Diablo 4’s Quarterly Updates have been a great way for fans to stay in touch with Blizzard’s plans, and the latest one this month featured a class-focused trailer for the game’s final playable character, the Necromancer. Blizzard talked about what its plans are for whenDiablo 4comes out, as well as what is going to happen in the long run. SomeDiablofans have been skeptical about the series' fourth installment after various controversies surrounding Blizzard’sDiablo Immortal, a mobile adaptation of the ARPG.
The main problem withDiablo Immortalwas and still is its predatory monetization, which is built with classic gacha games in mind and offers randomized rewards to those who purchase loot with real money. This drew backlash becauseDiablofans didn’t want a game where spending ridiculous amounts of money was the main way of getting the best gear, leading to a lot more skepticism aboutDiablo 4. Still, Blizzard’s recent statement seems to be self-aware, making it clear thatDiablo 4will be a one-time purchase with no ways to spend money and get in-game items or experience. Yet there might be another problem with its design philosophy.
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Why Diablo 4 Forcing Players to Make New Characters May Be Bad
Much like one of its biggest competitors,Path of Exile,Diablo 4is built with a live-service model in mindthat includes plans for all sorts of post-launch content over four seasons per-year. With it come new enemies, maps, items to acquire, and a general refresh of the game’s meta, allowing players new and old to jump into the action.
To experience a new season,Diablo 4playerswill need to create a new character and start from scratch, which is the same approach that other ARPGs have adopted over the years. This doesn’t mean that old characters will be deleted with all progression lost, as Blizzard is planning on moving everything to the so-called Eternal Realm: an endless season where everything is stored and players can keep collecting gear. However, the new content from each season won’t be available in the Eternal Realm, and the only way to experience it is to start fresh.
While this may be interesting to test new builds and items once the meta changes, it requires a lot of dedication to a game that will probably not undergo dramatic modifications from one season to the next.Diablo 4’s core gameplay loopwon’t be altered in significant enough ways to make every season a completely diverse experience, even though the live-service model promises to do something of the sort. The game could become stale for players who go through every season, despite new content being added frequently.
According to the update,Diablo 4is getting rid of old Blizzard habitsthat tries to make every release come with some form of purchaseable DLC, but a bigger problem may arise for those who don’t want to engage with a continuous loop that resets their progress. Having to start from scratch with each season is a commitment, and while this strategy is likely aimed at making the game more appealing with frequent patches, investing time and resources into a character that is not sticking around could be disheartening. Blizzard’s intentions withDiablo 4seem good, but the game might need more than extra layers of decor to stand out.
Diablo 4releases in 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
