Blizzard has dropped a huge bombshell to the Diablo circle by nothing but tweeting the whole map of Sanctuary and the gamers are simply unable to hide their reactions. The all-encompassing visual of the game realm together with the caption “Not my home, but I know my way around” was tweeted from the official Diablo account, and ya know what? It is a complete vibe for the players who have spent infinite hours farming and battling.
The projection shows the regions which we have become familiar with in Diablo 4 – Fractured Peaks, Scosglen, Dry Steppes, Kehjistan, and Hawezar – but the main point of discussion is the enormous void area on the map’s left side. It is there silently enticing the gamers with its uncharted wealth, and the feedback has gone absolutely wild.
Gamers were requesting from the start nothing less than whole new content for the existing territories. One user nearly shouted for help from Blizzard: “idk diablo lore but can yall please for the love of god add more to the scosglen region? it’s so fucking cool.” And he is absolutely right – Scosglen has that agonizingly beautiful woodland atmosphere that is so characteristic of Diablo, yet it still seems as if there is a lot more to do there.
A different player, Tommy Wagelaar, remarked, “Kinda want to explore the left half… including Tristram 😇” adding a nostalgic touch to it. For the hardcore followers, Tristram is almost synonymous with Diablo. It’s a town that is just sitting there on the map, but not really close to the adventurers? That’s just plain cruel, Blizzard. Total cruelty.
The map revelation also sparked some discussions about the geography of the Sanctuary universe. For example, Piccolo113 made a remark saying, “I always assumed there was a lot more distance between the continents than that. I didn’t know they were nearly touching in the North and South.” This is indeed a very sound assumption, it might create a lot of doubt about the geography of Sanctuary’s areas and their interconnection.
Nevertheless, not everyone was pleased with the map. One person referred to Diablo 4 as “forgettable, lousy slop,” which was an extremely unfair verdict. The harsh remark seems to be a bit too severe even for the usually unforgiving Diablo community. Another player simply stated “3 > 4” ready to spread the news that is a feeling becoming common, especially among the older series fans who tend to favor the earlier games.
There also appeared a glimmer of excitement with regards to non-compatibility with D&D, as the official D&D account quickly drew attention to the similarities between the two in terms of the parties obsessing over loot. The point made is absolutely correct – although the two franchises are very different in their presentation they are, in the final analysis, about the same thing: collecting shinny objects and slaughtering monsters.
Some players are already thinking of what might happen next, Felipe for instance who suggested: “It would be so awesome if the next xpac adds the other half of the map….” and honestly? That really looks like the most reasonable action. Blizzard has a custom of expanding the game worlds with new extensions, and that vacant spot is just standing by to be filled with more areas, dungeons, and naturally, new demons to be killed.
Probably, Director Jeremy S. Lochton voiced a big part of the players when he said: “To be honest. I love Sanctuary, but I still get lost.. Not my home, but not anywhere on my map either.. Haha” There is a very relatable aspect in being more knowledgeable about a video-game world than your own neighborhood. It’s like I am confused in the Fractured Peaks, but still manage to reach the grocery store without GPS? Not a chance.
There is no denying that the map revelation has ignited strong feelings about the current state of Diablo 4 and its future direction. Gamers are craving for more content; they want to go back to the locations of previous games, and they want the world to be super huge. With the recent launch of Season 4 together with the major itemization changes, it looks like Blizzard is listening to the community – but will they go to that mysterious left side of the map?
Only time will tell Blizzard’s plan for the future of Sanctuary. In the meantime, players will still be battling through the regions already available while fantasizing about what updates and expansions might bring. The map teaser has definitely served its purpose – it has sparked debate, conjecture, and the demand for more Diablo content to savor.
