Why isn't Blizzard adding more features to Diablo 4?
Diablo 4 adds major new features to the Diablo series, including an open world map, ability to own and ride mounts, and the Paragon Board end-game system; however, Blizzard knows that introducing too many new features risks making Diablo 4 not feel like a Diablo game anymore. Below are some features that appear in other action RPGs and MMOs, but didn't make the cut for Diablo 4's base game (it's possible they could be in future seasons or expansions).
Which features won't Diablo 4 have?
Curse items
Blizzard stated that Curse items are difficult to balance and hard for players to understand the effects of. Instead, Blizzard says it wants to concentrate its efforts on items that aid and combo with the character's skills [1]:
"Kiss/Curse items are really hard to design successfully. There tends to be a case where you get badly screwed over by them. But, maybe. Right now, the legendaries we're ready to talk about are things that modify existing skills. For example, your Sorcerer has Teleport and you can get a legendary that says "removes the cooldown on Teleport." You can get another legendary that allows it to do a Nova area when you Teleport, so you can combine those to change the way Teleport works."Joe Shely · Diablo IV Game Director ·
Charm items
Charms in Diablo 2 were items that gave players small bonuses when kept in inventory. This caused players to repeatedly have to reorganize their inventory and revisit town more often. Blizzard wanted to avoid these hassles with Diablo 4, so the game won't have charms [2]
"Inventory space was difficult. I think the upside is it's cool collecting these bonuses to items and that interact with the item tetris of it all, but what's not as ideal is making a system so that you sacrifice convenience for power, so if I'm okay with going back to town a hundred more times than you then I can be more powerful -- that I think we can improve."
Fishing
Similar to past games in the Diablo series, Diablo 4 won't have fishing [3], despite some fans' wants and it appearing in recent action RPG games, like Lost Ark. During BlizzConline 2021, Blizzard gave a short and adamant no to the question:
"No."
Jousting
Diablo 4 will be the first game in the Diablo series to support mounts. Some fans have speculated that this may allow for jousting against other players in PvP or fighting monsters from horseback, but Blizzard has made clear that this won't be the case [4]:
"One thing we knew we didn't want to do with mounts in Diablo 4 is jousting -- this idea of fighting from horseback. It's not the Diablo experience."·
Player housing
Player housing is a feature often found in MMOs. Players can purchase a house of varying quality within a town or on a plot on the game's map. Within it, they can store items, decorate it with cosmetic items, and get perks for their character. Although Diablo 4 has some MMO elements and will have a more open world feel than past Diablo games, it won't have player housing [5] (or clan housing) as a feature at launch, if ever:
"We definitely haven't talked about that one. We'll see, right?"
Rifts
Diablo 4 won't have Rifts, like in Diablo 3, but it will have a similar system, called: Nightmare Dungeons. These end-game dungeons are accessed with Nightmare Sigils, keys with a difficulty tier and affixes that make each dungeon experience unique. Each Nightmare Dungeon has a specific location [6] in Sanctuary:
"Nightmare Dungeons are our take on Rifts. If you've played Diablo 3 there'd be a thing in town that you'd go to and it'd open a portal. Off you go and you're standing in the town going to it over and over again. Now, we have these Nightmare Dungeons, which is like a Rift in some ways, but it has a sense of place. If Joe and I have Sigils, we're like: "Okay, where do we want to go?" and, "Okay, let's mount up and get on our horses. We're going to ride west."
Other features
Blizzard has also stated that Diablo 4 won't have the following:
- Auction house
- Free-to-play model
- Linux version
- Mac version
- Mobile version
- NFT-based items
- Offline mode
- Solo Self-found mode
- Switch version
- Third party addons
Xiphoid has been playing Diablo since the original's release in 1997. He made one of the largest Age of Empires sites in the late-'90s and early-'00s. Now, he runs MythicDrop.com, a premier Diablo 4 fansite.
Sources
| Article | Source | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Streamer Quin69 interviews Blizzard's Joe Shely | Blizzard | |
| 2. | Diablo IV Gameplay Demo During BlizzCon 2019 | Rhykker | |
| 3. | BlizzConline 2021: Diablo Q&A | Blizzard | |
| 4. | 2021 BlizzCon - Diablo IV: What's Next | Blizzard | |
| 5. | Rhykker interviewing David Kim at 2019 BlizzCon | Rhykker | |
| 6. | GameSpot interviews Blizzard's Rod Fergusson & Joe Shely | Blizzard |
Changelog
| Ver | Change | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Beta | Integrated Charms and Rifts guide | |
|
Beta | Integrated Cursed Items guide | |
 |
Alpha | Published original |
