Blizzard Entertainment has shared several details about gameplay in Diablo IV, the newest installment in its beloved action RPG series. The new game shakes up the classic franchise in several ways, especially by introducing an open world that many have understandably compared to World of Warcraft, Blizzard's iconic MMORPG.
The long wait fans have undergone as they prepare for the release of Diablo IV has been fraught with some unfortunate decisions by Blizzard. The company let a lot of people down by announcing a mobile game called Diablo Immortal well before they announced the main series RPG players were waiting for. While the mobile game has since displayed some solid gameplay and graphics, the stigma against mobile games hit Blizzard hard and generated a nearly insurmountable cloud of bad press for the project. When Diablo IV was announced, wary fans were unimpressed with what they were shown. Regular updates about the game's progress weren't enough to assuage fears that the game's skill systems would be shallow and disappointing.
Blizzard has tried to address these concerns in a new quarterly update released earlier today. The update opens by discussing the very skills and talents that fans were worried about. Blizzard acknowledges that as it currently stands, the system of Ancestral, Angelic, and Demonic powers is flawed, and that the power level it offers isn't reward enough to compensate for the huge coordination and bookkeeping effort it requires to maintain. The developer promises to share details about how it intends to rework the system at a later date. Likewise, Blizzard recognizes fan concerns over the power level of legendary items, and has promised a solution there as well. However, Blizzard has developed a significant change to the game's skills based on fans' concerns that there isn't enough depth. The company has shared an image of a vast and in-depth skill tree, with active abilities to work toward in the branches and passive abilities to work toward in the roots. Blizzard claims that by the time a character reaches the endgame they will have acquired 30-40% of the skills on the tree, ensuring variety and replayability in characters.
The quarterly update also shared a deep look at how the Sorceress will play. Her character boasts a unique Enchantment system to expand on the active skill system present in all classes. Every skill that the Sorceress can obtain can either be equipped as an active skill or placed in an Enchantment slot. Enchantment skills cannot be directly cast like they could if they were active skills, but they will give the Sorceress access to passive bonus abilities that will aid her just as effectively as her active skills. An example Blizzard shared demonstrated a powerful Meteor spell that the Sorceress can either actively aim and cast or equip as a passive Enchantment, which causes meteors to fall around her at random and damage enemies.
It's heartening to know that Blizzard is actively working to improve Diablo IV. It's been eight years since the release of Diablo III and players are very understandably getting impatient. They deserve to know that when this new game finally releases it will be one worth playing. If this new quarterly report is any indication, Diablo IV is on a good track to live up to expectations.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment
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