A few minor details I thought I would share before it goes public:
- The new story will be in place to fit with the new lore.
- The quest text will be displayed on screen when you enter the zone, so you won't have to open the quest journal to read it, though it will still be there if you want to reference it. The lore will be presented as dialogue from the town NPC of each act.
- After some tough deliberation I have decided that the story will be completely linear, but I think this is the right decision for this particular game. This game isn't trying to be Skyrim, exactly. I understand that this will be a sore spot for some and this limits the player's options, but this comes with benefits as well. It makes the game easier to understand for new players. It makes it easier to weave all of these diverse zones into the storyline. It also makes every zone matter whereas open-world design, by necessity, subordinates some of your content.
- Since the quests will be mandatory, I am removing the permanent quest bonuses since there's no reason to incentivize completing quests. You will still receive talent bonuses for defeating four specific bosses on each difficulty.
- To help compensate for this nerf, the resist all penalty on higher difficulties will be significantly reduced.
- New characters will now start in Edenburg along with an introduction to the story and Miranda.
- I am adding a portal mechanic to easily click and navigate to the next zone when you complete a quest. This just makes life easier and keep the gameplay "flow" going, particularly for tablet players.

Some related discussion I found on reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/ ... _the_same/

I'm fine with the linear nature, it fits the gameplay I feel.

Everything else sounds fine as well to me. I have no complaints.