Playing the Diablo IV beta: A Reflection – Zing

Eleven long years have already passed since the release of the controversially received Diablo 3. Last year’s spinoff with the subtitle Immortal, which was also released on PC in addition to the main mobile platforms, was not met with long-time fans of the cult series. There is nothing to be surprised about, because Diabla Immortal’s business model is really the pure definition of the so-called Pay to Win (you buy power in the game with real money). The players are pinning their hopes on the fourth part coming out in June, which we in the editorial office embarked on on the occasion of open beta testing. This takes place in two stages. This weekend (3/17 to 3/20) and the following weekend (3/24 to 3/27). To access the first date, it is necessary to have a pre-order of Diablo IV, the second weekend is then open to absolutely everyone interested. The entire first act, the Fractured Peaks zone, is available in the beta, and the maximum level is set at 25. During the first term, three professions can be tried: Barbarian, Sorceress and Rogue. In the days from 24.3. until 27.3. Necromancer and Druid will be added to those mentioned. Was our weekend return to the world of Sanctuary worth it? Will we see a worthy continuation of the cult duo? Sharpen swords, tighten bowstrings and dust off ancient scrolls. Lilith calls in for a word.

A dark spectacle

After a harrowing launch on Friday afternoon, when I had to stand in line for about an hour to connect to the servers, only to have the game throw me an error message several times, I finally got to the character selection. In Diablo, I always played Barbara the most, so there was nothing to think about. At first glance, I was impressed by the editing options when creating your hero. It’s nothing world-shattering, but I see it as a nice change from previous iterations. After a few minutes of setting up a shiny bald head and a thick beard that would have no problem hiding half of my Sunday lunch, I set off on my adventure. The vast majority of cutscenes use the game engine directly and are not pre-rendered movies. So the protagonist is exactly the same as you dreamed him in the editor. A big plus for immersiveness.

The vast majority of cutscenes use the game engine.

As soon as the demo is over, nostalgia hits you right away. The atmosphere is dark, depressing and gloomy. That’s exactly how I envision Diablo. It’s a clear step in the right direction compared to the overly colorful third volume. The first act available in the beta takes place in the frigid region of the Fractured Peaks. So there will be no shortage of snow and mountains. In addition, day and night times alternate during gameplay. This results in an even greater immersion in the game. Great. The audio-visuals are at a really good level for the genre, as are the voices of the characters. The soundtrack moves in the same rhythm as the overall atmosphere and everything complements it beautifully. Diablo IV is a joy to look at. As for optimizing the game, I’m a bit torn here. The game ran quite reliably for me at maximum details (composition: Ryzen 5600x, RTX 3070Ti, 32 GB Ram) in 1440p resolution and DLSS quality. The constant compilation stutter caused frequent loading of textures, terrible crashes and drops from around 150 fps to 50 fps, which you can really tell on a 165 hertz monitor. All issues resolved after lowering textures from high to medium settings. So I suspect a memory leak, possibly insufficient VRAM on my 3070Ti (8 GB). Hopefully these issues will be resolved by the release.

Slow down adventurer, slow down

Compared to the trio, the new part is significantly slower. This applies mainly to fights, which now look more attractive. You don’t fly through the map like ball lightning, and you have to think and tactic during the boss battle. There are two difficulties available in the beta – normal and veteran. I didn’t want to linger on the first one mentioned because I like a challenge. So the choice fell on the veteran. It really depends on which of the three currently available characters you choose. Unfortunately, Barbarian is completely unbalanced and does only fractional damage compared to Sorceress and Rogue. He will want to solve this before the release. Although Barbara is known to need really fine-tuned equipment and builds compared to others, such a huge difference can be discouraging. After all, no one likes to “prick” a Fallen for twenty seconds, when five is enough for other professions.

There are two difficulties available in the beta.

These facts made the boss fights quite a challenge. Not that I mind, but then when I tested Sorceress, going through the first act was several times faster. So far, I’ve only gotten into Rogue marginally, and I plan to give it a good try. Bosses finally have proper mechanics and can both torment and surprise you. For example, if you’ve played Lost Ark, you can imagine it. A big plus for me. It’s quite possible, even likely, that we’ll see ultra-fast dungeons and caves again in the endgame, but the slower pace benefits the game in my opinion. At level 25, however, you cannot tell the future.

Welcome to the open world

Diablo IV takes elements from the MMORPG genre. Personally, I welcome this as I am a die-hard online RPG enthusiast, but I am quite clear that some players will not like it. Scattered around Sanctuary are side quests, dungeons, world events and big bosses for up to twelve players. Also new is the non-linear progress of the campaigns, where it is possible to choose the sequence of acts (cannot be tested in the beta). Later, the player should also get to a means of transport, e.g. in the form of a horse. Overcoming the terrain in the sense of climbing, jumping and handling will meet you at every step. Also new is the so-called evade – a trick that makes it possible to dodge enemy attacks. I hope I’m not biased, but a lot of things remind me very strikingly of the already mentioned Lost Ark. However, such a generalized formula cannot be applied to the genre itself, as there are limited procedures for solving this problem. You will also meet other players, both in cities and while wandering through the wilderness. Fortunately, it is not an intrusive element and rather adds to the living impression of the world.

Hail, Lilith

I never saw the story of the third Diablo in a positive sense, but as a generic fairy tale about the chosen one who is the only one who can save the world. But this time I have to admit that even though it’s only the first act, the creators have my attention. Dark Lilith is summoned back to the world she helped shape. She tries to lure followers from among the ordinary villagers under her uninviting-looking wings, and her plans are unclear. I don’t want and actually can’t reveal more about the story, since the first act is just a start, but the initial impressions of the events on the screen are entirely positive and I’m curious to see where the steps of our adventurers will go. The bar is not set too high, so maybe it could work this time.

New and old systems

Blacksmith, mystic, jeweler. We will meet all these old acquaintances in the foursome. The itemization of the game is still not completely clear, but I felt that the legendary items were dropped far too often. Maybe this is just a specific setting for testing, but if it stays like that I won’t be very happy. On the contrary, I positively evaluate the new potion system. Instead of one long cooldown, you now have a so-called charge for potions. You start with four, but if you complete the content on the map, you will be rewarded, among other things, with an increase in the available “first aid kits”. Thus, it is possible to plan strategically and use the system, for example, in the aforementioned boss fights.

Legendary items dropped far too often.

If you know the Renown system from World of Warcraft, then know that we will find something similar in the new Diablo. For completing the map, you receive renown points and subsequently rewards in the form of skill points, titles, gold or experience. So there is still a lot to unlock in the game. The map is directly littered with side dungeons, for the completion of which you gain power for the given profession, which can then be implemented in equipment. Unfortunately, dungeons overwhelmingly use a repetitive layout and soon become somewhat repetitive. I see this as a big and significant minus. Either way, you won’t get bored wandering around Sanctuary, there’s always something to do.

Impressions from the console version

Back in 1998, I was part of a wild debate about whether the first part of the Diablo series was better played on a computer or on a console (the game was released for the first PlayStation console). It’s mostly a matter of habit – if you’ve played hundreds of hours in the series in the past on one of the platforms, you probably won’t want to switch. As a person who regularly jumps between all platforms not only for work, I can’t help but feel that controlling Diablo on a controller simply feels better – because you control the movement of your character directly, instead of just showing it with the cursor in which direction it is going break up In addition, Diablo IV pushes the physical aspect of your character and their attacks (more accurate hitboxes in relation to animations, etc.) so it can even better make you feel like you’re actually interacting with enemies and the environment around you.

Of course, the controller’s vibrations are also part of the experience, although I didn’t notice any extra special use of the haptic feedback during my playtime on the PlayStation 5 with the DualSense controller. However, the game runs great on the console, according to the developers, it is an uncompromising 4K resolution with 60 frames per second. The only slowdown I noticed was the occasional stutter when quickly transitioning between map regions, but I’m guessing that’s a problem with the game itself, regardless of platforms. The user interface resembles Diablo III in many ways, so it is definitely TV-friendly (you also have the option to enlarge the fonts, etc.). Last but not least, it is worth mentioning the possibility to play the game on the console in local “couch” co-op, which is a feature only available on the console versions.

Martin closed

Let it be June already

After a weekend visit to Diablo IV, I can state that I am mostly satisfied. I’ve always been close to the ARPG genre, and as I love MMORPG games, I also welcome the online elements that the creators have decided to add. The atmosphere is great, the same goes for the audio visuals. Surprisingly, I was more interested in the story than I expected and I am curious to see what direction it will take. I’m worried about the favorite Barbara, because he seems really weak compared to the others. But we certainly have a balancing act ahead of us, so I’m not losing my mind. I probably regret the layout of the dungeons the most, which is strongly stereotyped, and I dare not say whether this will change in later acts. Maybe yes. If you don’t want to buy a rabbit in a bag and are still hesitating after reading our impressions, I highly recommend you to try the second date of the open beta, which will take place next weekend (from Friday 3/24 at 5:00 p.m.). But prepare for a real queue, the onslaught will be huge. After that, all that remains is to wait until 6.6., when the final version of Diablo IV lands on our screens. I’m really looking forward to it, it’s going to be a hell of a fun time out.