** Diablo 4 Thread **

[Kyo]

At last its only been 7 years. I am still playing db3 like a few others and just been praying for the next release of this game. I havent played WoW before but does the game mechanics sound similar to WoW?!. Open world, pvp and clans?.

Here is Bluddshed at Blizzcon checking the demo out. Pretty cool.

 

[azazl187]

Maybe, maybe not. I've no doubt we'll fight her at some point, but Lilith is a complicated character; she may even come to our aid at some point. You've got the Prime Evils, such as Diablo, and Lesser Evils, like Azmodan and Belial from Diablo 3, who are quite simply 100% evil to the core; but Lilith is more like 70% evil 30% good. She's the mother of the Nephalem (the characters we play in all Diablo games) and she created Sanctuary, the mortal realm where humanity and the Nephalem live, from the Worldstone with Inarius (an angel that fell in love with her, and her with him) who shared her vision to create a world where angels and demons could live together in peace outside of the Eternal Conflict (the never-ending battle between Heaven and Hell). She wanted to end the Eternal Conflict by other more peaceful means rather than simply exterminating one side as is Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto's vision (the Prime Evils).

She's a really interesting character with a lot of layers and depth, and her being the central point of the game will make for a potentially very interesting story in Diablo 4.

Fair do's bud, you obviously know a lot more about the lore than me. In this sense it does seem better, I hope they don't ignore the lore.

 

[Rimsy]

Will be buying this just for the druids wolves...same reason I bought Diablo 2!

 

[fastwunz]

Yep I’ll be getting this - the campaign in the last game was great.

I don’t really go in for the continuous grind thereafter..... seems little point to it once you have completed the story? Or am I missing something?

 

[dragonslayer]

Yep I’ll be getting this - the campaign in the last game was great.

I don’t really go in for the continuous grind thereafter..... seems little point to it once you have completed the story? Or am I missing something?

Diablo is pretty much all about that grind think I spent something like 1000hrs on it trying to get to a really high rift rank etc

 

[opethdisciple]

I was hoping this would be coming out some time next year.

Apparently we could be years away yet.

 

[dragonslayer]

Yea i reckon it will be 2023/2024 considering they've got 3 big games coming out and if i remember rightly wow xpacs normally last 18months wow X-Pac 2021 ow 2022 wow X-Pac 2023 d4 2024 blizzards probably is all 3 games have a big fan base and they can't release multiple games in the same year as they will eat into their own sales which is why I think it's a 2024 release

 

[Dalandius]

Yea i reckon it will be 2023/2024 considering they've got 3 big games coming out and if i remember rightly wow xpacs normally last 18months wow X-Pac 2021 ow 2022 wow X-Pac 2023 d4 2024 blizzards probably is all 3 games have a big fan base and they can't release multiple games in the same year as they will eat into their own sales which is why I think it's a 2024 release

If that is the time frame does puzzles me they even mentioned PS4 and XBox1.

 

[Poneros]

Overall disappointed with what they've shown. It's clear to me that what they're going for is D3.5 but with a closer-to-D2 aesthetic (which I don't think they've really captured in-game). Sadly I don't think they can resolve the problem they have, and that's that they created 2 very different player-base expectations with D3 vs D2. They hope to pacify the D2 crowd with the art style while retaining the casual systems of D3, but I think it will end up as mediocre as D3. So long as they don't understand that the economy is the lifeblood of long-lasting ARPGs, they cannot make something great. Instead it will be a fun little game for the 20-30 hrs crowd to play on their consoles (just like D3), and it is very clear that they made it with consoles in mind first and foremost (also like D3). They're trying to pass a lot of it off as "we're welcome to feedback, things can change" but they've been heavily in development on this version since late 2016. The foundation has been poured, the goals have been stated, and all that's left now is the big content (esp in terms of art assets etc) push in order to finish the game. So don't expect fundamental changes from what they've talked about. The lead systems designer after all thinks stats like "10% damage" are too complex and require too much math-thinking from the players. You can only imagine what he'd say about something as wild as cross-class spells on items and the like. Apparently only nuclear engineers were smart enough to play D2 and that was its player base.

Meh.

 

[Teaf]

I was/am very concerned that David Kim stated that they want to "simply stats" and if this was 6 months or less from release I'd be very worried. I'm more optimistic though with how vocal they've been at Blizzcon though in that they want to hear feedback from the community, and stated that seeing a working demo in this state allows us and them to provide feedback to each other since we can see a working prototype rather than just imaging what it looks like, as well as providing major feedback updates every 2 to 3 months.

I'm concerned with a couple of areas, one is definitely itemisation which will make-or-break the game, but my concern is heavily tempered right now since we're 2.5~ years away from release and there's plenty of time to give feedback to the developers it that window, provided they are willing to listen. Totally get people are remaining very pessimistic though, especially after Diablo 3 and Blizzards history of not being vocal enough with the community.

 

[MadMossy]

PS5 etc is out next year so to announce it as a PS4 title seems a little odd, unless its going to be out sooner than we think.

 

[Parky]

I'm nervous for this one, the art style is moving back in the right direction and some of the open world stuff looks interesting, but the the way they seem to be simplifying certain things is worrying for me. Granted this is very early days but I see a very streamlined, console friendly game in the works.

I'm honestly more excited to see how much more POE will develop over the next few years at the moment.

 

[dragonslayer]

PS5 etc is out next year so to announce it as a PS4 title seems a little odd, unless its going to be out sooner than we think.

Maybe they aren't allowed to announce it for next gen consoles due to an NDA or something

 

[SiDeards73]

Gotta say im excited for this.... the Art style looks like they reskinned the engine from D3 with a more darker grittier D2'esque skin, which imho is not a bad thing as lets be honest D3 engine was pretty damn good.

My main hopes are like @flibby , better deeper itemisation and also better endgame, i was talking to my brother @Smudge about this and he's of the same opinion that the skill tree's need to be better than D3 and deeper, and the endgame as well.

From all i have read it sounds promising, i would imagine the game is fairly basic at the moment, they know what classes they want, they know the story they want, the lore etc, and art style, but they are probably nowhere near finished on actual game play mechanics, core skills etc.

One thing i liked about D3 was at the start you had a lowly 3dps weapon and by endgame you was wielding weapons around 4k dps, i hope we get similar, and not stuff just doing overinflated numbers right off the bat, which im guessing wont happen as Blizz is pretty good normally with progression itemisation.

As someone else pointed out the game looks slow what we have seen so far, but this is probably early into the game, like D3 as you progressed generally you unlocked skills and or stats / items that would increase your moving and clearing speed, so im not overly worried about the perceived slowness of the game right now.

One thing D3 had that D2 never had the chance to have is a lot of core streaming community, people that live and breathe the game, yes D2 had a lot of theorycrafters as well, but with D3 and the popular nature of Youtube, Twitch etc theirs a lot of higher profile streamers playing this game, i just hope Blizz engages these people to help make the game be the best it can be, and id actually like to see them do a good alpha and beta of the game on the way to full release, to really home in on what people do and dont want.

The dungeon stuff with keys sound great, almost liked they ripped it out of Wow Mythic dungeons, and lets be honest, it will add a new layer of complexity to the game, which will be a good thing. There is nothing wrong with taking systems from other games if those systems are good and popular and actually are engaging and work.

Glad there is no AH and Microtransactions are supposedly limited to cosmetics, tbh i wouldn't be against POE levels of Cash shop, a lot of the stuff is QOL items and fluff, which suits me fine as i rarely buy any of this stuff.

The Druid looked good fun, they have said 5 classes right? we have seen 3, Barb, Druid and Sorceror, guesses on last 2? im guessing a Necromancer and a Paladin / Crusader type. They'll no doubt add expansions and DLC with more classes along the way.

I just hope that we have an engaging story mode, and then something like D3's end game modes that keep you logging in for more, and they dont balance the game around full sets of gear as that got really stale for game play, would rather have a bazillion legendaries with unique stats that make you really angst over what you pick and choose to use

 

[Mateushek]

Cinematics have always been Blizzard's strength. To this day I feel shivers on my back just thinking about cinemmatics from Diablo 2. I was a victim of hype on D3 myself and unfortunately I spent my money on this crap. Shortly afterwards, I discovered poe (f2p) which gave me what I was looking for in D3. Of course, PoE also got bored after a few months, but D3 is still a bad memory. Blizzard unfortunately has not created any good new games for a long time, their best productions are games from over 15 years ago that only get a new graphic design. Overwatch was decent at first, just like Heartstone. I'm not sure what Overwatch looks like today, but HS is a tragedy. So this time I'm also waiting for the premiere, but I will not let myself be carried away by the hype wave

 

[Teaf]

PS5 etc is out next year so to announce it as a PS4 title seems a little odd, unless its going to be out sooner than we think.

There's some stuff on this that they've been basically working on it for 3 years already, and due to that, have been and will continue to work on PS4 and Xbox One for now. They may port it later, and release it for both the next gen and current gen. See OP for more info in the release date bit

Gotta say im excited for this.... the Art style looks like they reskinned the engine from D3 with a more darker grittier D2'esque skin, which imho is not a bad thing as lets be honest D3 engine was pretty damn good.

Spoiler: Rest of post

My main hopes are like @flibby , better deeper itemisation and also better endgame, i was talking to my brother @Smudge about this and he's of the same opinion that the skill tree's need to be better than D3 and deeper, and the endgame as well.

From all i have read it sounds promising, i would imagine the game is fairly basic at the moment, they know what classes they want, they know the story they want, the lore etc, and art style, but they are probably nowhere near finished on actual game play mechanics, core skills etc.

One thing i liked about D3 was at the start you had a lowly 3dps weapon and by endgame you was wielding weapons around 4k dps, i hope we get similar, and not stuff just doing overinflated numbers right off the bat, which im guessing wont happen as Blizz is pretty good normally with progression itemisation.

As someone else pointed out the game looks slow what we have seen so far, but this is probably early into the game, like D3 as you progressed generally you unlocked skills and or stats / items that would increase your moving and clearing speed, so im not overly worried about the perceived slowness of the game right now.

One thing D3 had that D2 never had the chance to have is a lot of core streaming community, people that live and breathe the game, yes D2 had a lot of theorycrafters as well, but with D3 and the popular nature of Youtube, Twitch etc theirs a lot of higher profile streamers playing this game, i just hope Blizz engages these people to help make the game be the best it can be, and id actually like to see them do a good alpha and beta of the game on the way to full release, to really home in on what people do and dont want.

The dungeon stuff with keys sound great, almost liked they ripped it out of Wow Mythic dungeons, and lets be honest, it will add a new layer of complexity to the game, which will be a good thing. There is nothing wrong with taking systems from other games if those systems are good and popular and actually are engaging and work.

Glad there is no AH and Microtransactions are supposedly limited to cosmetics, tbh i wouldn't be against POE levels of Cash shop, a lot of the stuff is QOL items and fluff, which suits me fine as i rarely buy any of this stuff.

The Druid looked good fun, they have said 5 classes right? we have seen 3, Barb, Druid and Sorceror, guesses on last 2? im guessing a Necromancer and a Paladin / Crusader type. They'll no doubt add expansions and DLC with more classes along the way.

I just hope that we have an engaging story mode, and then something like D3's end game modes that keep you logging in for more, and they dont balance the game around full sets of gear as that got really stale for game play, would rather have a bazillion legendaries with unique stats that make you really angst over what you pick and choose to use

Nice post!

Totally agree on the art style; looks quite like a re-skinned Diablo 3. They said it's a brand new engine, and it could well be, but it seems like they've pulled in most of the assets from Diablo 3 and have tweaked it a bit and put a demo out - not necessarily a bad thing as it's super early in development, and I'm glad we got to see a bit of their vision for D4.

Also yeah the Druid looks super fun with some awesome looking skills (both design wise and aesthetics), and talents that promote stuff like shapeshifting a lot to maintain buffs and weird combinations between different shapeshifts and their reaction to skills based on your form.

For the other 2 classes... I'd imagine one of them will definitely have to be a "bow/crossbow" type, and the other I'm expecting to be the "holy" type. So I'm thinking a Rogue/Amazon/Assassin and then a Crusader/Paladin/Monk. Not sure which of those specific classes they might pick from those archetypes, but definitely one from each. Will be interesting to see what they pick though!

Cinematics have always been Blizzard's strength. To this day I feel shivers on my back just thinking about cinemmatics from Diablo 2. I was a victim of hype on D3 myself and unfortunately I spent my money on this crap. Shortly afterwards, I discovered poe (f2p) which gave me what I was looking for in D3. Of course, PoE also got bored after a few months, but D3 is still a bad memory. Blizzard unfortunately has not created any good new games for a long time, their best productions are games from over 15 years ago that only get a new graphic design. Overwatch was decent at first, just like Heartstone. I'm not sure what Overwatch looks like today, but HS is a tragedy. So this time I'm also waiting for the premiere, but I will not let myself be carried away by the hype wave

Yeah their cinematic are amazing as usual. I wish they'd make a movie! Totally feel your pain with Diablo 3 too; I think lots of us got burned by Blizzard and I can totally understand the fans' pessimism and dubiousness to any Diablo project that Blizzard do, especially with the added sting of Diablo Immortal last year which just seemed to rub it in. Myself? I'm staying cautiously optimistic as I like their approach so far to Diablo 4 and the game looks like it's good some good footing but they badly need to work on that itemisation or it'll fall flat again when it comes out. Still, lots of time until release for them to change things! It'll be interesting to see their first update next year (as they've said we're getting quarterly major updates on progress).

 

[SiDeards73]

There's some stuff on this that they've been basically working on it for 3 years already, and due to that, have been and will continue to work on PS4 and Xbox One for now. They may port it later, and release it for both the next gen and current gen. See OP for more info in the release date bit



Nice post!

Totally agree on the art style; looks quite like a re-skinned Diablo 3. They said it's a brand new engine, and it could well be, but it seems like they've pulled in most of the assets from Diablo 3 and have tweaked it a bit and put a demo out - not necessarily a bad thing as it's super early in development, and I'm glad we got to see a bit of their vision for D4.

Also yeah the Druid looks super fun with some awesome looking skills (both design wise and aesthetics), and talents that promote stuff like shapeshifting a lot to maintain buffs and weird combinations between different shapeshifts and their reaction to skills based on your form.

For the other 2 classes... I'd imagine one of them will definitely have to be a "bow/crossbow" type, and the other I'm expecting to be the "holy" type. So I'm thinking a Rogue/Amazon/Assassin and then a Crusader/Paladin/Monk. Not sure which of those specific classes they might pick from those archetypes, but definitely one from each. Will be interesting to see what they pick though!



Yeah their cinematic are amazing as usual. I wish they'd make a movie! Totally feel your pain with Diablo 3 too; I think lots of us got burned by Blizzard and I can totally understand the fans' pessimism and dubiousness to any Diablo project that Blizzard do, especially with the added sting of Diablo Immortal last year which just seemed to rub it in. Myself? I'm staying cautiously optimistic as I like their approach so far to Diablo 4 and the game looks like it's good some good footing but they badly need to work on that itemisation or it'll fall flat again when it comes out. Still, lots of time until release for them to change things! It'll be interesting to see their first update next year (as they've said we're getting quarterly major updates on progress).

To be perfectly honest, a smart move Blizz could make right now to win people back onside is a remaster of D2 on D3 engine, that alone would stoke up the fires of the Diablo fanbase and get a ton of people looking fowards to 4.

 

[dragonslayer]

One thing I hope they add to the game is make it so barbs can dual wield 2handers like fury warriors in wow that would be really cool and fun to play imo

 

[goldy6660]

I've done well over 1500 hours on D3 and plan to get D4 but I really hope that they don't ruin it by making it too much like wow, fingers crossed for some d2 esc elements to it.

Edit: closer to 4000 hours...doh!

 

[Teaf]

Luis Barriga (Diablo 4 Game Director) released an "open letter" about current hot-topics and what they are discussing internally since Blizzcon and the initial feedback from it. They know itemisation is major focus and they are listening to feedback, and David Kim (Lead Systems Designer) will be doing another post in a few weeks about it, with a major update coming in February 2020. Here's a snippet from the story, and a link the article.

It sounds positive and I'm glad they are paying attention to people's feedback. It's a refreshing approach to see Blizzard doing this as normally they are really closed off from their community.

We’ve been taking this week to assess and discuss our takeaways from BlizzCon, and we love all the deep discussions happening around the art, features, systems, and world of Diablo IV. We’re also excited about a cool update we’re planning for you in February of next year. It will be the first in a series of quarterly updates where we’ll share behind-the-scenes looks at our progress going forward.

We also know that one topic is burning hotter than the rest. We want you to know that we are having the same conversations about items and stats that you are having—whether on the official discussion threads or external sites, we read it all! Getting this right is at the top of our minds, and in the coming weeks our lead systems designer David Kim will provide a few clarifications, share some of his thoughts, and address some of your open questions. We hope you check it out and let us know what you think.