My Hopes for Diablo IV
With the recent announcements around Diablo IV, the time is ripe for fans of the franchise to throw around their demands on the game and their (somewhat founded) fears that its release will be as rocky as its most recent predecessor’s. While it is undeniable that Diablo III’s release left much to be desired, the end product remained true to the franchise and did its best to address many issues that ran rampart in Diablo II, including botting and duping, which completely obliterated the in-game economy and either forced players to cheat or fall behind. I can only hope Diablo IV continues to stave off these plagues, albeit in a undoubtedly different fashion.
My greatest hope for Diablo IV is that it blends the darker, more Gothic worlds of Diablo and Diablo II, the Rare Loot depth of Diablo II and the mechanics and storytelling of Diablo III. I’m not sure what the best system for trading would be – but I do know that I’m looking for something in between a real-money auction house and a complete moratorium on trades in general. The game will feature the same isometric view as the previous titles and sport the same class-based gameplay.
Five classes are expected to be available on launch, three of which have already been released. The first two should not shock anyone who has paid attention to the franchise as the Barbarian and Sorceress have been long-standing staples in Diablo (although the Sorc was re-branded as a Wizard in D3). The first announced class is a refreshed take of the Druid class, which was often-overlooked in D2 and a class that was never realized in the franchise’s third installment.
We already know that Ancient Legendary items have been given the boot, which I optimistically interpret as the notion that loot charts will be deeper and less emphasis will be placed on set bonuses and legendary traits. D3 was missing some of the magic Diablo II offered with the incredibly useful Rare loot that could drop off of The Burning Hell’s vanquished minions.
We already know that a new Runeword system will be implemented in Diablo IV, and this might be my favourite news so far for the game. Runewords were a huge part of what made D2 so addictive, collecting/swapping HRs to finish your ultimate EbotdZ was a long, arduous and rewarding journey that Diablo III seemed to lack.
The skill trees also seem to have reverted back to a pre-D3 system, with skill points being spent on improving skills instead of runes that unlock for your skills. It has also been announced that each class will have only five abilities, which makes me a little nervous. The depth of abilities and their combinations was always one of my favourite parts of the Diablo franchise and I would hate to see it disappear.
For now, with the little information that we have, Diablo IV seems very promising with its overall composition. Now, all that is left is for some time to pass so that we can gather more tidbits and follow the developers as they carefully craft what could be the best dungeon-crawler of our generation.
Below I have linked both the Cinematic and Gameplay Trailers for your viewing pleasure. Stay awhile, and listen.