For what it's worth, they said the same thing about maps in SC II (that there would be a marketplace to buy/sell maps), but it didn't appear in the final version of the game.
About character names, it will probably work like in SC II, where multiple people can have the same name (I haven't followed D3 so someone correct me if I'm wrong). SCII has more than 10 characters per name though.
If SCII always required an online connection then it's obvious that D3 would. That shouldn't have surprised anyone...
I'll have to wait until the beta before I can comment on the skill system. No real reason to completely can the idea of getting a game before even playing the beta, right?
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