The first half of the Diablo 4 Season 2 patch has been posted, but we still have a long way to go.
Don’t get me wrong, I really dig the QoL improvements. However, the major gripes I have with the game simply haven’t been addressed yet. At a minimum, the notes haven’t been released. That in mind, here is what I think needs to change for Diablo 4 to even be re-installed on my machine.
First and Foremost: Itemization
Sure, we all know the itemization is pretty terrible and anti-fun. However, I’d really like for them to focus on itemization from the perspective of build diversity. We currently have a limited number of uniques, and those uniques are fairly lackluster. Even the uber-uniques leave a lot to be desired.
Look at Harlequin Crest (Shako) for example: it doesn’t even unlock any builds. It’s simply a bunch of useful stats that would viably boost any build, but does not unlock any unique interactions or paths. In its current state, it wouldn’t even be anything I’d seriously pursue. That’s a major problem for something that has arguably the worst drop rate of any item in any ARPG, ever.
Diablo 4 needs life. Vibrance. Choice. As it stands, nothing unlocks wild builds. Every single item and aspect in the game is incredibly vanilla, and only provides very basic interactions between spells. One of the things that makes a game like Path of Exile great is creative diversity; A spell interacts a certain way, and you discover unique synergies which cause interactions that compound (or even entirely change) said spell. Blizzard simply doesn’t understand the joy and dopamine that result from discovering these unique synergies and interactions.
As it stands, Diablo 4 is so basic that the vast majority of uniques and aspects go unused entirely. I don’t know if they outright lack the required knowledge of ARPGs, or if they’re playing too safe and don’t want crazy overpowered synergies. Either way, their strategy is flawed and needs to be thrown out. It doesn’t need iteration, and it doesn’t need time to develop. It needs flushed.
The solution
Refactor every single unique and aspect. There’s nothing else to say on the topic, really. Everything needs changed, including uber-uniques.
Second: Typecasting
You know how Sorcerers all take the exact same defensives? Basically the only difference between Sorcerer kits is one or two abilities at the most. How about Druids all running Grizzly Rage (and builds being outright dependent upon it)? All Barbarian builds spamming shouts as much as possible? You know what I’m talking about. Every build, in every class, has a list of staple abilities that you simply cannot be without (unless you want to be inferior).
The reason behind this is because of Blizzard’s absolutely bizarre choice with multiplicative damage (commonly referred to as “damage buckets”). You are pigeonholed into chasing Vulnerable damage on a Sorcerer for example, yet the only way to reliably trigger Vulnerable on an opponent is Frost Nova. This means Teleport and Frost Nova are mandatory no matter the build. Ice Block becomes semi-mandatory due to the logic-defying melee nature of Sorcerers. Firebolt is mandatory due to the same bizarre choices with multiplicative damage. Continue down the list and you quickly realize you have two choices: Use the exact same staple abilities, or do subpar damage.
Blizzard needs to recognize that typecasting classes (and virtually all of their viable builds) makes for a stale, uncreative experience. Players quickly realize that they don’t have the desire to test other builds/classes because they’re all in the same boat: Chase Vulnerable damage and sprinkle in a small amount of something else. Even the few builds that aren’t chasing Vulnerable damage are chasing something nearly-identical in functionality (Overpower, for example).
There should realistically be dozens of multiplicative damage bonuses. The “chase” should be what the player chooses, not what Blizzard shoves down the player’s throat. This would also dramatically improve itemization, as you wouldn’t have so many outright useless stats on loot. Think about it: Imagine just being able to say, “I want to try a build that deals more damage to poisoned enemies” and that approach being viable.
The Solution
Make all damage bonuses multiplicative. Delete any that are not and cannot be. I know it seems like this will make things even more crazy, but hear me out. We see the numbers now, and abilities are already balanced around multiplicative bonuses. To pretend like they aren’t would illogical, as that’s the reason only a small number of builds are viable in high level NMDs. Making all bonuses multiplicative would at least solve that problem, and would theoretically bring many other builds up to a viable level. At that point, anything that’s hitting in the billions can be brought down, as it’d be easier to determine that it’s not a niche case.
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