GamesAction RpgDiabloDiablo 4Diablo 4 lead says “obvious” bad ideas used to “fall through the cracks” because the devs didn’t fully realize “doing this 2,000 times is actually terrible"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesAction RpgDiabloDiablo 4Diablo 4 lead says “obvious” bad ideas used to “fall through the cracks” because the devs didn’t fully realize “doing this 2,000 times is actually terrible"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
Diablo 4lead class designer Adam Jackson says some features that were widely maligned simply didn’t go through enough testing for Blizzard to realize they were tedious in design.
Talking to streamer Raxxanterax (timestamped here), Jackson explained that the Diablo 4 team’s process of internal feature testing today is a little more robust than it used to be. Although it’s not clear exactly what’s changed, it sounds like the developers simply put more time into making sure new features will be positively received.
“This is where you get things that seem obvious to players that were bad ideas but sounded like good ideas when we’re sitting in the room talking about it,” Jackson said, pointing to an example from Season 4’s new tempering system in which an unskippable animation is played when tempering items.
“Sometimes things fall through the cracks of, ‘hey, doing this 2000 times is actually terrible because you have to wait forever’ versus ‘well, we want a moment of celebration and for the cool thing to be cool’. Balancing these things is what can be harder to do internally. We’ve made that mistake enough times that now we’re very cognizant of it. We make a new feature or new activity and we’re like, ‘hey, how does this feel doing this for 200 hours?'”
Of course, it also helps thatDiablo 4 Season 4is the first season to be put through a public test realm before making the jump to full release, giving testers plenty of time to identify pain points and communicate them with the developers. It’s for that very reason that the Diablo 4 Season 4 patch notes are an eye-watering 10,000 words of balance adjustments, bug fixes, and quality of life improvements.
Season 4 launches May 14.
Ahead of Diablo 4’s season of loot changes, Blizzard teases other system reworks “similar in scope” and says it’s “very open to revisiting other parts of the game”.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”