Why would I want to play the same lackluster content over again?
It was fun the first time, but as I knew in Beta…it’s not going to be fun the 2end, 3rd, 4th, etc.
To explain further:
Not to pick on you, specifically, Ret…but this is a good example of a mindset coming from those who are so heavily invested in Seasons that they can willfully ignore lackluster content when they’re getting that adrenaline rush of starting over. Great for you, if that’s all you need to enjoy yourself…I’m sure you’ll get quite a lot out of Seasons.
For those who don’t get that adrenaline rush, you need to have some pretty great gameplay loops and engaging content to thrill them with the notion of playing through the same content over again.
The incentives that Seasons provide aren’t enough when the entire game is so lacking in replayability that it becomes a chore to go through again, and I say this as someone who has…having played each Beta test and rolling Hardcore on launch, losing a lv40 Rogue to a blue-screen while they were tinkering with the servers and then working back up to finish the story.
Going through Fractured Peaks again, after having played through it during Beta and launch, was so mind-numbingly boring that I dreaded it even BEFORE launch…I was very keen to get beyond Fractured Peaks and never see it again.
With that said:
That’s taking aside the demographic who just has no interest in re-rolling a character to begin with, which I’m actually also a part of. So, let’s talk about that demographic, specifically, now.
People say, “ThAtS aN ArPG!!!”
It doesn’t have to be.
ARPG stands for Action Role Playing Game, not Rogue-like. If you take the current state of Diablo IV, the definition of an ARPG is just a Rogue-like game with all the worst aspects and none of the good. Dungeons aren’t procedurally generated, the mob diversity is overwhelmingly lackluster, the loot table is miniscule, the overall complexity of the game is more shallow than a child’s swimming pool.
So I’m not even sure why Season enthusiasts enjoy the notion in Diablo IV, as it stands now. Play a great Rogue-like game, you’ll get more out of that, no?
…but I digress, if that’s all it takes to get your juices flowing…that’s awesome. I also fully understand that Seasons are something people in ARPGs have come to enjoy, so I wouldn’t want to take that away from people. I also understand why allowing Eternal characters to jump into Seasons would defeat their purpose.
At the very least, what could be done to incentivize people who aren’t so keen on seasons is to implement something like I write about here:
Here is a thread about Seasons.
This wouldn’t impact the sanctity of Seasons, but grant people who have no interest in Seasons a reason to justify their involvement. It’s not going to entirely fix the situation, as the core content has no replay value…meaning it’ll still likely be a chore for most of us, but it would certainly make me, personally, more willing to re-roll another character and participate.
If they enhanced the core mechanics of the game atop that, adding replay value, then you have everyone by the sack. They would succeed in their live-service endeavors.