Blizzard: Hardcore Banner Decorations Were Cut From Diablo III

If you've been following Diablo III's development you may recall a time when the game's banner system was touted as being able to provide players with distinctive features based on their accomplishments with the character they used.

For instance, a character that completed Nightmare or Hell difficulty would be rewarded with an added chevron on their banner, and achievements would be tallied on a scroll hanging beside the banner. Hardcore characters would even have access to a "bones that bleed" decoration on its stand. Some of these features have since been revamped, or in the case of the aforementioned decoration, completely removed.

Diablo III's lead designer Jay Wilson explained why the decorations were cut on a tweet that has since been removed.

"We didn't like the look of them in main menus and couldn't see them well in the game," he said.

So there you have it.

Needless to say, playing the game in Hardcore mode still allows players to unlock unique sigils and accents for their banners that are otherwise impossible to get, so it's not all bad.