Sanctuary World Map

Finally, a map for Diablo. Apart from being necessary, this will benefit a lot of aspects of the game. To start with, waypoints will not be as linear and there's potential for more central zones. In Diablo 2, you would start in town and would clear one area after the next towards the end of the level, following the only path possible. I expect to see more options for adventurers in Diablo 3. However, more streamline players (rushers) will be able to stick to the skeleton of the story and avoid some pesky areas. More lenient and extensive questing would make replaying the game more enjoyable. This world map is exciting, the fact that it is released with the announcement leads us to believe they intend to make this such a large game that you need a map.

With at least 15 cities, it looks like this will be a longer game, or at least much more divided. Between the world map, artwork, and screenshots, it looks like there will be a full array of environments from lush to barren, untainted to defiled, and vibrant to callous.