Diablo IV will be available for playing as a beta experience eventually this month. If you’ve pre-ordered the game, you can actually get early access to it and afterwards, there will be an open beta for all users.
The beta will eventually be one of the more highlighted things to do in the gaming world. To prepare for the early access or open beta, let’s discuss some of the key components that Diablo IV is trying to do when the game is fully launched on June 6.
This game is easily one of the most anticipated titles of this year. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a new entry to the Diablo series, and it’s also going to be an ambitious game at the same time too.
I decided to pick out eight important details that one must know about Diablo IV if you haven’t been keeping up with the news. Eight of these details are definitely going to you an idea of what kind of game that Diablo IV is striving to be.
And these details will keep you informed and possibly excited for the full release when it releases in June.
Open World Setting
This will be the biggest Diablo title to date. Expect to see a lot of areas that one can travel and explore through. Expect to see many different types of landscapes with their own unique identities. I personally cannot wait how Diablo is going to pull off its open world experiences. Open World action role playing games aren’t technically new; the Sacred series has been doing this type of stuff for a while. However, it’s certainly going to be a new thing for the Diablo series to tackle its open world elements. Hopefully, the game will reward us with some awesome loot while doing optional quests that feels well thought out.
A glimpse of Diablo IV’s open world.
Diablo IV promises to introduce “World Bosses” for its open world experience. The name is self explanatory, these bosses will be encountered while exploring the game’s world, and it is an event that one can participate with a group. The upcoming early access and open beta will include one of the bosses.
A Return to Roots
If you pay close attention to Diablo IV’s art style, it’s a game that’s trying to make those forget that Diablo III exists. That particular Diablo title has gotten many criticism for its cartoony art style which the fourth entry will completely dodge that route and go back to the dark and grim direction that Diablo has been known for. Rod Fergusson from Blizzard has stated that Diablo IV’s art direction is more inspired by the original game.
“I like to use the formula that it feels it’s the dark tone of Diablo 1, it’s the progression of Diablo II, it’s the visceral combat of Diablo III,” Fergusson said.
Expect to see things that’ll probably give kids nightmares, and that is something to look forward while immersing the world. Hopefully, some of these environments will wow us like the first time we saw the Chaos Sanctuary in Diablo II.
Four Player Co-Op
For those who are avid Diablo II players might find this detail disappointing. It is a downgrade from having eight players to four players, but I still think a four player cooperative experience is decent enough. Maybe, the developers are trying to balance out cooperative play more than it how it used be previously, but for anyone that’s curious of how many players can play together, well, now you know.
Playing Diablo games cooperatively has always been fun.
Couch Co-Op
This news will please the console Diablo crowd for sure. Diablo IV will be featuring local cooperative play for the consoles. Diablo II: Resurrected did not feature this on the console version unfortunately, but luckily, Diablo IV will be rectifying that issue when it releases. We have no idea how many players you are able to play locally as of right now, but it’s definitely nice to know that couch co-op is coming back for Diablo.
Five Classes
There will be five classes in Diablo IV. Four of them should be familiar to those who grew up on Diablo II and they are: the Sorceress, Barbarian, Druid, and Necromancer. Then there is the Rogue, which is a returning character from the original Diablo. If you ever played a Diablo title, these classes will certainly play different from each other, and I believe five is definitely that sweet spot for Diablo IV in its initial state. I definitely expect more classes will be introduced in the future, but five will be the number for now. By the time the beta comes out, maybe we will all understand how deep the build customization will be for Diablo IV.
The real question: Is Diablo going to be seen in the fourth title?
Powerful End Game Build
If you’re the player who loves the power fantasy side of Diablo, well your character will be very strong the more time you invest in them. According to Meng Song, who’s the lead system designer for Diablo IV, stated that players can potentially do up to billions on damage in the game when acquiring high levels. This means, the combat will be very similar to how the combat was in Diablo III, and if you enjoyed that, Diablo IV will be following its footsteps.
Restricted Trading
This is one is important if you plan on wanting to experience Diablo IV in a multiplayer environment, should be aware that trading is limited. Basically, you can only trade certain types of rarity when it comes to the items that are tradable. As of right now, you cannot trade Uniques or Legendaries which I assume will be the most desirable type of rarity that one will want to find while playing the game.
This could be disappointing for those who are avid Diablo II players because Diablo II have always given players a good amount of freedom of what they can trade. This is something that’s going to take time to getting used to, but time will tell whether trading will be a crucial part of the multiplayer experience just like it had in Diablo II.
Microtransactions
Unfortunately, Diablo IV will be featuring microtransactions on day one. As of right now, the microtransactions is mostly just focused on cosmetics and there is no intention of giving players a loot advantage if they choose to pay out additional cash after buying the game. Hopefully, Diablo IV doesn’t evolve its microtransactions too drastically down the line where players are heavily incentivized to pay out additional cash to get loot advantages.
This is not the first time the Diablo series has introduced microtransactions. Its controversial and mobile title, Diablo Immortal, also included this system during its inception.
Those are eight important details for Diablo IV that you should know while looking forward to the game. I personally think the game is shaping up to be a fun time, and I will definitely be participating both betas soon.
