The information, in fact, makes one ponder about the arrival on July 1 of the next “Sins of the Horadrim” update almost brimming with untold dark secrets. Customizable spells, deadly strongrooms, new loot, and so many other good things are coming, and the question now becomes: Can gamers even face what lurks in the shadows?
The official Diablo account on Twitter wished to tease the announcement with “Some secrets are too dark to be contained.” There is certainly an ominous tone to be set within the entire franchise about demon-slaying and loot grinding. Those hidden revelations might be what they say is everything ranging from new story beats to frightfully large boss encounters. But halting for a moment, shall we really try to analyze some of the things that we do know?
First- Customizable spells. Big deal because, let’s face it, there have been some problems with Diablo IV’s skill system right now…some people love how it freely opens up possibilities for builds to develop, and some really miss the strict structure older games used to provide. Now, imagine what kind of crazy builds might be possible with an additional layer of spell customization. As HeNoseGaming nicely summed it up in a reply: Customizable spells you say? Yeah, buddy. Buckle up.
Then there are those deadly strongrooms. No official details yet, but judging from the history of Diablo, strongrooms are probably those high-risk, high-reward dungeons wherein a single misstep means having to respawn at the nearest waypoint. Assiah seems hyped: “When you enter through each Nightmare Dungeon the monster difficulty scales… big W !!!!!” That should indeed hurt. Painful yet glorious pain.
Of course, there were still those who didn’t buy into it. OmegaSaiyanX had dropped his flame: I’d rather play Diablo 1, D4 is a joke now. Meanwhile, Jeremy (imjeremytho) pointed out the proverbial elephant: 2-year-old game called Diablo 4 and the character Diablo isn’t even in the game. Fair point, but hey-maybe this update changes that? (Probably not.)
That brings us to the seasonal matter. Thewolflonegeek asked the question we’re all wondering: “Are we going to have to create a seasonal character again?” Short answer: Almost definitely. Long answer: Ugh, probably. But maybe with the new loot and rewards, it won’t feel like such a grind this time? (Wishful thinking.)
We also cannot forget the PTR feedback. Frozone68 expressed his displeasure with the test version: “I hope you have learn lessons about PTR with escalating donjons because on the PTR the ND have no sense no real escalation.” Or in layman’s words: Player revolt if difficulty isn’t properly scaled. DaleBrownBull echoed this sentiment and cried out for “a way to surpass the default T4 cap!” because, just being honest here, endgame has got to hurt.
Still, not all the replies were negative. Cayde (xXCayde6) stays classy: “This sounds dope.” And also, Alexios (LiamACCollector) is already in: “We will be there!!!” So, there is hype.
Now, about that “and so much more” tease… Drozy1 came straight out with: “What’s the ‘and so much more’ part?” Good question. Blizzard is notorious for hiding the good stuff within patch notes, so anyone’s guess about what surprises await us by July 1. New class? Unannounced boss? Secret cow level? (Okay, probably not.)
The one sure thing… Diablo IV’s player base is torn. Some want to jump right back in; some are waiting for serious fixes. Sins of the Horadrim, with customizable spells, escalating dungeons, and whatever else Blizzard hides, could very well be the update that convinces all skeptics. Or…could be a valid reason to pull out Diablo II; we’ll find out on July 1.
