The key lessons he learned from the first months of Diablo 4 are discussed by a Blizzard developer
Diablo 4’s general reception has had many ups and downs in the six months since its release. Diablo 4 is currently in far better shape than it was earlier this year. Clearly, the developers gained some valuable insights while fine-tuning this massive action RPG to meet community expectations.
Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson reflected on the first six months of Diablo 4 in an interview with the Electronic Playground Network. He also discussed the rough patches, both the patches themselves and the resulting community backlash, and stated that future updates would instead focus on more thoughtful changes. According to Fergusson, one of the most important lessons Blizzard learned is that it’s sometimes OK for things to “feel” broken in order to keep the fun going.
“As developers sometimes you focus on balance, and not fun,” Diablo’s general manager explained the thought process behind patching games. “Like, you can be like ‘everything has to be on the same level’ and that you’re really striving for fairness, but the thing about a Diablo game is that those overpowered moments that when you feel like you’re cheating or that you feel like you fooled the development team by taking advantage of some exploit, it can feel really, really fun. So that’s what we’ve tried to embrace, and now in Season 2, the Ball-lighting Sorc’ [build] is ridiculous, but we’re just like “let them have their fun, we’ll deal with it later.'”
These comments are a surprise and refreshing change from the early months of Diablo 4, given how quickly Blizzard made improvements and removed beloved game oddities.
Fergusson’s comments also touch on one of the most distinguishing features of the Diablo community: their love of delving deep into the game’s systems to optimize class best builds. This amount of character customization dates back to Diablo 2, and it’s become a standard for the subgenre of loot-focused action RPGs. Unfortunately, this component of enjoyment clashed with Blizzard’s strategy to upgrading D4 during its early months, which was quick and sweeping with the patches.
The several patches prior to Diablo 4’s first season brought everything to a head early on. Along with reducing the number of experience points required to advance in level, various nerfs were applied to popular class builds that players come to like, notably the Sorceress. The modifications were so contentious with the community that Blizzard developers hosted a surprise community broadcast to address them and promise to do better in future updates.
Diablo 4 is in considerably better shape than it was last summer at the end of 2023. Along with the ongoing Season of Blood event, it has been regularly adjusting boss loot rates and making the classic Diablo end-game grind less of a chore. So far, both adjustments have been favourably received by the community.
Along with Fergusson’s recent remarks, the developers have continually reinforced a more uniform vision for Diablo 4 patches. Furthermore, Diablo 4 community director Adam Fletcher has stated that no pay-to-win methods will be added in the future.
Allowing for player agency, as noted in the EPN interview, is a fulfilling method for the community to discover their pleasure and engagement, and it’s heartening that Diablo 4’s improvements will continue with this in mind for players.