Diablo IV—the Ultimate Action RPG?

Diablo IV: A Diablo Game for the 21st Century

The Diablo games have been going strong for a while now, in fact, since 1997! It’s not a stretch to say that the Diablo series is one of the most influential role-playing game franchises of all time. Diablo IV, the fourth game in the series (if you don’t know your Roman numerals), looks like it’s set to introduce some welcome twists and innovations to the familiar Diablo formula. The Diablo series is known for offering a compelling and unique take on classic dungeon-crawling-style games. It seems the highly anticipated Diablo IV will continue this style of gameplay, while modernising the series and revamping it for the modern era.

Over the years, Diablo has become full of rich lore and storytelling, unsurprising perhaps given the franchise has existed for over two decades. The basic premise of Diablo is that there has been a war between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, and due to their actions in the conflict, demons have been banished to the mortal realm. The series is set in the fantasy world of Sanctuary, and its characters are largely humans, angels, demons and monsters. Diablo is the eponymous antagonist of the series, a mighty demon who has the power to use a person’s most horrible fears against them. The Diablo universe is definitely not a peaceful place!!

Enhanced Gameplay Experience

The basic gameplay in the Diablo series involves defeating enemies of increasing difficulty. They are fought by different classes that can be levelled up using the skill trees, and distinguished by equipping them with various weapons. As the game goes on, enemies increase in difficulty and the player will have to develop better strategies to beat them, leading to a satisfying and rewarding gameplay experience. It seems like Diablo IV is going to take that core Diablo formula and enhance it for modern times, adding a host of features and an all-new story. The last Diablo game came out in 2012, and since then player expectations for games like this have increased significantly, especially from big developers like Blizzard.

What’s New in Diablo IV?

Following years of speculation, Diablo 4 was announced during BlizzCon 2019. It’s obviously been a few years since then. Blizzard has steadily dropped enough details and trailers about the game that we have a pretty good idea of what it will be like.

The most intriguing addition to the Diablo series is the introduction of an open world, a feature completely new to the Diablo series that was previously fairly linear. Diablo will have a branching campaign as well, which will allow players to explore the game’s giant world in their own unique way. This will no doubt shake up the series formula significantly. Open-world games have become extremely popular among players in recent years, who are tired of games holding the player’s hand, such as Breath of the Wild in the Zelda series and more recently Elden Ring.

However, one of the biggest challenges when designing open-world games is ensuring it feels balanced. Unlike linear games, when the developer can ensure a steady progression of difficulty, in open-world games the player has much more freedom and they can end up in excessively challenging areas that lead to them getting frustrated. Be that as it may, Blizzard has assured us that the game will still be well-balanced, simultaneously giving players a sense of freedom while ensuring the game feels like a meaningful adventure.

According to Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson, “Players say they want open world and free choice. But they also want to be told where to go.” In other words, Diablo IV will have an overarching story and ending, but it will let players have much more freedom going through it.

End and Beginning: Diablo IV Seasons

If anyone thought that finishing Diablo IV’s campaign would mean ending the game, think again! As it is, that was only the beginning of your adventures in Sanctuary. On July 20 the first Season of Diablo IV will go live and will mark a new beginning for all players. Called “Season of the Malignant”, it will have a completely original storyline: a new form of Lilith’s corruption has spread throughout Sanctuary, creating Malignant Monsters that roam the land, minds lost and killing at random. But you found a way to harness the Malignant power and make it your own, to gain new skills and abilities. This new storyline will only be accessible after players have reached the end of the campaign with at least one character.

The Season journey will be complemented by a Battle Pass with a total of 90 tiers providing various bonuses and rewards. The free Pass, available automatically to all players, will have 27 tiers, while the Premium Battle Pass will give you 63 more tiers and unique rewards like the Coldiron armor set and the Warded Mustang Mount.

 

Purchasing the Diablo 4 Battle Pass at Gamecardsdirect

The Premium Battle Pass, as other cosmetic and gameplay enhancements, can be purchased in-game by using Platinum, the premium currency of Diablo IV. You can buy your Platinum for Xbox here at Gamecardsdirect, the one-stop gift card shop. If you don’t play on Xbox, or don’t want to buy Platinum directly for any reason, you can fund your game profile with Blizzard gift cards, PlayStation gift cards or Xbox gift cards, depending which system you play on.

An Emphasis on Player Freedom

A first for the series, Diablo IV will contain extensive character customisation features, allowing players to design their character in extreme detail and make the game feel like a unique experience each time. The character creator will let you alter the facial features, body characteristics and even has a dye system to customise armour. There will also be jewellery, such as nose piercings and earrings.

Much like its character customisation freedom, Diablo IV will also emphasise player choice regarding class and progression in the skill tree. Even two players of the same class will be able to specialise their character significantly differently, so every play-through will feel unique in its own way. “We really wanted the classes to shine in their own ways,” Fergusson has said. As for the classes of Diablo IV, only five have been announced at launch but there are bound to be more in DLC. The five so far are Barbarian, Sorceress, Druid, Rogue and Necromancer.

Where Can I Buy Diablo IV?

Diablo IV is scheduled for release on June 2nd, 2023 on all major platforms. If you would like to buy the game, you can do that safely and securely here at Gamecardsdirect, the one-stop gift card shop! Alternatively, you can buy gift codes here to obtain the game in stores such as PlayStation and Xbox!