Fextralife checked out patch 2.0 and the Spiritborn class:

Diablo 4 Patch 2.0 is a DIFFERENT GAME! Difficulties, Runewords, Fixed Uniques, Class Changes coming

Diablo 4 Spiritborn Class Hands-On Gameplay: SKILLS, SPIRITS & ASPECTS

Thanks Couchpotato!

Wccftech talked with Brent Gibson and Aislyn Hall about Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred:

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred Gamescom Q&A – ‘Diablo Is the Healthiest It’s Been Since Launch’

At Gamescom 2024, Blizzard showcased Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, the first of a series of expansions coming to the action RPG with a scheduled annual cadence.

[...]

To start off, which feature from Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred do you think is most important for the future of the game since you plan to support it for years to come?

Brent Gibson: The most important new feature, well, we're adding new ways to play, we're adding new forms of power. I think Mercenaries is going to have a really big impact on gameplay. Not only is it going to give players who like to play solo a small taste of playing in a party, where they can take the weaknesses of their class build and supplement it with a follower that comes along, but they can also use this whole new feature that we have called reinforcements.

With this one, you can take a mercenary and slot them into come into the fight for a moment, pull off the power of me. The cool thing about that is that you can actually define the condition, like, my health is getting low, come in and tank some of my damage, for example. It essentially starts to address the feedback that people want more skills and abilities on their bar. Now you can actually use reinforcement as kind of an additional ability that you normally wouldn't have.

Aislyn Hall: Another feature in Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred that I think is really important and is going to have an impact further on is the Kurast Undercity. It's really important in a game like Diablo that there are a lot of different activities that you can participate in, a lot of different activities that are relevant to the endgame. The Kurast Undercity is going to be a time attack mode where you have to go quickly through a dungeon. It also has a tribute system that allows you to search for specific kinds of gear that your character specifically needs right now. So, with those two things combined, I think having just a different way to play, combined with the specific rewards that it gives you, is going to be a really, really important thing.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

GameSpot interviewed Tiffany Wat and Rod Fergusson of Blizzard about Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 Devs Talk Vessel of Hatred, Spiritborn, Seasonal Changes and Community Feedback

Timestamps:

• 00:00 How much of the campaign do you need to complete before you can get into Vessel of Hatred? 
• 01:43 What is the process of choosing whether or not to the previous season mechanics were added to the core game?
• 06:27 What are the big points of feedback that the team is looking for to address once Vessel of Hatred is out?
• 08:19 What's the reception been like? You know, seeing a sort of split
  between the excitement of a new class, a desire for their old favorites.
• 11:02 What's the cadence of expansions?
• 11:45 What was the goal behind the new dungeon activity?

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted some Diablo 4 - Vessel of Hatred gameplay:

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred - Gameplay Overview | gamescom 2024

Gamingbolt reports that Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will be shown at the Gamescom.

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 - Official Season of the Infernal Hordes: Battle Pass Trailer

Fextralife checked out Diablo 4 Season 5:

Diablo 4 Season 5 Preview: What to Expect from the Season of the Infernal Hordes

Thanks Couchpotato!

You can learn more about the next Diablo 4 season tomorrow.

Couchpotato spotted the Making of the Spiritborn Trailer:

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred - Official Making of the Spiritborn Trailer

Couchpotato spotted two Vessel Of Hatred previews:

GameSpot: Spiritborn Class Impressions | Diablo 4 Vessel Of Hatred Preview

IGN: Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred - Spiritborn Class First Impressions

PCGamesN interviewed Rod Fergusson about Diablo 4 and its rivals:

Diablo 4’s Rod Fergusson explains how Blizzard beats its ARPG rivals

With Diablo 4 DLC Vessel of Hatred firmly on the way, PCGamesN talks with Blizzard at Summer Game Fest about the rise in ARPG competition.

Between the likes of Diablo 4, Last Epoch, and Path of Exile, ARPG fans are eating good right now. Each game offers something a little different while spurring the competition to learn from and bounce off of one another. Last Epoch delivers hundreds of skills while Path of Exile adopts the free-to-play model. So how does Blizzard stay distinctive from its rivals? Speaking exclusively to PCGameN at Summer Game Fest, Diablo series general manager and producer Rod Fergusson explains how D4 is staying ahead of the pack.

“To me, they’re ‘Diablo-likes’ in the way that we talk about soulslikes,” Fergusson says of Diablo 4 and its nearest competitors. “There are a couple of things Blizzard does really well from a production standpoint: We are able to create a level of triple-A polish to a game,  and I also find that the IP, the notion of heaven versus hell – people understand the core premise of it.”

Fergusson says that D4 is approachable and that Blizzard’s aim is to find the people who aren’t playing Diablo and to make the RPG feel easily accessible. It’s a game that’s simpler to understand, without the complex passives and skill trees you find in Last Epoch or Path of Exile.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will be available on Oktober 8:

Diablo IV | Vessel of Hatred | Official Release Date Trailer

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 - Official Anniversary Event Trailer

Mortismal Gaming checked out the Diablo 4 Loot Reborn Update:

Diablo 4 - Loot Reborn Update

Thanks Couchpotato!

Season 4 of Diablo 4 will luanch on May 14:

Diablo IV | Inside the Game | Loot Reborn

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new Diablo 4 trailer on IGN:

Diablo 4 - Official Lunar Awakening Trailer

Fextralife presents season 3 for Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 Season 3 Guide - Companion, Vaults, Stones, Tremors and More!

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 - Official Season of the Construct Announcement Trailer

Season of the Construct, the third season of Diablo® IV, is coming January 23! Unearth a new threat looming deep beneath the sands of Kehjistan, where a tool devised for good has been overtaken for demonic evils.

Couchpotato spotted the Official Midwinter Blight Trailer for Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 - Official Midwinter Blight Trailer

Mortismal Gaming checked out the current state of Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 - Two Seasons & Several Months Later

Couchpotato spotted the gameplay trailer for Diablo 4: Season of Blood:

Diablo IV | Season of Blood | Gameplay Trailer

The Steam page for Diablo 4 is now up.

The gates of the Burning Hells have opened once more, welcoming more of Lilith’s children home.

Diablo IV is a game about slaying nightmarish creatures and acquiring powerful gear, but also about forging memories with new and old friends. We want to break down barriers to make it easier for wanderers everywhere to defend Sanctuary.

Which is why we’re honored to announce…Diablo IV will be available to play on Steam starting

live now, and the game is available to wishlist.

Diablo IV’s presence on Steam is in addition to Battle.net, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4, so wanderers playing the game on any existing platform need not make any changes. Those wanting to play on Steam will need to first purchase the game on that platform, then connect Diablo IV to a Battle.net account (as we require for all platforms). This enables cross-platform play and more. Players using Steam will have access to features specific to that platform, such as Steam achievements, their Steam friends list, and the option to invite those friends to play in-game. We’re looking forward to seeing more defenders of Sanctuary band together and welcome any feedback you may have.

The timing of Diablo IV’s launch on Steam couldn’t be better! It coincides with the release of Season of Blood, our second Season, which introduces a new Questline for you to uncover, Vampiric Powers to wield with terrifying lethality, 5 additional endgame bosses, and more. To get a full overview of the upcoming Season of Blood, visit Developer Update Livestream that occurred today.

The Comeback Kids take a look at the current state of the Diablo franchise:

Gaming's Biggest Tragedy: The Rise And Fall Of Diablo 4

Thanks Couchpotato!

Blizzard confirmed annual expansions for Diablo 4:

Blizzard Confirms Annual Diablo 4 Expansions

Blizzard's General Manager of all things Diablo, Rod Fergusson, has confirmed that Diablo 4 will be receiving annual expansions.

Fergusson slipped as much in a recent interview with outlet Dexerto. When asked about the future of the game as well as the team's vision, Fergusson mentioned the game's expansions, which he confirmed to be a yearly thing. "But, you know, it’s years and years", the General Manager said. "That’s the thing we’re focused on. When you look at the launch of the game and this first season, we see that as building a foundation on which we can build for the future. So, as we look at our quarterly seasons, and we look at our annual expansions, those are the things that we’re really focused on for our live service."

[...]

Thanks Redglyph!

The Escapist checked out Diablo 4:

Diablo IV (Zero Punctuation)

Thanks Couchpotato!

Season of the Malignant is coming out on July 20:

Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant Reveal Date Trailer

Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant Breakdown Full Presentation

Thanks Couchpotato!

How the Diablo 4 sountrack was made:

Diablo IV's Soundtrack Team Created Perfect Music for Every Game Moment | Behind the Scenes

Thanks Couchpotato!

IGN checked out the performance of Diablo 4 on different platforms:

Diablo 4: PS4 vs Xbox One vs Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro vs Steam Deck Performance Review

Thanks Couchpotato!

PC Gamer has reviewed Diablo 4:

DIABLO 4 REVIEW

A live service action RPG that almost buries everything that makes it great.

Diablo 4 tries to ground us in its dark fantasy world, but that's an impossible task in a game where you can pull a legendary two-handed axe out of a wolf. The storytelling is as subtle as a Marvel film and about five times as long, and no matter what Diablo 4's cast of dour characters tell you, you are a superhero born with an empty inventory and the desire to fill it.

The title of Blizzard's latest action RPG hides what's really going on: Diablo 4 is a reboot. An unnecessary reboot, but one with a recognizable goal: to reconfigure the series' strengths into a modern live service format that fits into the lives of players who probably have a handful of other games to play. Once you finish its campaign, its glorious depth reveals itself, but the overwhelming grind restrains the creativity in its intricate RPG systems.

Today's prevailing live service structure, exemplified by Destiny 2, might seem to be a good fit for Diablo's historically replayable co-op design, but it actually requires a huge structural shift. Diablo 4 begins like a story-driven adventure, but it's not until you finish the campaign that its best parts start to unfold. Entire features, like the MMO-inspired Grim Favors quests or the almost roguelike Helltide events, are held back until you've suffered through a 10-hour storyline that tries to reset the over-the-top tone from Diablo 3, but goes overboard with the grimdarkness without fundamentally changing what a Diablo game is about (killing demons).

[...]

Conclusion:
Diablo 4 is packed with powerful class builds and exciting loot to find, but clouds its most creative aspects with an overly bleak world and restrictive endgame systems.

Score: 85/100

Thanks Henriquejr!

Mortismal Gaming reviewed Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 - The Review

Businesswire reports that Diablo 4 ist the fastest-selling Blizzard game of all time.

Recently Rod Fergusson revealed that two expansions are already in the works.

Thanks for the info, Couchpotato!

Diablo 4 has been released:

Diablo IV | Gameplay Launch Trailer

Diablo IV | Launch Live Action Trailer

Diablo IV | Story Launch Trailer

The developers behind Diablo 4 break down expanding the world, game systems and more:

Diablo IV interview: Paragon system, PvP, replayability and more 

The developers behind the RPG franchise break down expanding the world, game systems and more. 

Justin Corrie - PlayStation Blog Correspondent
Since its very first announcement in 2019, Diablo IV has ignited infernal anticipation among players worldwide. In the past couple of weeks, we’ve had the chance to immerse ourselves in a preview build of the game and were ensnared by its exhilarating gameplay, sinister lore, and boundless replayability. Below is an interview we’ve conducted with the minds behind the game, shedding light on the depths of this highly anticipated hellish adventure.

Can we share any features or gameplay mechanics in Diablo IV that you believe will excite some of the longtime fans of the series?

Dorottya Kollo, Lead UI Designer, Diablo IV: I always like to kick it off with the classes, because of how in-depth we went with them. We created a lore to make sure that they’re not just classes, but you actually believe in what class you’re playing as. Like Druid, this is probably one of my favorites, they can talk with animal spirits, they can actually make an offering and get something in return so there’s that transaction. And I love the fact that other players if you are not a Druid, then you cannot actually see them and interact with them. Apart from classes the skill tree is something that we’re really proud of as we put a lot of effort into it. It looked extremely different six months ago. In general when it comes to lore and gameplay, giving players the opportunity to explore the world, to explore dungeons and strongholds.

Adam Z. Jackson, Lead Class Designer, Diablo IV: There’s a series of progression systems that I think a lot of long-term fans will enjoy. You start out with the skill tree, you start out with some very simple itemization, and then as you go through the campaign, you get more and more layers on top of ways to customize your character. Late in the game, you get unique powers that give you even more ways to customize your player, and then the Paragon board comes online. So we start gentle and then there’s more systems and ways to make your character really special and powerful.

How has the studio reapproached its design philosophy for activities outside of the main story campaign in consideration to Diablo IV being an open world?

Jackson: One of the things we did that’s very unique to Diablo IV is the Codex of Power. Normally, in other games it’s a bit random, you’re just killing enemies and hoping to get the gear that you want. The Codex of Power marries two things together, we want to get you invested in this open world that we’ve created, and we also give you some deterministic ways to create the character fantasy that you want. Every dungeon that exists has a Codex of Power legendary aspect attached to it. When you defeat that dungeon for the first time, you get the essence of a legendary power. Then you can take it to a crafter called the Occultist to imbue that power onto your items. You own that power indefinitely. There are still other legendary powers that you’ll have to find through the traditional way of going and killing monsters and hoping that you get the one that you want, but this is one of the ways the open world and our systems interact with each other, to hopefully create an even better experience that we don’t have in our previous titles.

Kollo: Yeah, and with the open world, it was definitely a feel of like, how do we handle the Diablo front when it comes to the actual gameplay, how do we engage players as they explore the world? The team did awesome because you never really know what you’ll find. You start going somewhere, it’s like, oh I’m going to pin this quest, and I really want to do it. But then you constantly get distracted, because there’s so many things going on. You might hear villagers screaming somewhere and now you want to check it out. So it’s all about that unpredictable element in creating the world.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted some Diablo 4 reviews:

WCCFTech: Diablo IV Review - Great, Albeit Safe, Hack 'n' Slash Action
Diablo IV is almost here, and we've played a lot of it during ten days of hectic and very pleasing action on review servers for the press.

Videogamer: Our Diablo 4 review tackles the latest entry in the long-running series where you slay demons and earn better loot - but is it worth playing?

Videogameschronicle: Review: Diablo 4 is Blizzard back at its best | VGC
Blizzard exorcises the sins of Immortal with a stunning ARPG.

VG247: Diablo 4 review
Diablo is back with much of the same quality we've been pining for. But in a world with Path of Exile and other competitors, is Blizzard still the king of hell?

Shacknews: Diablo 4 review: A new perspective on a familiar hell
Our Diablo 4 review breaks down what makes the action-RPG from Blizzard stand out from its predecessors and where it really should have innovated

Rockpapershotgun: Diablo IV review: 2023's prettiest RSI machine
Diablo IV is a beautiful, frictionless grey toybox that puts nothing in the way of you playing it for hours and wondering what you've done with your life.

Polygon: Diablo 4 activates and frustrates my lizard brain
More busy work doesn’t lessen the series-signature appeal

PCGamesN: Diablo 4 review – Hail Lilith, the darkness has returned
Our Diablo 4 review has been a long time coming, so if you’re wondering if the excitement was worth it in the end - yes, yes it was.

Gamingtrend: Diablo IV Review -- Good to the last bloody drop
Diablo IV is a challenge to review. While its predecessors have been fairly straightforward affairs, with a linear story and builds that are more dependent on gear drops and loot tables, Diablo IV has a veritable cornucopia of options that are even more plentiful than I could have imagined...

Gamesradar: Diablo 4 review: "A magnificent and absurd loot theme park"
With nearly 100 hours on the clock, I fear I've barely scratched the surface of Diablo 4

Gamerant: Diablo 4 Review
Diablo 4 has used the lessons of its past to create a massive and enjoyable experience that fans and newcomers alike with be playing for a long time.

Gameinformer: Diablo IV – Review In Progress
Here's what we think of Diablo IV prior to its full launch.

Forbes: ‘Diablo 4’ Review: It Is Great, I Refuse To Make A Hell Pun
Diablo 4 has arrived. It feels like it has been worth the wait.

Dualshockers: Diablo 4 Review - A Bloody Good Time
A compelling story, a gritty world, and an addicting gameplay loop make this the strongest game in the Diablo series.

Digitaltrends: Diablo 4 review: a hell of a hack-n-slash RPG | Digital Trends
Diablo 4 is a glorious return to form for the Diablo series, though it comes with a few MMO concessions that may drag its experience down for some.

Destructoid: Review: Diablo 4
Diablo 4 is the newest entry in the legendary ARPG series. Find out if it lives up to its predecessors in our review.

Arstechnica: Diablo 4 review: Off to a hell of a good start
Annoying-but-ignorable microtransactions can't ruin nigh-endless looter fun.

Fextralife checked out Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 Review – THE BEST DIABLO YET (No Spoilers PC Review)

In this Diablo 4 Review, we’ll tell you all about the latest installment of the Blizzard Franchise, having played for over 120 hours, reached endgame with all classes, and explored every last corner of Sanctuary. This is huge Diablo 4 News, and is a Diablo 4 Spoiler Free Review.

IGN compiled some information about Diablo 4:

Diablo 4: Sanctuary's Open World, PVP, Strongholds, and More

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new story trailer for Diablo 4:

Diablo IV | Story Launch Trailer

Couchpotato spotted new trailers for Diablo 4:

Diablo IV | Inside the Game: A New Saga

Diablo IV | Gameplay Launch Trailer

A deep dive into the story of Diablo IV:

Diablo 4 - Official "A New Saga" Game Overview

Thanks Couchpotato!

Fextralife checked out Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 Final Preview - Will it Deliver?

Thanks Couchpotato!

PC Gamer is not impressed by Diablo 4:

Class balance is still an absolute joke in Diablo 4—but the game has far bigger problems

I no longer care who needs buffs and nerfs—none of these classes are any fun to play.

It's fair to say that last time we got to play Diablo 4, during the two initial weekend betas, class balance was a complete mess. Sorcerers were nuking everything in sight while Barbarians struggled to lift their axes, and Necromancers were standing around AFK watching their skeletons clear entire dungeons for them. Blizzard quickly promised buffs and nerfs(opens in new tab), so heading into this final beta, the "Server Slam", I was most curious to see what those changes would amount to. The result? I'm left with even less confidence that Blizzard has any idea how to make this game fun. 

Barbarians, at least, felt a little stronger than they did before—it wasn't too back-breaking to beat the Den Mother(opens in new tab) this time around—but they're still substantially slower, weaker, and less versatile than anyone else. Sorcerers remain walking nukes that can kill enemies three screens away. Meanwhile, Necromancers got nerfed so haphazardly that they had to get rebuffed(opens in new tab) halfway through the beta test, because their skeleton minions were now dissolving in the presence of bosses and leaving them plinking away with pitiful ranged spells. 

 [...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Couchpotato spotted a developer live stream for Diablo 4:

Diablo IV Developer Update Live Stream - May 2023

Fextralife checked out the beta version of Diablo 4:

Diablo 4 Beta Review - Should It Be Delayed?

IGN presents the beginning of Diablo 4:

The First 17 Minutes of Diablo 4 Gameplay - Early Access Beta

WindowsCentral estimates that Diablo 4 will be released in April, 2023:

Report: Diablo 4 could be launching in April 2023, with preorders going live December

From the seventh Circle of rumormill Hell.

What you need to know

• Diablo 4 is the next installment in the legendary action RPG series from Blizzard. 
• A rumor over the summer suggested that Diablo 4 may be getting revealed at The Game Awards in December, and we now have some tentative corroboration. 
• Reported on the XboxEra podcast and corroborated by our own sources, it seems Diablo 4 could be targeting an April 2023 launch window. 
• The game should go live for preorder during The Game Awards 2022 if the rumors are correct, alongside various digital editions and a premium collector's edition with some rather fiery goodies. 
• [...]

According to this new job-offer Diablo 4 will have an in-game shop. The launch of Diablo 3's auction house was a desaster and Diablo Immortal's microtransactions are not really popular.

DSOGaming reports on some new screenshots and videos for Diablo 4. More videos can be found at the link.

The gameplay videos showcase some environments, like the Scosglen Coast area, the Orbei Monastery, Kyovashad Night and Flooded Depths.

From what we know so far, Diablo IV will be an always-online game, and will not offer an offline mode. We also don’t know whether Blizzard will allow modders to enable an unofficial offline mode or not.

The game will also have cosmetic micro-transactions. Additionally, Blizzard is looking into enabling cross-play support between all platforms.

[...]

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[...]

PCInvasion reports that Diablo IV has been delayed, along with Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV have been delayed

Not even Blizzard soon.

Activision Blizzard announced some big changes following the release of its financial report today. According to the company, both Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV have been delayed to a “later launch.” There have been rumors that Overwatch 2 would in fact get further pushed, but today marks the company’s official confirmation on the move.

Activision delivered a series of slides detailing its Quarter 3 results, revealing the news in the one titled “Update on Our Pipeline.” In the slide, the company writes that “some of the Blizzard content planned for next year will benefit from more development time to reach its full potential.” That Blizzard content mentioned consists of both Diablo IV and Overwatch 2, which have been delayed until further down the road.

“While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged,” Activision Blizzard writes in the financial report. “These are two of the most eagerly anticipated titles in the industry, and our teams have made great strides towards completion in recent quarters. But we believe giving the teams some extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch will ensure that these releases delight and engage their communities for many years into the future.

“These decisions will push out the financial uplift that we had expected to see next year,” the company continued. “But we are confident that this is the right course of action for our people, our players, and the long-term success of our franchises.” [...]

Blizzard has announced that Diablo 4 had a new game director, Joe Shely (reported by Polygon).

Diablo 4 has a new game director

Designer Joe Shely steps up to lead next Diablo

Joe Shely is the new game director of Diablo 4, Blizzard Entertainment revealed Thursday. Shely replaces former Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga, who exited Blizzard in August in the wake of a lawsuit against the company alleging a toxic workplace environment that subjected female employees to gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

Shely has been a member of the Diablo 4 development team since 2017, Blizzard said in his official developer bio. His responsibilities include “guiding efforts to deliver the deep, compelling systems and visceral combat Diablo is known for, and has been the overall caretaker of the combat experience,” Blizzard said, and he led the team responsible for the first playable demo of Diablo 4 at BlizzCon 2019.

“I’m honored to continue the vision of Diablo IV as its new Game Director, and I’m humbled to represent the team pouring their hearts into this game,” Shely said in a blog post published Thursday. “Like many of you, our team has been reflecting upon recent events. A lot has happened since our last blog and the hard work of practicing the values we aspire to must continue. In parallel with that important work, development of Diablo IV continues too.”

Shely has been with Blizzard since 2005, and has served as designer on World of Warcraft, senior designer on Diablo 3, and contributed to the development of StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty.

[...]

Gamespot has a video on the Blizzcon 2021 Diablo presentation.

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Blizzard gave us the scoop on all things Diablo at Blizzcon 2021. Here's every segment on Diablo IV, Diablo: Immortal, and Diablo II: Resurrected!

The latest quarterly update for Diablo 4 goes over development progress so far and covers a variety of topics like multiplayer, story telling, open world, items etc.

Storytelling

---

A couple of things have evolved with how we deliver story in Diablo IV. First, we have conversations. In D3 we relied on UI panes with a character’s name and portrait. We’re experimenting with a mix of tool-generated and manually choreographed cameras to tackle conversations. For simple interactions with NPCs we bring the camera in closer to the characters (while still maintaining an overall isometric feel) and use a library of animations to deliver the general gist of the conversations. For more complex conversations, we take a similar camera approach but here the character’s movements and animations are more deliberately hand-crafted. This lets us deliver story moments that are complex while keeping you in the world as much as possible. Here’s a shot from one such interaction.

 
A more zoomed in overhead camera helps us deliver simple story beats.

 

The second storytelling method we are developing is real-time cutscenes (or RTCs). Here we grab your camera and treat the storytelling more like a movie, so we’re reserving this technique for the most important story moments. Having these be real-time has great advantages—we can show your character with their currently equipped armor as part of the scene, for example. But we can also display them at your current resolution and with your currently enabled graphics settings, so they end up feeling more seamless and like a part of the game.

We showed you some early work on real time in-game cinematics during the BlizzCon demo. Our cinematics and engine teams have made a lot of improvements since then, so we were excited to see a fully produced cinematic serve as the climax to the Dry Steppes experience, and the team was not disappointed. Here’s a couple screengrabs that the story and cinematics folks have given us the go ahead to share with you as it shouldn’t spoil the details of what’s to come.

[...]

The Quarterly Update for Diablo IV covers a variety of usability features and looks closely at the Cannibal Tribes.

Diablo IV Quarterly Update—February 2020

February 26, 2020

Table of Contents

Introduction to Quarterly Updates
Luis Barriga, Game Director

UI Design, Controller Support, and Co-Op
Angela Del Priore, Lead UI Designer

Monster Family & Design Highlight: Cannibal Tribes
Candace Thomas, Senior Encounter Designer

Hello, and welcome to the new blog section of the Diablo IV website!

The Diablo IV development team has been hard at work since BlizzCon and we are all still incredibly energized by the response to our announcement and follow-up blog posts. We can tell you are all excited to see more info coming from the team and about how the game is coming together.

Well, we have some great news for you today. We are stoked to deliver the first of our quarterly blog updates with you, and this one happens to be a doubleheader.

First, we have a word from our Lead UI Designer, Angela Del Priore, with some super cool updates on post-BlizzCon feedback, controller support on PC, and a deep dive into couch co-op. If you’d like to jump to her update right now, click here.

Our second update is by our Senior Encounter Designer, Candace Thomas. She shares a first look at a new set of enemies: the cannibal tribes of the Dry Steppes. You’ll see some amazing new art by Igor Sidorenko, read some of our in-world lore, and even watch video of these flesh-eaters in action. To check out Candace’s update, click here.

We hope you enjoy both of these updates. We’re looking forward to your thoughts and comments on them, and please also let us know the sorts of things you’d like to hear about next. We realize many of you are curious about different aspects of the development process—some of you love reading and re-reading lore, while others of you may geek out over item tooltips or want to hear some early music tracks. So be sure to tell us what excites you most! Our goal for these updates is to cover a wide variety of subjects and, over the course of development, share something exciting for everyone. 

Once again, we want to thank you all for sharing in this journey with us.

See you in Hell.

[...]

A pair of interviews for Diablo 4 from AusGamers. The first deals with the return to darkness, Lilith, and the shift to an open-world sanctuary. The second discusses the technology behind sanctuary, making your character unique, trading, and PvP.

“Randomised dungeons have been at the core of Diablo since the beginning,” Luis tells me. “What we're doing different is that unlike Rifts where you go through a portal and it could be anything - dungeons in Diablo IV will have a sense of place in the world. Let's say that a dungeon is in an abandoned church and there's undead inside. If you go back in later, there's still going to be undead, but it's not going to be the same exact mobs in the same exact same locations. It's going to be very randomised.”

“What that lets us do is really create a sense of place where I know that particular abandoned church has skeletons,” Luis continues. “And maybe that one over there has bandits, and the one with the undead inside is a lot harder. So, if you have a quest that tasks you with recovering artefacts from churches maybe head into the dungeon with bandits. We think this approach is powerful for this type of game. We want to create a sense of place and over time you’ll understand the characters, the world, and the locations you visit.” 

[...]

This taste of what a World Boss encounter or large-scale multiplayer event might look like in Diablo IV was seamless in the demo, the camera pulling back to reveal a large imposing demon called Ashava. New players appearing, and a big battle then taking place. Even though the encounter was sped up considerably for the demo, it was a chance for all to see this new dynamic camera arriving as part of Diablo IV.

On the cinematic side of the equation, Diablo IV will feature several real-time cut-scenes where players will get to see their character and gear up close. From squirming through a tunnel passing the skeletal remains of past adventurers to potential action sequences and quiet character moments. This new approach to storytelling in Sanctuary led to another evolution in Diablo IV – detailed and extensive character customisation. On a pure visual level.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Diablo 4 has been doing the rounds recently with a number of outlets covering it to some degree.

The Blizzcon 2019 Demo

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DSOGaming shared some hi-def screenshots.

Still, I’m certain that most Diablo fans will find these screenshots interesting. After all, these screenshots are artifact-free (something from which all YouTube videos/trailers suffer). So yeah, they can better showcase the game’s graphics. Furthermore, some screenshots are in a 21:9 ratio. As such, we can safely assume that the game will support ultra widescreen monitors at launch.

JustPushStart had some small details on Diablo 4s loot system.

During the Diablo IV revealed panel, a number of details were shared about the system. The most notable is that loot is based on a number of elements from Diablo II and III. These include, but are not limited to a wide variety of armor, weapons, jewelry, and potions, along with boasting the most legendary items in the franchise and new set items to collect.

Wccftech reports on the 100+ towns you will visit.

We want to bring back this very very specific vibe that makes Diablo unique and it's not only about darkness, so this is very, very important for us because it impacts almost every layer of the game, every aspect. The first thing is the story. We want to make a much more grounded story [in Diablo IV] than in Diablo III. And we think that the best way to deliver this story is to give you a possibility to discover stories of simple folks and that's why you are watching this movie right now. So imagine this kind of village, this is just an example. It's not about this specific village, we have like over 100 villages or places like this.

OnlySP focused on Diablo 4s monsters and classes.

Diablo IV will launch with five playable classes, with the first three revealed as the Barbarian, Sorceress, and Druid. The Barbarian utilises an arsenal system that allows them to switch between four different weapon types on the fly.

The Sorceress is described as “fragile but destructive,” and can harness fire, cold, and lightning magic. Cold damage will also build up over time, which increases damage and affects more targets.

Thanks Farflame!

VentureBeat talked to Blizzard about how Diablo 4 is different to Diablo 3.

GamesBeat: Let’s say I’m somebody who liked Diablo II more than Diablo III. What am I going to see in Diablo IV that’s going to make me happy?

Murphy: First off — lots of things. From an aesthetic standpoint, the aesthetics would hopefully please folks that are fans of that darker, Gothic, a little bit more real, grittier type of setting.

Kim: On the systems side, there’s much more added customization options, player choice options, like the skill point system. That allows you to rank up your favorite skills, and as you rank up the skills, you unlock new components to that skill. The talent tree system, for example, even if we’re both going the same build, depending on the choice you have made, you’ll be playing a bit different, more in line with how you want to play the game.

Item affixes, same thing. We’ll have lots of the same item affixes that existed in previous Diablo games. We’ll try to improve on that even further. Luis has talked about the plus to skill ranks as an item affix, plus to talent ranks as another type of item affix, and so on. Legendary items are returning, of course. We’re trying to make this change where legendary items are the endgame that you’re playing with, not the sets. This means I can have that full customization on every item slot in the endgame. That hugely increased sense of customization and choice I have available to me, I think, is one of the biggest draws.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Ragnaris spotted the official Diablo 4 gameplay trailer:

Diablo IV Official Gameplay Trailer

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Diablo IV is the newest incarnation of the genre defining ARPG players have come to know and love. Hellish new features, brutal challenges, and an indisputable return to darkness lie at the core of our hard work. Take a glimpse into the terror that awaits.

Wccftech reports on some possible Diablo 4 news.

Reddit user Practical Brush revealed the new details of the setting, which promises to be dark and gritty. Additionally, it seems like the world will be more open than ever, with characters possibly being able to ride horses and interact more with the environment.

Diablo 4 is actually going to look dark, gritty and gross - no more rainbow shiny bullshit this time! Loactions are toned down, infrequently laid with corpses, wasteland, greyish deserts, clut caves surrounded by flesh, rotten crypts, marshes and bogs, plagued cities you name it. They are also seemingly much bigger, maybe even open? Characters now are able to ride horses (possibly other mounts), also there's contextual interaction with environment ? - climbing a wall Lost Ark style. Blood splatters look more like blood and not splashed jam too.

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