I recently played through the latest expansion for Diablo 4, and I have to give credit where it is due. This expansion is a clear step up from Vessel of Hatred. The storyline was engaging, the Mephisto fight was genuinely epic, and overall the narrative experience delivered in a way the previous expansion simply did not.
However, once you move past the story, things start to fall apart.
The endgame offering, Warplans, feels completely formulaic. I was hoping for fresh, creative content, but what we got is essentially a taskmaster system that cycles you through the same activities on repeat. It also has a glaring design flaw for anyone playing in a group. There is no party Warplans feature, which means everyone falls out of sync and inevitably ends up just playing solo anyway. That defeats the purpose entirely.
My biggest frustration kicked in once I reached Tier 8. The AI monster affixes are wildly overtuned. Those instant kill daggers in particular cross the line from challenging to just plain unfair and unfun. That experience alone was enough to make me log off and go back to Path of Exile 2.
And that comparison is the real problem. After spending serious time in POE2, the gaps in Diablo 4 become impossible to ignore. The graphics feel dated and unpolished, and there is a bloated, unfocused quality to the game that holds it back.
I try to be constructive with feedback, but it genuinely feels like Blizzard is not listening… Dudes its like you dont test your game. Right now im standing in town and theres a whole bug of glitchy graphics and the monsters came out of the pit portal and are just wondering around town. Its hilarious funny and inferior in some. So Was this expansion worth the money? Not even close.
They just standing there all unintelligible in town. I even took a photo with my phone. Honestly this is game is a whole joke. You cant attack them and cant use the blacksmith or anything because there’s a whole bunch of monsters in tempis town around the waypoint.
I have 2 toons up to torment 10 and have no idea what insta kill daggers are not joking. Just some advice, after around T6 you really need to focus on defense stacking max life/resists and damage reduction aspects. And make sure all life is master worked up and max life tempers.
Edit: too be fair, not only do i stack life, im wearing Teremity on both builds with Life per hit on 1-2 pieces, so my lock and sorc are very hard to kill.
I would like to point out that they FIXED That. People in parties get rewards just as much.
I don’t like those falling swords at ALL…. they have been over tuned since they released in the game. They are 6x’s annoying then those Bone Ballista’s that off screen sniped people from season 1-3’ish??
Graphics IMO are far better then POE, but …subjective.
Bugs aside I’m enjoying this season so much more then the past seasons.
I’m thinking you may need to take a break, because other then what the expansion has brought to This franchise (Graphically wise) Diablo 4 is the Same.
I believe it has only been announced that it will be addressed, but not implemented at this time.
I do have to agree with the OP, I like the graphical choices they make in POE2 better. Everything in D4 feels muted and wet, and the dungeons mostly blend together.
That said, POE2 has nothing on the scale of the Mephisto fight scene. And, I have to make a special mention of Akarat’s beard, I think it’s really well done.
I dont know hey. Anyone who has played POE2 would know its crisp, the powers are so detailed… D4 your character is too fast and the powers animations feel inferior and too cartoony. Unpolished visual effects or just an old game style graphics.
I’ll give credit where it’s due: the campaign and Mephisto fight were a big step up from Vessel of Hatred. But it’s worth remembering - it’s only been 4 days since launch. Endgame systems always feel rough at first, and Warplans are no exception. Once they’re maxed out, there’s really no reason to grind them again, so the repetition you’re feeling is temporary.
Honestly, logging off at Tier 8 after hitting overtuned affixes feels like giving up too easily. As plenty of players have pointed out on the forums, stacking resistances and defence is the key to surviving those dagger mobs.
Yes, there are bugs and polish issues, but it’s still early days. The expansion has only been live for four days, and balance tuning plus fixes are inevitable. If you stick with it, you’ll find the systems open up once you’re geared and resist-stacked, and party play makes the grind far more rewarding.
You ever see those posts where Blizzard says “The team is hard at work around the clock..” And you think “Pffffft. No you’re not.” This is one of those times.
They could had used all the development time to fill the game with more stories instead of regurgitating the same endgame with different flavors while at the same time kill of one of their strongest pillars ( story and worldbuilding).
Just imagine where this game could be totay if they expanded the vanilla concept.
Jokes like POWER THIS AND POWER THAT or WHAT COLOR DOES THE HELLTIDE HAVE THIS SEASON wouldn’t exist.
I detest the growing number of linked mobs far more than the falling swords. As soon as your defense is good enough you just ignore the swords, but they keep adding linked mobs to more activities–which is nothing but an attempt to slow us down; they aren’t fun.
I played POE for several years but I actually don’t care for POE2 & I was not blown away by the graphics (although it’s the visual clutter that really turned me off).
The linked mobs where you see a curved line between them, & you have to kill the lesser mob before you can attack the greater one. The linked ones are generally moving away from you. At first they were just in Helltide events but now I’m starting to see them everywhere. They aren’t difficult, just annoying when they happen often.
The little guy is suppose to be a “Shield” or something for the bigger/Other baddie….
Well Prefer them then those swords. When I attack, I have a HUGE AOE damage that covers a very good amount of the screen. I just attack somewhere off screen and I usually kill the ones I need to , then i can attack the main baddie.
