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Glancing at preview coverage of the crusader - Diablo 3's new class, who will arrive with the Reaper of Souls expansion - initially had me a little confused. A brooding hard-nut with a melee focus? Isn't that what the barbarian's for? I should've known, though. Five minutes playing with the closed beta leaves blood red oceans lying between each character. There's a tangible, almost textural, difference in approach here, exchanging the barbarian's seismic rock for the crusader's cold, cruel metal.
Five minutes of playing is probably long enough to hit your first level, too, which in Diablo 3 signals your first trip to the Skills sweet shop. Crusaders are born with Punish as their primary skill - a slightly underwhelming opener, although not without its charms. Punish sees you striking an enemy and gaining an increased ability to block for a short time. It's handy, for sure, but blocking's never quite as cool as blasting things to pieces, so it needs the arrival of the Roar rune a few levels later to bring it to life. To the uninitiated, runes in Diablo 3 are a bit like gems that can slot into the sockets of your skills, mixing things up in exciting ways and allowing for tantalising choices. Roar grants you the chance to "explode with fury" when blocking - and rain down plenty of fiery local damage.
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