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Blizzard Entertainment recently posted a new preview of the upcoming 1.07 patch for its fantasy action RPG, Diablo III. The update will include a variety of changes and additions including dueling, class updates, crafting additions, monster power changes, monster affix changes, and other "quality of life" improvements.

The Scorched Chapel: Dueling

As Jay discussed in his PvP update, patch 1.0.7 will introduce dueling, allowing players to test their mettle against fellow Nephalem. Here's a quick rundown of how dueling will work in Diablo III as well as some insight into our design philosophy for the system.

How it Works:

• To duel another player, you’ll need to speak with Nek the Brawler at the inn in New Tristram
  
• Speaking with Nek will take you and your party to the Scorched Chapel, a new zone designed specifically for player combat
  
• This zone has custom geometry and features four different areas: the church, the graveyard, the river, and the lake
  
• Dueling currently supports up to four players in a Free-For-All format, which means you can battle your friends either one-on-one, three-player FFA, or a full four-player FFA
  
• Our intent is to provide players a safe, opt-in location where they can fight one another for bragging rights (or maybe science) without the potential for griefing as it existed in Diablo II.

The game doesn't keep score and there are no objectives. We wanted dueling to be as simple and straightforward as possible, so we created a minimalist system -- we know that even without rewards and objectives, some players just want to beat each other up. Some matchups may be one-sided, and we don't expect that battles will be necessarily balanced. But that's okay, because dueling in Diablo III is more about kicking ass and taking names in a no-holds-barred sort of way, and this design certainly allows you to accomplish that.

Diablo III Patch 1.07 Preview

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