Hello devs , Here is some feedback that I wrote down while I was playing season 2.
Group Play in Diablo 4
In my opinion, in Diablo 4, there are two essential aspects of group play: the incentive to group up and tools for finding groups. While the game excels in one of these aspects, it falls short in the other.
Personal loot, XP bonuses, and various other features make grouping up with others a rewarding. Playing alongside others doesn’t feel like a penalty, this is great.
However, compared to D2, D4 lacks a tool for finding groups. In Diablo 2, we had the game lobby, which allowed the community to create and discover custom games easily. It was fun seeing the community finding min-maxed ways to level, like joining a tomb run, watching your XP bar climb rapidly.
In Diablo 4, I’ve found myself playing solo more often, mainly because there’s no in-game tool for finding groups other than relying on external platforms like Discord. While lobbies might not be the ideal solution, introducing a group finder feature would greatly enhance the game’s social aspect and encourage more group play.
Overworld Feedback
Diablo 4 adopts a more open-world approach to the overworld, which offers many advantages. However, occasionally, I miss for the more linear progression seen in Diablo 2. The structured journey through Act 3, knowing that you’d eventually reach Travincal by traveling deeper into the jungle, added depth to the game. Even if you had the WP to Mephisto, you still had to explore two more floors, creating a sense of anticipation.
In Diablo 4, the maps can sometimes feel bland and flat, lacking the sense of threat or uniqueness. Injecting more depth into the maps would be a welcome improvement to create a more immersive experience, this can be a challenge though since it’s a very different game.
Optimizing the Campaign for Replayability
One of Diablo 4’s strengths lies in its stunning campaign. However, after completing the campaign with my main character, I did not find the motivation to start a new character due to the repetitive nature of the leveling process.
In contrast, Diablo 2 always incorporates the campaign when leveling new characters, making it an essential part of the experience. I believe there’s untapped potential in optimizing Diablo 4’s campaign for subsequent walkthroughs. This could involve making certain steps skippable and increasing the pacing to make it the fastest way to reach level 50 and opening it up for speed running.
Players that already completed the campaign might not want to watch all the cinematics again, but a streamlined campaign experience for leveling new characters would be greatly appreciated.
Loot Discovery in Diablo 4
Discovering great loot in Diablo 4 can sometimes be hard.
I usually find myself with a full inventory, spending time analyzing each item to find something valuable.
In contrast, Diablo 2 had a more immediate and gratifying loot discovery system. When a valuable item dropped, you knew it instantly, whether it was a unique item or a high rune.
Diablo 4 takes a step in the right direction by treating legendary drops differently, they are displayed on your map, accompanied by a distinct sound, and automatically sent to your stash if not picked up. However, the majority of the time the legendary items are mediocre since the stats are the most important when looking for loot.