Blizzard har beslutat att döpa om den kommande duell-funktionen i Diablo 3 från duellering till brawling. Anledningen till namnbytet är att PvP-zonen inte är en renodlad arena för dueller utan är tänkt att vara ett ostrukturerat och enkelt sätt för spelare att puckla på varandra. Dessa brawls, som på svenska kan översättas till bråk, stödjer strider mellan upp till fyra spelare.

Brawling kommer att införas i Diablo 3 i samband med patch 1.0.7, som för närvarande är tillgänglig på den offentliga testservern. Releasedatumet för patchen har ännu inte meddelats, men kan komma att ske så tidigt som nästa vecka.

After reviewing feedback from the PTR, we’ve decided to rename dueling to brawling—a title we feel is much more fitting for the system. Rather than wait to announce this in the official patch notes, we wanted to let players know ahead of time, in part to reduce confusion and in part to explain the reasons behind the change. 

While the system we designed for 1.0.7 was developed in order to give players a fun way to beat each other up in Diablo III, we’ve come to realize that ”dueling” wasn’t the best name for it. Sure, it allows players to pummel, stomp, immolate, and hex fellow Nephalem (over and over again, if they so choose), but it’s not a traditional one-on-one duel. It’s something much more wild and open-ended, where you can engage in 3-person and even 4-person free-for-all skirmishes with few restrictions. The system is all about letting players fight for the sake of fighting—you don’t need to worry about objectives, rewards, or scoring, and that’s exactly what we love about it. But again, that’s not really dueling; it’s brawling! 

There’s a lot of power in a name, and we think that the idea of a brawl more accurately describes the system we created. Heck, the NPC we added is even called Nek theBrawler, so we feel this re-branding must have been foretold in one of Deckard Cain’s prophecies. :)

This change will be reflected in the patch notes, as well as in all related game text fields once 1.0.7 ships. We’ve no further changes planned for brawling at this time, but we’re excited to see what kind of havoc players will wreak in the Scorched Chapel once the patch is released.