Though it’s only early access, a sizable portion ofDiablo 4players take issue with how the game’s progression feels when compared to its predecessors and peers. The latest installment of theDiablosaga certainly doesn’t lack for spectacle, as fans who purchased the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of the game have enjoyed storming the gates of Hell a few days earlier than most. Whether as Druids or Barbarians, or any othericonicDiabloclass, the slow-paced combat ofDiablo 4hearkens back to the franchise’s roots in a very satisfying way, and yet the systems surrounding the moment-to-moment gameplay have left many players disappointed.
The campaign inDiablo 4is vast, featuring a Prologue, Epilogue, and a franchise-first six Acts to complete. They take the player across five distinct Regions, as they attempt to hunt down Lilith, figure out her plans for Sanctuary, and ultimately confront her before she can enact them. Finishing the campaign allows players to undertake a Capstone Dungeon, whichunlocks World Tier 3 inDiablo 4, the start of its endgame, and the source of the community’s current grievances.
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Originally posted by TheStarNomad on the official subreddit forDiablo, many fans are coming to a realization that character progression inDiablo 4is missing a few ingredients. In its current state, it doesn’t feel satisfying, with players citing skill trees, itemization, and world scaling as the major issues. The journey toreach the level cap inDiablo 4continuously diminishes a character’s power due to the strict scaling present inDiablo 4, which streamers and players alike have described as counter-intuitive for the genre. Levels feel largely cosmetic, and ceaselessly hunting for loot to stay powerful introduces a negative feedback loop.
Theskill trees inDiablo 4offer plenty of variety early on, as players test out which flavor of Necromancer or Rogue they want to go with, but as they continue to gain more levels, the passives don’t evolve these core abilities in any meaningful way, nor do they offer a significant increase in attack power as certain legendaries are acting as the sole conductor of skill viability. When contrasted against skill runes inDiablo 3, many fans feel that build variety inDiablo 4leaves a lot to be desired.
ThoughDiablo 4players have reported that world scaling gets better after reaching endgame, the issue that seems to linger concerns the itemization system. Unlike previousDiablotitles,Diablo 4has a more simplified take on affixes by consolidating several previous stats into Attack and Defense. While it allows the developers to more easily balance the game, players believe that it makes items fundamentally uninteresting, as only a few affixes that scale better such as Vulnerable or Critical Strike Chance are truly worth farming for. Ultimately, players are hoping that Blizzard will take a look at some of these shortcomings ahead of Season 1.
Diablo 4releases on June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
