Hi there. I originally posted this on the sticky, but then I realized that was meant to be an introductory post describing the rules of the subforum rather than a feedback thread, so I have reposted it as a topic.
First things first, I want to profess my gratitude for all of the hard work that has gone into Diablo IV. It is an exceptional game, full of love, side quests, satisfying combat and a variety of engaging activities. I started my journey with Diablo III during its semi-open beta that came with the pre-purchase of Cataclysm and have adored the franchise ever since. I’ve put thousands of hours into D3 and hundreds into D2R across multiple platforms and there is no gaming franchise in this world that I love more.
That said, I feel as though there is a critical problem with Diablo IV as it stands and it is the fact that item progression does not feel rewarding, mostly due to the type of stats that roll most often.
Itemization is pretty much the key to keeping an ARPG fun. Upgrades are the carrot we are chronically chasing. They provide that hit of dopamine which beautifully warped the chemical reward system of multiple generations since the release of the original Diablo. Right now, this fundamental, core component of the Diablo experience is in a rather troubled state. I’m currently at level 55 in Diablo IV. I’ve finished the campaign, I’ve been working through Nightmare dungeons, which I think are a wonderful addition. However, I’m not really feeling the impetus to press on, and that’s because 99% of items that drop feel categorically useless. I commend the team for trying to change things up by introducing all of these new mechanics, like Vulnerable, Fortify and Overpower, but I think the current random item generation places way too much emphasis on these tertiary stats and virtually none on primary stats, critical strike bonuses, maximum life, life regeneration and resistances. Most items that drop don’t feel like an improvement whatsoever because they only improve circumstantial aspects of our character versus improving attributes that improve our character’s power broadly. The lack of our character’s main stat is particularly troubling. We are drowning in Crowd Control Reduction, Vulnerability Damage, Ultimate Skill bonuses, specific class ability subset bonuses, (IE increases to Weapon Mastery Skills, etc) barrier bonuses, fortify bonuses and so on, yet we virtually never get meaningful benefits to our strength, to our physical or elemental damage output or our maximum life.
I don’t think these tertiary stats are bad. That’s not the issue. However, I do think there was WAY too much precedence placed upon them over primary stats, to the point where it never feels like any of our gear upgrades are great. In Diablo 2 and Diablo 3, we frequently would find items that, unquestionably, felt great to receive. We would often get what I referred to internally as “pure upgrades,” meaning, items with the same stat configuration with higher values for each respective stat. Diablo 3 was particularly exceptional in that regard. Now, I understand that Diablo IV is going for a philosophy of greater scarcity when it comes to upgrades. That is okay, I totally get that and I think that’s smart! The problem is, you pretty much never get an upgrade that feels like you aren’t either making a massive negative compromise or not really benefiting at all. I would be satisfied with every one in a hundred or less items feeling like a great upgrade, it’s just that these great items basically never come.
I also understand that you guys were trying to place primary stats into the Paragon board, perhaps to largely replace their presence in gear. While I think the paragon board is great, I really think it’s extremely detrimental to the Diablo IV experience to almost completely sideline main stats and other critical attributes to the Paragon grid. The Paragon grid is important, but gear is what keeps us playing, especially when we fill out our Paragon board at level 100. Furthermore, the Paragon bonuses simply don’t feel like enough. I know that a big part of Diablo IV’s intent was to reduce damage numbers so they didn’t get out of hand like Diablo III, but it feels like we’ve been too diluted. Main stats have been reduced to a tenth of their strength in D3, so why not be more generous with their presence on items?
I don’t think Overpower, Vulnerability, etc should be removed. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I just think that we need some of the original stats to factor in more heavily because we need to feel like we are gaining stats that improve our damage and survivability broadly and not just in specific contexts. I love this game and only want the best for it. I hope you take these points into consideration. Thank you.