Diablo III - Crusader

• Game: Diablo 3 - Reaper of Souls expansion
• Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
• Engine: Axe Engine
• Game Mode: 1-4 players co-op or PvP

• Class balance
• Scripting (abilities & combat)
• Leading playtests
• Exploit detection & resolution

Overview

I worked on the Crusader class, a melee focused defensive hero who specializes in holy magic and demon slaying. They leap into battle shielding their allies from harm while unleashing devastating holy attacks to demolish hordes of demons.

My Role

I worked as the QA Lead for all Character, Combat, and Quest related features for Diablo III. With the Reaper of Souls expansion being developed, I spent most of my time working on the new Crusader class. In Alpha testing, I found that Crusader abilities were going against Diablo's core pillar of "fast-paced gameplay" and weren't creating our desired experience; by encouraging a playstyle built around long cooldowns. Players were often unable to attack for 30-60 seconds and were resented in multiplayer games because other players felt like they weren't contributing.

To address this problem, I set up several playtests with both the QA and development teams, compiled a list of the offending abilities, and made a spreadsheet comparing them to similar abilities from other classes. Next, I used Diablo's Axe editor to script changes to several of these abilities on my local build showcasing what a fast paced Crusader could look and feel like. Then I presented these findings to the class designers and we worked together to redesign about 60% of the Crusader's abilities. I also took this time to identify and propose changes to several of the passive abilities that were over performing and felt like mandatory picks. In the end the changes to the Crusader were a great success. The class felt much smoother to play, and was a much better fit to the fantasy we promised our players.