26 votes

Diablo IV - Season 1 Announcement - Season of the Malignant

17 comments

  1. [6]
    meff
    Link
    I've been thinking of grabbing the game, being a big fan of D1-D3, but I'm a lot busier/older these days. Do y'all think this is a good time to start running it? Any Tildes groups running it together?

    I've been thinking of grabbing the game, being a big fan of D1-D3, but I'm a lot busier/older these days. Do y'all think this is a good time to start running it? Any Tildes groups running it together?

    4 votes
    1. AugustusFerdinand
      Link Parent
      I've greatly enjoyed the game, I found the story interesting, cinematics amazing, the world engaging, and the gameplay enjoyable. There are some issues that annoy, but nothing game breaking, if...

      I've greatly enjoyed the game, I found the story interesting, cinematics amazing, the world engaging, and the gameplay enjoyable. There are some issues that annoy, but nothing game breaking, if you're a fan of the Diablo series and ARPGs in general I think you'll like it. It has gone much darker than D3 in more than just color palette and there are some truly "holy shit" scenes in the game.

      That said, there are louder complaints about endgame content/gameplay loop/grind, so if you're the type that skipped every cutscene in the previous Diablo games and only wants to do the endgame, you might want to wait for it to get more polish.

      8 votes
    2. [2]
      Serious-question
      Link Parent
      I would compare D4 to D3 before Reaper of Souls. The gameplay isn't terrible, but some design decisions are headscratchers (removed multiple goblins, removed sets, removed crafting specific...

      I would compare D4 to D3 before Reaper of Souls. The gameplay isn't terrible, but some design decisions are headscratchers (removed multiple goblins, removed sets, removed crafting specific items).

      The game feels pretty sluggish in my opinion. It seems like the grind sets in around level 30 because that's when your power starts falling off. The kill times are like 2 or 3x what they were in D2/D3.

      If you are enjoying other games right now, I would stick with those until Blizzard expands on this game. They are making some small changes for the new season, but I don't think it will change the fundamental problems. I am hopeful for down the road and this could be a great game, but not there yet.

      4 votes
      1. DoomedCivilian
        Link Parent
        Removing Sets is probably a net good. Diablo 3 builds basically live and die as to whether they have a set available for them, it severely limits diversity in the end game. Legendary aspects do...

        Removing Sets is probably a net good. Diablo 3 builds basically live and die as to whether they have a set available for them, it severely limits diversity in the end game. Legendary aspects do the same limitation, sort of, but it should be easier to add more legendary aspects rather than more sets over time.

        And for levels, the game picks up again after L50 (Paragon boards open up), and again at L70 (Tier 4 introduces new item tiers), but the gaps of 30-50 and 60-70 are pretty bad. It should be relatively easy to tighten up the leveling curve over the next few seasons, though.

        But otherwise I agree, it's a nice and solid foundation, but right now there are better options for your gaming time.

        7 votes
    3. Moogles
      Link Parent
      Every aspect of this game can varying degrees of bland. It has these almost moments, punctuated by “okay this almost fun boss just one shotted me randomly.” The biomes are samey, the hordes are...

      Every aspect of this game can varying degrees of bland. It has these almost moments, punctuated by “okay this almost fun boss just one shotted me randomly.” The biomes are samey, the hordes are samey, characters talk way too much, the camera rarely moves from its isometric angle.

      There’s never a compelling reason to take down the titular villain Lilith. Compared to just about every other major figure, Lilith comes out looking pretty good, but you and your companions never really stop and comment about that.

      The game is fine, if you liked Diablo III you’ll probably like Diablo IV. Just don’t expect to be blown away and don’t expect to descend into hell for this elaborate build, I didn’t even realize I was in the apex of the story until I finished it.

      4 votes
    4. WisconsinCheesy
      Link Parent
      I found it very boring. Lack of enemy density just kills the pacing. Also some builds have some very long cooldowns, which just means you send more time auto attacking.

      I found it very boring. Lack of enemy density just kills the pacing. Also some builds have some very long cooldowns, which just means you send more time auto attacking.

      1 vote
  2. [5]
    RedHawk
    Link
    So if I am reading that right, we’ll need to complete the campaign on all new seasonal characters to unlock all rewards? Super annoying to have to go through the campaign again, not that it was...

    So if I am reading that right, we’ll need to complete the campaign on all new seasonal characters to unlock all rewards? Super annoying to have to go through the campaign again, not that it was that much of a grind, still annoying. I liked D3’s seasons where you could just do rifts etc. to level (or be power leveled). Hopefully they make it a smoother experience than PoE is as that is an absolute slog to get through the entire campaign before getting to maps.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      stu2b50
      Link Parent
      If you beat the campaign once, you won’t have to do it again, like in Diablo 3.

      If you beat the campaign once, you won’t have to do it again, like in Diablo 3.

      11 votes
      1. RedHawk
        Link Parent
        Thanks! I must have misread that part. Good to know I won’t have to sit through the entire campaign again.

        Thanks! I must have misread that part. Good to know I won’t have to sit through the entire campaign again.

        3 votes
    2. Arlen
      Link Parent
      I see the confusion, it's this line: What they said during the livestream (that's not clear in this liveblog) is that that one character can be one that already exists, i.e. if you've already...

      I see the confusion, it's this line:

      Many Objectives can be completed through Campaign progression, however, the Malignant Seasonal Mechanic will only become available to players after they have completed the Campaign on one character.

      What they said during the livestream (that's not clear in this liveblog) is that that one character can be one that already exists, i.e. if you've already completed the campaign, you can just jump right in.

      The only thing that's gated behind campaign completion is the malignant hearts mechanic (and I think the new storyline). What they mean by "Many Objectives can be completed through Campaign progression" is that you can still be completing season journey tasks (i.e. "complete a dungeon") and collecting season pass points even if you're not done with the campaign yet.

      4 votes
    3. Bradical
      Link Parent
      They’ve said before that you’ll be able to skip the campaign, if I recall correctly. But you will have to create a new character. Edit: realized you were referring to getting all the season pass...

      They’ve said before that you’ll be able to skip the campaign, if I recall correctly. But you will have to create a new character.

      Edit: realized you were referring to getting all the season pass rewards. Not sure about that.

      2 votes
  3. [5]
    wobbling
    Link
    Looking forward to this. I’ve worked a rogue through campaign, and am excited to use this impetus to start a different class. Any input on a good first alt?

    Looking forward to this. I’ve worked a rogue through campaign, and am excited to use this impetus to start a different class. Any input on a good first alt?

    1 vote
    1. [4]
      hamstergeddon
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I’m really enjoying Druid. Turning into a werewolf and just destroying everything that gets in my way is a blast. Switched to it after getting kind of bored by my first character, a sorcerer.

      I’m really enjoying Druid. Turning into a werewolf and just destroying everything that gets in my way is a blast. Switched to it after getting kind of bored by my first character, a sorcerer.

      4 votes
      1. sazed
        Link Parent
        Lvl89 Druid here. This has been some of the most fun I’ve had in an arpg in a long time. I almost don’t want to switch up classes for season 1.

        Lvl89 Druid here. This has been some of the most fun I’ve had in an arpg in a long time. I almost don’t want to switch up classes for season 1.

        2 votes
      2. AugustusFerdinand
        Link Parent
        Started with Sorc and Necro, stopped playing Necro because it was too painful to play solo through campaign and blight was causing issues playing with others, so swapped to Druid and greatly...

        Started with Sorc and Necro, stopped playing Necro because it was too painful to play solo through campaign and blight was causing issues playing with others, so swapped to Druid and greatly enjoyed it so finished the campaign, every side mission I have found, and talked to every NPC on that character as my "story" character.

        Still enjoy my Ice Sorc as it simply melts everything, but having spent 20M gold re-speccing to try various fire and lightning builds, I will admit that it is a bit boring that my only option was ice. I did swap from Ice Shards to Blizzard and enjoy it much more. I've read that Sorc isn't great in the very late stages of endgame, but I'm not the type to grind to 100 for BIS gear and I don't min/max any of my characters or follow build guides. I just play what feels fun (and actually kills enemies).

        1 vote
      3. wobbling
        Link Parent
        Thanks both. Conveniently I play a Druid in dnd, so that’ll be my season 1 go to. Twisting blades is a pretty fun rogue spec with some room to be creative in secondary skills if you’re looking for...

        Thanks both. Conveniently I play a Druid in dnd, so that’ll be my season 1 go to. Twisting blades is a pretty fun rogue spec with some room to be creative in secondary skills if you’re looking for a change yourselves.

        1 vote
  4. Stumpdawg
    Link
    I've been slacking on this game. My Final Fantasy pixel remaster came in finally and I've been going between that and Tears of the Kingdom. Definitely need to hop on when the season launches

    I've been slacking on this game. My Final Fantasy pixel remaster came in finally and I've been going between that and Tears of the Kingdom.

    Definitely need to hop on when the season launches

    1 vote