This is a really unpopular opinion - but I bought Diablo 4 on Steam and I thought it was amazing, a huge improvement over III.
The artwork or graphics in D4 is sublime in my view, the level of detail is so intricate - I know it’s a bit easier having a fixed camera angle but nevertheless, so much thought seems to have been put into every corner of the island, the 3D models, the lighting, the textures. Maybe it’s because I played a lot of classic WoW that it hooked me in but the variation in each zone kept the game fresh.
The open world and mounts was also a big plus, levelling was fun and the skill system at 60 keeps the momentum going.
And not forgetting the side quest stories: so well crafted and interesting.
My biggest moan was having the map area names in the sea, that was a bit confusing as they should’ve been on the mainland.
I don’t think I’ve written something like this before, I feel like a fanboy. But Blizzard, thank you. And yep, I’m definitely in the ‘casual’ end of gaming
D4 is a really good pick-up-put-down style game. Long as you’re not trying to enjoy endgame, which is essentially non existent, it remains fairly fun.
Most players at this point have left to do other things. Once you finish the seasonal “journey” there are no longer any rewards to seek unless you enjoy running The Pit non stop. And even then, you might get something useful after 3 or 4 hours of grinding, and brick it because of the tempering system.
Paragon levels are fun at first. 280 is the halfway point to 300. The only way to really grind out the final levels is in the Pit, and it becomes monotonous at best.
Even though I feel extremely let down by the direction of the game at whole. And this reason is because I focus on the content at the pinnacle of playing every game, and Diablo 4 lacks anything fun for me to do at this point. And the “to be continued”, from the story has me feeling a little ripped off.
That being said, I have had more than likely at this point nearing 1k hours in the game, and definitely gotten more than my monies worth of entertainment by a huge margin.
This is the unique think I share with you, the thing I most hate of I-ARPGs is the traditional map, is feel like a room, the open world feels more free.
Majority was more like “give me some water” or “fill this flask with souls” and ends, but there are somes about “this girl is a witch, hell she to find his way” or about lore that we know or not yet. So, there are some good stories to hear.
No, the OP is right. The overworld alone makes playing the game more interesting and very chill. Of course, if you fokus too much on your checklists for rewards and on how to play efficiently, any game will become boring sooner.
What the devs need to do next, in my opinion, is to think beyond seasonal time limits and start to expand the content without restricting creativity in fear for sh**storms.
I do remember it in WoW (I mainly played 1.0 WotLK, so I guess that would be Classic nowadays). Outlands (TBC) was gorgeous… I still fly over Nagrand sometimes in my mind, so pretty from the sky.
Zones in D4 are pretty, yes. Up close, I especially liked Hawezar. Lots of nice detail. Kinda underserved (the overworld as a whole).
I’m glad you liked them. I found most of them forgettable. Haven’t put my finger on it yet.
I found a lot of cool world building just checking out all the dialogue options for each quest. Some are just trivial but some are really really cool.
The quests themselves though are all minor variations on “I found this jar, I guess I’ll fill it” or “Hey stranger, I’m safe from the 8 million monsters surrounding this town for some reason, but the thing I need is outside, get it for me.”
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WotLK, so I guess that would be Classic nowadays). Outlands (TBC) was gorgeous… I still fly over Nagrand sometimes in my mind, so pretty from the sky. 