Blizzard have been busy demonstrating Diablo III to an eager crowd at the Cologne GamesCom event this week, and have even found time to release new information, screenshots and a gameplay video.

The most important addition appears to be the NPC "Artisan" character, who requires you to gain their trust before they will provide assistance.

Each Artisan has certain abilities, and are capable of joining you rather than simply strolling about town. The Blacksmith can add gems to weapon sockets, as well as repair weapons, for example. The Mystic is responsible for magic, and will provide enchanting, and the Jeweller can combine items - essentially taking the role of a wandering Horadric Cube. The Artisans have their own levelling system, and despite being allied to you will still require a payment of gold to perform services.

 

Blizzard have also revealed that there are currently five quality levels for gems, providing up to 14 levels of quality when they are combined.

In addition, the following scraps of information have been either revealed or confirmed;

 

• Town portals will not appear in the game, although waypoints will be included.
• You can disassemble items without needing to return to a city.
• The inclusion of a Hardcore mode has been confirmed.
• No plans for a console version.
• A shared inventory system is still being considered.
• Artisans will be able to specialise on particular abilities with particular items, and can be retrained.
• Set items will be included.
• The number of sockets per item will be determined by item-level, as in Diablo II.
• As seen in the screenshots, armour, dagger, and a shield occupy the same space.
• A new HUD has appeared on the minimap.
• Still no indication of any release date window.

We've included the new screenshots below, as well as the GamesCom Artisan reveal trailer;