I just wanted to compile my feedback here for the devs to see.
Story - I really like where the story is going so far. Diablo IV sets the tone right from the start, of not just dark, but Diablo 1 dark. But more importantly, it isn’t playing out at all how I was expecting. Lilith oozes charisma. And the conflict between the horrendous established Church of Light, and the Obviously Evil demon promising to free people from the Church’s oppression, is fascinating.
Sound - The music is spectacular, the audio is gruesome. I do wish there was a slider for monster audio specifically though. Sometimes it gets difficult to hear the Discord call over the squeals of the Fallen.
Art direction - I could go on for hours about the lighting team alone, but I’m just gonna say, this game is gorgeous. My only real complaint is the lack of body type options in the character creator. I was a huge fan of Immortal’s Necro because he was healthy. They looked like a Paladin of a more occult faith, and my only option on IV is withered skeleton person. Also I love the plus sized body for the Druid, but its only available for Druid. I understand that you want classes to be immediately recognizable at a glance. But if you are going to add customization, go all the way.
Gameplay - Overall, I really enjoyed the gameplay loop of Diablo IV. Combat is more methodical and intentional. Its faster than D2’s crawl, but slower than D3 Meatgrinder. This, I believe is a good place for it. There are definitely some QOL features from D3 that I miss, like the ability to auto equip an upgrade without having to stop, especially if there isn’t an item in that slot.
Classes:
Necromancer:
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This class feels unreasonably powerful right out of the gate. When I say I killed the first boss in 7 seconds, I’m not exaggerating. I didn’t die until I happened into the Butcher in a level 25 dungeon.
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I don’t like the fact that Summon Skeleton and Golem are required to be on the skill bar. Especially since they are classified as class skills. If they are going to be a class skill, they should be passively generated as such. A separate skill to command summons would be greatly appreciated though.
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The Necro is presented as this game’s Sword & Board class, but none of his basics reflect that. My biggest hope going from D3 to D4 was that we would actually use our weapons again. And I feel like this was accomplished, mostly, by the other classes. But Necro summons a separate giant 2 handed scythe, or channels magic, he never swings his weapon. This sounds nitpicky, but I personally feel there is no point in grinding for a magic sword (or scythe) if I never get to swing it.
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This is more of a general gameplay thing than specific to Necro, but I love that Thorns scale off primary stat and I can now effectively run a Necro Thorn tank.
Rogue - This class is a blast. I love everything about the Rogue. My only complaint is Shadow Imbue is so powerful that it completely overshadows the rest of the tree entirely.
Sorceror - My time with the Sorc was admittedly limited. But I will say, Fire Sorceror, especially at low levels, was simply useless. Incinerate is abysmal. And I spent most of my group activities feeling like I wasn’t contributing at all.
- I wish there were more spells per element. I understand why things are broken down the way they are. But it felt limiting to want to play Fire Sorceror, and the only spells you get are Fireball, Incinerate, Fire Wall, Meteor, and Hydra. You could say that I’m artificially limiting myself by sticking to one element. But in reality, that’s less fire spells than were in D1, and D3 let you reskin all of their spells to the element of choice.
Druid - Storm Armor shouldn’t require a legendary power to grand physical damage reduction, the class simply feels too squishy for a class that wants to be brawling. And its resources management needs an overhaul.
Barb - no opinion, I didn’t play it, and the class fantasy doesn’t interest me.
General Gameplay nitpicks:
1- New potion system is cool, much better than other games, but the fact that I don’t pick the pots up if I have full potions often lead to me using a potion to heal a scratch, just so they wouldn’t be wasted. And that felt… odd.
2- Gems seem to have less value - at least at first glance. In reality, they are just more specialized. But because of that, they feel like something I need to hoard for endgame min/maxing instead of something I can use to give myself a little more of an oomph in combat. I adore that emeralds give thorns.
3- SUPER NITPICK! The Butcher says “FRESH MEAT!” instead of “AH… FRESH MEAT!” now, and it feels wrong. But you don’t really get the chance to be upset about that, because by the time you hear that, you are already being butchered. Because he was an awesome surprise, and thank you so much for adding him. (Cool easter egg would be a small chance to get the D1 version of The Butcher)
4 - not sure if crafting was held back from the beta, but the blacksmith seemed empty. The ability to upgrade items is very cool. But that’s not quite the same thing as being able to make something completely new.
5- If World Tier 2 is the highest difficulty available prior to level 50, the overall game difficulty needs to be rebalanced. I did not feel threatened in general gameplay almost at all. In fact, I really only died because of a silly play mistake in a multiplayer boss fight, or The Butcher. I don’t want monsters to be just giant damage sponges with comical numbers on their health bars. But I feel like the “Veteran” experience is just too easy. I have no complaints about having a basic pumpkin spice enjoyer difficulty, it makes the game more accessible. But the “Veteran” tier should at least expect that I know what I’m in for.
6- Transmogs unlocking on dismantle doesn’t feel good in my opinion. Cool idea, I get what they are going for. But if I can’t match my dual swords aesthetically without disassembling the legendary sword, is it even worth it? Same for armor. Especially since the transferring a legendary property to a new item, doesn’t guarantee the same appearance on the new item or unlock the transmog.
I know most of this post has been nitpicky and negative. But I would like to follow that up with the statement, that I REALLY like what I am seeing so far. And I just want my actionable feedback to be heard while its still actionable. Keep up the great work! I can’t wait to see what the team has in store for us when the full game launches in June!
PS: Speaking of Stores: I’m only gonna say this so it can’t be said that we didn’t say it. KEEP YOUR STORE ETHICAL! I love to support games that I enjoy playing. But if the store requires that I pay the full price of a new game to buy a cool looking shield, we’re gonna have words.
PPS: As the team starts looking towards live content, expansions, and new classes. I would like to formally request a melee polearm class, like a Dragoon.