Diablo 4is next in line in theDiabloseries and development so far seems to be going smoothly. With each quarterly blog update, Blizzard sheds more light onDiablo 4’sdevelopment with the last quarterly update focused on its art direction, which revealed the ability to create the look of a player’s class, a first for the series. Fans of theDiabloseries holdsDiablo 2in high regard as the peak standard for ARPG quality, which some fans feel was lost inDiablo 3. With the art direction, itemization, and PVP seemingly closer in design and feel toDiablo 2than its immediate predecessorDiablo 3, fans have high hopes for this sequel.
Diablo 3came out in 2012 to mixed reception with new players appreciating the smooth quality of gameplay, and old players lambasting questionable features such as the real money auction house and the regular auction house. To many, they felt as thoughBlizzard missed the mark withDiablo 3, though Blizzard has continued to improve the game since its launch, many fans won’t touch the game anymore and simply stick withDiablo 2to get their loot fix. Thankfully,Diablo 2: Resurrectedseems to be the remaster fans have always wanted, so even ifDiablo 4doesn’t learn fromDiablo 3’smistakes,Diablo 2will be more accessible now than ever before.
RELATED:Diablo 4: Demon Hunter Fans Could Still Get the Best of Both Worlds
How Fans are Shaping Diablo’s Future
It has been almost 10 years at this point sinceDiablo 3has come out, and though it wasn’t received very well from fans of the long-spanning series,Diablo 3still has a lot to offer. Namely, the mistakes and concerns that players have voiced over the years since its release will be something that Blizzard will look to discern so as to create a more successful entry. This is evident in theDiablo 4quarterly blog updatesas fans of the series have voiced their concerns over potential game mechanics, and systems that were in place initially have been reworked or simply removed. This means that Blizzard is listening to its fans and hopefully a compromise between the game’s direction and what fans want will be met.
While fans might think they know what they want or what might be good forDiablo, Blizzard has to be careful that it doesn’t create an imbalance of game systems that don’t work together that later end up needing to be patched or fixed. Thankfully the fanbase for theDiabloseries is pretty vocal and unified when it comes towhat makes a goodDiablogame.Diabloat its core is about the gameplay loop of killing monsters, acquiring loot, and making a character stronger to take on stronger monsters to find better loot,Diablo 3made a few mistakes that were counterintuitive to this gameplay loop and it suffered as a result.
DuringDiablo 3’searly days, it launched with both an item auction house, similar in scope toWorld of Warcraft’s auction house, and a real-money auction house where players could spend real money for items. This was immediately met with scrutiny, as the game became more about watching for perfect items on the auction house than actually playing the game. Many builds needed specific pieces of gear to be viable in later stages of the game that instead of farming for it, players would simply browse the auction house and flip items or even spend real money to get what they needed. This took the gameplay out of the game, and eventually, Blizzard realized this was a mistake, and removed both auction houses before its first expansion.
RELATED:Diablo 4 Has a Lot of Lore to Build on
Diablo 3’s Fundamental Issues
WhenDiablo 3’sReaper of Soulsexpansion was released, many systems in place were overhauled and reworked to create a better more unified experience for players. This ended up with theDiablo 3that players are familiar with today, with minor additions or tweaks toDiablo 3’ssystems coming in periodically such as the Follower rework and the addition of Ethereal items. Though many fans would agree thatDiablo 3is in a better state now than it was before, for many fansDiablo 3doesn’t have the same satisfying staying powerthatDiablo 2has, and fans are hopingDiablo 4will fix this.
One major problem forDiablo 3is the lack of interesting items for players to find. If a player wants to use a build that is viable in any end-game content, they will need to more likely equip a Set of gear. The rarities inDiablo 3go from Common, Magic, Rare, Legendary, Set, and most recently Ethereal. Very quickly a character will begin equipping Rare and Legendary items but it is the Set items that will allow a player’s abilities to go beyond what is normally possible. Instead of a player deciding how they want to play their character, and then finding gear to facilitate that, they are instead forced to play a certain way due to the limited viability of the available gear. This is a problem thatDiablo 2didn’t have andDiablo 4looks to solveby introducing compromises for each rarity of items so that players don’t simply flock to the highest tier of equipment.
This goes back to the gameplay loop that fans of theDiabloseries crave, that games likePath of ExileandGrim Dawndo so well.Diablo 3players will quickly find all the gear they need for a build they decide to play, and the only gear that they find which will be an upgrade is the same gear with better-rolled stats. Another aspect ofDiablo 3is the lack of player choice in the form of their character progression. A player can look on the in-game leaderboard for their class, and swap their skills and runes and gear to match that of the best players with little trouble. With the ability to quickly swap skills and runes, there is no incentive for a player to create a secondBarbarian or Wizard inDiablo 3.
Diablo 4does away with this by allowing players to once again allocate stat points, which not only affect each class differently but comes with secondary attributes as well. A class’s skills might change in characteristics if certain stat thresholds are reached, which is huge for build diversity.Diablo 3made the mistake of making each weapon and element no different from each other, basically a stat stick with no limitations on a character’s ability to use a skill or not. If a character equips daggers, it can still use a ground slamming ability despite not really making much sense.Diablo 4does away with this oversimplification of weaponsby reintroducing weapon types that certain skills will require if they are to be used.
Diablo 3had many minor issues that culminated into avastly different game thanDiablo 2was, not to mention its more colorful art style. WhileDiablo 3is by no means a weak game on the whole, for aDiablogame for many fans it falls short of the goalpost.Diablo 3can be considered an Arcade RPG as it is more focused on the gameplay, though with a lack of the RPG substance that the series is known for. According to theDiablo 4quarterly blog updates, fans should be excited forDiablo 4as it looks to improve upon whatDiablo 3introduced while also keeping in line with what madeDiablo 2so cherished by fans.
Diablo 4is in development, with PC, PS4, and Xbox One as confirmed platforms.
