Diablo III update to add 100 Paragon levels

Blizzard have announced that they’re slotting in a whole new “extended progression system” for Diablo III players who have already maxed the regular level 60 cap in the game.

The new Paragon system introduces an additional 100 Paragon levels, which start counting after level 60.

“We understand that some players feel frustrated once they hit level 60 because they no longer feel like they’re making progress,” wrote game director Jay Wilson in a blog post on Battle.net.

“It can be demoralizing to play for an hour, not get any drops, and also be out a big chunk of gold from repair costs. Your play session may not only end without an upgrade, it can wind up being a net loss. Everyone wants to feel like they’re making some progress when they log in, even if they don’t get that new sword.”

Each Paragon level increments core stats “in amounts similar to what you’d gain from a normal level”, as well as 3% Magic Find and 3% Gold Find. But much more importantly, Paragon levels will also add a “distinctive increasingly-impressive border” surrounding your character portrait, so everybody instantly knows just how much time you spend clicking on stuff.

Skulls make everything 100% more hardcore, FACT.

“To support the new system, Nephalem Valor (NV) will now also provide a 15% experience bonus per stack, applicable toward Paragon levels,” explained Wilson. “The first Paragon level should take about as long as it took most players to get from level 59 to 60, and the experience requirement will rise from there. The time to reach the upper Paragon levels approximates the long-term time investment required to get a level 99 character in Diablo II.”

The Paragon system will be included in the Diablo III 1.0.4 update, although no launch date has been confirmed.