I am a long time PC gamer just now switching to Playstation 5 for Diablo IV between first and second beta.
Even though it is so much more ergonomic from the sofa, using a controller has significant hindrances compared to using a mouse and a keyboard. I would really appreciate if controller/console use would receive some focus team for usability and quality of life improvements for console players (maybe you already have such team - if so, hello - please check this message 
).
OK, so one of the main focuses in the game is to level up. Some people want to level up having fun, some people want to level up effectively. Anyway, for me (and surely a lot of players) it is important to know how well I am doing in the leveling process. Sure we have the visual XP-bar, but it does not provide sufficiently detailed information about the XP. On PC you can just hover over the bar to see numbers, but so far I have not been able to find a way to see XP numbers on console. I have a couple of suggestions to fix this:
- Add UI option to toggle XP numbers on/off - I would ALWAYS want to see the XP-numbers XXX / YYY. (Best option - no clicking required to see XP)
- Add XP information to some other view like “the wheel” view and/or the map view (second best option - see XP with one click), or to the character statistics page where for example different damage bonuses etc. are shown (not so good option as it requires at least 2 clicks + possibly scrolling unless it is at the very top)
- Don’t change anything (worst option, I need to see my XP to optimize my leveling process)
Some other suggestions to help overcome controller issues:
- Make sure all lists/inventory etc. can be scrolled “through” (for example in a list, moving up moves to the last item; or in inventory-type views when at the left-most item, pressing left again moves to the right-most item and so on). Somewhere this works (and it’s great) and some places it does not work. It would be really good that this would work consistently in a similar way that would support controller use!
- It is really cumbersome to “quickly” change a skill on console. On PC this is super-easy and fast, but on console this is literally killing my char if I try to do it in a fight (sometimes it is needed). Please add the option for the quick Skill Tree/Skill Selection to be mappable for console / controller for example by long-pressing/double clicking the Map button or inventory button
- I want to aim! I can’t. Meanwhile my right stick controller is mostly un-used. Please let me aim in a mouse-way using the right stick controller. For example it could function in a way that when I move the right stick, a mouse cursor would appear on screen allowing me to aim. Then it would either time out away, or it could be toggled on/off by pressing the right stick controller (R3). This has severely hindered my gameplay up to a point that I can not use certain skills / builds with console / controller.
- Finding a specific legendary item with a specific aspect is tedious work. I have my stash full with all 4 tabs. I have 4 mule characters with their inventory full of items. It takes a long time to search for a specific legendary item/aspect by going through the items one by one. For example I know I have a blademaster’s aspect on a legendary, but I don’t remember where. So it takes a small eternity to go through all items individually to find it. Solution: Add keyword search to stash/inventory.
General improvement request:
- Uniques are supposed to be the sweetest of drops and the star of the loot experience. In my opinion this is not sufficiently visible in the game. Sure the Unique blandish orange beam of light is a little bit different (as well as the different mini-map icon), but it should be super notable and not a little bit different. Suggestions:
– Make it even more grandious on the in-game graphics to separate between Ancestral Legendaries that are on the ground
– Add a distinct Unique drop sound (or when you get Unique as a reward for example from finishing a NM dungeon
– Make a short pop-up animation (this could also be a UI option that can be toggled on/off) highlighting that “you found [Unique item name]”
– Also in inventory I find if very difficult to find my uniques. They need to be significantly different and noticeable compared to Legendaries/Sacred/Ancestral/Upgraded items. Someone suggested Red color? Somehow make them POP so I don’t need to search for them. - Storage space is a big issue especially for a collector like myself. Please help in all ways as you can. Separate gem-tab is coming - that is a big QoL improvement! So thank you for that. Now help with NM Sigils and elixirs as well giving a UI option that removes this frustrating need for managing that inventory as well. It takes too much time to manage those items as well (their minitab is full all the time, and I have to stop playing the game to just sort those - sometimes while trying to play a dungeon with my friends if I want to pick up an elixir/sigil that dropped). Solution: Add own UI tabs next to character details/crafting materials - it would be a natural location for elixirs tab and sigils tab
Thank you for your work, at times I have really enjoyed playing the game. I hope you will find my suggestions welcome to help make the game play experience even more enjoyable for me and other players as well!