Necro was too imba in D2...so they have just deleted him....
They can balance classes easily.
A class too powerful? Just weaken the skills or stats. Too weak? Strengthen the skills or stats.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if they kept all the D2 classes back, even if they had nearly the same skill set.
Though, the new classes seem like a spiritual successor to the D2 classes.
Witch Doctor = Necromancer
Wizard = Sorceress
I feel like "5 classes" is a little "low" for D3. I mean, D1 had 3, D2 had 5, D3 should have at least 7 classes.
The gap between D1 and D2 is 3 years. Gap between D2 and D3 is 9+ years. So I DEMAND at least 7 classes but if they have 5, that'd be fine IF the classes have more "quality" than the D2 classes.
Well, it depends whether on how many abilities each class gets:
1. If each class has more abilities than D2 classes, that'd be fine.
2. If each class has more "long lasting" abilities than D2 classes, that'd also be fine. For example, who gets and maxes out Frost Nova on sorceress? Also, how about lightning? They're just abilities that become quickly obsolete by newer abilities.
3. If there is some new "fancy" skill system in D3(like being able to combine skills or something), that's also be fine.
Anyway, I'll just have to wait and see what new features in D3 are, besides new story/characters, dungeons, and classes before deciding whether 5 classes is a too little or not.
What form that support will take is still being discussed, but we are being careful to avoid features that can easily lead to griefing, such as the ability to go hostile at will.
I always thought it was odd that they gave the ability for players to attack on will in D1 and D2.
They should have done a "both players accept dueling" method instead(which it sounds like they're doing for D3 maybe).
Another odd thing is why did they make it so when you kill Cow King, you can't create Secret Cow Level portal anymore? I don't really get that, besides annoying people and making the Cow King items more rarer(cow king items are mediocre compared to other high level items though).