Diablo IV - Page 67

On April 10 2023 18:35 Turbovolver wrote:
What I don't understand is how the reaction to some expansive skill tree is "aaahhh, I don't know what to do I'll need a calculator ugh I hate spreadsheets!".

The reaction should be "wow, all these possibilities!", not "Ahhh I might be 10% less than optimal!". I swear some of you just actually want a raw Skinner box with some demonic set dressing...

On April 11 2023 02:25 Manit0u wrote:


I think there is such a thing as "too many possibilities". Also, the huge PoE tree is kind of deceiving since a lot of it are basic nodes like +5 strength etc. Those could've just as easily be extracted into separate trees or incorporated into major nodes (with less points to spend).

In other words, it's not really about the amount of possibilities but rather inaccessible way in which they're presented. Finding the key nodes you want, then tracing the optimal path to reach them, it's pretty much just busy work that doesn't really add anything of value, rather is a source of potential frustration. Every time you visit the skill tree you need to check your notes or other sources to double-check if you're doing the right thing etc.

It's similar to difference between Civilization tech tree:
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And FreeOrion tech tree:
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Diablo IV is set to receive "meaty" quarterly updates every three months: updates that will introduce new storylines, according to Game Informer.

In Game Informer's latest cover story, Diablo IV associate game director Joe Piepiora said that while he hesitates to use the word "expansion," the game's post-launch quarterly updates will consist of additional story content that will be tied into the new mechanics and features of each update. Updates will additionally be accompanied by a new seasonal battle pass, which will come in both free and premium forms. Blizzard has previously confirmed that the game's first season will not go live with Diablo IV and will come sometime later.

Blizzard recently offered more information on what exactly Diablo IV's endgame will look like in the form of a developer video. Nightmare dungeons, alongside areas out in the open world called Helltides, will make up the bulk of the endgame experience. Nightmare dungeons serve as harder, remixed versions of the more than 100 dungeons present in Diablo IV at launch, with various affixes further spicing up the replayability of each dungeon.

In the cover story, Blizzard revealed two additional affixes players will have to overcome when conquering Diablo IV's endgame Nightmare dungeons. One such affix will see an invincible pillar of lightning constantly chase players throughout the dungeon, while another will add a shade that follows players and, if touched, will obscure their vision and summon additional enemies.

Blizzard also shared a few new details about Helltides with Game Informer, clarifying that multiple areas in the world can be affected by Helltides at once and persist for a limited time. Deadlier enemies will spawn within a Helltide's borders, including remixed versions of various bosses from throughout the game.

Diablo IV's recent beta was the biggest in the franchise's history, with millions of players reaching level 20 and claiming beta-exclusive rewards. Blizzard is planning to host a livestream on April 20 to address beta feedback and dive deeper into how Diablo IV's endgame systems will work. Diablo IV is slated to arrive on June 6.

Diablo 4's endgame might look a lot like an MMO(opens in new tab), but it won't mirror the genre's endless climb for power, nor will it betray the series' history as an action RPG, Blizzard says.

The team continuously asked themselves if Diablo 4 was an MMO or an action RPG and where to draw the line during its development.

"The answer is that Diablo 4 is an action RPG first," associate game director Joe Piepiora said in a group interview with PC Gamer. "It is a dungeon crawling, monster slashing, monster killing, loot collecting game."

The open world and the way other players can appear alongside you to help with world events and world bosses are to make Sanctuary feel bigger, not to make it feel like group activities in an MMO.

"In Diablo, everybody's sort of a damage dealer," he said. "The fantasy of playing a Diablo game, in many cases, is making really overpowered builds and just blowing up screens full of monsters at some point and having that kind of experience. We want to make sure that those elements are preserved where we don't have to worry about trying to create a curated set of balances between multiple players in a party that have to work in a very particular way together."

After you've completed Diablo 4's story, you'll be presented with a ton of reasons to return to old dungeons and parts of the map for better gear. There are nightmare dungeons with unique challenges, bounties to complete, and PvP zones in the open world.

As you work your way to the game's level 100 cap, you'll earn paragon points and spend them on various stat increases on a giant board. Compared to Diablo 3's nearly endless paragon point system, Diablo 4 will have a limit on how many you can earn.

All of this sounds a lot like an MMO, and it doesn't seem like Blizzard would argue it isn't borrowing from the genre, but Diablo 4 pulls back from being an endless grind.

"One thing I do want to make sure it's really clear is we're not trying to create a situation where players feel that they must play forever," Piepiora said. "We want players who play Diablo 4 to play and enjoy the experience while they're playing the game."

"We want you to get to a certain point, once you've reached level 100, where you've got 220 of these paragon points you're playing with, you have all of your skill points that you've already assigned to your character, and you've got your legendary and unique items, and now it's about configuring the board exactly the way that you want," Piepiora said.

You can rotate the paragon board around, choose nodes that fit your build, and add glyphs—which you can find in the open world—to power up nodes around them. The idea is that you will move your points around as you take on harder and harder challenges, and, presumably, as the meta changes.

Diablo 4 will have seasons like the previous game(opens in new tab), which means you'll start a new seasonal character and level them from 1 to 100 each time. Participating in the activities laid out in the endgame video and working through objectives in the "seasonal journey" will earn you progress on the battle pass through "favor." The battle pass will have a free track with things like XP boosts for all players, and a premium track with strictly cosmetic rewards.

"Right now, the battle pass, when you're figuring in completing the season journey alongside doing other content in the game, you're looking at roughly 80 hours worth of time invested to complete the entirety of the battle pass. To level a character to level 100 could take a little longer than that based on how you play," Piepiora said.

He said it's likely that you'll finish the battle pass before you reach the max level each season, which follows a broader philosophy of letting players get what they want out of the game and move on if they'd like.

Story-focused players who aren't interested in the endgame can skip it and come back when a story update happens or something else interests them, Piepiora said. "But we're not trying to say the only way to play Diablo 4 is to engage with the endgame and go all the way to level 100 with every character you ever make."

Diablo 4 will launch on June 6. But if you're impatient, you can start planning out your build now(opens in new tab) using this tool based on the game's recent beta.

Now, again, the game is a live service and things will change over time. And what one person might say is strictly an MMO-only feature and what might look like an ARPG-only feature, I think it might get a little muddy over time, but we're not looking to make that game, if that makes sense.

Changes have been made to classes too. The Barbarian has received a passive 10% damage reduction, its Whirlwind skill now deals more damage and costs more Fury, and the Double Swing enhancement refunds its full Firy cost when used on Stunned or Knocked Down enemies.

• The Druid's Companion skills will now deal heavily increased damage, all Ultimate skills have had their cooldowns reduced, the usability of Maul and Pulverize has been improved, and using a non-Shapeshifting skill will now transform a Druid back to their human form.
  
  
• The Necromancer's summoned minions will die more often, meaning players will need to utilize corpses more often. Meanwhile, many Book of the Dead stat bonuses have been increased, the Corpse Explosion skill has had its damage reduced, and the brightness of Skeletal Warriors and Mages has been lowered.
  
  
• The Rogue's Subterfuge skill have had their bonuses increased alongside multiple passive skills, while all Imbuement skills have had their cooldowns increased.
  

Finally, the Sorcerer's Charged Bolt's damage has been increased and the mana cost reduced, Chain Lightning's damage has been reduced, and the cooldown of the Incinerate skill's enchantment bonus has been reduced. Firewalls will also now spawn underneath enemies more frequently when using its enchantment bonus and the Lucky Hit chance has been increased for the Meteor skill's enchantment bonus.

"Whenever we introduce changes to our Classes, it is with the goal of making both them and their Skills feel impactful and powerful," Blizzard said. "Your feedback has helped us uphold this ideal.

"Some players have adeptly noticed that certain Skills were too powerful. One of our goals for Skills is to have them be interesting to wield and interactive in terms of itemization and combat feel. We've made some changes to help in this regard, with one example being the Necromancer’s Minions. We've made a change that makes them more vulnerable in combat, which will make raising the dead a more active component of the Necromancer's gameplay. Launch is just the first step of our class balance journey, and you can expect further updates that iterate on this pillar of Diablo 4."

On April 15 2023 02:38 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Some of the changes being done based on player feedback:

https://www.ign.com/articles/diablo-4-blizzard-is-making-a-ton-of-changes-based-on-player-feedback



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgQ-mtO2bHI

On April 15 2023 09:35 evilfatsh1t wrote:
does anyone else not like the fact that gameplay "guides" are being released?
let people discover the game on their own. why spoil everything?

On April 15 2023 09:35 evilfatsh1t wrote:
does anyone else not like the fact that gameplay "guides" are being released?
let people discover the game on their own. why spoil everything?

On April 15 2023 11:49 iamperfection wrote:

That ship has sailed a long time ago. Especially since this basically a multiplayer game at this point. Almost everyone will be min/maxing.

On April 15 2023 18:04 evilfatsh1t wrote:

i dont have any problem with people min maxing. i just think its stupid that these guides are out before the game is. make them after for people who still want them, not before anyones even got a copy of the game.