Diablo IV Beta Review – Interesting Nuances and Important Shortcomings

Brau3er March 22, 2023 News, Previews

On March 17, a beta test of the continuation of the cult series of games from the Blizzard Entertainment studio, Diablo IV, took place. Promising innovations were made to the game mechanics, and interesting nuances were added, but there were a couple of important shortcomings.

Almost 12 years passed between the release of the highly successful ARPGs, Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. Between Diablo 3 and Diablo IV, 11 years have passed – a vast, if you think about it, time to create a game. During this time, many trends have appeared and managed to die, but Diablo, like decades ago, is built according to the same scheme: the player rushes through locations, kills monsters, upgrades, looks for new equipment, and so on ad infinitum. Diablo 4 is painfully similar to its predecessors in this regard – here the series is unchanged, but this brings its own problems.

Many fans have high hopes for Diablo 4, and for good reason. If the remake of Diablo 2 Resurrected was an exemplary game, literally returning to childhood and it was difficult to change anything in it, then Diablo: Immortal made the players convulsively clutch their wallets in their hands and hope that such terrible monetization will no longer see the light of day. However, our caveat in this article is that one cannot talk about the in-game store, the already confirmed battle pass, and end-game content based on the results of the beta version since none were shown.

Blizzard has clearly heard players’ endless pleas that D4 should be some challenges from the start. No one is interested in simply yawning through the game, so in Diablo 4, they completely redid the difficulty levels and made it so that the level of health is felt.

Blizzard seems to be surprisingly able to find a middle ground between “loved old” and “inevitable future” – by the latter I mean all the networking elements designed to keep players in Diablo 4 for the long haul.

Diablo 4, with all the betting online, pleases that playing alone is even more interesting than with friends. The difficulty balance is perfect for single player – you never feel overwhelmed and even the weakest enemies can win. Bosses generally become a real test when you die, remember their behavior and come up with tactics. So no mindless “random clicks”.

However, many hours spent in the game allow us to say the following: this is still the same Diablo, in which you sit down to play for half an hour, and get up after 15 hours, having lost track of time.

Why are there so many doubts about Diablo 4

Over the past years, Blizzard seems to have lost absolutely all the trust of its fans. The failure of Warcraft 3: Reforged, unsuccessful World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, hated by many Diablo Immortal, clumsy Overwatch 2. However, the company is finally getting better.

The latest expansion for World of Warcraft was unexpectedly warmly received by fans, although many were very skeptical before the release, Overwatch 2 is very slowly being fixed, and Diablo 4 is now in beta.

And at first glance, it may seem that Diablo 4 is literally a new Diablo 2. For many, this would probably be enough, but no, the visual style is clearly inspired by the first parts of the series, but the gameplay here is an evolution. franchises, and not “everything new is a well-forgotten old”.

What’s available in the beta

For players who pre-ordered the game, three classes out of 5 were available for this beta: rogue, barbarian, and sorcerer, which can be leveled from level 1 to 25. The entire first game act was provided for research, with huge locations and a lot of side action. To completely finish this zone will obviously take more than a dozen hours. And during the open beta (March 24-26) 2 more classes, the necromancer, and druid, (and the original 3) will be available for the game.

The main game loop is still the same as before. Your hero runs around the map, destroying monsters, gaining levels, learning new skills and builds and using them to destroy even more enemies. The combat system in Diablo 4 seems to be extremely simple and conceptually did not bring anything new.

Actually, this is one of the most important parts of Diablo gameplay – incredibly addictive and repetitive gameplay, as it was in D3 and D2. It all starts simply – we are given abilities and then we need to understand how comfortable it is for us to play, then it follows – “hmm, and if you mix this skill and this”, well, after a couple of hours, combining legendary items and precious stones, such as Christmas tree decorations, you’ll be running around testing new build options like crazy. And even in the beta, it is already clear that building game builds will be one of the pillars of the endgame.

In general, yes, the basic gameplay remains the same. Get stronger, crush monsters, upgrade equipment – and so on in a circle. Some think that the gameplay in Diablo is not deep enough because of this approach, while others disappear into the game for eight to ten hours a day, and see nothing wrong with it.

Game world

It is worth recalling that in Diablo 2 the game world in which we travel is randomly generated – instead, the authors proposed a huge seamless world with a bunch of unique zones, which allowed us to explore far and wide. Nineteen years later, Blizzard decided to take this approach with Diablo 3.

And in Diablo 3, too, the worlds have become static – only the location of objects, dungeons and monsters has changed. But the fourth part is not a set of “corridors and clearings” divided into acts – it’s one huge map, stuffed to capacity with all sorts of content: dungeons, basements, events on the map, not to mention world bosses. Dungeons. Side quests (some even form full-fledged chains). Various hiding places and secrets. Huge “fortresses” inhabited by enemies and offering players to complete a certain task in order to receive a reward. Hordes of monsters are on almost every corner. Random events as in Destiny where you can meet up with other players. And, most importantly, the map is diverse and incredibly beautiful.

That is, if you go solely on the Diablo IV beta plot, you will miss a lot. Moreover, by exploring the world of Diablo 4 rewards – exploring the area, completing tasks and passing dungeons, you will receive “fame points,” which transform into nice bonuses that apply to all characters on your account. That is, if you entered the study on one character, then you will receive not only additional gold and experience but also additional skill points, but all characters on your account will receive the same map exploration skills and will be able to use them immediately after the introductory video.

Two words about the game world: it’s big and full of details. It took me over two days to explore the Diablo IV beta zone, and no matter how many times I went through it, I discovered something new around every corner. Either the altars of Lilith, some of which are very well hidden, or triggers for side quests, or just decorations that have surfaced from the lore.

You can also skip the unique “world” bosses, although this will be more difficult. The game carefully warns about their appearance as much as half an hour in advance, puts a mark on the map – in general, it does almost eve++++rything possible so that the player does not pass by. And many believe that this is the most interesting thing in this beta. Except for the barbarians, who, let’s say, are very difficult to live in this game.

So what has changed besides the world and new classes

Let’s start with something simple and something that immediately catches the eye. The game immediately has a codex that lists aspects: legendary or special powers of items that give certain bonuses. And you get aspects not only for dismantling items, but also after clearing certain dungeons. Moreover, it is very convenient, in Diablo 4 dungeons of the same first act are updated every day, and I think in a week of the game you can knock out the majority if you wish. There is one thing, but all these dungeons give aspects for each of the existing classes, that is, you can play as a sorcerer, you can level up and collect all the aspects for all classes and after you start playing, use them.

Here you can see what the developers tried to do so that they could fearlessly transfer the effects of “legendaries” from one to another. And you can make a stock of aspects of interest, and then, closer to the final pumping, use it on suitable equipment, and be who you think you are.

What I liked is that in the story campaign, there are generally full-fledged staged cinematics in which your character also takes an active part. It’s surprising how much attention the developers have given to the story, given the parallel bet on online features. However, this approach not only works but also makes the game much better.

The new skill system is a cross between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 – you have a large skill tree where skills are categorized. It seems impossible to take everything and improve, especially if you’re aiming to maximize certain skills. Each skill, in addition to the five levels of the skill itself, has several more passive bonuses: one is chosen without alternative, but the second will have to be chosen based on your own preferences. Again, it is very difficult to screw up with the build, you can reset them at any time and rebuild everything. And yes, it’s also worth considering that in addition to the usual statistics for items, you may come across +1 for a certain skill or +1 for all categories of skills (I won’t be surprised that on some legendary items there will be a property of +1 to all skills for a character, but I haven’t seen them yet).

And as stated by Blizzard, it is currently aiming for players to unlock a maximum of 30-40% of the perks in the tree by the end of the game. This means that players will have completely different builds even within the same class.

Healing potions are virtually endless, new flasks drop from enemies and even bosses during his “stages” and automatically replenish your flask. And you can improve the flask as soon as you get one or another character level – sometimes you need to look into the alchemist and improve their effectiveness. For lovers of special potions with unique effects, it became possible to brew these same potions. There are a huge number of them and they give different effects: from protection from fire to strengthening a certain type of attack. The system is certainly curious, although the number of ingredients is very large.

Conveniently done with transmogrification (the ability to change the appearance of items) – now you enchant not a specific armor or helmet, but the slot in which they lie. In other words, by changing a wardrobe item through the wardrobe, you change the entire slot in your inventory, and the best part is that if you find a better item, it will not change until you press a special button in your inventory.

A few points that are useful to know from the Diablo IV beta:

Early Access progress will move into the open beta, however, all characters will be removed at the end of the beta.
The maximum character level during the Diablo IV beta is 25.
The console version includes a co-op mode on the same screen.
By participating in the beta, you will receive several titles in the game, and a cosmetic item in the form of a sleeping wolf cub
Once the open beta is complete, the developers will review all the feedback and make any necessary changes.
The development of the game is not yet complete, so players may experience performance issues, connection issues, and elements not functioning properly.
During the beta testing, players will be able to experience the beginning of the game in Diablo IV by going through the prologue and the entire Act 1.
Diablo IV is the darkest, bloodiest and most violent of the Diablo games.
Three new stats await us: Angelic Power, Demonic Power, Ancestral Power

Looking forward to D4

I love this game so far. At least in the Diablo IV beta so far, the graphics are excellent, the plot is excellent, the battles will only get better and better over time.

Now Diablo 4 seems to be the most important step for the series. This is a modern game at the right moments, which unconditionally honors the traditions of its predecessors. The game certainly has issues – many of the dungeons are filled with the same nooks and crannies in one way or another, some of the visuals are questionable, and the loot system is a bit questionable.

However, in Diablo 4, so much is done right that any flaws seem like a mere trifle – all the more so, one way or another, they can all be fixed before the release in early June.

Surprisingly, Blizzard seems to have pulled herself together and is finally back in the big leagues. If Diablo 4 can live up to expectations after such a steep beta, then everything is in order.