After fans were upset by the announcement of the immortal Diablo at the 2018 Blizzard Carnival, Blizzard came to the 2019 Blizzard Carnival, ready to show off Diablo 4. Since then, we've seen some trailers, some concept art, and some lengthy gameplay demos. The Microsoft and Bethesda showcases for BlizzCon 2021 and 2022 provide more information, including an introduction to the new curriculum, but we're still waiting for some key details about the game. There is no official release date yet, and Blizzard says the new game will require a lot of development time before it hits the market.
While it may not land on our hard drive this year, we already know a lot about Diablo 4. So far, we've collected all the confirmed facts — from playable classes and attribute changes to skill trees and enemies — to help reduce the pain of waiting for Diablo 4.
Release date
Our latest update to the Diablo 4 release date was recently shown at microsoft and Bethesda shows, and we just got a release window for 2023, which is consistent with what we already know based on previous statements about the delay.
In an official statement on diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 delays, Blizzard said: "These are two of the most anticipated games in the industry, and our team has taken a big step toward completion in recent quarters, but we believe giving the team some extra time to finish production and continue to increase their creative resources to support these games after release will ensure that these releases will keep their communities happy and engaged for many years to come." ”
platform
For now, we know we can expect PCs, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One to release Diablo 4. Diablo 3 did eventually make it to the Nintendo Switch, but it's unclear if this new entry will work on that hardware.
trailer
Our first impression of Diablo 4 comes from the official trailer for 2019. However, little is known about the story. It looks like Lilith will be back, though we're not sure exactly what her character really is. There is no doubt that she will be one of the bosses, but it remains to be seen whether she is deeply entrenched in the story. We also know that the game will take place more than 3 years after Diablo and focus more on Sanctuary's world and its people.
Sanctuary will have five areas to explore, at least as we know it so far, including Fractured Peaks, Dry Steppes, Hawezar, Scosglen, and Kehjistan. Each is a different type of environment – snow, desert, swamp, beach and ruin.
The official game trailer was unveiled at Microsoft and Bethesda in 2022. As you might guess, this trailer focuses almost entirely on the game system in Diablo 4 without adding many new story elements.
Multiplayer
Blizzard insists that Diablo 4 is not an MMORPG, although it is very much inclined to an always-on format. You'll find other players huddled around towns, trudging through the open world from one mission to another, but key parts — such as dungeons and instance missions — will be just you and your party. We don't yet know any details of the crossover game, but Blizzard has confirmed that online and local collaboration is a priority for the game. When playing online, the difficulty of enemies will adjust depending on your team level. Hopefully this will allow you to play with your friends, regardless of their level.
Game director Luis Barriga said: "We found that the game was no longer like Diablo, and the world felt less dangerous when you often saw other players or too many people. That being said, it will be crucial to co-op with other players when dealing with some open-world events that feature a large number of bosses and hordes of enemies – it's a foolish strategy to face them alone.
Diablo 4 will have five playable classes – Barbarian, Warlock, Thief, Necromancer, and Druid. Blizzard shares extensive gameplay footage from these five games, showing the return of Diablo 2's dark, contemplative graphics. Whatever course you prefer, the action looks as heartfelt as ever. You can view all of the game trailers below:
Barbarian gameplay
Witch game
Rogue games
Druid gameplay
Necromancer trailer
Ancient items from Diablo 4 have been replaced. Instead, players will receive consumables that allow them to upgrade non-legendary weapons to legendary status. The idea is to allow players to continue using their favorite weapon without having to give it up for more powerful items that may offer different play styles or aesthetics.
Blizzard is also redesigning the inventory system in the hope that you won't have to fiddle around with items and try to free up extra space.
In their latest trailer, Blizzard also details how character customization will play a role in Diablo 4. According to the video, players will be able to customize their skin tones, hair, tattoos, etc. to make their character exactly what they want. While this is all well and good, we all know that most of the time we can't notice these finer details from a high-angle camera, and most of the time it's covered in armor. Thankfully, armor dyes will also be included, allowing us to represent our favorite colors. These options will be fully demonstrated in the game's in-game cutscenes, highlighting the characters you create.
This time the world will be completely open, allowing more players to choose how they move forward in the world and tackle more than 150 dungeons scattered across various regions. There will also be new strongholds that players will be able to capture and transform into towns, but may also become dungeons. World events, such as MMO games, will appear and require you and any other players around you to team up against the big boss. Thankfully, Diablo 4 will have a full crossover game to keep the shared world densely populated and make it easier to team up with friends.
PvP will also be dedicated to zones, where players who perform particularly well will be flagged and additional rewards will be offered to players who manage to beat them.
Finally, we learned some new information about how statistics and skill trees work. Blizzard showcases a huge new skill tree for players to navigate as they level up their characters. Nodes contained in the tree unlock new skills, skill enhancements, and passive points — which can be used to acquire additional passive skills and attributes. According to Blizzard, you can only unlock about 40% of the tree with any given character, which means you'll need to carefully plan your build before assigning points at each level. This also means that no two players will share the same stats, and the system has extensive flexibility built in.
Warlocks have a second system that can handle problems outside the skill tree, called the Enchantment System. This feature allows them to turn their active abilities into passive abilities - you don't need to put them in the action bar, but instead place them in an enchantment slot. This will give you new passive skills or stat boosts, although you will no longer be able to use active spells in battle.
Blizzard also released three new stats:
- Angel Power: Affects the duration of beneficial effects on itself.
- Ancestral Power: Influences the chances of giving state effects.
- Demon Power: Affects the duration of negative effects of enemies.
On the enemy side, Blizzard describes them as part of the "family." This means that certain enemy families, who have only named three of them — cultists, drowning people, and cannibals — will share the fighting style. For example, cannibals will focus on various melee types, but no ranged attackers.
If PvP is better for you, you'll want to travel to specific areas called the hate zone. No one in these areas is safe, and anyone can fight and kill any other player. Why come here, besides testing your character with other people? Monsters here will drop items called "Hate Shards". If you manage to bring them to the altar and wash them, you can swap them for unique items that can only be purchased with them. But if you die before cashing in, you lose all your money.