I had access to three skills from any tier at the time, so I could just as easily have switched out three low-level mass-kill spells for three higher-level single-target-focused spells. BAD: Skills are now presto-change-o! The downside of instantly reconfigurable skills is that there's less character customisation. Let's face it, your level 12 mage is going to be the exact same as everyone else's level 12 mage. Whether this is a drawback for you personally will depend on how much your gameplay is about game-style -- are you a melee-fighter or a ranged-weapon geek? -- and how much about character development. At least one of my friends hates the new skills setup enough to avoid D3 -- for a month or so, at least. GOOD: Crafting items has a new mechanic! You would have been used to the whole gems, runes and sockets rigamarole, if you played Diablo II . In fact, some wags dubbed it 'Barbie 2', because of the massive amount of gem collecting needed to make higher powered items. We've been told that gems and runestones will reappear in D3, but Diablo III also adds a new round of Barbie-styling. In this case, however, it requires breaking your toys. If you pull apart items, you get basic craft pieces, called "Scraps". If you disassemble magic items, you get a craft piece and a magic piece, called subtle essence" , in essence. You can take these along to a blacksmith to craft into special items for you, with