Blizzard has decided to include mercenarys in Diablo 4, that have their own reduced “skill tree” and accompany your hero.
Here are the reasons why this is not only a bad idea, but simply the worst of all ideas for this game:
Diablo 4 is all about the hero in the center of gameplay. Your hero character that you identify yourself with during the game. This focus on the one and only hero character was and still is what makes this game. To
The Season of Construct was so bad. Most players did not like the Seneschall at all. Most players disliked somebody or something accompanying the hero character with a ridiculous “skill system” for the Seneschall.
This game is everything about experimenting with how you setup your build, including the skill tree system. Instead of focussing on new skills, new skill modifications and vastly expanding the skill trees of the hero classes, you draw the attention of the players away from their one and only hero to a stupid mercenary with a reduced skill tree.
The screen in Diablo 4 gameplay is already overcrowded and overloaded. You already have the hero, the mass of monsters, both with many special effects. Then you have the new pets collecting dropped materials. Necros already have their minions and their golem. And now you add another thing to the screen, essentially doubling the “heroes” on screen.
The game is already easy enough. The heroes right now simply don’t need any assistance. They already rip through the masses of monsters like a hot blade through butter. Lately you reduced health and damage for monsters in The Pit while continuing buffing all hero classes. How on Earth will you explain to a player that letting a mercenary assist your hero in this situation of the game with such an extremly low level of difficulty?
Mercenaries take the fun away. Normally it is only your hero with his skills that attacks monsters. You as player decide when and which monster to attack. But when adding mercenaries, you get the same effect as with the Seneschall, something that automatically attacks and kills monsters for you. It felt already so bad with the Seneschall to give away control of this key aspect of the game. No player likes giving away control of the game.
It feels like with the new collecting pets and the mercenaries you want to double dip or triple dip into the real money of players, offering costly new cosmetic skins for those collecting pets and new cosmetic skins for those mercenaries. While your greed and your goal to extract as much money from players and maximize the profit a game brings to your company listed at the stock exchange, is understandable, it is still very bad to introduce something to the game which worsens its gameplay and overall feel.
For me and the vast majority of players, mercenarys reside on the very bottom of the list of wishes for this game, in fact so low that it falls into the category “never ever!” on this list.
Mercenaries are an outdated idea and misconception in a hero-focussed action rpg, coming from Diablo 2.
And yet, you do this. Again. To add mercenaries, a feature not liked by players in Diablo 2, is like a declaration of bankrupcy for innovative ideas. I can only imagine how you were sitting in a meeting trying to find new things to add to the game with the expansion and someone saying “Maybe we should add mercenaries like in Diablo 2, but with a little skill tree. Wouldn’t that be cool? Then we could also offer new cosmetic skins for those mercenaries and make players pay even more for cosmetic skins.” and everyone in the room hesitantly signaling “ok, we could do that” while slowly nodding their heads. “Cool!”
Not cool! Not needed! Bad for the game! Should be thrown out of the game by emergency!
INSTEAD of mercenarys, players want new skills, new skill modifications and the opportunity to save and load different builds for their heroes. Because THAT is the central part of the game. That is why people play the game. And adding more quality of life to this central part of the game, as well as adding new content by adding new skills and skill modifications to the skill trees, that is what the game needs.
It speaks words that for cosmetic looks of their characters, players have the possibility to save and load many different looks, while there is no opportunity to save and load different builds.
Diablo 4 is not a cosmetic model fashion show! Diablo 4 is an action role play game! Get that, Blizzard!
Yes, it’s called your friend. Just kidding. I always wish we can use our alts as mercenarys. That will encourage me to level up my alts. I don’t care if they can only eq 2 skills and with only 30% damage. That will still be fun.
At Vessel of Hatred launch, we will also be introducing various updates across the entire game to improve and re-work core systems that have been around since launch. Empower your favorite Classes with new Skills, added Paragon Boards, and Legendary Glyphs. Explore new Dungeon types, added activities and rewards from the Tree of Whispers, and more.
You have no idea what you are talking about. If mercenaries trigger you so much don’t use them how easy is that.
So, now you speak for the “vast majority” of players.
The Seneshal was actually nice to have once they buffed it. It provided important support to some classes that were lacking in specific areas. Sorcs at the time had limited ways of applying Vuln, and the Seneshal was able to provide that. They could act as a pseudo tank for the more squishier classes, or buff machines for others.
Mercs are the only reason I am even a tiny bit interested in D4 expansion.
Mercs are part of Diablo series soul imo.
I really disagree that your own character should be the center of gameplay.
It should however be optional to use Mercs. Like allow players to choose a “passive merc” that does not follow them around, but just offer some buffs to compensate for not having a Merc.
Agreed. The game needs to be made significantly more difficult. But that is true regardless of Mercs.
It should simply not be either/or.
The skill tree needs to be massively expanded.
Now that is a feature they should never add.
I can agree with that in principle. On the other hand, Mercs can be a balancing tool in itself (for solo vs. groups)
you might not like mercenary or pet class in general , but your opinion isn’t universal.
most of my friends like mercenaries
and saying people didn’t like mercenary in D2 is outright false : they were the reason people could bypass elemental immunity or have very high early mana generation in the first place
also, saying the game will be easier with it is yet another assumption : if the game is balanced while taking into account you’ll have a mercenary : it won’t be easier. (and outside of the unity ring combo or the freeze crossbow, the mercenaries in D3 didn’t make the game easier at all)
also, having mercenaries doesn’t make everything else impossible.
i mean : D2 had mercenares and quite a few build variety
D3 had mercenaries and quite a lot of build variety (through the rune system which was GREAT in my opinion, if they should take one thing from D3 it should be that, because the current skill variation in D4 is non-existant)
in other words : stop talking as if your view = majority, it’s not , it’s one opinion among many other , and stop talking as if the addition of mercenaries stop blizzard for adding other things.
Mercs were actually pretty fun to mess with in D2, and 3. It just depends on how they implement them into the game. It could be really cool, or another mess of an idea like the Gauntlet, or Infernal Hordes.
Because people play for fun. It’s not an esport. Mercenaries and adding other cool stuff is fun. We don’t need perfect balance. Only issue is that some classes are just annoying to play atm like sorc
