D4’s gameplay is not D3’s. I think this is the core of D4, the gameplay. D3 evolved into something that I didn’t like. The pit is something that D4 evolves into something that people won’t like. The pit is fine, it is, with some balancing it will deliver., BUT not as an end game loop. Maybe the pit will serve as a gear / build testing ground, but not as a farming activity like it is now.
I think if they focus on gameplay as in creating situations where it gives you pleasure from the playstyle perspective, this will do fine. The base is there. I remember the situations I was getting out of in nmd before the loot reborn. That was very fun and something new in my opinion. The claustrophobic feeling where the mobs would push you in a corner and you somehow escaped, that was new and very engaging. I don’t know if that was scripted … but it really pushed my buttons. They moved away from that, this is more focused on casino / slot machine feeling, not the adventure / strategy style feeling. I think they had a good start …