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Although many fans were disappointed by the experience offered in Diablo 3, developer Blizzard is continuing along their release track much like they do with every other major title. Part of that track presumably includes several major expansions for Diablo 3 the first of which has been revealed today.

This first expansion for Diablo 3 is titled Reaper of Souls and includes all the content fans of the main game expect: new environments, new monsters, new experiences, and a new class. To give fans a taste of what's in store for them in Reaper of Souls, Blizzard has released the expansion's opening cinematic as well as a gameplay teaser trailer.

The opening cinematic (seen above) sets up the story for Reaper of Souls, which focuses on the character of Malthael, the fallen Archangel of Wisdom who was last seen at the end of Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction. In Reaper of Souls, Malthael has returned as the Angel of Death and has stolen the Black Soulstone. It is up to the player, then, to track down Malthael and reclaim the Soulstone.

In addition to an all new quest and storyline, Reaper of Souls also introduces new environments to explore, monsters to battle, and a new class, The Crusader, to level.  The Crusader class is a walking brute that wears heavy armor and wields a wide variety of weapons. Blizzard bills the class as a walking tank who can use battle magic to strengthen allies and weaken foes.

Check out The Crusader in action:

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Speaking of levels, Reaper of Souls increases the level cap up to 70 and adds new spells, abilities, and end-game character advancement for the existing Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard, and Monk characters. So, those gamers who want to continue to roll with their vanilla class will have plenty of new content to unlock as they level. How satisfying those elements will be versus restarting a new class like The Crusader is unclear, but at least Blizzard is making sure no area is left untouched by expansion content.

Additionally, Reaper of Souls significantly upgrades the Paragon progression system for players who might have thought that experience was lacking. The expansion also includes two new game modes, Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials. While we can guess about the nature of these two modes and what they will ask players to do based on their names, Blizzard hasn't provided any concrete details about them.

Moreover, Blizzard has not revealed whether the Reaper of Souls expansion is coming to the console versions of Diablo 3, which are slated to release later this year. We'd suspect that if they sell as well as the PC version, which is the fastest selling PC game ever, then Blizzard would have no problem porting "Reaper" to any platform.

While the launch and subsequent fan reception to Diablo 3 was less than ideal, Blizzard clearly isn't about to let their dungeon crawler fade into the ether. Instead they are unveiling new content, some of which borrows from Diablo 2's lore, and trying to keep the experience going for loyal fans.

What do you think of the Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls expansion? Does it sound like something you would be interested in? Will you return to the world of Diablo to try out the new content?

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls currently has no release date.