I want to express my opinion about the Diablo game’s target audience. I’m confused about who this game is designed for. I keep hearing that it’s aimed at casual players and the average person with a busy life, yet the only feedback I see comes from those who want it to become a watered-down version of PoE.
As a casual player, Blizzard should prioritize improving the base game rather than focusing on seasonal content, which often fails to resonate with the community. These temporary gimmicks take away from the developers’ attention to the core game, and as a result, it doesn’t receive the love and attention it deserves. It’s time for Blizzard to listen to its players and focus on what matters - the base game.
I refuse to keep creating new characters every few months for a pointless gimmick that amounts to nothing more than a mindless grind until the next expansion is released. I quit the season halfway in season 2 and didn’t even try season 3 because I was so bored with the meaningless grind. I prefer Blizzard to focus on content I am interested in buying, such as quest lines, areas, new modes, and new character customization as rewards such as hair, tattoos, faces, etc.
It makes little sense why a business model would include a cash shop that prices cosmetics or “micro” transactions at the same level as a full indie game or even a double AA price tag. No cosmetic items are worth that amount; games like Diablo and World of Warcraft would cost a fortune if they were. The market needs to reinforce these prices, and they are artificially high to attract only a few willing to spend heavily. Unfortunately, this pricing strategy harms these people and fails to cater to the average player.
The battle pass system, which introduces a new theme every three months, could be more worthwhile. The free pass is nothing but a farce. Seasonal content is created for gimmicks, and it is common knowledge that players indulge in it solely for cosmetics. So, why insult them by offering lousy cosmetics in the free pass? No one will waste 50 hours a month to earn a slightly better-looking axe. The free pass is just a marketing trick to push players into buying a pass they cannot afford. It’s time for Blizzard to stop manipulating players and offer something of real value.
Why should anyone have to fear missing out when it comes to the pass? It only works when the seasonal content is exciting and isn’t free. The pass should be easily accessible on the eternal realm, and there should be an archive of previous passes in the game which players can buy and work towards, regardless of their playstyle, seasonal or casual.
Previous questlines should be kept, especially since the original story was just a few missions masquerading as chapters. This is a complete waste and reminds me of Destiny. If this continues, I won’t even consider buying the next expansion. If you want to charge triple-A pricing, make a proper triple-A story worth it. The marketing focused on the narrative, and you got nothing of value outside of a fat man dying because a wall grabbed him.
The talent trees may look impressive initially, but it’s frustrating to realize that we only have 50 points to allocate, and most of the statue grind is spent on passives. At level 50, I don’t feel like a powerful character; I feel incomplete. It’s disappointing that you’ve placed all the exciting synergies players would love to experiment with behind a pointless stat grind. It’s a flawed system because the gear outside of Uber Uniques is not interesting enough to justify it. Instead of being able to transform a blood wave into a shadow spell, we only get a meagre 3%-9% crit. It’s confusing and underwhelming, and it doesn’t make me want to experiment with the talent trees.
It’s unacceptable that Diablo 4 fails to provide essential explanations for upgrading and resource management. As a new player, it’s frustrating not to know when to upgrade gear and avoid wasting resources. Refraining from providing this information is a disservice to players and sets them up for unnecessary mistakes that may lead to failure. This needs to change, and it’s surprising a studio of your tenure can’t seem to do the basics.