Diablo IV Quarterly Update - February 26th, 2020

[Einsz]

People here still think Blizzard will deliver a good game?

Oh Blizzard, when will you learn? Everything you've made since 2010 has been absolute shit. Learn from your success with Classic and your failure with Warcraft 3 that you should just Remaster Diablo 2 and not change anything other than the graphics. People don't want your crappy "good idea" changes, we just want the GOOD GAMES you some how made, with better graphics, that's it.

Diablo 2 need changes, remember getting those 3 weeks bans for creating more than 20 games in an hour? What about 3 week bans for muling your items? How about getting those bans for scrolling too fast through skills? Diablo 2 was punishing as fuck for good players, not to mention out of 370? unique/set items only like 20 were worth picking also balance in d2 was so fucking garbage if you wanted to be efficient you either played hammer or lightning sorc, everything else was shit compared to those 2, sorry but I don't want to play those two again.

[Coldkil]

It is quite stupid to think otherwise. I dont believe anyone thinks that STR/DEX/INT/VIT is a system which gives alot of player choice. It literally takes you 3 seconds to determine what gives you the most EHP and move on. The interesting things are legendary powers. I dunno why people are getting so hung up about that crap.

I'm not really fond of legendary powers aswell - or better, that builds should be all made by those. I like the idea of unique powers, but i should just really need a bunch of them and not fully geared with them, as they would just make all other categories useless.

But again, they seem to have tackled the issue where legendaries are just the initial step towards a fully optimized character. Rares should have better tailored stats, and with the consumable things with which you can apply such special bonuses to rares, i'm pretty content. We need to see it and feel in first person though.

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Have I missed some information or don't they themselves know this yet? ..

The endgame will basically be a huge compilation of Mythic+ dungeons. The world scales only so far, but you'll be most of the time in dungeons. They're be partyally random (as in the structure/layout) but they will be in specific places and have specific type of monsters/bosses.

There won't be ancient-like items. You have the sets/legendaries but they're actually just a step for the consumables (which they're VERY endgame). This way you can do a build to start farming easily enough while having lots of room for improvement.

[Phurox]

It's kind of funny to see people's reactions to these early development updates.

That's exactly WHY they don't like publishing info of early stages, because people look at a wip and go "omg this is how it'll be and it SUCKS I'm not buying this shit!".

BUT when they didn't announce anything on Blizzcon because it wasn't ready, people ALSO revolted.

There's just no pleasing everyone, I guess.

That's not to say that I'm unequivocally pleased by what I'm seeing - far from it. There's still a LOT of work to be done, and the bulk of it is not actually about the things discussed here. The UI and the monsters/environments are some of the things I'm LEAST worried about in D4. The content system, gearing/stat system, item drop system, etc. - those are what I AM worried about. But I understand that them showing UI development doesn't say anything about THOSE parts of the game (or very very little at least).

Well, Blizzard did earn this skepticism among their fans after Diablo 3 and Wows development. Oh, and I almost even forgot warcraft 3 reforged even though that released recently.

[Nite92]

I'm not really fond of legendary powers aswell - or better, that builds should be all made by those. I like the idea of unique powers, but i should just really need a bunch of them and not fully geared with them, as they would just make all other categories useless.

But again, they seem to have tackled the issue where legendaries are just the initial step towards a fully optimized character. Rares should have better tailored stats, and with the consumable things with which you can apply such special bonuses to rares, i'm pretty content. We need to see it and feel in first person though.

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The endgame will basically be a huge compilation of Mythic+ dungeons. The world scales only so far, but you'll be most of the time in dungeons. They're be partyally random (as in the structure/layout) but they will be in specific places and have specific type of monsters/bosses.

There won't be ancient-like items. You have the sets/legendaries but they're actually just a step for the consumables (which they're VERY endgame). This way you can do a build to start farming easily enough while having lots of room for improvement.

Gearing by stats will never be interesting in the long term. Having to choose if Wave of Light is cast at your spot with 50% increased damage or at range without a damage buff, that is interesting. That is at least my opinion.

[Mendzia]

Unpopular opinion here: i'm fine with attack/defense. Because in the end, the old core stats don't do shit for character customization, and all is about the damage and hp your character has/needs. You get enough main stat to use certain gear then dump everything into stamina. D3 removed that and while people complained it didn't change how people play the game.

Would it be different is attack was called SRT/AGI/INT and defense was called STA? Not at all. What makes the items interesting are the affixes and i want to see more of that. They already started making them more complex after Blizzcon showed rares with only 2 of them.

One thing i really want is to improve those talent trees. Classes skillsets look fine and it's cool to level up skills to unlock effects. But the talent trees are utterly boring and uninspired (while being a step in the right direction). For example, the sorceress tree is just "choose your element" and then dump every point into that branch. I'd like to see way more interconnected options and synergies.

So... would you like to see something like this in the future?

Diablo 2 need changes

I agree. Diablo 2 needs some small technical changes that will not affect anything in core gameplay.
Thats why we need remake like we had Classic WoW.

remember getting those 3 weeks bans for creating more than 20 games in an hour? What about 3 week bans for muling your items? How about getting those bans for scrolling too fast through skills?

Exploiting the game and playing it as it was not intended should be bannable. It is not only happening in D2.
Small technical adjustments should fix these problems.

Diablo 2 was punishing as fuck for good players, not to mention out of 370?

?????

unique/set items only like 20 were worth picking also balance in d2 was so fucking garbage if you wanted to be efficient you either played hammer or lightning sorc, everything else was shit compared to those 2, sorry but I don't want to play those two again.

Classic WoW is example of the game that is totally unbalanced and people still play it. Fun =/= balance.
You can also find TONS of vids people playing many different specs and talent choices on youtube.

[Coldkil]

So... would you like to see something like this in the future?

Much hyperbole. Nothing we have seen so far it's final. But again, i'm not against affixes complexity, i find hilarious people complaining about the literal name of the main stats.

Also the image is outdated, since the very next update from Blizzcon showed the new rares in D4 having at least 4 attributes and the new "tri-power" system. So, let's wait.

EDIT: for reference, the BLOG POST with the changes for items. Not saying the D4 system hasn't a "mobile vibe" attached to it, but people seriously think ATT/DEF are what's going to make the difference?

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Gearing by stats will never be interesting in the long term. Having to choose if Wave of Light is cast at your spot with 50% increased damage or at range without a damage buff, that is interesting. That is at least my opinion.

Yeah, that's good if choices are meaningful. I just don't want to end with a "D3 but legendaries only" thing where there's this best combo and everything else is inferior.

[Nite92]

So... would you like to see something like this in the future?

I would rather have D3 and an a bit more advanced D4 (maybe resistances, I dunno just a bit more) over the D2 style. Which on paper looks nice but in the end, most of it is just bloat. Having 100 options, is not necessarily better than having 10 options if 95/100 are just random stuff no one cares about.

[Einsz]

Exploiting the game and playing it as it was not intended should be bannable. It is not only happening in D2.
Small technical adjustments should fix these problems.

Explain to me how it is exploiting? Nothing is being exploited.

Classic WoW is example of the game that is totally unbalanced and people still play it. Fun =/= balance.
You can also find TONS of vids people playing many different specs and talent choices on youtube.

Classic was only available for short amount of time for people to play. Diablo 2 is available all the time. Don't compare those two. Classic came back after 14 years of not being there at all.
I don't care about other people playing different specs, probably the same noobs that complain about never seeing ber or jah because they play subpar character with subpar clearing times + are probably really bad players. After ~100h spent into season I usually had like half stash of HRs (Vex-Zod) so yeah.

[Biomega]

I would rather have D3 and an a bit more advanced D4 (maybe resistances, I dunno just a bit more) over the D2 style. Which on paper looks nice but in the end, most of it is just bloat. Having 100 options, is not necessarily better than having 10 options if 95/100 are just random stuff no one cares about.

Many people don't realize this, but it's very true. D2 is praised for a lot of its systems, but when you break them down, a lot of what LOOKS like depth and complexity is actually all air. There's tons of stats that are barely or not at all relevant, and are essentially stuffing added on to the actual relevant stats and abilities. You may see, say, a rune word item with 10 abilities, but when they're something like "attacker takes 14 damage" or teeny bits of irrelevant elemental damage (especially on caster weapons) it's just not something that's actually DOING anything.

That's why they trimmed the fat in D3 in the first place: a rare with 7 stats, 3 of which are irrelevant filler, might as well just be a rare with 4 stats that are all meaningful, and have 0 filler.

Also, D2's endgame is predicated mostly on the fact that it's super accessible. Everyone can do Hell Cows, or Baal runs, or whatever. You can do them in shit gear, and with shit skills. Even the hardest content in the game like Uber Diablo or Uber Tristram can be completed by budget builds, and the biggest issue lies in unlocking those rather than actually doing them, which makes them irregular endgame content rather than regular (which can be spammed).

D2 is an easy game. But that level of difficulty just won't fly these days. And the more difficult it becomes, the more streamlined things need to be so as not to devolve into prohibitively tedious RNG gatekeeping where only the no-lifers get to actually play. If you think this wouldn't be an issue, I challenge you to a little experiment: just go and try to get "optimal" gear in D2 in SSF mode. Go on. Build those Enigmas yourself, or Breath of the Dying. See how long it takes you. It's only because you don't actually NEED all that gear that it functions (and because of trading, and the massive/blatant botting that fuels it).

Now, all that being the case, I do agree that we still need SOME complexity and depth. The way that D4 was presented at Blizzcon is too much simplification. There is a middle ground between "let's just make everything 1 stat" and "let's have 15 stats on everything and 99% of stats don't do shit". They recognize the problem, and hopefully they'll come up with a satisfying solution. It's not guaranteed that they will. But neither is it guaranteed that they won't.

In a way, I guess D4 might suffer from Blizzard being too mainstream now. Their games appeal to very large audiences, and the larger the audience, the more idiots are around. PoE has a bit of the opposite problem, where a lot of players are turned away because it's TOO deep and complex (or at least looks like it is). Blizzard won't want that, because while that would appease the more enthusiast crowd of old D2, it would also scare away a lot of more casual players - and those tend to be a lot more people.

[Mendzia]

Much hyperbole. Nothing we have seen so far it's final. But again, i'm not against affixes complexity, i find hilarious people complaining about the literal name of the main stats.

Also the image is outdated, since the very next update from Blizzcon showed the new rares in D4 having at least 4 attributes and the new "tri-power" system. So, let's wait.

EDIT: for reference, the BLOG POST with the changes for items. Not saying the D4 system hasn't a "mobile vibe" attached to it, but people seriously think ATT/DEF are what's going to make the difference?

Hopefully they will add more.

I would rather have D3 and an a bit more advanced D4 (maybe resistances, I dunno just a bit more) over the D2 style. Which on paper looks nice but in the end, most of it is just bloat. Having 100 options, is not necessarily better than having 10 options if 95/100 are just random stuff no one cares about.

Personally i loved small things like 'like radius' or '6% chance to cast level 3 Nova on taking damage' but it is very personal i guess.

Explain to me how it is exploiting? Nothing is being exploited.

Blizzard decided that 'reseting' games too often is exploiting so they are banning people for that. That's simple.
If they will release D2 remaster it (hopefully) will not happen anymore due more technical capabilities.

Classic was only available for short amount of time for people to play. Diablo 2 is available all the time. Don't compare those two. Classic came back after 14 years of not being there at all.

Classic was available on private servers all the time. Of course it is not totally the same but close enough as most famous guilds like APES stated.

I don't care about other people playing different specs, probably the same noobs that complain about never seeing ber or jah because they play subpar character with subpar clearing times + are probably really bad players. After ~100h spent into season I usually had like half stash of HRs (Vex-Zod) so yeah.

Typical D2 player is not uber-pro gamer that wants to have perfect build. He just wants to have fun with his favourite game and does not care if he will clear area with 5 or 15 mins.
I played D2 for years and personally did not see single Zod rune drop for me. Meanwhile had multiple Cham/Jah/Ber ones.
Does it mean i am bad player? No. I had mostly bad luck and 100's of hours invested were not enough.

[MoFalcon]

It's kind of funny to see people's reactions to these early development updates.

That's exactly WHY they don't like publishing info of early stages, because people look at a wip and go "omg this is how it'll be and it SUCKS I'm not buying this shit!".

BUT when they didn't announce anything on Blizzcon because it wasn't ready, people ALSO revolted.

There's just no pleasing everyone, I guess.

THIS!

there is no pleasing ANYONE when it comes to Blizzard and ALL of their games. Every Alpha, Every Beta.

Everyone can do it better and faster, but they aren't doing it. Armchair quarterback with nothing to do but complain and dismantle everyone's effort and hard work.

Yet, 99% of them will buy the game. STFU and let the people work. if you hate it, dont buy it, dont play it. You people doing this are just poison to a community that tries to be positive.

[Sencha]

That's all they have done in 3 months?

[Coldkil]

Hopefully they will add more.

Yeah, that's my same wish. But right now i'm more "worried" about the talent trees that are the right thing but need to be more complex overall. They're too straightforward as they are now.

[Nefastus]

yehhhhhhhh, no thanks. Blizzard went downhill for good, warcraft: refunded is the best proof of that. Avoiding their games like the plague now (also this kind of gameplay is dated). Diablo 3 was also terrible, the odds of they making a good story for this game are very, very low.

[Trbn]

controller support and console style interface in arpg

b. can just fuck off

[Dracullus]

Nice empty marketing post.

Tired of advertisements.

Marketing for what? There is no pre-order for Diablo 4.

[Einsz]

Hopefully they will add more.
Blizzard decided that 'reseting' games too often is exploiting so they are banning people for that. That's simple.
If they will release D2 remaster it (hopefully) will not happen anymore due more technical capabilities.

You are misinformed then, Blizzard added 20 games/hour limit to combat bots, because they believed only bots were able to make games that quick. This is also what I meant that Diablo 2 is punishing players for being good because while your average noob might take over 3 minutes to find and kill mephisto average mephisto run for me was around 45 seconds.

[bloodykiller86]

Oh Blizzard, when will you learn? Everything you've made since 2010 has been absolute shit. Learn from your success with Classic and your failure with Warcraft 3 that you should just Remaster Diablo 2 and not change anything other than the graphics. People don't want your crappy "good idea" changes, we just want the GOOD GAMES you some how made, with better graphics, that's it.

subjective as hell lol also classic's success has nothing to do with it being good or not, it was all nostalgia. Its not amazing by any means, tons of issues, tons of boring.

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yehhhhhhhh, no thanks. Blizzard went downhill for good, warcraft: refunded is the best proof of that. Avoiding their games like the plague now (also this kind of gameplay is dated). Diablo 3 was also terrible, the odds of they making a good story for this game are very, very low.

most D3 players agree that after reaper of souls D3 was actually good but then they just cancelled further updates on it.

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THIS!

there is no pleasing ANYONE when it comes to Blizzard and ALL of their games. Every Alpha, Every Beta.

Everyone can do it better and faster, but they aren't doing it. Armchair quarterback with nothing to do but complain and dismantle everyone's effort and hard work.

Yet, 99% of them will buy the game. STFU and let the people work. if you hate it, dont buy it, dont play it. You people doing this are just poison to a community that tries to be positive.

100% facts

[Socialhealer]

What disaster? The best selling Diablo game by a metric ton.

Doesn't really apply does it, thats like the latest films breaking records, yeah because there's more people on the planet to see them, or ticket prices are higher etc.

D2 pc only, most people back then had shit internet or no internet, D3 came out on basically everything and internet is just a normal thing now also it rode the coattails of D2's success. blizzard could literally sell you a turd with D4 inscribed in it and it would sell millions.

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Many people don't realize this, but it's very true. D2 is praised for a lot of its systems, but when you break them down, a lot of what LOOKS like depth and complexity is actually all air. There's tons of stats that are barely or not at all relevant, and are essentially stuffing added on to the actual relevant stats and abilities. You may see, say, a rune word item with 10 abilities, but when they're something like "attacker takes 14 damage" or teeny bits of irrelevant elemental damage (especially on caster weapons) it's just not something that's actually DOING anything.

you realise the attacker takes 14 will be because thats what the rune does right?

As for trimmed the fat in D3, yeah trimmed alright, GR or uninstall, damn thats some content right there, sick endgame.

[Edward Wu]

This thread is proof that people will defend Blizzard for anything. People tripping over themselves to find reasons to think D4 development is going smoothly. "It's fine", "You're just grumpy", "D3 sold well so it was a good game!", "Stop exaggerating, it's not that bad!".

Why do people have such a hatred of people passionately criticizing games? It's symptomatic.