UPDATE (8/21/12): When Blizzard said yesterday that 1.0.4 patch launch details would be coming "In the days ahead," it apparently meant "tomorrow." North American game servers are currently down as Blizzard deploys the patch, which is expected to be available to players around 1pm Pacific time (European and Asian servers will get the update tomorrow). While you wait for the game to come back, you can pore over the detailed patch notes and various class-based changes that will be part of the massive update.

ORIGINAL STORY

Even the most devoted Diablo III fanatic will probably have a hard time arguing that the game is as compelling once you've reached the level 60 cap and are stuck looking for increasingly rare legendary gear just to get your stat advancement fix. Those late game junkies won't have to suffer through withdrawal much longer, though, as Blizzard has announced a new Paragon system that adds 100 more levels of potential character advancement on top of the current cap.

With the release of the upcoming 1.0.4 patch, level 60 characters in Diablo III will start earning experience towards a new set of "Paragon levels" with each monster they kill. Besides upgrading characters stats like standard levels, each Paragon level will also increase your character's ability to find gold and magical items by three percent. That should help prevent what Blizzard calls the "demoralizing" problem of playing for hours without finding any good items, and prevent players from having to resort to tactics like "Magic Find gear swapping" just to find the best loot. Paragon levelers will also get "a distinctive increasingly impressive border" around their character portrait for every ten levels they earn.

The Paragon system should extend the game significantly for Diablo III completionists; Blizzard says reaching the top levels "approximates the long-term time investment required to get a level 99 character in Diablo II." It's definitely in Blizzard's best interest to give its most devoted players some new goals to shoot for, since that's the only way its going to keep making money through the continuing revenue stream of the game's real-money auction house.

The 1.0.4 update will also come with a number of general balancing and class-based changes for the game, including new legendary items that are more unique and flavorful, and timing changes that should make it easier to efficiently "farm" the game's hardest enemies. Blizzard hasn't revealed when the new patch will hit, but an official launch announcement is being planned "in the days ahead."