GamesActionDiablo 4Blizzard just revived Diablo 4 with a list of changes so massive that it’s practically a new gameWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionDiablo 4Blizzard just revived Diablo 4 with a list of changes so massive that it’s practically a new gameWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Tyler C. / Activision Blizzard)
Blizzard should call Diablo 4’s next season Diablo 5 because the changes coming are so fundamental and widespread, it’s going to feel like you’re playing a full-on sequel.
After months of teasing a massive overhaul to Diablo 4’s core design, Blizzard used today’sCampfire Chat steamto walk through season 4’s rework—which will be permanently in the game from then on—to loot and many of the game’s other core systems over the course of a nearly two-hour stream.
The changes touch almost every aspect of the game, which is probably why the stream opened with game director Joe Shely defining the most important aspects of Diablo 4 as the decisions you make before combat and the ones you make in between to set up what’s in store next season.
Season 4’s loot rework redefines how you build your character through loot and adds much-needed complexity—and creativity—to Diablo 4’s character progression.
Diablo 4’s items, and your character as a result, are going to become flexible in ways they’ve never been since its release. A pair of gloves, for example, can drop with only a few stats, or affixes, you want, and—through two new crafting systems—these can now be shaped around the kind of build you want to play. Blizzard has clearly taken inspiration from Last Epoch and Path of Exile to add a staggering amount of customization to its loot. The hope is that the age of sorting through mountains of gear for the perfect items is finally over—and Blizzard believes it can be done without a loot filter.
A whole new way to upgrade loot
Image1of3Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Image1of3Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Image1of3
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Manuals drop consistently as you play and are permanently available in a menu.(Image credit: Blizzard)
The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)
The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)
The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)
The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)
The anvil icon signifies stats you’ve added via Tempering.(Image credit: Blizzard)
You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
You can reset Masterworking upgrades and roll to upgrade different stats.(Image credit: Blizzard)
Let’s walk through a theoretical example of how upgrading loot will work in season 4 and onwards:
The new variability forces you to choose what parts of a build you like the most, and should make every piece of gear exciting to upgrade.
The new variability forces you to choose what parts of a build you like the most, and should make every piece of gear exciting to upgrade.
This is, of course, a hyper-specific example. I don’t think most players will want 40% bonus movement speed on their gloves, but you get the idea: You can push your favorite stats up to ridiculously high numbers on each piece of gear. And some of the stats will fundamentally change how skills work—a maxed-out Bone Splinters stat will probably cover the screen in projectiles. And that’s only one example; there are plenty more for other classes to discover in season 4.
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The sheer amount of different gear you can create through Tempering and Masterworking—which will replace the basic blacksmith upgrade system—is huge, and I suspect no two builds will work exactly the same as a result. Diablo 4 will never escape having meta builds, but the variability forces you to choose what parts of them you like the most, and should make every piece of gear exciting to upgrade.
The biggest changes to how you acquire loot
(Image credit: Blizzard)
To support this new system, Blizzard has made a number of other major changes to the way items, affixes, and aspects work in Diablo 4:
Blizzard has effectively pulled the most exciting loot into the earlier parts of the game so everyone can get a taste of different builds sooner, and shifted the value of loot for endgame players who know exactly what they want away from the moment it drops. The drawback, of course, is that the chase for the best stats and best gear probably won’t have a definitive end as they do now. You will simply have to decidewhen you’re satisfied.
New endgame activities
All of these improvements will give you the extra power you’ll need for Diablo 4’s newest endgame activities:
(Image credit: Blizzard)
Class changes—some of which aim to legitimize weak builds like minion necromancers—are coming too, as well as a slew of quality-of-life changes, like the ability to zoom your camera out a little more. Blizzard said the full list of patch notes will be available next week, and you can expect them to be War and Peace-sized.
To make sure season 4’s launch goes smoothly, Blizzard will runa week-long playtest, or PTR, starting on April 2 for PC players using the Battle.net launcher. And on May 14, Diablo 4’s most pivotal season will launch, marking an entirely new era for the action RPG.
TOPICSActivision BlizzardBlizzard Entertainment
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