"We do expect there to be a certain amount of... runs to get items, but we wanted players to do it over a lot more content," Wilson said. "We're trying to make sure that there's a lot more opportunities for players to see a lot more variety." Wilson added that if player behavior does eventually lead to tightly focused runs in Diablo III, the developer may make adjustments for that by encouraging (and rewarding) players for having more diverse replays.
Inferno difficulty naturally comes with rewards beyond sightseeing, Wilson says. Some armor, weapons and items will be exclusive to Inferno (while other highly coveted items will drop more frequently at that level). Some of the game's Runestones, the socketable items that modify player skills and spells, are also found only in Inferno, offering all new abilities to those willing to run the risk of playing at the top tier difficulty—or willing to pay for the good stuff in Diablo III's auction house.
Those coveted, highest-of-high-level items, weapons and armor sets will be visually distinct from the versions available to players of lower difficulty levels (Normal, Nightmare and Hell), Wilson says. While Diablo II recycled much of that game's art assets for powerful, late game gear, Blizzard will give players brand-new art for Inferno-level loot in Diablo III. It should be patently obvious, visually, when someone is sporting elite items that were dropped during
