All of the points presented by DeathBringer are spot-on.
Just forget Diablo III. In fact, completely retcon it out of Diablo IV’s story. The Diablo fan community consensus is overwhelmingly unanimous on the point that Diablo III is simply a bad game with bad systems and bad design in almost all areas. Just ditch it. Clinging on to the mistake that was Diablo III is only going to harm future Diablo games. The best thing that can be done is to wipe it from the official series lineage.
Look at how many fans of Diablo have returned to the forums in response to Diablo IV’s media release. And notice that they all say the same thing about Diablo III: That it’s bad and Diablo IV is currently looking in its style (not specifically artwork) like Diablo III.
That Diablo series fan reappearance and commentary is the writing on the wall screaming at you to ditch Diablo III influence and use Diablo II as the basis for Diablo IV and then build from there. Don’t let pride and arrogance control your senses. There is nothing good to be salvaged or carried over to Diablo IV from Diablo III. Sincerely. Most of us bought and played Diablo III out of hope for a good experience and because it was what was available, and not because it was anything worthy of the Diablo series. D3’s design was a grave mistake and unless you recognize it as such you will only perpetuate its flaws.
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Give us complex character building with a complex skill trees.
Give us creatures that are designed and presented with integrity and realism, and nothing like huge monster in the DIV gameplay that does a cheesy and cringy goofy cartoony roar. That’s an 7 or 8 year-old’s idea of cool. But for a game that’s supposed to be serious in its presentation, like Diablo, it’s just friggin lame and painful to witness.
Give us a very challenging first-time playthrough, and not the garbage waste-of-time first playthrough that Diablo III offers. Even at max available first-run difficulty, Diablo III doesn’t begin to present even a micro challenge. And no challenge means no fun. Do you think I’m going to replay a game that was no fun to play through the first time? I’ll tell you plainly: I did not. Having the first run be a cakewalk was a blisteringly incompetent decision.
Give us low loot and very low special loot drop rates. In Diablo 3, every creature is a pinata filled with iridescent look. It makes loot drops meaningless, without valuable experience, without excitement, without pleasure. It’s infuriating how it it robs players of a meaningful and valuable experience by such a stupid and sophomoric design, and it says something bad about the people working on the games. I want it to mean something when a coloured loot drops. It means nothing in Diablo III, devaluing the play experience tremendously.
Keep the game slow-paced, with stark and dire environments. Some brighter environments can also work in a serious and dark game, if they’re done with sincerity. The thing is Blizzard doesn’t have a history of making games with sincerity - Blizzard is known in particular for making goofy, cartoony, insincere games. Well, that isn’t Diablo. Diablo, consisting of Diablo and Diablo II, is a series of realistic presentation, sincerity and integrity of visual, audio, and narrative designs. Diablo III didn’t have any of that, and instead was Blizzardified into a goody cartoony insincere pretentious pile of fairy crap, and that’s what made it a terrible game.
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Blizzard, please remember and take heed that Blizzard didn’t create the Diablo series and the series isn’t renowned and loved for anything Blizzard have, so far, contributed to it. You should be respecting of that and what it means.
Diablo is a renowned series because of the particular high quality style achieved by former Blizzard North developers. If Blizzard wants to make a quality Diablo game, you’re going to have to be faithful to what Diablo’s creators established and not try to Blizzardify the series, spiting what made it good. Leave your egos at the door, please.
With Diablo III, Blizzard sent out the strong message that Blizzard is a one-trick pony developer that can’t think or work outside of its tropes. Recognize the mistake that was feeling smug about Blizzard’s tropey style, thinking that smearing it on anything makes an impressive product, and make the decision to not repeat that mistake. Get rid of the over-exaggerated and hyperbolic character designs and animations. That’s cheese has no rightful place in a real Diablo game.
When making Diablo IV, think Integrity. That means to not think like Blizzard, but to tune into what Condor / Blizzard North were after. I think it might be key that Blizzard hires David Brevik, Erich Schaefer, and Max Schaefer as consultants for Diablo IV. Remember, check your egos at the door and don’t humour smug delusions about your abilities and personal vision like was done during Diablo III’s development. Diablo isn’t your personal game, and it has yet to be proven that Diablo can be a Blizzard game.