“Diablo 3,” an action role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment, is viciously addictive in a peculiar way.

When I purchased the much-hyped package priced at 55,000 won ($48) about two months ago, I was vaguely aware that stepping into the dark fantasy world of the Diablo franchise would require some energy and time.

It turned out that what is needed is actually a diabolical amount of patience and persistence, as well as sheer luck to stay alive in the virtual hack-and-slash world of “Diablo 3.” I chose the Wizard class, and it was fun to build it up to the 60th level. But the fun time ended right there.

“Diablo 3” has four gameplay levels: normal, nightmare, hell and inferno. Even if your character reaches the highest level of 60, survival is not guaranteed in the inferno stage, when the difficulty level suddenly skyrockets. Even a seemingly benign blow from a tiny monster could kill the novice character instantly, so my level of frustration rose accordingly.

The notorious inferno stage has four acts and beginners usually get stuck in Act 1. After endless “farming” (searching for valuable game items), I wanted to move on to Act 2, but realized my cheap items were not good enough.

There are two ways to upgrade a character’s abilities: picking up valuable items in the course of battles with monsters, or purchasing the items on the official Auction House provided by Blizzard.

Novice players, however, are likely to find working out the optimal combination of items to boost the character’s attack and defense capabilities extremely complex. A variety of factors are at work, and players should “study” efficient combinations to make the most out of their Auction House purchases.

I struggled to finish Act 1 for almost a month and noticed that there were many beginner players like me ― a group of adult players with no gaming skills to begin with, yet want to advance their characters to the next level and enjoy the game with other friends.

At this critical juncture, the majority of struggling game players seek help at online communities. Inven, a huge gaming community that offers gameplay tips, item trade listings and other information, is the preferred hangout.

“Diablo 3” has five character classes: Witch Doctor, Barbarian, Wizard, Monk and Demon Hunter. On Inven’s “Diablo 3” community, there are three classes: upper, middle and lower. If your character can defeat powerful monsters in Act 3 with ease thanks to your pricey items and weapons, you belong to the upper class. If your character continues to pick up nearly useless items in Act 1 and fails to advance to Act 2 or Act 3, you are shunned by other players in the cooperative mode.

For “Diablo 3” players, upgrading your character’s ability involves grabbing more powerful ― and pricier ― items. At community sites, users naturally help each other in selecting items and setting up a route for more efficient farming. But, as with real society, there are good and bad people in the “Diablo” world.

Some upper-level players often give away good items to beginners, so others can catch up and join the mainstream group to enjoy the game to the fullest.

But there are plenty of scammers and thieves who target unsuspecting beginners. For instance, I was approached on the game by a stranger who was overly kind. Minutes later, he wanted to borrow one of my items, just to try it out. I politely declined and he left right away. I was playing cautious in case he wanted to just take off with my item and block me from his friends list. This type of fraud is quite common, so beginners should be careful when they interact with other players.

“Diablo 3” character theft is also widespread; dozens of such cases where players see their items robbed by hackers are reported on game community websites daily. The most vulnerable place is Internet cafes, whose anti-virus systems are outdated and firewalls are compromised.

Reading tips about other players’ strategies and buildup skills is also recommended for a quicker upgrade. But players should eventually spend plenty of their precious free time to make it to Act 3 and Act 4 ― except for those who happen to retrieve a fabulously rare item that sells for a huge amount of in-game money.

This get-rich-quick fantasy involving an element of luck explains why “Diablo 3” is deeply addictive. You’ll never know when you hit the jackpot, so the majority of players keep slashing monsters and picking up items on the battlefield with their fingers crossed.

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldcorp.com)