After over seven years of waiting, the sequel to Diablo 3 has been announced by Blizzard at BlizzCon 2019. After the "Diablo Immortal" fiasco last year, Blizzard has no other choice than making a real sequel to Diablo 3. As the previous game is widely regarded as a failure by most fans, in Diablo 4, Blizzard would go back to the root of what made the franchise good. In this article below, we will list out some of the best features that the game would have, however, keep in mind that this is just the alpha version of D4 and everything can be subjected to change.
Firstly, let's talk about the official trailer:
In this short cinematic movie, the three tomb raiders mistakenly stumble into a forbidden temple, afterward, they were ambushed by a dark mage and killed. Their blood was then used to create a blood seal to revive/bring Lillith back to this dimension (the human world is called Sanctuary in Diablo's settings).
Who is Lillith? She is Mephisto's daughter, one of the creators of the human world, along with Inarius, an Angel.
According to speculations, it is very likely that she would be the catalyst to bring the Prime Evils back to the world, based on the "By three they come" mantra getting repeated over and over in the trailer.
Enough about the trailer - in the next part, we would be talking about the world of Diablo 4.
According to Blizzard, the game would have an "online shared open world" with a non-linear campaign weaved into it:
Based on the announcement trailer and the details that were included in the alpha version of the game, Diablo 4 would get back to the root of the series with a darker tone, akin to Diablo 2, with all the bells and whistles from Diablo 3 removed. The more notifiable part, however, is the new “online shared open-world”.
Ditching the usual randomized level design, Diablo 4 would contain five big regions that are connected to each other, each with a dynamic weather system and a separate day-night time cycle. Players are free to wander wherever they like, as long as they are able to beat the enemies on the road.
It is not clear about the number of random players that you can meet on the road yet, but the maximum number of players that a party could have is four. You can say that Diablo 4 is basically a massively multiplayer game now.
While Diablo can be played as an MMO now, the solo part is still the most focused aspect of the experience, according to Priore, Diablo 4’s Lead UI Designer. All events, items, and functions of the game are not related to social events – they would be able to access every function in the game, even clan activities and guild banks, without having to interact with real people at all. The amount of social engagement would be based on the player’s discretion.
Towns would be bigger than the usual Diablo campsites, as they would be used by many people at the same time, just like in an MMO. They would be dedicated social areas in which the players can chat and group up. PVP would also be available right from the start, with sites dedicated to it. And in traditional MMO fashion, there would be world bosses that players can challenge, along with customizable mounts and more.
About the dungeons, it is very likely that they would be instanced, as wandering into an already cleared dungeons is not something people would like to do. Diablo 4’s dungeons are probably going to be an improved version of the previous game.
Next, we are going to talk about the most important part of a Diablo game, the character classes.
Below is the official trailer for the Gameplay of Diablo 4, along with the first three classes reveal: The Barbarian, The Sorceress, and The Druid.
Similar to what they did with Diablo 3, Blizzard revealed the first three classes of the game in the official gameplay trailer. All three, especially the Druid, were ported straight from Diablo 2, with abilities and skills trees related to what their previous incarnations have. Let's take a closer look at their skills and abilities.
Barbarian
The hulking brute warrior is back again, with this being the third appearance of the class in the Diablo series. Based on what we can see from the trailer, the Barbarian would get access to most of his skillsets from previous games, including Call of the Ancients and Whirlwind. Besides that, leap, kick, and dual-wielding are also available. With this level of mobility, the Barbarian would be a force to be reckoned with in both PVE and PVP.
Sorceress
Another returnee from Diablo 2, the sorceress would retain her previous three elements skill tree - you can learn either Fire, Ice or Lighting. Each element would have its own strengths and weaknesses, plus various accompanying effects such as burn and slow. Most of her iconic abilities were brought back as well, with Hydra, Teleport, and Meteor being the prime examples.
Druid
The Druid would get various abilities, and most of them are revised from Diablo 2's Druid. Being a hybrid between a magic caster and a warrior, the druid can either destroy his enemies with the power of nature, summon animals to aid in battle, or even shapeshift into powerful forms to engage the enemies in melee combat. The shapeshift abilities are weaved directly into the skills now - you can use both the shapeshifting skills and the nature skills together without having to morph over and over.
All classes would get three ultimate abilities for each of the skill branches. That's it about the skill system. The last question that you would like to ask about Diablo 4 is probably "when".
When will Diablo 4 be released?
According to the game’s director, Luis Barriga, Diablo 4 is not going to be here anytime soon. And if you are familiar with the previous game and its launch issues, it would be a long while until we can enjoy Diablo 4 at its fullest.
Interested in more of our BlizzCon related news? Please check out this post for more information about Warcraft 3 Reforged.
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