Diablo III Preview

The editors at Joystiq are next in line with a hands-on, BlizzCon-based preview of Blizzard's third Diablo installment.
Strategies seem like they will be very important for the Monk too, because he's not as tough as the Barbarian. While he's certainly capable of dishing out damage, he's no tank. Unlike the Barbarian, the Monk is fairly frail. Since nearly all of his attacks require you to be extremely close to the enemy, you'll need to adjust tactics in order to keep foes manageable. If not, you'll quickly find yourself surrounded -- and then dead.

And there are plenty of enemies to surround you. The area I played was a desert outside the city of Alcarnus -- think the area outside of Lut Gholein in Diablo II. The region played host to a menagerie of demons and beasts, including massive sword-wielding warriors, lizards that swim through the sand like sharks and whirling dervishes -- floating specters that spin, slashing my hero with blades at the end of their long robes. Clever use of skills are needed to take them all out, especially against monsters with special attributes. One monster I encountered healed himself every time he struck, which made him very difficutl to dispatch, especially when I was surrounded by other baddies too. Protip: The Seven-Sided Strike is a great way to break up a crowd.