With the precision of a watchmaker, Blizzard returns with a new quarterly report rich in information on Diablo IV, the next title in the legendary franchise hack'n slash.
After a report centered on the sound design, this one focuses on the different ways for our character to gain power as well as on the visual effects related to the skills of each class.
Occult Itemization
As in any self-respecting hack'n slash, Diablo IV must offer a solid build system to complete our character. Wishing to combine the best of both worlds between Diablo II and Diablo III, this fourth installment puts affixes granting skill bonuses back in the spotlight. This will unlock higher levels on the skill concerned, even if our character has not yet invested enough points in the latter. A solid way to make every item useful and boost the efficiency of a given build.
With this in mind, the affixes specific to legendary items can also be transferred to other pieces of equipment through a new "craftsman" called the Occultist. This one will recover the Essence of a legendary object, destroying it in the process, but will allow this Essence to be infused on any other piece of equipment, legendary or not. Objects said to be Unique will not, however, be able to benefit from the services of the Occultist in order to deserve their name.
A Paragon of Good Ideas?
Aware that Diablo III placed far too much importance on gaining power through equipment, and not through the evolution of the character itself, the Diablo IV teams wanted to bring a better balance in this regard. If other systems in this sense are planned, this quarterly report mainly focused on an overhaul of the Paragon system introduced in Diablo III. This will unlock at level 50 of a character and will open up a wide range of options reminiscent of a system found in Path of Exile.
The Paragon system in Diablo IV will thus be represented in different trays, allowing you to obtain different passive bonuses by advancing on the different tiles that compose it thanks to points earned at each level of Paragon. The most common will offer simple stat bonuses, while the so-called "magic" tiles will be more diversified in their benefits. The so-called “rare” tiles will offer powerful effects, subject to certain prerequisites, and the so-called “legendary” tiles, in the center of each board, will offer a unique legendary power.
Each Paragon board also has special tiles that can be embedded with Glyphs, items that can be found throughout our adventures in Sanctuary. These Glyphs will grant significant benefits depending on the number of active tiles within their range. It will also be possible to level up these Glyphs for a greater radius of influence or for more powerful effects by braving certain dungeons.
JVFR
Composed of different trays, the Paragon system will allow you to combine several of them. To do this, it will be necessary, with the points earned, to trace a path to one of the so-called "door" tiles scattered on each board. Borrowing a very good idea introduced in Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, it will be possible to orient the new board opened by a door in order to choose a tile path corresponding to a given build.
Sowing death has never looked so good
Radical change of trajectory in this quarterly report with a last part focusing on visual effects. More precisely, those generated by the skills of our characters, as much on themselves as on the environment or the monsters. A video shared in the quarterly report dwells, for example, on the muscle or bone structure of monsters, or even blood splatters.
The Diablo IV teams remind again in this part that the gameplay comes first. Adjustments must therefore be made so that the visual effects offer a balance between beauty and readability. This philosophy is particularly striking when it comes to lighting effects. Any element that generates light has its own source that interacts and lives with the rest of the elements on the screen. A particularly telling video illustrates this artistic direction.
In order to skillfully illustrate with visual effects the power of each skill, a prominent indicator should illustrate its magnitude. An inferior spell will therefore be less visually impressive, and an increased spell must stand out from its initial version. The Diablo IV teams have made sure that all of this is consistent and in line with their philosophy regarding gameplay.
This desire to improve the readability of combat is also illustrated by an overhaul of the skill impact system. Previously, each direct or area effect skill applied in a single frame, which caused a lack of consistency and clarity. In Diablo IV, these impacts follow the animation of a skill so that the whole thing is more realistic. The video below provides a more concrete illustration to better see the work done.
Finally, the quarterly report is interested in the visual effects of death generated by some skills of each class. The Barbarian will not sow death in the same way as a Thief, more focused on precise attacks or the use of shadows. Likewise, a Sorcerer and a Druid will use different elements and apply them in different ways to eliminate their opponents. To illustrate these differences, each unique skill will have a different death animation, which will also adapt to the monster that is the victim, as much in its nature as in its size.
To find out some of the torment that the four currently known classes will inflict on their enemies, we invite you to consult the quarterly report (in English) cited in the source below. This one is in any case particularly provided and makes us dangle a mature Diablo IV in every sense of the word.
See you next year for the first quarterly report of the year 2022, the content of which remains to be discovered. Anyway, we can't wait to discover more and, above all, to return to Sanctuary on the occasion of this fourth opus… which unfortunately is not about to see the light of day. Or Hell, depending.
