Blizzard began with a new tweet showing what is being called the only stable relationship you’ll have in Sanctuary, more adorable-if-creepy little goatish companion. And gamers? Oh, it really does whet furious opinions in them. Some loved it; some were furious; some were just—bewildered. Welcome to Diablo fandom, where an evil digital goat can start a war.
Now, about that goat. Pretty small, one set of horns and milking the stage all the way alongside your character just like an annoying but cute little pal. Next-to-last comments gave an episode of when the poor little guy was in some $10 battle pass to be used across classes. The fact that this supposedly hurt the pitch, or should I say helped it, was just a good thing to do in typical Blizzard fashion.
Some went all the way, such as @Dynamyte8;, claiming it to be their favorite pet to use and going as far as to compare its evil nature to that of William the Bloody from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (??). Meanwhile, @prosopagnosic posted their own demon goat hype pretending it to be the “fastest pet ever.” So yes, definitely that goat carries fans.
But the other side of that…well. @Femtokun didn’t mince words when they felt Blizzard had “turned one of the most badass games ever made into a circus joke.” That’s severe criticism. @OmegaSaiyanX came with the venom, “Stop with all the MTs and sort the damn game out!!”. Microtransactions before actual fixing? Yes, the venom indeed.
Now comes the drama: prices. Because there always is. @conro sarcastically wondered if the goat was “$150 and only available for use on one class,” which… to be honest, wouldn’t even surprise me at this point. @beltranafelipe1 outright asked for the price, while @DesmonK1 declared, “I’m not paying for that. Or anything!” A fair answer.
But the real kicker—the entire franchise is just more than a bunch of players are willing to take, said @spankalots as he called the game “dead” and pleaded for Blizzard to “do something new,” while @xXArchilonXx gave a not-so-flattering comparison to Path of Exile saying, “still playing even at end season having a good time” over there. Oof.
The few tried to keep the vibes alive through their comebacks, as chaos ensued. @RalenesW joked how Blizzard “never disappoints,” even as their companions are “creepy looking” while @RolandNorbertB said he liked the goat “won’t try to kill me… hopefully.” (Famous last words?)
What is the takeaway? Diablo is an extremely angry crowd, and that recent cosmetic drop by Blizzard has split that crowd down the middle. Some say it’s just something to smile about; some see it as a punch in the face of everything wrong with today’s gaming. Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t. Both sides have their points.
In the end, the goat means absolutely nothing for that conversation if you love it, hate it, or want it to be a springboard into proper fixes. What we can all be sure about is that a new inmate has just entered into Sanctuary and does not seem to be going anywhere. Excuse us while we go give the demon farm animal some love. That is a priority.
