UPDATE: Blizzard community manager Micah "Bashiok" Whipple has sought to allay concerns that the changes outlined by Jay Wilson will result in significant delays.

In an update on the Blizzard forums, Bashiok writes, "Keep in mind everything detailed in the article today is already in the game, and most of it is complete. Once you get Patch 10 and see that, I think it may sink in that these aren't theoretical changes we're still working on, they're changes we've completed. Obviously the potion button still needs a little work to hook it up correctly, and the character attribute changes need to be balanced and tested for itemization throughout the game, but overall these are changes we've already made."

"I do not intend to impress that we're close to release, or infer any such "we're <-- this --> done" kind of statement, but most of these are fairly straightforward changes that are already complete and implemented. We do have more changes, skills and runes, affixes to add, more items, Battle.net features, testing, testing, and more testing etc. to do so we're obviously still not there yet, but none of the changes detailed today are theoretical or yet to be implemented."

ORIGINAL: Jay Wilson, Diablo III Game Director, has revealed a number of substantial changes to Diablo III based on feedback captured from the ongoing beta.

Scrolls of Identification have been removed from the game, changing the basic gameplay mechanic for remote item identification in place since the original Diablo debuted in 1997. Instead, players will be able to cast a short spell and automatically identify any item.

According to Wilson: "We love the double-discovery of finding a present and then unwrapping it, but we don't think it requires a physical item you have to find and keep in your bags to get the same effect."

Gone too is the Mystic Artisan. This NPC had originally been slated to join the player's caravan, however Blizzard now feel that the Mystic "...wasn’t adding anything to our customization system."

Due to player testing revealing the flexibility of the Stone of Recall, the Cauldron of Jordan and Nephalem Cube will also be removed from the final game.

Wilson reveals these two item modifiers "...were implemented to allow for salvaging and selling items when there was no quick and easy way to return to town. Now that the Stone of Recall exists, we found that keeping the Cauldron and Cube in the game detracted from the benefits of returning to town to sell items, salvage, craft, and interact with the townsfolk."

In addition, the development team are moving the fifth quick slot button in order to designate it as a dedicated potion button, and are working to implement new changes to the skills and rune systems prior to the release date.