Lead Systems Designer on Diablo IV, David Kim, released an exclusive update today regarding the system design of this highly anticipated game.
He starts the blog post off by giving the nod to the Diablo community and how they are a valuable resource in terms of supplying feedback and refining the game.
Kim also mentions the consequence of having such a passionate and knowledgeable community is the vast difference of opinions about certain game elements, whether its mechanics, design, or plot. This inevitably leads to gamers either being happy or less than thrilled.
The developers of Diablo IV plan on releasing updates like this blog post every so often to keep fans in the loop and to also generate discussions about the introduced features.
🛠️ System Design in Diablo IV (P.1)
We dive into some of the most talked-about topics.Read & Discuss w/ Us: https://t.co/LUfwkWAEpn pic.twitter.com/P2LGosiJVM
— Diablo (@Diablo) November 19, 2019
Kim and his team have received a lot of feedback and dives right into some of the hottest topics.
Diablo IV itemization has been at the forefront of Reddit threads and in-game dialogue. Kim and his team are figuring out the most effective ways to add more “depth and complexity to base items (including Rares), ways to add greater variety to item affixes to make those powers interesting and your choices meaningful, and ways to give players more freedom to choose how to customize items.” The ladder is being worked out to give players more freedom to utilize the game style they’re interested in, instead of being subject to figuring out the best build or die.
This is all that was mentioned about itemization, but Kim promises a lengthier post when the information becomes available.
He clears up a misconception that came about during a Blizzcon 2019 demo user interface presentation. It has given gamers the impression that skills will be locked to specific slots, which has garnered chatter online. Kim reminds fans that the user interface has not been finalized, and Diablo IV will have an Elective
Mode type of skill selection.
The role of Ancient Items was not explained well to fans and has created confusion about their actual purpose in Diablo IV. Kim has taken note of that and will have more information about Ancient Items soon.
The blog also touches on the endgame progression system. The developers are unsure if character leveling and experience should be infinite or finite in Diablo IV and are looking for fan feedback on this element. He also speaks about the difference between Keyed Dungeons and Rifts, specifically that Keyed Dungeons provide a more significant challenge for gamers as their “tiers increase through Dungeon Affixes.”
Kim mentions the feedback the community has given about power sources, and that has led to the developers reevaluating how much power comes from each source at a given time.
Gamers can read the entire blog post via the tweet posted in this writing.
