestly if this was some lesser title, do really think it would get the same reaction? The only reason this is huge is because Diablo III is large title, and of late is a huge bullseye for controversy trolls. I can see it really blowing for a couple of people, namely the hardcore, but if you're going to blow through the game, you generally have already bought the title.

I'm not going to sit here and say it's a great change, or that I understand the reasoning behind it, but I know that I know as much as the next person which is nothing. We obviously don't own a part of the behemoth that is Blizzard and do not get in to the secret board meetings to understand the minds behind a decision like this. However, it's all about money, and thus the reason has to out-weigh the potential outcry that Blizzard has the experience of dealing with.

Blizzard should just make the ultimate decision and destroy China. They have the money.

Never mind this is a non-issue and the Op should have taken the 2min to do some research. The restrictions are unlocked once payment goes through. 

@ck1nd said:

@AndrewB: If you think this is the first "chink," in their armour, you obviously have not either played or followed WoW or SC2. People complain about WoW on a daily basis that changes ruin the game. Starcraft 2 straight out the gate was hailed as "not as competitive" as the original Brood War. People will bitch and moan as much as they want, but in the end the only reason they are doing it is because it inconveniences them in a minor way, but they exaggerate it to the umpteenth degree.

WoW didn't interest me after playing it for free during the beta, but I could tell it was a well-made game that other people would love. I'm not a competitive Starcraft 2 player, but I feel like when you're talking about a competitive online game, you can't please anyone. This Diablo news affects everyone going forward (at least everyone buying it through a perfectly reasonable source digitally), and everyone who purchased on day one has had to suffer through countless server downtime issues (for a game some, like me, will only ever play single-player). I feel like most of their past mistakes were more a matter of preference rather than an actual problem.

My big problem (and like I said, it's not *my* problem, because I already own the game) is people suddenly paying $60 and being given a demo for 72 hours. No... that's actually not it. My real problem is watching Blizzard take advantage of the rabidness of their fanbase more and more. It's leading down a dangerous path.

However, I will secede that WoW's servers were completely borked on launch and for some time after, and just because that didn't affect me, it probably still should have been the first thing. A little more forgivable given the unforeseen popularity.

@blueduck said:

Never mind this is a non-issue and the Op should have taken the 2min to do some research. The restrictions are unlocked once payment goes through.

Indeed. So it's not "starter edition for 72 hours period." It's "starter edition until your payment clears, which can be up to 72 hours, or it can be considerably less to the point of being a non-issue."

People, blowing shit out of proportion because they need something to yell and scream about and want other people to hate something that they themselves don't like. That's the internet for ya.

From what I'm reading on Blizzard's website, it sounds like you get access to the starter edition for free. And then you upgrade that to the full game, which takes time to authenticate.

So this is what is really happening...

Blizzard Guy A: "Yo. It seems like a huge number of people are outsmarting our payment system and stealing the game without paying for it."

Blizzard Guy B: "Well, we could try a more in depth authorization system. The problem is that takes time to process, so we won't be able to give people their digital copies right away. "

Blizzard Guy A: "That sounds terrible."

Blizzard Guy B: "We could give everyone the first half of act 1 free. That way they could start playing while we verify payment."

Blizzard Guy A: "Oh, that sounds cool!"

Why?

@MariachiMacabre said:

It seems it's to prevent gold farmers from gaining access to the full game before their accounts are flagged for bans due to payment for the game not going through. At least that's what some are saying.

Is it really THAT big of an issue? It sounds like a pretty huge hindrance on anyone who actually wants to buy the game digitally. Hell, at that point, I'd just recommend purchasing it through Amazon and waiting for shipping, and download the demo/starter edition and play that for a couple days while it's delivered.

@blueduck: Not sure it can be classified as a non-issue when at least one poster in this thread has already had problems as a result of this new policy.

Do you have some kind of pull at your bank where you can have transactions processed more quickly upon request? Because I know with my bank anything I buy with my debit card still takes 1-3 days to go through.

@FateOfNever: I never blew anything out of proportion. I posted the terms that Blizzard themselves have created, and simply stated that I would deciding to pass on buying the game. If you'd like me to blow things out of proportion I suppose I can edit the thread title to something like "BLIZZARD HATES NEW PLAYERS AND WE SHOULD BOYCOTT THEM FOREVER"

The link says that it applies to digital copies of the game, so I guess if you purchase a hard copy you can bypass the restriction. I wonder what their reasoning for doing this is?

Why do they hate the digital version so goddamn much? Sure, chinese hackers and what not, but fucks sake, just force everyone to get some sort of authenticator.

This doesn't really affect me, but why are they doing this? It seems rather odd, especially for people that are just getting into it and want to play a whole bunch. It's especially shitty since players actually can't go past the Skeleton King. You can get there in 2-3 hours. I guess you can get all the other characters up to level cap in that time?.

wow, this is getting ridiculous!

@jasonefmonk said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

This only affects players who purchase the digital version, which is insanely overpriced anyway.

It's the same price as the box ... what about that is overpriced?

This is an odd move, I bought the physical copy out of necessity but the Auction House delay and things like this make me glad I did. What's the benefit on Blizzard's end?

Don't know about the US, but the digital version over here costs £45 as opposed to the £25-30 you can get it from online retailers for.

I'm not defending Blizzard here, I just thought it was a pretty important piece of information that the OP left out.

digital is the way to go. more convenient.

not sure why they are hassling those buyers so much. guessing it has to do with gold spammers?

i just wish they would address those issues directly instead of broad sweeping motions that can effect legit players.

one idea for example, make the spam button work.

Aww how nice of Blizzard to simulate the experience of those who bought and tried to play Diablo within the first 3 days of release.

Now even those late to the party can join in the fun of not playing the game they just bought. See? What a great company, no one misses out.

@BigDaddyTool said:

@blueduck: Not sure it can be classified as a non-issue when at least one poster in this thread has already had problems as a result of this new policy.

Do you have some kind of pull at your bank where you can have transactions processed more quickly upon request? Because I know with my bank anything I buy with my debit card still takes 1-3 days to go through.

@FateOfNever: I never blew anything out of proportion. I posted the terms that Blizzard themselves have created, and simply stated that I would deciding to pass on buying the game. If you'd like me to blow things out of proportion I suppose I can edit the thread title to something like "BLIZZARD HATES NEW PLAYERS AND WE SHOULD BOYCOTT THEM FOREVER"

Except that you left out key pieces of information, thus, blowing the actual issue out of proportion. You have stated only a half truth as the full truth. You are manipulating people through a lack of information, thus, blowing something out of proportion.

@FateOfNever: I don't think you understand what the phrase "blowing out of proportion" actually means. It insinuates that I am making the problem seem much worse than it is, which I have not done. Everything I stated in my original post is true, and there was no hyperbole. I'm not some manipulative troll looking to get the GB users angry at Blizzard, I was just relaying the information and expressing my opinion.

You got me, I didn't include the bit about how the Stater period could be shorter than 72 hours, but I fail to see how that changes the fact that if you buy the game from Blizzard they are making you wait until you can access the full game.

Aww how nice of Blizzard to simulate the experience of those who bought and tried to play Diablo within the first 3 days of release.

Now even those late to the party can join in the fun of not playing the game they just bought. See? What a great company, no one misses out.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@MikkaQ

Aww how nice of Blizzard to simulate the experience of those who bought and tried to play Diablo within the first 3 days of release.

Now even those late to the party can join in the fun of not playing the game they just bought. See? What a great company, no one misses out.

Except it only limits you until your payment clears to make sure you've actually PAID for the product, so for most people the payment will clear before the game is finished downloading.

Wouldn't anyone that actually purchased the game be cleared immediately so this has no effect on anyone who is legitimately trying to purchase/play the game?

@BigDaddyTool said:

@FateOfNever: I don't think you understand what the phrase "blowing out of proportion" actually means. It insinuates that I am making the problem seem much worse than it is, which I have not done. Everything I stated in my original post is true, and there was no hyperbole. I'm not some manipulative troll looking to get the GB users angry at Blizzard, I was just relaying the information and expressing my opinion.

You got me, I didn't include the bit about how the Stater period could be shorter than 72 hours, but I fail to see how that changes the fact that if you buy the game from Blizzard they are making you wait until you can access the full game.

Let me highlight some sections for you.

It insinuates that I am making the problem seem much worse than it is, which I have not done.

followed by

You got me, I didn't include the bit about how the Stater period could be shorter than 72 hours

And by neglecting to mention that it applies only to digital copies of the game.

So, you state that

Blizzard has decided that everyone who purchases the game will be limited to the 'Starter Edition' for 72 hours.

That's not true. That is a false statement. Everyone who purchases the digital copy of the game is limited to the starter edition for however long it takes your payment to clear which can be up to 3 days. That is different than everyone that purchases the game is locked into the starter edition strictly for 72 hours.

So you are offering half truths and withholding information to make the problem seem worse than it is. Regardless of how bad the problem may be with everything still accounted for, you are still withholding information in your original post to make the problem seem worse than it is. Thus, you are blowing it out of proportion.

I bought the game last night, and I was wondering if anyone knows if there is a way to tell when you actually have access to the full game (I'm hoping for less than a 72 hour wait, obviously I could just wait three days and know for sure). On my battlenet account it says that the game is active, but when I kill the King boss dude it says I need to upgrade my account.

Blizzard could have just said that you cannot play the game until your payment has been approved. That would have prevented most of this "controversy".

Another day, another validation that my decision to not purchase this game is the correct one.

@spazmaster666 said:

Blizzard could have just said that you cannot play the game until your payment has been approved. That would have prevented most of this "controversy".

Yeah, giving you access to the first 13 levels actually might have hurt them in this case because people are taking it the wrong way.

@Barrock said:

@MariachiMacabre said:

@MikkaQ

Aww how nice of Blizzard to simulate the experience of those who bought and tried to play Diablo within the first 3 days of release.

Now even those late to the party can join in the fun of not playing the game they just bought. See? What a great company, no one misses out.

Except it only limits you until your payment clears to make sure you've actually PAID for the product, so for most people the payment will clear before the game is finished downloading.

Wouldn't anyone that actually purchased the game be cleared immediately so this has no effect on anyone who is legitimately trying to purchase/play the game?

I believe as soon as you've purchased the game it allows you to download it while it tries to clear your payment. At least that's what Blizzard seems to be saying.

If you pay $60 for a game, does blizzard really need to presume you're up to no good? If I pay $60, shouldn't I get the benefit of the doubt, until I screw up?

I understand putting restrictions on accounts in games where you can freely create new ones, but that's a lot of money to spent just to troll and hack. Also the fact that it doesn't apply to hard copies really makes no sense.

I still intend to buy the game when I get some extra ducats, but yeah, I don't really know how this helps safeguarding against anything.

@jasonefmonk said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

This only affects players who purchase the digital version, which is insanely overpriced anyway.

It's the same price as the box ... what about that is overpriced?

This is an odd move, I bought the physical copy out of necessity but the Auction House delay and things like this make me glad I did. What's the benefit on Blizzard's end?

Considering I saved like £15 by buying the physical edition, I win 2x. And you're wrong.

@WinterSnowblind said:

@jasonefmonk said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

This only affects players who purchase the digital version, which is insanely overpriced anyway.

It's the same price as the box ... what about that is overpriced?

This is an odd move, I bought the physical copy out of necessity but the Auction House delay and things like this make me glad I did. What's the benefit on Blizzard's end?

Don't know about the US, but the digital version over here costs £45 as opposed to the £25-30 you can get it from online retailers for.

I'm not defending Blizzard here, I just thought it was a pretty important piece of information that the OP left out.

Ah, well I can only say that in Canada and the US the game is priced at $60USD or CAD from Battle.Net, and is the same from Amazon or in retail boxes in both countries. These discounts from online retailers are not likely from Activision/Blizzard, and is probably a loss leader to attract business.