After the announcement on November 1 2019 on the occasion of BlizzCon, we have received over the past few months a mountain of information about Diablo 4, thanks to a series of quarterly updates published by the developers and made known, with precision and punctuality, between the pages of the official portal of Blizzard. We pass from the first hints to the nature of the missions and to the Sanctuarium open-world structure, and then go on details related to skills and talents, up to the last unveiled class, that of Cutthroat. Through the following text we want to provide you with an overview of all the details revealed, deepening the most relevant aspects, to allow you to better follow the future news on the new chapter of Diablo, without falling behind.
Diablo IV: hints of plot and structure of the game world
The events of Diablo 4 take place many years after those narrated in the third chapter. Millions of people have been slaughtered by the servants of the Flaming Underworld and Heavenly Heaven. In this chaos, where there is no real master, Lilith returns. She is the daughter of Mephisto (the Lord of Hate) and Queen of the Succubi, whose legend crawls and writhes, wrapping itself among the rotting pages of ancient texts, hissing between traditions and religions of many peoples. His union with the archangel Inarius, of whom he was a lover, led to birth of the first Nephilim, the offspring fruit of the union between an angel and a demon. Lilith, summoned again, is ready to fight to regain power, so that darkness rises to cover light and hope in humanity.
A glimpse of Scosglen, a coastal land home of the Druids in Diablo 4
After collecting a fair amount of negative feedback regarding the look and feel of Diablo 3, considered by most to be too colorful and more similar to World of Warcraft that Diablo 2 (of which a remastered version has finally been announced, titled Diablo II: Resurrected), the developers have wisely decided to adopt a darker color palette, recreating on screen darker environments, as well as more in line with the cruelty of the events that have been partly revealed, starting with the splendid introductory video. In this regard, the style, coloring and size of the icons have been aligned with the canons of a more adult reinterpretation of the franchise. It is hardly necessary to underline that - in addition to a change in the form - there will also be a substantial change in the substance: the graphic sector of Diablo 4 will boast greater animations both in quantity and quality. The world of Sanctuarium (of which, until today, we do not know the actual dimensions), structured as an open-world, characterized by different geographical areas - each with its own characteristics - and "kept alive" by a variable weather system and a dynamic day / night cycle, will see heroes and demons collide in an incredibly realistic way (as far as possible for a title based on a fantasy universe). Blizzard is paying particular attention to increasing the number of animations, which will result in a much higher amount of different attacks shown on the screen depending on the weapon equipped. Do you know one of the most recurring questions of novice players, who shyly approach the franchise? "I have a sword equipped but my hero does not use it to attack: what am I wrong?". No one was wrong, it was simply the animation of the attack with that particular weapon that was completely missing. Here, similar scenarios should no longer occur. As the number of attack animations increases, it seems to correspond, at least judging from the first movies, a greater variety of effects triggered by the same attacks on the bodies of hostile creatures. Limbs and massive amounts of blood fly away to every corner of the screen as the blades crash of their heroes on the unfortunate monsters who dare to hinder their path.
The Sanctuary game world will feature five different regions: Scosglen, the homeland of the Druids, Shattered Peaks, where a sect of devoted priests has found refuge, Steppes Arid, where only the most tenacious or desperate souls dare to wander, Hawezar, kingdom of the Witches and dangerous fanatics of now forgotten cults. Finally, we find thel Kejhistan Desert, among whose dunes groups of cultists are born, eager to plumb ancient abandoned ruins in search of a way that can bring the First Evils back to life. The movement between the different regions will take place without solution of continuity, that is in a fluid way and without loading times. It is reasonable to assume that teleportation systems to certain areas will be, if not present immediately, at least to be activated during the adventure. It will therefore be possible to explore the game world in a much more in-depth way than what was seen in Diablo 3, where this is basically divided into limited areas. Environmental puzzles, rock climbing and a real-time jumping system they will add a pinch of dynamism to your travels, during which you can also rely only on your mount. For the latter it will be possible to obtain some pieces of equipment, such as various trophies of exterminated creatures represented by the head of the same, which will hang wearily on the side of your precious animal.
Sanctuarium: a connected world
The various cities and regions of Sanctuary will be joined together by a series of encampments; the latter will be almost all to be conquered, in one way or another, thanks to the random generation of random events that can be carried out both in online co-op mode and alone. Most of the game areas will be open to everyone, but small portions of each region will be reserved exclusively for the Campaign. At the end of the events narrated, however, these areas will also open up to the online universe of Diablo 4. In the months that will follow the launch (Blizzard has not unfortunately not unbalanced even on the occasion of BlizzCon 2021, even if we know for sure that the game does not will be released for sure by the end of this year) different events will be presented to players, which should be able to keep the interest of fans of the series alive: come on World Bosses (As Ashava, the ancient demon seen in the Demo version shown at BlizzCon 2019) at Shipping. These are random events to complete which you can invite friends or activate matchmaking, opening the doors to players from all over the world in their game. Of shipping targets they will be introduced to ensure greater rewards (and greater dangers). Some events related to the liberation of certain camps have been revealed: you will find yourself, for example, facing a curse that turns the inhabitants of a place into piles of salt; or again, you will be called upon to challenge a mighty spirit capable of possessing the bodies of hordes of the undead. Blizzard has specified on the official website that the key points followed by the development team for the realization of these particular missions are: variety, strategic depth and the player's role.
In terms of variety and depth, the developers revealed that clearing a camp from the enemy will ensure the unlocking of additional areas that are otherwise inaccessible and will guarantee the obtaining of particularly powerful equipment. The developers have emphasized the fact that any type of event can be addressed even in single: it will therefore not be mandatory to form a team to complete the missions, in any case (will it also apply to the world Bosses? We still have to find out ...). Some cutscenes will hold the various events together, be it from the Campaign or randomly generated events that you may encounter while exploring. The hero (finally partially customizable) will be shown with his current appearance during these cutscenes, to increase immersion and empathy. In the aforementioned camps, random encounters with other players may take place; you will therefore find yourself inside real Hubs, like the capitals of World of Warcraft. The number of people connected simultaneously to the same game, not yet declared, should not exceed ten units: Blizzard has in fact clarified that that of making the player feel almost entirely alone in the game world it is a precise technical choice, not a limit of Diablo.
Diablo 4 Classes (unveiled)
Blizzard has immediately unveiled three Classes available for Diablo 4, to which, for a few hours (through BlizzCon 2021) has been added the Cutthroat. This dangerous female figure joins a roster made up of the Barbarian, brutal and physical warrior, fromEnchantress, a character able to tap into the power of the elements and magic and Druid, master of metamorphosis able to transform into a bear or a wolf if necessary. Then, there is precisely the Cutthroat: similar to the Demon Slayer seen in Diablo 3, she will be able to combine ranged attacks with close-range attacks using lethal bows or poisonous sharp blades. In addition, she will be able to rely on the Magic of the Shadow, in which realm to drag the demons who dare to hinder her path. At the moment it seems confirmed the indiscretion that each class would like linked to a preset sex. As mentioned, finally Blizzard has added the ability to customize, at least in part, your hero, selecting the hair, the design of the tattoos, the shape of the scars and "much more" (which we can't wait to discover). The progression of each Class will be divided into three branches, as shown for the Cutthroat: Shadow Realm, Combo Points and Exploit Weakness. The first will allow you to drag a number of enemy creatures and demons with you into the Shadow Realm, where your hero will be immune to enemy hits and will inflict attacks with a precise additional percentage of damage. The second branch, Combo Points, allows you to charge more powerful attacks through the use of basic attacks. Finally, the third branch, Exploit Weakness, will allow you to identify the weak points of enemy creatures, inflicting a large amount of additional damage and guaranteeing critical hits for each hit. An extremely interesting detail is what Blizzard has decided to offer one series of different missions based on the branch chosen for the progression of a Class. The completion of these will allow the obtaining of special equipment.
The enemies, in Diablo 4, will be divided into families, like that of Cannibals or of the Drowned. Each will boast a specific number of members who will differ from each other by archetypes: there will be for example giants, distance fighters, melee warriors and so on. Each family will be linked to a specific region of the Sanctuary world.
The Tree of Skills, the Runes, the talents
In Diablo 4 there will be an imposing Tree of Skills Divided into two zones: the high one, dedicated to unlocking skills and upgrades of the same, and the lower one, dedicated to passive bonuses and at the unlocking the nodes, elements able to ensure further enhancements to the passive bonuses already unlocked. The skill points useful to unlock the new powers can be obtained not only by leveling up but also following the discovery of some precious Rare Tomes, scattered around the world of Sanctuary. At each new level of experience achieved it will also be possible to assign points to the following characteristics: Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity or Willpower. Contrary to what was seen in Diablo 3, in this new chapter it will not be enough to assign points only to the basic characteristic of your character (for example: Intelligence for the Enchantress). One of the reasons for this change is related to the unlocking of nodes: a node can, for example, guarantee an additional lightning bolt when casting a particular spell, and can also boast a secondary power, such as that of increasing a certain percentage of damage. . Well, if you had chosen to take on the role of the Enchantress, and decided to assign all the points earned on the Intelligence characteristic, you would now be faced with the evidence of your fatal mistake: the secondary bonus of the unlocked node (the one relating to the damage increase) requires a certain number of experience points related to Strength. Ignoring this last feature would not allow you to benefit from the secondary node bonus. The skill upgrades at the top of the Tree will work in the same way: having scored a precise amount of experience points in a certain characteristic (example: Intelligence), will allow you to cast that particular spell (unlocked skill) with a greater amount of damage.
In addition to the nodes, in the branches of the Skill Tree it will be possible to unlock more upgrades which will not be specific to individual skills, but linked to a specific family of the skills themselves. A practical example: the "Overcharge" enhancement (which in turn can be improved in three different degrees) guarantees, upon the occurrence of a critical hit, the ability to generate a secondary effect linked to attacks based on lightning, which allows to obtain an additional increase in Mana when you are near the lightning you just hurled. It is good to point out that it will not be possible to unlock all skills for a single character, all the upgrades of the skills themselves, all the passive upgrades and all the joints: this aspect will allow the creation of a character well oriented towards a specific style of play. Here, too, we provide a simple example: focusing on skills that increase lightning damage with the Enchantress will preclude the possibility of unlocking the most powerful cold skills. The developers have pointed out that in Diablo 4, when you find yourself at the end of the Campaign and, consequently, at the beginning of the endgame content, the character will have unlocked about 30% -40% of the total skill, of the upgrades and nodes that it will be possible to obtain at much higher levels.
There will also be unique gameplay mechanics designed specifically for each individual Class. For example, the Barbarian owns the system Arsenal which allows him to take with him more main weapons, with the possibility of exchanging them in real time during the fights. Similarly, the Enchantress can also boast her own dedicated Class mechanics: entitled "Enchantment“, This will offer the player a choice how to take advantage of an unlocked magical ability: inserting the latter among the active skills, you will have the opportunity to obtain certain effects, while you will get different ones by placing the skill in the passive skills section. One more example: the Enchantress might be able to plummet a meteorite on the head of a single enemy (active skill) or he could opt for obtaining the passive effect, which will cause not one to fall from the sky, but three meteorites, capable of doing less damage but hitting a larger area, snatching life (or part of it) from a better number of enemy creatures. Whatever your choices regarding which skills, upgrades and nodes to unlock in the Skill Tree, the developers have confirmed that it will always be possible to reset everything, to create a completely different character, provided, however, that you agree to spend an increasingly higher sum of money as your hero's strength increases (and with the increase in the elements already unlocked in the Tree). As for the Ancestral, Demonic and Angelic Powers, Blizzard confirmed that it took note of the negative feedback from many users, who found this aspect of the game too confusing and demanding: too many pieces of equipment required simultaneously for the activation of bonuses that do not seem to justify the effort to be devoted to careful creation of a new build, basically. In this respect it will be necessary to wait for further developments by the developer himself.
Runes will be back in Diablo 4, sensationally absent in Diablo 3 and much requested by longtime players, who have learned to appreciate these wonderful objects in Diablo 2. Although the software house has not yet unbuttoned much about it, we know that the functioning of these will be divided into two types: Terms ed Effects. Combining a Condition with a certain Effect will allow you to create a unique Legendary Power. We hope that the Rune system will take into account the combination of Words. A rune can be set in an object with a bezel (as for gems), but in Diablo 2 the use of a certain number of runes, inserted with the right order, gave life to incredible effects, even modifying the name of the object in a unique way. Unfortunately, there are not many details about it, therefore we can only keep our fingers crossed so that such a splendid system (which we pretend to relive at least in Diablo 2 Resurrected) may also be present in Diablo 4. There will be an interesting one in the new chapter gameplay mechanics linked to the various Bosses that will cross during the adventure: some specific types of attack will charge what could be in effect defined a "Damage Bar", to the detriment of the Boss. When this bar is filled, a precise effect will be triggered, as it could be that of the stunning of the wicked creature, or perhaps the loss of a limb (think for example of one of the eight legs of a giant spider).
PvP will be present and limited to specific regions of the game world. The zones dedicated to this mode are called Fields of Hatred. These areas will be infested with the negative influence of Mephisto (Lilith's father), which leads all players to be particularly violent (in practice, a pretext like any other to justify the clashes). Inside the PvP there will be a coin (Fragments of Hatred) useful for buying exclusive items designed precisely for this modality. Shards can be obtained by completing missions or collecting them from other heroes who have fallen in battle. If within a team there is the crafty of the situation, who decides to attack a teammate to get all the fragments of the victim's hatred, this it will be highlighted to all other players (in perfect “Wanted” style of western movies and games): the manhunt will be open at that point and the traitor, on the next round, will think about it at least once more before embarking on such an undertaking. The ears they will be present as simple trophies. The developers have confirmed that the Hardcore mode (with permadeath activated) and a system of Seasons.
Class identity and objects in Diablo 4
In Diablo 4 the objects will be divided into (in order of importance): normal, magical, rare, legendary and complete, ancient, mythical pieces. Also, there will be objects only. The mythical ones will be so powerful that you can only use one at a time, they will boast predefined affixes and will follow a particular theme, with specific class powers and a characteristic appearance. There seems to be some confusion regarding the presence of mythic and unique items in Diablo 4: in a previous quarterly update, mythic items are listed among those that will be available in the new chapter of the series. A later update specifies that unique items will replace mythic items. In this respect we are forced to wait for clarification from the development team. In any case, Blizzard is developing Diablo 4 items according to the following philosophy:
Objects should only enhance and support a class, not define it.
Therefore the will of the developers of strengthen the identity of each class. Each object will have a Speed value and a precise physical Characteristic (such as the parade for shields). As you can see in the image shown a few lines above, in Diablo 4 it will not be taken for granted that a legendary object (orange) can necessarily be more powerful (or even better, more useful) than a magical (blue) or rare object (yellow). The substantial difference is to be found in the quantity of affixes offered: Legendaries have more affixes than rare, which in turn offer more affixes than magical items. But for the precise growth path taken by your hero, which takes into account all the skills, all the upgrades and all the joints unlocked in the Skill Tree (as seen above), it is not certain that a legendary can do more to your case than a magical object can. Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that as the quantity of affixes offered by an object increases, the power of the affixes themselves decreases. Each affix will now be more in keeping with the type of object to which it will be linked: resistance values will be found on the armor, as well as offensive effects will be found on the weapons.
As for the legendary items, Blizzard has specified that legendary affixes will be randomly generated. This aspect will ensure further variety to the gameplay structure: in Diablo 3, having identified a right build, it was sufficient to equip a precise legendary object to be sure to be able to rely on a relative legendary affix. This will no longer be possible in Diablo 4. Additionally, some Legendary Affixes will only be tied to certain Classes. Everyone will be able to change the dynamics of a skill: for example, regarding the Enchantress's Teleport ability, we could find three variants: one capable of increasing the defensive capacity after activating the teleport, a variant capable of increasing the damage dealt immediately after activation, and finally the resetting of the recovery times of the ability, however linked to a random destination at the end of the teleportation. Each item will be marketable in Diablo 4 via a direct swap, as in Diablo 2. There will be no Auction House (introduced in Diablo III and then removed). The items will no longer be transferable once worn, and in any case they can only be transferred to users on their friends list.
Blizzard has not yet announced a release date for Diablo 4, but for sure, as already mentioned at the beginning, the title will not be released later this year. The game is intended for the following platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. In any case, we can be quite certain that the game will see the light (at least thanks to the backwards compatibility function) on the consoles of the current generation: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S. Before saying goodbye, we remind you that Blizzard confirmed nature last December free-to-play di Diablo Immortal, the first chapter of the franchise dedicated to mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). Finally, we invite you to take a look at our special dedicated to Diablo II: from the game to the legend until his resurrection.
