Let's face it, Blizzard has had a year. From the Diablo Immortal debacle of last year, to the recent Hong Kong controversy, to the shuttering of Heroes of the Storms esports scene, Blizzard has found itself suddenly devoid of most of the goodwill it's garnered among the most important companies of gaming. Before this month, however, Blizzard generated a great deal of buzz and excitement. If Blizzard wants Diablo IV to be as successful as it might be, it ought to look for strategies to enhance the game in all aspects.
But a lot has changed as Diablo III. There is a current King of the ARPG, and that's Grinding Gear Games' Path of Exile (PoE). It has managed to accomplish what Diablo III couldn't. It boasts a steadily growing player count, it has an integrated market that replicates (and surpasses) the old days of trading on Battle.net, and perhaps most importantly, it has created a grim, gloomy tone very similar to Diablo I and II. That's a tone which Diablo IV lead programmer Luis Barriga claims that Blizzard is currently going back to.
Community feedback
Grinding Gear Games' spectacular achievement is its degree of interaction with the PoE community. The programmer even hosts its ExileCon, where founder and CEO Chris Wilson communicates with gamers. It's a degree of interaction which enables fans to feel like they're a viable part of its expansion and the community. That being said, Blizzard is off to a fantastic start, with blog articles detailing upcoming design decisions and answers .
PoE introduces new game mechanics such as Incursions, Delves, or the Bestiary, to get a new league. Nothing is ever right out of the gate, however. Take the Bestiary League that launched in early 2018. There, marked beasts could be tracked down by players. A net would throw in the beast, which had a chance to capture it if the beast had wellness, while the possibility went up if the monster was hurt, but the chances were very low.
There was a catch. PoE prioritizes DPS, clearing that is rapid-wave assembles, so players discovered that it was hard because you killed them 26, to catch beasts. Grinding Gear Games began to tweak the Bestiary, and now you just have to find the monster.
Listen to the experts -- the gamers
The Bestiary is just 1 example. Experiences that spiked into difficulty levels were also seen by the debut of Betrayal. Grinding Gear Games took in a look at the numbers that the community provided and set about adjusting the problem. If you remember, it took Blizzard quite a while to get around to balancing the difficulty degrees of Diablo III.
Long story short, Blizzard should make sure when Diablo IV launches it responds to community feedback. Problems with problem and game mechanics must be addressed whenever possible. That doesn't mean that the community should induce the vision of this sport, but when a substantial portion of dedicated gamers is having problems, it would be wise for Blizzard to take a look.
Give a reason to gamers
Grinding Gear Games did its homework because it developed Path of Exile. It seemed at what the community needed -- especially, the hardcore community -- and put out to make. And what exactly does the community need?
Compare Diablo III's assembles to the possibilities you have in PoE. Both matches are currently active, but PoE provides many different builds, uniques, and set items that produce a array of builds that are feasible. It illuminates exactly what Blizzard has to offer you. To get Diablo IV to take the summit, it needs to take a good, long look in itemization and class builds (for an notion of PoE's sophistication, just look up"Path of Exile build of the week" and watch movies like that ).
What Diablo IV doesn't need to change
I really don't want it to look like Diablo III didn't do anything right. In fact, I overlook its visceral battle. It's still the best ARPG battle around. The movement, pacing, and feedback were top-notch, but that is really to be expected of Blizzard. I improve on Diablo III's combat system and look forward to watching Diablo IV replicate.
Blizzard does a good job of incorporating mechanics . Among PoE's frustrating aspects is that to successfully trade and craft at endgame, you must go away from the game. It is so complex -- for better or for worse -- which you need Route of Building and apps like AutoHotkey that will assist you stay competitive. Blizzard, however, can fine-tune all such tools in-house. Should they choose, Additionally, it helps that they are starting from scratch and can incorporate those systems.
Path of Exile is a competitor the likes of which didn't exist when Diablo III launched. That means Blizzard will have to work all the harder if they would like to take back the ARPG crown especially with Path of Exile two coming out next year. Can Blizzard triumph in this effort? It is difficult to say. For the time being, we can only wait and watch.