The Legendary ARPG Legacy Continuing, Diablo IV Interview with Joe Shely & John Mueller
Fans’ wait for the continuation of the Diablo series has finally ended after Blizzard officially announced Diablo IV, which at that time brought a huge wave of hype and continues to build up to this day. This new sequel to the legendary ARPG franchise brings many new overhauls from the best graphics quality to more refined gameplay. At least from what Blizzard has shown so far for the game, Diablo IV seems to be a sequel that can live up to expectations.
The BlizzConline 2021 event is also a moment that Blizzard uses to share more details about the game, such as content and what changes fans can expect from this latest series. To get more complete details, we have summarized an exclusive interview session with Lead Designer – Joe Shely and Art Director – John Mueller. Instead of being curious, just look at the full summary below.
Diablo IV at a Glance
Diablo IV is the latest sequel to Blizzard’s flagship ARPG franchise that has existed for more than two decades. This fourth series brings many improvements to the improved quality, ranging from 3D graphics that look stunning and full of detail, gameplay that looks flashy and exciting, and the setting of the Sanctuary world which this time is much more immersive and allows players to explore five regions ranging from Scosglen, Fractured Peaks, Dry Steppes, Hawezar, and Kehjistan. The world setting is designed with an open-world style design that is the first time the franchise has used it.
Just like the previous series, the focus of gameplay in Diablo IV also depends on the selected character class. So far, Diablo IV has been confirmed to feature Barbarian, Sorceres, Druid, and Rogue classes. Each class has very significant differences ranging from weapons, equipment, skill sets, to the style of play that players must apply to dominate the battlefield.
Talking about Rogue’s newest character class, we have also been presented with a cool gameplay video at the BlizzConline 2021 event yesterday. Joe went on to explain a bit about the details of his character class “In Diablo IV, Rogue is a Melle and Ranged class whose play style can be adapted to the player’s taste. This combination of melee and ranged weapons can be changed at any time so the player can weaken the enemy with a rain of arrows, before finally approaching and defeating all enemies with a melee attack.
Story Concept
The focus of the story in Diablo IV this time also experienced a significant change from Diablo III which is more dominant in its political elements, where fans will be involved more with conflicts with local residents of the Sanctuary. When asked about the source of his inspiration, John replied, “I think Diablo has always focused on the dark medieval world theme. Our goal was to make the theme more immersive with the open-world setting we built in this game.” This answer makes a lot of sense, because building a Diablo game with an open-world focus certainly requires a world filled with locations and lots of interesting spots, for that the theme of the story must also be more related to the world itself.
One thing that makes fans curious about the story in Diablo IV is the return of the demon Lilith as the main antagonist. Rather than introducing a new antagonist, the decision to bring back Lilith was because she was a different demon from Diablo and Mephisto. John explained “Lilith and the Archangel were the ones who created the Sanctuary, so he knows everything including what is on people’s minds. He probably had plans to build a new future for the residents of the Sanctuary. This idea may have a good or bad ending, so players have to play the game to find out Lilith’s motivation.”
Besides Lilith, Diablo IV will bring many new iconic characters who drive the story and are involved in the conflicts that occur in the Sanctuary. Joe and Johnny don’t want to share more details due to potential spoilers, so players will have to play the game to witness this new story. One thing to note is that the story in Diablo IV takes place after the events that occurred in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, so players who are still playing the third series still have plenty of time to complete the campaign before they are ready to welcome Diablo IV.
Played Gameplay
As we discussed several times above, Diablo IV is the first game in the franchise that carries an open-world setting. The decision to make it open-world is not only related to the concept of a story that is more focused on the Sanctuary, but also the gameplay is made more free. Being able to create a Sanctuary world that connects various regions without any loading time limits is a challenge for the developer team.
“One of the most exciting challenges for us is the Camp system. We want to make every action players take have a permanent effect on the world as well as the people who inhabit the Sanctuary. So when players fight groups of monsters in an area, they can then make that area a new camp. With this they can attract the attention of new NPCs to inhabit the place, make it a Transport Point, and even a new dungeon,” said Joe.
The leveling process in this game is completely dependent on the player’s decision. They have the option to use Core State Points which can be used to increase Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. There are also Skill Points that are used to learn and strengthen new skills, including passive effects that are needed to make characters stronger. Hunting monsters and facing challenges in the Sanctuary can also give you extra rewards and equipment to strengthen your character, so grinding is very essential in this game.
As the progress of the campaign that takes players around the Sanctuary, there will be more new activities and options to continue the progress that has been made. Players can visit various areas and do side activities first, hunt monsters and grind to get the best equipment, or focus entirely on the campaign flow for those who just want to enjoy the story content. This is one aspect that makes the open-world setting in Diablo IV feel very free and offers an exciting experience.
The excitement that players feel can also be obtained by trying various other character classes. “So when you play a certain character class, that class has various properties that make it very unique and different from the others, so try various other classes with additional skills and their own uniqueness,” said Joe. In addition to including exciting activities, trying out different character classes is also needed so that players can adapt to more difficult gameplay challenges. For example, when facing high-level dungeon challenges or PVP with experienced players.
What’s the latest overhaul?
As can be seen, Diablo IV brings improved 3D-based graphics that are more captivating with a new engine. The developer admits that they can create something that has not been realized before, so players can anticipate the many improvements that will be present in the fourth series. This does not include the various features that are prepared to maximize the accessibility aspect, so that the playing experience will be maximized. However, please note that unlike the previous series, Diablo IV can only be played online with the support of the cross-progression feature.
The latest overhaul brought by the game also includes adjustments to the loot system from Diablo III. Joe explained “In short, magic items will have powerful Affixes that are even useful at the end of the game. And legendary items now have a legendary Affixed just like how regular Affixes are in an item”. So players also have the freedom to determine which Affixes/legendary powers are in the equipment slot, and instead of having to follow a position where Affixes are locked in a certain place.
Closing
Well, that’s the summary of Diablo IV’s interview session with Lead Designer – Joe Shely and Art Director – John Mueller. This session provides a variety of interesting information about the game, such as the main content focus that focuses on open-world gameplay as well as a new overhaul that is more interesting than the previous series.
For those of you who can’t wait for the game, Diablo IV is currently still in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. You can continue to monitor the latest developments on the game’s official website HERE.
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