Diablo IV has a brand new class on the way, and ahead of its big debut, Blizzard held a "campfire chat"-style livestream showcasing the upcoming Spiritborn class. The stream was a semi-deep dive into the otherworldy warriors, which look a bit like Diablo's familiar Monk with a h?ealthy dash of deep jungle warrior aesthetics.

It's all in preparation for Diablo IV's upcoming expansion, Vessel of Hatred, but there was plenty to unpack around just the Spiritborn alone in Blizzard's hour-long livestream.

Rumble in the jungle

Conceptually, the Spiritborn are warriors with a special connection to the Spirit Realm, a land that reflects our own and can be accessed through something called the veil, which was discovered by Akarat. This Spirit Realm is sort of the af?terlife's "third place," as it exists outside the conflict of Heaven and Hell.

By harnessing the power of the Spirit Realm, the Spiritborn can call on sick animal ghosts called Spirit Guardians that fight alongside them in battle. The?y're a dex-focused melee class that's, according to the developers, the fastest and most aggressive class the games hav??e seen yet.

With a little help from my Spirit Guardian

The biggest takeaway from the stream was just how the Spiritborn will play. We all expected a melee fighter, but what we got wa??s a martial artist with the ability to summon hulking spiri??t animals on command. The spirits, called Spirit Guardians, form the core of the class' identity, all featuring their own playstyle.

The Jaguar, for instance, focuses on speedy, fire-focused attacks. The Gorilla is a true tank, with abilities that soak damage before returning it through retribution skills. The Eagle is all about precise, ranged attacks with some lightning flavor and high mobility, and the Centipede (?a preview-favorite, apparently) poisons enemies and leeches their health.

Of course, you aren't locked into any one of these Guardians, and you can mix and match them freely. In fact, a class-specific mechanic called the Spirit Hall will allow you to choose two passive buffs along your journey. The first will grant you a passive bonus and mark all skills with that Guardian's tag (all skills will become Gorilla? skills, for ex??ample).

The second Spirit Hall node will buff the chosen Guardian's keyword that applies to their skills, like the Jaguar's "Ferocit??y," which increases attack speed with consecutive attacks. You're free to pick two of the same, or two different, Guardian buffs.

It's clear the Spiritborn is a class about personalization, and there's a bit more com?plexity to its buildcrafting than we've seen before. If you're hankering for more details, there's a whole slew of creators getting early access to the class today, so expect to see plenty of sizzling hot takes in just a few hours.

The post Key deta??ils from the Diablo IV Spiritborn cl?ass reveal appeared first on Destructoid.

It's hard to believe Diablo 4 is coming up on its one-year anniversary, but much easier to believe that its ill-fated predecessor, Diablo Immortal, is almost two. Regardless, D4 players are being treated to some free shop cosmetics, loot goblins galore, and the return of the hearty Mother's Blessing experience buff, detailed over in a blog post on Blizzard's website.

March of the Goblins and free shop items

The first "part" of the event runs from June 6 to 13 and harkens the March of the Goblins, as ??well as a chance to choose some free new cosmetics found in the game's shop. The influx of Treasure Goblins means more greed shrines, Treasure Goblins that appear in pairs (or large packs), and bigger loot drops when they're killed

The blog post seems to allude to the fact that the free shop items will be selectable, one at a time, over the period of June 6 to 12, with all of them availabl??e to claim until June 20. I assume this means you'll be able to select as many items as days have passed since the 6th until you're able to grab them all. They appear to be a modest selection of items pulled from bundles purchasable in the shop, but forgive me if my knowledge of in-game purchases is a bit lacking. You can check out a preview of the items in the image below:

Mother's Blessing: Anniversary Edition

The fan-favorite buff that grants a 2??5% boost to experience and 50% boost to earned gold is making a return for a whopping 10 days during the celebration. No exact start date appears to be set, ??but it'll probably kick off around the end of the first part of the anniversary event. Gold costs have been a major sticking point this season with the introduction of Masterworking, so a boost is going to more than welcome to those looking to min-max their loadouts.

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No one arguing in good faith could reasonably claim Diablo 4's new season, Loot Reborn, hasn't been a massive boon for the game's longevity. The game reached a new all-time peak of over 28,000 players on Steam over six months after its initial launch thanks to this season's major overhauls to loot systems, upgrades??, class balance, and more. With all this knob-turning and sweeping modification, however, comes a new problem: game ba?lance.

Diablo 4 is now too easy

When I say game balance, I don't mean how one class performs compared to others. Gone are the days of Barbarian and Sorcerer supremacy: ??now every class has a nearly equally-busted collection of fantastic builds. No, I mean game balance of the player-versus-enemy variety. The game is, for the majority of an average player's experience, easy to a degree that borders on braindead.

This isn't an unexpected result of objective increases to player power and agency in the form of Tempering and the new, absolutely bonkers affixes it brings. Even just throwing a few build-appropriate affixes on your weapons will give you more felt power than ten or fifteen levels would. But still, in an effort to preser?ve "f??un," it seems the team more than slightly overshot the mark, resulting in a leveling experience that feels about as frictional as a freshly-Zamboni'd hockey rink.

Until endgame, the game is a breeze

I knew there was a slightly more serious problem than the game being a little too easy when I was face-rolling Capstone Dungeons (required to progress to the next World Tier difficulty) upwards of 20 levels earlier than I should have been just to feel something. Even then, when I'd progressed to ??a zone where enemies' levels displayed an ominous "you're not supposed to do this yet" red hue, I was cutting them down all the sa??me.

To be fair, blasting enemies in the dozens, hundreds, and thousands is fun.. for a little while. But after reaching level 80 or so my eyes are starting to glaze over every time I enter the game, run headfirst into the Helltide after popping a Profane Mindcage and utterly decimate every foe with the press of a button. Even World Bosses die in a matter of seconds. There's no longer a measuring stick for player power besides the endgame Pit because from the moment your build starts to function until the moment enemies start one-shotting you in t??he Pit, the am??ount of pushback you'll be getting from foes will remain around zero.

The Diablo 4 grind is no longer rewarding

Diablo 4 is primed to be the perfect "brain-off" game. Action RPGs in general are my go-to "second screen" games that I use to catch up on YouTube videos which may or may not have recently included a four hour essay on the failed Star Wars hotel. But the "brain-off" properties should probably come after you've spent some time crafting a build, earning great loot, and upgrading your character until your mere presence causes rooms of enemies to explode instantly. By offering this fantasy almo?st immediately, players are being robbed of the draw of action RPGS entirely: to start out annoyingly underpowered and eventually becoming a God.

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Diablo 4's fourth season introduced just a few crumbs of what could be called "seasonal mechanics," but what's there is still pretty fun. From the Profane Mindcage, which boosts enemy levels in Helltides by 10 to the Momentum Elixir that let's you zoom across the battlefield after scoring kills, t??here's no shortage of new twists to blasting enemies. But one seems to be standing out from the rest.

The Elixir of Holy Bolts asks, "what if Artillery Shrine, but all the time?" It causes damaging bolts to explode out of any enemy killed, (usually) dealing enough damage to kill another enemy, which also fires out bolts, killing another enemy?? and.. you get the idea. It's essentially a cascade of death in any high-density areas.

This strategy excels most of all in The Pit, Diablo 4's new endgame activity. Enemies are packed so tightly together that starting a Holy Bolt chain-reaction is sometimes enough to clear entire sections of the map at once. It's so powerful it could be?? a "seasonal mechanic" in its own right, if only it didn't last 15 minutes.

The good news is that once your time's up you can easily get mor??????????????????????????e ?Elixirs by trading 350 Obols to the Alchemist under the "Seasonal Elixir" tab for another. It's a hefty price, to be sure, but the power gains and time saved clearing Pit runs is worth it in my opinion. Of course, you can also score these as drops from Helltide Elites and bosses. Whatever you do, keep at least one in your back pocket for those broom closets of baddies.

The post The best Diablo 4 Season 4 El?ixir you should be usin?g appeared first on Destructoid.

Now that Diablo 4 has a loot system that's way less about micromanagement and way more about customizing your gear, we've all run out of excuses for neglecting our defenses. Sure, "Shadow Resistance" is a lot less exciting of an affix than "+% Damage," but when?? Varshan smacks your poor little health globe for all it's worth, your damage isn't g??oing to matter too much.

Sources of resistance

There are several "sources" of Diablo 4's var?iou??s resistances, so let's look at these first:

• Natural affix rolls: These come on gear "as is," or they can be Enchanted onto gear by replacing an existing affix
• Tempering affixes: Using the "Natural Resistance" Tempering Manual, you can roll for a random elemental resistance affix at the Blacksmith
• Jewelry gem slots: Slotting any gem into a piece of jewelry is a fantastic way to score some easy resistance percentage

  • Ruby - Fire Resistance
  • Sapphire - Cold Resistance
  • Topaz - Lightning Resistance
  • Amethyst - Shadow Resistance
  • Emerald - Poison Resistance
  • Diamond - All Elemental Resistance

• The Paragon Board: Some Paragon Boards have slight resistance nodes which can be a useful tool to either "top off" a resist or save yourself needing to waste affix slots on resists
• Potions: Resistance potions not only net you a temporary boost to a resist, they also boost your resistance cap to that element for a little added juice

Now that we know where resistances come from, ??let's take a look at wha??t it takes to max them out.

Reaching resistance caps

World Tier 3 incurs a 25% resistance debuff to all elemental resistances, and World T??ier 4 bumps that up to a 50% debuff. That means you'll need,? at World Tier 4, a whopping 120% resistance to any given element to reach the "cap" of 70% resistance.

The resists I would suggest focusing first are Poison, Fire, and Shadow. Poison is horribly oppressive at any level, stacking quickly and damaging y??our health with a stacking DoT that can be hard to out-heal. Fire is much the same, but slightly less oppressive (if not more common). Shadow damage is ubiquitous in Nightmare Dungeon affixes such as Death Pulse and is also, you guessed it, a damage-over-time effect.

Now, you may be wondering how on earth you're supposed to reach 120% resistance on not one, not two, but five elements across your gear. Well, with the systems in Loot Reborn, it's easier than you might think. You'll want to keep an eye out for Enh?anced Affixes when possible, as a single enhanced resistance can nearly get you over the finish line for any element. These are hugely dependent on luck, but are the biggest source of any single resistance in the game.

If your luck is similar to mine, you'll probably want to simply modify your loot to suit your needs, as seen below. You can score some regular resistance affix rolls, or Enchant out less useful affixes for them (A). T?hen, use Natural Resistance for one of your two Tempering slots (B) ??on any armor that accepts it. You can then round out the missing resistance with gems (C) slotted into your jewelry (remember, you can add slots to your jewelry using Scattered Prisms) and, if need be, your Paragon Board.

By customizing every piece of your loot, you can quickly close the gaps on y?our low resistances until most, if not all, of them are capped. It'll take time (and money), so don't blow your resou??rces on every niche upgrade you find - instead, bide your time and only focus on 925 item power pieces at endgame for customization. Until then, reliance on Potions and simpler forms of resistance boosts is a cheaper, and quicker, solution.

The post How (and why) to max your resistances in Diablo 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Today, the Diablo IV team sat down to discuss Season 4, player feedback, and futu??re goals for the ever-changing aRPG.

Loot is the reason for the season

A main talking point during the stream was a focus on lessening time spent "sorting" through loot after a brief outing in, say, a Nightmare Dungeon. Less affixes, more meaningful drops, and a higher potential for customizat?ion via the new Tempering and Masterworking systems means far less time spent straining your eyes comparing every pair of pants.

Another change that aims to pare down useless loot drops is more guaranteed sources of item?? level 925 gear. Obol gambling will provide 925?? gear, guaranteed, in World Tier 4 at level 100. Helltides, too, will drop maximum item level gear.

The team is also looking to increase the value of Rare and Magic items beyond salvage fodder, but this will come in a future patch. Right now, Legendaries are the star of the show, but even these are getting their own "jackpot" moments through Greater Affixes (1.5x t?he highest possible value), which are denoted by unique icons when they drop.

Armor and stat cap balance changes

The devs are aware that, currently, enemies that seem easy as players progress will suddenly begin 1-shotting them as the diffi??culty ramps up. Things like damage reduction and armor values are overly complex at the moment, and these knobs are being turned:

• In Season 4, the armor physical reduction cap is remaining at 85%, but scaling on the amount required will cap out at level 100 monsters

  • This means an armor value of 9,230 will be enough to reach 85% physical damage reduction against all enemies, no matter the level

• Cooldown Reduction's new cap is 75% (from gear)
• Increased Area Size's new cap is 100%
• Fortify Damage Reduction increased from 10% to 15%

Helltide Reborn

Helltide is getting a major facelift in season 4, wit??h a focus on enemy density and activity variety. These changes are permanent, appear in World Tier 1 through 4, and will also be coming to the Eternal Realm.

• New Threat system: the longer you fight, the more monsters will appear (including the player-favorite Hellworm that spits enemies onto the battlefield)
• New enemies: the Hellborn. These function a lot like the Blood Seekers from Season 2, which mimic players' abilities
• New boss: the Bloodmaiden. This boss can be summoned cooperatively with other players through the "Accursed Ritual," which requires 3 Baneful Hearts that drop from the Helltide

Iron Wolves content details

The Iron Wolves will fight alongside players during Helltides, with Seasonal players having access to a new questline involving the faction. This content isn't as juicy as proper, "seasonal" content, but ?it's a concession since most of the resources clearly went to balance changes and item reworks.

• 18 tiers of rewards, designed to push player power by providing high-stat loot
• Cosmetics including a new mount banner and mount trophy earned by completing the Iron Wolves reputation track
• New seasonal powerup: the Profane Mindcage. For the next 60 seconds, Helltide monster level increases by 10 and increases the amount of Abberant Cinders dropped

Changes based on PTR feedback

• No more fail chances on item Masterworking
• Bad luck protection applies to Baneful Hearts in the Helltide, so they drop more often
• Blood Maiden rewards increased, with more rewards if you contributed in the summoning
• The Pit's difficulty increased: Masterworking materials moved up 10 tiers each, monster health and damage increased
• Nightmare Dungeons and the Pit both drop increasing numbers of Murmuring Obols past level 46 and level 1, respectively
• Murmuring Obols cap increased to 2,500
• Glyph experienced granted by Nightmare Dungeons boosted by 25%
• Boss materials will drop randomly throughout the world as well as from their normal sources
• Ladder bosses have a small chance to drop Uber Uniques

Q&A

These are abbreviated (not quoted) from the Q&A s??egmen?t of the stream:

• What does this mean for Season Powers in the future?

  • Season 4 is focused on changing major aspects of the game so killing monsters feels good. Seasons are for changing what the developers think is most important for the health of the game. "Big ideas" for the future, you will see powers again.

• Different beam color for items with Greater Affixes?

  • Being considered, but the special star icons feel adequate for now.

• Are Season 4 changes coming to Eternal?

  • Yes, everything besides the Iron Wolves rewards will be coming to the Eternal Realm.

• After itemization, what's the next big system you're looking to change?

  • Players are looking for endgame at level 100, and there are more opportunities for building on the endgame framework.

The post Diablo 4 devs talk player feedback, big balance changes, and more in today’s Campfire Chat appeared first on Destructoid.

Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios have revealed the second wave of games coming to Game Pass in March 2024, and one is certainly the talk of the town. Diablo IV is arriving on Game Pass this month following the finalization of the Microsoft and Activision deal.

But those who have been waiting for the chance to fight Lilith will have to wait a bit longer. Diablo IV will be available on Game Pass on March 28 �that's next Thursday for those wondering. For now, there are a?? handful of other games worth checking out.

Game Pass ends March 2024 with Diablo IV, Evil West, and more

The first games out of the gate are Lightyear Frontier and MLB The Show 24. Both are available to play starting today. Lightyear Frontier enters Game Pass in early access. An interstellar farm simulator with mech gameplay, Lightyear Frontier lets you harvest alien crops cooperatively with a few friends. MLB The Show 24 is a sports game. Cam doesn't do well with the sports g??ames.

If those aren't interesting enough, The Quarry is arriving on the service on March 20 as a part of the second wave of March games. The horror game from the makers of Until Dawn, The Quarry places you in control of teenage counselors who suddenly find themselves running for their lives. It's a narrative entry like many by Supermassive Games, so at least some of your choices matter. Evil West arrives a day later on March 21.

Four games are getting dropped on the service next week. Keep an eye out for Terra Invicta, coming to Game Pass in early access on March 26. Diablo IV shows up two days later on March 28, along with Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 �Supercharged and Open Roads.

The team at Xbox Game Pass also teased some games coming to the service in April 2024. Ark: Survival Ascended is appearing on April 1 (no fooling), and April 2 sees the arrival of F1 23 and Superhot: Mind Control Delete.

Here are all the games coming to Ma?rch 2024 in the second wave:

• March 19

  • Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (PC, Xbox Series X|S, Cloud)

• March 20

  • MLB The Show (PC and Console)

• March 21

  • Evil West (PC, Console, Clout)

• March 26

  • Terra Invicta (Game Preview) (PC)

• March 28

  • Diablo IV (PC and Console)
  • Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 â€?Turbocharged (PC, Console, Cloud)
  • Open Roads (PC, Console, Cloud)

Games leaving Xbox Game Pass in March 2024, continued

A few more games are leaving Game Pass in March?? 2024. Jump on these quickly before they're gone:

• Hot Wheels Unleashed (PC, Console, Cloud)
• Infinite Guitars (PC, Console, Cloud)
• MLB The Show 23 (Console and Cloud)

The post The Quarr??y and Diablo IV join Game Pass to fi?nish off March 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

#DiabloDeaths

Hollywood star Megan Fox is now starring in the newest Diablo IV commercial. Instead of just asking players to buy Diablo IV, she's asking them to die �in the game.

She begins the video by saying "If there's one thing I love, it's the sight of blood. And in Diablo IV, there are rivers of it". This alludes to Blizzard's new campaign where Fox herself will be eulogizing the deaths of some players who use the hashtag #DiabloDeaths. The idea might sound cool, but remember that she also states that it might not be a good eulogy. It's Megan and Blizzard who will ulti?mately decide whether players died as heroes �or total chumps. Only time will tell!

//twitter.com/Diablo/status/16661665279539?77345??s=20

The reading of the deaths will take place on June 8

Diablo IV has been collecting critical and fan appraisal, as well as selling like hotcakes despite its high price point. Diablo IV has proven such a remarkable comeback for Blizzard that I'm unsure if this was a necessary move. The idea in itself is kind of cool, but the execution feels pretty iffy: like an extremely '90s E3 vibe? That strikes a chord with some after a??ll the awful things?? we've learned about Activision Blizzard in the past couple of years.

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A future after Zelda

After many adventures with Link in May, there will come a day in which we want to play something outside of Hyrule. These June 2023 games take us to street fighting events, a high-fantasy world, and a bandicoot looking for wumpa fruit. The summer month is also delivering an astounding number of promising indies. Here ar?e the most anticipated June 2023 games to keep an eye on.

Crash Team Rumble (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

[caption id="attachment_378343" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Activision[/caption]

Publisher: Activision
Developer: Toys for Bob
Price: $29.99
Release Date: June 20
Trailer

The Bandicoot is back, but this time it's not a single-player platformer. Instead, it's a competitive party game that has you racking up wumpa fruit and attacking other players around the world. It's quite the far cry from past games in the series, but you'll still be jumping and spinning to win. Like a game of Rocket League, you're both attacking and defending the goal. Playing as the heroes or the villains of the series, each character has their own unique ability to offer on the battlefield. As you try to master these abilities, you're also try?ing to capture key areas of the map. Hopefully, this game will grab an audience, despite not being free-to-play.

Diablo IV (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_378339" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Blizzard[/caption]

Publisher: Blizzard
Developer: Blizzard
Price: $69.99
Release Date: June 6
Trailer

The action RPG juggernaut series Diablo is coming back on June 6. Diablo IV is bringing its exciting combat to consoles and PC with five different classes at your disposal. It has the Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer. Diablo IV is also elevating its storytelling with close-up cutscenes, outstanding voice acting, and grand fantasy theming throughout. That's good because the dull storyline was one of Diablo III's worst elements. While experiencing the narrative, you'll also get rewarding loot, like weapons and armor, throughout your journey. Hopefully, Diablo IV launches better than its predecessor?? and will let?? players log in quickly out of the gate.

Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)

[caption id="attachment_378340" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Square Enix[/caption]

Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Price: $69.99
Release Date: June 22
Trailer

Another heavy hitter in the RPG space, Final Fantasy XVI, is heading to PS5 systems on June 22. This console exclusive sets players in a dark, yet beautiful fantasy world, seemingly inspired by Game of Thrones. Powerful monsters called Eikons are controlled by dominants (human owners), and the fate of the world is decided by their actions. You play as Clive Rosfield, who is protecting his brother, the dominant of the Phoenix. Through a series of unfortunate events, Clive swears revenge on Ifrit and goes on an epic adventure across Valisthea. For those who hate turn-based combat, you should be happy to know this is an action RPG through and through. The battle system is actually directed by Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma veteran Ryo??ta Suzuki. This is quite possibly the standout from the June 2023 games lineup.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code (Switch)

[caption id="attachment_378345" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Spike Chunsoft[/caption]

Publisher: Spike Chunsoft, Inc.
Developer: Spike Chunsoft, Co. Ltd.
Price: $59.99
Release Date: June 30
Trailer

Miss the crime-solving adventures of Phoenix Wright and L.A. Noire, but want a big anime twist? Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is stepping into those shoes on the Nintendo Switch. From the developer behind Dangonronpa, players will be looking for clues as they attempt to figure out the truth behind unsolved cases. Part of the detective process is going through the Mystery Labyrinth, spotting inconsistencies, and taking part in action scenes. The art style is as imaginative as you'd expect from those who have experience from the Dangonronpa series as you explore the ??town and speak to witnesses on the case.

Street Fighter 6 (PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_378351" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot vi??a Street Figh??ter's YouTube Channel[/caption]

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Price: $59.99
Release Date: June 2
Trailer

The beloved Street Fighter series is taking its next step with a sixth entry. Featuring full crossplay and rollback netcode, Street Fighter 6 has exciting fighting gameplay to offer up fans on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The graphics look outstanding, with plenty of battle effects and gorgeous scenery to gaze at. For example, a new character named Kimberly uses spray bottles, and the colorful visuals really pop on-screen. Street Fighter 6 will also feature a new single-player mode called World Tour that features a character creator and open environments to explore and train your skills with the very best. The gameplay seems to be advanced as well, with the addition of the drive system and perfect specials. If you can't wait until June 2 to play the ??ga??me, there's a free demo you can check out.

Honorable Mentions

[caption id="attachment_378356" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Focus Entertainment[/caption]

The June 2023 games lineup has a whole bunch of hidd?en gems on the horizon. Almost every day, there seems? to be a new promising game with a summer release date. The honorable mentions include:

• Super Mega Baseball 4 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - June 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - June 5
• Harmony: The Fall of Reverie (PC, Switch) - June 8 / (PS5/Xbox Series X/S) - June 22
• Mask of the Rose (PC, Switch) - June 8
• Pokemon Trading Card Game Live (Android, iOS, PC) - June 8
• Front Mission 2 Remake (Switch) - June 12
• Dordogne (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - June 13
• F1 23 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC) - June 16
• Park Beyond (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - June 16
• Aliens: Dark Descent (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - June 20
• Silicon City (PC) - June 22
• Sonic Origins Plus (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - June 23
• Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - June 27
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) - June 30

The post Most anticipated games – June 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Diablo now more hellish than ever before

Activision Blizzard has announced that it will be holding a live stream presentation next week for its incoming adventure sequel Diablo IV �T?he stream, set for Wednesday, May 10, will focus on some of the new elements coming to the Satanic franchise, such as seasons, cosmetics, and the Battle Pass.

None more Satanic.

While mechanics such as seasons and Battle Passes are generally reserved for multiplayer-centric titles with a daily online grind, particularly shooters and battle royale releases, these elements are been creeping further and further into other genres, such as fighting games and more single-player-centric experiences. The inclusion of a Battle Pass in particular seems an odd fit for Diablo IV, a title that generally?? consists of one/two players pushing throug?h a narrative campaign, while earning a metric ton of loot and gear en route.

//www.youtube.com/wat??ch?v=KsNDMHvz98M&ab_c?hannel=Diablo

Regardless, we'll soon know more about the controversial implementation of these features. Blizzard has already told us that they expect it to take "around 80 hours" to complete each Battle Pass, and that a Diablo IV season is expected to last in the region of around three-to-four months. Next Wednesday's stream should f??inalize some of these details, as well as showing fans some of the cosmetic and other items that can be earned during Battle Pass progress.

The live stream will take place Wednesday, May 10 at 11:00 PT / 14:00 ET / 19:00 BST, and can be watched on the official Diablo social media channels, including YouTube and Twitch.

Diablo IV launches June 6 on PlaySta??tion, PC, and Xbox platforms. Pre-order customers will be granted Early Access from June 1.

The post Diablo IV stream ??to detail how seasons/battle pass? systems work appeared first on Destructoid.

You just need to beat the game once

As someone who has played a lot of campaign-based games over the course of my life (sometimes 50+ times each, depending on the game!), the ability to skip through a campaign when playing alts (alternate characters) can be a godsend. World of Warcraft eventually added this as a quality-of-life feature over time, and thankfully, Diablo IV will be going in that same direction; so long as you fin?ish the campaign once.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQtOIeKRXaY

Blizzard showed off, then confirmed, a "skip campaign" button for alts

Just this week, Blizzard put out a new video for Diablo IV titled "Inside the Game: Your Class Your Way." The main intent wa??s to show off how customizable the game was from top to bottom (including character creation examples and transmog options); but eagle-eyed viewers saw a special button during the showcase.

So the button in question comes up at 2:50 in the above video. Take a look at the right side of the character select screen????, below the World Tier section. You'll see a "skip campaign" option right there.

[caption id="attachment_375691" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Blizzard[/caption]

The button was spotted by Twitter user DatModz, and Diablo Blizard Global Community Development Director Adam Fletcher stepped in to provide some extra context. Fletcher noted in a reply tweet that you "gotta beat the campaign once for this," dispelling the notion of being able to just "skip the campaign altog?ether." It was fairly obvious, but confirmation is confirmation!

The idea of skipping the camp??aig??n outright was already debunked in the video itself, as the first character shown in that same section of the video (a Barbarian) did not have the "skip campaign" option.

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The second 'server slam beta' starts on May 12

Folks were hoping for an announcement from the Diablo IV April 2023 developer update live stream: and they got it. There's going to be another beta for D4, and it starts on May 12, 2023.

The official Diablo Twitter account confirmed the news with a simple tweet:

"We've heard your feedback, ??it's time to visit Sanctuary once more ?before June. Join the Server Slam, May 12-14"

When is the second Diablo IV beta and what can you do in it?

That "once more"  and "server slam" bits tell us a few things. It seems, without further "feedback" in play, this is the final "we promise" beta period. The official launch is just weeks away on June 6, so there wouldn't be much time to prep and monitor another beta anyway. The phrase "server slam" also strongly hints that this is primarily a stress test to help the team calibrate for launch (crossed fingers this isn't D3 again).

Blizzard subsequently tweeted out more info on this second public beta period, noting that you'll be able to reach level 20, beat Ashava, and earn the Cry of Ashava mount trophy. To think all this was teased earlier this week when that same Twitter account mysteriously ??alluded?? to another beta. Hopefully, once June 6 hits we don't all realize we're collectively in another beta: but based on how high folks have been riding on the pre-release of Diablo IV, this could be a much sleeker launch than D3.

//twitter.com/Diablo/status/1649125838095253538

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Fine-tuning the dungeon diving

The Diablo IV open beta weekends came and went in back in March, giving players a little bit of time with the upcoming dungeon crawler. Blizzard also used the occasion to test out its new game a bit, and has detailed some of the changes its making based on feedback from the early Diablo IV play periods, ahead of the full launch in June.

In a blog titled "Diablo IV Open Beta Retrospective, Transforming Feedback Into Change," Blizzard outlines some lessons learned from the March 17 and 24 weekends. These Early Access and Open Beta periods saw a fair few folks pop on ??and level up their characters. During that time, Blizzard solicited feedback on the official for??ums, as well as through forums like Reddit and Discord.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsNDMHvz98M

On backtracking

A common piece of feedback Blizzard received was that players felt they did a lot of backtracking in ce??rtain dungeons. So, several areas had their dungeons optimized to minimize backtracking: Caldera Gate, Defiled Catacombs, Derelict Lodge, Forbidden City, Hoarfrost Demise, Immortal Eman?ation, Kor Dragan Barracks, Maulwood, and Rimescar Caverns.

Dungeon event spawn chances have increased as well, and objectives have be?en updated in order to make completing them less tedious.

Getting classy

Several classes saw changes from the early feedback. Stun and Freeze can be applied to Elite Monsters twice as long before becoming unstoppable, and Legendary ??Powers have had updates to their effectiveness.

Barbarians get a little more barbaric with a flat 10% passive damage reduction, and the Whirlwind spin? deals more damage, while also consuming more Fury.

Druids' Companion Skills deal "heavily" increased damage, and using a non-Shapeshift??ing Skill will tr??ansform a Druid back into their human form.

For Necroman??cers, summoned minions will die more often, encouraging players to use corpses more often. Rogues saw a lot of buffs to their bonuses from skills, though imbuement sk??ills have had their cooldowns increased.

And f?or Sorcerers, Chain Lightning get?s a little bit of a nerf in damage and effectiveness, while other spells like Charged Bolt get buffed.

Quality of life

More fine-tuning was done for the user interface, including a new serif font to replace the previously sans serif font in-game. The Butcher is going to be burlier, providing more of a challenge on World Tiers III and IV, ??and a case where players could increase their attack speed by move-cancelling attacks early has been fixed.

It's a pretty large change log that seems to hit a lot of early feedback of Diablo IV heading into launch. Considering this is a live game ??that will be updated with more content to explore as time goes on, chances are that Blizzard will keep tuning up to and past launch. However, it's wild to think that we're not too far out at this point.

Diablo IV opens the gates to Hell on June 6.

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Putting in the hours at the demon factory

Diablo IV is set to tackle a seasonal model, which includes a battle pass system. And in a new interview over at PC Gamer, associate ??game director Joe Piepiora talks a? bit about how much time it will take to see the pass through.

In the season, you'll be?? able to start a new seasonal character to take from level 1 to 100. Doing activities and ticking off objectives on the "seasonal journey" will earn progress in the battle pass.

"Right now, the battle pass, when you're figuring in completing the season journey alongside doing other content in the game, you're looking at roughly 80 hours worth of time invested to complete the entirety of the battle pass," Piepiora said. "To level a character to level 100 could take a little longer than that ??based on how you play."

The battle pass will have a free track, with bonuses like XP boosts. There will also be a premium, strictly cosmetic track. Piepiora said it's likely that a player will finish the battle pass before reaching max level in the season, which adheres to Blizzard's philosophy for Diablo IV of letting players get what they want and move on. St??ill, 80 hours seems like a pretty high mark to clear f?or a seasonal pass.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RdDpqCmjb4

Stay a while and listen

The seasons also include new quests, though to what extent is a little unclear. GM Rod Fergusson noted on social media that Seasons and Expansions will be talked about later, but these Seasons are "new quest lines that help to provide context to new seasonal mechanics - not a new campaign." Additionally, these will be a part of the free season track.

Still, it seems like Diablo IV is shaping up alright. Impressions from the recent beta weekends seemed positive. Even as Activision Blizzard itself is at the center of all the Microsoft-Sony squabbling, the Diablo team seems to going full steam ahead towards its June 6 launch date. I'??m not sure if I'm 80-hours-a-pass sold yet, but I'm certainly intrigued.

The post Diablo IV’s battle pass will take roughly 80 hours to fully complete appeared first on Destructoid.

Lillith is the baddie... No, really

The past two weekends saw Activision Blizzard roll out twin betas for its upcoming hellfest, Diablo IV. Pre-order customers were given the opportunity to revisit Sanctuary on the weekend of March 17, while everybody was invited to Hell and back on the weekend of March 24. These?? betas would offer die-hard fans of the BIG DEEEEEE their first look at the dungeon-crawling epic.

Well, at least they were if they were able to get through the door... Online ga?mes, same old story, y'know?

I, legitimately, put well over 1000 hours into Diablo III. This was made possible thanks to the encouragement of a dear friend and longtime franchise fan, as well as the simple fact that I really didn't have all that much to do in 2012. The point is, I really ate up the divisive release, pulling it apart at the very seams, exploring every avenue of gameplay that could be explored, and even completing it on Inferno Mode without utilizing the rightfully maligned Real Money Auction House, or waiting for the big Blizzard update that tweaked?? down the difficulty across the board.

I'm kind of a Big D Deal, is what I'm saying.

Still, 2023 is most certainly not 2012, and I don't have over 1000 hours to dedicate to a single game these days, let alone one that launches the exact same week as Street Fighter 6. As such, I jumped into the Diablo IV beta with a secret desire that I'd "moved on", or, much like Blizzard's own Overwatch 2, that the franchise had simply dropped the ball magic?? between titles. Unfortunately, it turns out that I have not, in fact, "moved on", as I actually found myself hooked once again. And I don't mean by Tha Butcha.

It's obviously the earliest of days, but I really dug my time with the Diablo IV beta. I like the new skill tree mechanic, I appreciate with the use of custom characters within cinematics �which adds an element of direct involvement Diablo III was sorely missing. I'm impressed with the new customization options. Diablo IV fe??els a tad more "personal" than its predecessor �as if The Wanderer is directly embedded in the action, rather than just a sort of "overseer mercenary" to the world's events.

And then there's Lillith, a character whom the story is attempting to portray as the antagonist, but is well-designed, seductive, and undoubtedly "??cool". Cooler than Grumpy Guts Inarius at any rate.

Do I have 1000 hours to spend on Diablo IV? No, not these days. But it ?won't be for lack o?f trying.

The post Did you check out? the Diablo IV beta this weekend? appeared first on Destructoid.

How far are you willing to go to play Diablo IV early?

Activision Blizzard is teaming up with fried chicken purveyor KFC to help you grease your way into Diablo IV’s upcoming beta on PC and console.

All you need to do to get access to the Diablo IV beta is order a Double Down “sandwich�from KFC.com or their delivery app. No one says ??you have to eat it. Simply buying the “sandwich�will grant you a code, which you just plug into your Battle.net account. Then, the beta runs from March 17 to March 20. As far as I can tell, this is only for the U.S. I'm in Canada, and I installed the app for "research purposes," and the Double Down "sandwich" is not even available.

//twitter.com/kfc/status/1633845333061976065?s=20

I love fried chicken. It is my secret weakness, my guilty pleasure, and my forbidden lover. My first child was named “Fried Chicken�until the authorities took them from me. It is doubtlessly the best way to take one of the leaner proteins and turn it into the most delicious filth ima?ginable. Cultures all over the world have discovered their own way of sucking all the nutrition out of poultry. It’s amazing.

However, KFC was something I really enjoyed when I was a kid (when it was known as Kentucky Fried Chicken), then it went through?? a huge period of being entirely inedible, and recently I’ve discovered that it’s now decent. It doesn’t hold a candle to Popeye’s, but if I was in a food court when Armageddon arrives and there was only a KFC, I’d die fed but unimpressed.

That’s how you know this isn’t a sponsored article. The offer starts now. Buy your Double Down “sandwich�from the KFC app or KFC.com and get a key for the Diablo IV beta??. You’ll get access from March 17 to March 20.

The post KFC and the Diablo IV beta tea??m up to kill your heart appeared first on Destructoid.

To Hell with It

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that it will hold beta tests this March from its grim-looking dungeon-crawler Diablo IV t?his March. The grim 'n' gothic sequel is currently scheduled to launch June 6 on PC and consoles.

The beta, confirmed during this weekend's IGN Fan Fest, will be live across all platforms and will allow players to battle through most of the sequel's first act, set within the locale of "Fractured Peaks". All character classes are available to play up to a level cap of 25, and most of the main quests and side objectives will be included in the beta. It sounds similar to the beta test for Diablo III, which was held ?back in the spring of 2012 and offered up the same experience and limitations.

//www.youtub?e.com/watch?v=Nhu26227MD4&ab_channel=Diablo

Players who pre-order Diablo IV will receive early access to the beta for the weekend of March 17-19. The beta will be fully opened up to the public on the following weekend, March 24-26. Progress from the closed beta will carry through to the open beta. You can check out full details on what to expect from this trial over on the official Blizzard website. Additionally, the publisher released the cinematic intro movie for th?e sequel, which you can check out above.

Diablo IV la?unches June 6 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platf??orms.

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Hell opens back up in 2023

The deepest dungeons and demon-infested catacombs are open for business again next year. Blizzard Entertainment will launch Diablo IV on June 6, 2023.

The latest dungeon-crawler from the Blizzard crew revealed the date at tonight's Game Awards 2022. Tonight's cinematic trailer inclu??des a lot of evil demons, on??e shining warrior in particular, and plenty of doom and gloom.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsNDMHvz98M

Back into the dungeons

Ever since the reveal of Diablo IV at BlizzCon 2019, there has been speculation of when we might finally see the latest Diablo emerge. Rumors have bounced around, and Blizzard itself had to temper expectations as to when it might arrive. A sizable leak of the game dropped not too long ago though, adding more fuel to t?he fire.

It's all happened as Activision Blizzard has been caught up in a storm of events. The lawsuits, the still-pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, and unionization of the QA team at Blizzard Albany have all transpir??ed ??between that 2019 reveal and now.

Adding on top of the pile is a report published today from The Washington Post. In it, employees at Activision Blizzard tell the Post that the June 6 date will be hard to meet without working significant overtime. Sources allege mismanagement, including crunch that's incentivized by company stock shares and DoorDash credits. There are also details about a previous version of Diablo IV's script that involved the rape of a female love intere??st, in order to have a grittier tone. Employees reportedly fought it, and eventually managed to get this version of the story revised.

Basically, a lot has gone down since that first reveal, and it sounds like development has been troubled, to say the least. We did get some recent hands-on impressions, and it seems like things?? are coming together. But there's a lot ??of baggage hanging over this sequel now, headed into an actual launch.

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You know what? I'm more interested now

Diablo is such a weird series: and I vibed with that feeling since the very first game. I had zero idea of what to expect, and didn't understand the strange history of the Hellfire "expansion" until many years after its release. By the time Diablo 2 rolled around my little crew of Diablo-playing-frien??????????????????????????ds was around 20 strong, and it was ??a bonafide hit that people still play today.

But Diablo 3 changed things considerably. Blizzard was already changing in terms of its perception as a bulletproof company, and the Auction House debacle was a sign of trouble to come for the publisher. In the end, D3 sold very well, but the team had a lot to prove when they first announced Diablo 4 to the world. So far,?? bas?ed on some hands-on time with the game, I think they're doing just that.

You can choose between more or less guidance: depending on your experience with the series

My build went up to level 25 with three classes (Barbarian, Sorcerer, Rogue), and contained still-in-development content from Act 1. As an FYI, my PS5 copy was watermarked: and I couldn't use my own screens or footage. And with that out of the way, o?nto ??impressions!

Smartly, Diablo 4 is aiming to pick up players of all playstyles: lapsed fans, hardcore folks, and newcomers. Immediately I was given the option of toggling on/off most tutorials, depending on your experience with the series. If you want, you can dive into the game's new skill tree system immediately, which I did with my "main," the Barbarian (something I never really do in a core Diablo as a first character).

Here are the three?? options, with all the specializations you can choose from:

• Barbarian (berserking, bleed-focused, walking arsenal [tank], or unbridled rage [damage])
• Sorcerer (frost, pyromancy, or shock)
• Rogue (marksman, imbuements, or traps)

Most of my time was spent with the Barbarian, which I had a lot of fun with. You can whirlwind and leap still, and augment each individual skill/ability with a little spice (like extra damage or more utility). On PS5 by default most of your abilities are linked to the face?? buttons and the triggers: with a dedicated dodge button.

Bringing in Blizzard's time with Diablo 3 on consoles, this is now a full-on mechanic in every build (PC included), and charg?es will increase ??over time (governed by a cooldown period). I immediately noticed some enemies are designed around this skill, which made a lot of the typically rote fights a little more interesting and engaging.

Respeccing (changing your build) is in. Initially it's free and can be done anywhere; with a gold price associated with it. I also got the chance to speak to Joseph Piepiora (Associate Game Director), Adam "AZ" Jackson (Lead Class Designer), and Ash Sweetring (Dungeon Producer) about class spread, and learned how the team went about approaching Diablo 4's class philosophy:

Destructoid: "I feel like you've done a pretty good job of condensing down the D4 classes to a good spread of representation from D1 and D3 - Was there a temptation to add more? How did you decide on the final count and what should be included?"

Joseph Piepiora: "We wanted to make sure as we're looking to advance the world of Sanctuary...reach back into the series' past and pluck out these iconic classes to reinterpret. Anyone who's played recently sees the evolution in the Barbarian...there's a lot of opportunities for us to take skills and reinterpret them into this new system. In terms of overall count we love the number five (laughs)...but for real, the game has many layers of complexity. Five is a good enough number to hit a good amount of core fantasies, while also giving us enough space on the design side to make things complex...the broader we go the less time we get to spend with each class. There's an opportunity to grow this roster in the future."

Adam Jackson: "There's always a temptation to add more...we love adding more. But like Joe mentioned, a big part of Diablo 4 is mixing the old and the new. You also probably have noticed that these classes have a lot of depth...in order for us to really sell these fantasies and get as deep...and introduce new ways to play, we had to stick to this number to nail the fantasies. As an example the Rogue in Diablo 1 is more fleshed out in Diablo 4."

Difficulty settings follow a world tier system

We're moving into world tiers, as Diablo 4 continues to incorporate more open world game design into the series. "Adventurer" is tier 1 (the lowest/easiest), and "Veteran" is tier 2. You can increase your? tier at specifi??c statues (usually in hubs), or on the title screen: and doing so will add more challenging enemies, better drops, and increased XP and gold (the usual stuff).

By default (at this current time in the game's development cycle), you can swap between the two freely, but the rest are locked. Here's ??the full list available to us at the moment:

• Nightmare (recommended level 50 - sacred item drops appear, and nightmare dungeons, triggered through nightmare sigils, are unlocked)
• Hell (recommended level 60 - greater chance of sacred item drops, and rare nightmare sigils)
• Torment (recommended level 70, ancestral items appear, as well as new unique items)

Each of these tiers from nightmare on requires players to beat a prerequisite dungeon at the previous tier (so in the case of Nightmare, you'd have to play on Veteran). It seems pretty straightforward, and as a Diablo player, I swapped it to Veteran tier right away, and? it was manageable. It'll be fun trying to break into higher tiers at lower levels.

The mood feels a lot like Diablo 2

Playing through the first Act, I felt tinges of Diablo 2 in more ways than one. The design is a lot darker, and the story in general feels more dire. The intro showcased a more helpless/beaten down protagonist (they were huddled in a cave, freezing, with a dead mount), which I dug right away. I mean within minutes you're kicking some wildlife ass, but among that, you'll come across deserted and broken down cabins and towns. NPCs ask you to prove your worth instead of jumping right into the role of the chosen one straight away, like D3 did. Lilith, the new big bad, also brings an air of freshness to the game, as t??hey're actually doing hands-on work in ?the story instead of being relegated to a mysterious force you meet basically at the end.

After seeing this take in action, I dug i??nto it more with Associate Game Director Joseph Piepiora:

Destructoid: "Playing through the current build, I would probably describe the theme, more so than anything else, as 'dire.' In D4, my first character started out huddled in a cave and had to get hands-on help from NPCs: definitely a different vibe from D3. Obviously at some point I'll take down Lilith, and/or maybe a surprise Diablo. Will that dire theming maintain throughout the game, even as you level up? Either way, was striking that balance tough?"

Piepiora: "The story of the Fractured Peaks is the prologue, and the story is starting at a low point. We want that to set the tone in how players engage in the world. In terms of whether we keep that tone...the tone will change a little as you go. I don't even want to talk about it. But I will say as the player gets more powerful they get slightly more agency in the story, and develop more relationships. At no point does Diablo 4 cease being a gothic horror game. The character is a hero, and they're using world-shaking power to rise against unstoppable evil. That power fantasy is at the heart of Diablo 4."

There's a decent chunk of things to do

When scouring through the Act 1 map, I c??ame across numerous micro-dungeons and random encounters/activities. The classic "elite jumbled up ability" enemy types are still present, but the map feels so much bigger now that there's more of them. Dungeon Producer Ash Sweetring noted in our interview that it could take players "around 45-50 hours" just to complete the campaign, with a lot more to do after that.

There's still a lot of "what ifs" with Diablo 4. The team stressed again that premium purchases will be restricted to just cosmetics: but we've heard that before. From a pure gameplay standpoint, Diablo 4 also needs to keep things up, and maintain that tension throughout every act. And the endgame (which was hyped again in this media session) needs to deliver. We'll see what happens, but I'll be more inclined to be there day one after my?? time with it.

The post Han??ds on: Diablo 4 feels like a mix of its predecessors, and m??ostly D2 appeared first on Destructoid.

The Devil's in the Details

As Blizzard Entertainment continues beavering away at its upcoming sequel Diablo IV, the rumo??r mills?? have started churning out potential dates for the eventual return of one of gaming's grimmest and most uniquely compelling dungeon crawlers. We have already been told the title will be "playable" in 2023, though when and in what form remains a mystery.

Enter frequent spoiler XboxEra podcast, as hosted by Windows Central. In the most recent episode of the show, it was suggested that Blizzard could be planning on launching the sequel as soon as April of next year, with pre-orders opening in December, perhaps following a brand new trailer at the upcoming Game Awards show, which is currently scheduled to take place exactly one month from now. Pre-orders are expected to include standard editions?? alongside Blizzard's typical premium collector's set.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RdDpqCmjb4

Of course, this is mostly hearsay (or should that be "heresy"?) for now, but the XboxEra podcast has been pretty much on the money when it comes to the revelation of upcoming projects and release dates. We already know that Diablo IV is in a very playable form, as private betas have been circling among staff and colleagues for some time now (complete with oodles of leaked footage). Sping 2023 still seems a little early, but if Overwatch 2 has taught us anything, Blizzard is not the "ready when it's ready" company it once was, and is seemingly far more interested in getting products ou?t in cu??stomers' hands ASAP.

Diablo IV is currently in development for PlayStati??on, PC, and Xbox platforms.

Report: Diablo 4 c??ould launch April 2023, preorders going live? December [Windows Central]

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It's a leaky start to the week

One major game has already seen a major leak of info, and now it looks like another is joining the lineup. A leak of early footage of Diablo IV has be?en making the rounds, showing off more o??f the RPG in action.

Spotted by sites like PC Gamer, a Reddit user linked some footage from a filesharing site which seems to have footage from a private test build of Diablo IV.

We've looked at the footage to verify its existence and yes, it sure does look like Diablo. Alongside the giant watermarks plastered? across the video, it's got shops, towns, and placeholders.

We reached out to Bl?izzard for confirmation of the footage's validity and comment.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RdDpqCmjb4

Numbers go up

It was a notable weekend for leaks, as a massive pile of Grand Theft Auto VI footage also found its way online. Rockstar confirmed the leak's validity this morning, adding a statement addressing the lea??k.

"We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned, and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our?? players, t??hat truly exceeds your expectations. We will update everyone again soon, and of course, will properly introduce you to this next game when it is ready."

Unlike GTA, we've seen quite a bit of Diablo IV th?rough various previews and trailers. Still, a leak's a leak, and?? this puts some footage out without any context.

Blizzard has not commented on the leak as of this writing. The studio has released an update on Diablo IV, however. ?An endgame closed beta is on the way, with ??direct invites rolling out using gameplay data.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2ZlWW0fwM

Diablo IV is still a ways off, at the very least until next year. And a lot has been happening over at Activision Blizzard as well.

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There will be cosmetics, but no bargains for pure power

Blizzard Entertainment has published its latest Diablo IV quarterly update, this time discussing the game's monetization and shop. While there will be cosmetics for purchase, Blizzard i??s saying up-front that there won't be any paying for power.

In today's update, the studio says it will have a cosmetics shop and seasonal passes, alongside the Seasons system modeled after Diablo III. For each new season, yo??u create a new character and engage with the new seasonal content, allowing players to jump in even if they missed the last season. The first season will be available soon after launch, and the team is aiming for four seasons a year.

This on-ramp mandates that all power needs to come from playing the game itself. So, in Blizzard's own words, "you will not be able to pay for power in Diablo IV."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RdDpqCmjb4

The Season Pass rewards will have free and premium tiers. The latter won't contain any in-game power or advantage over oth??er players who don't have that tier, though. The Free Tier will provide gameplay boosts, but those will be available for all players. These Season Boosts can help players out for the duration of the ??season, adding things like accelerated XP gain.

While players can purchase tiers to advance through the pass, Blizzard also says that you can't just unlock all the seasonal boosts through purchases alone. These will also have level milestones associated with them, so while players can jump ahead to grab ??cosmetic rewards from higher tiers, they can't shortcut the play-time necessary for the boosts.

The post-launch plans also sound extensive, as Blizzard's Kegan Clark writes that Diablo IV will have an "army of developers" for years to come after launch. Seasons will include new gameplay, quests, challenges, ch?anges to the meta, and quality-of-life improve?ments.

Headed back to shop

The Cosmetics Shop, meanwhile, will offer some custom visual appearance options for premium currency. The shop is optional, and according to? Blizzard, the "best-looking cosmetics"?? aren't exclusive to the shop.

Diablo IV will ship with "hundreds" of transmogs that drop in-game, including Unique and Legendary gear, that won't show up in the shop. It seems like the intent behind the Shop is to offer another cosmetic option, rather than the only one. ??Cosmetics bought in the shop will be usable on all characters of that class too, so no need to buy multiples of a si?ngle Necromancer set, for example.

This seems like it could be a comforting note for folks worried about Diablo IV after the monetization seen in Diablo Immortal. Blizzard seems like it really wants to assuage those fears, and that's valid. Immortal had issues, and the launch of Diablo III was marred by the real money auction house. We'll see how the plans work out for this team when Diablo IV goes live sometime in the future.

The post Blizzard outlines its seasonal con?tent and post-launch plans for Diablo IV appeared first on Destructoid.

Press X to doubt

So all eyes are on Diablo 4, which is due out "in the next 12 months" according to a statement made during the Microsoft Xbox Conference this past weekend. Overwatch 2 hasn't fared so well in the public eye ever since it was revealed, and Diablo Immortal has been earning the ire of players all over the world. When coupled with Warcraft III: Reforged and all the other goings-on at Blizzard, the company has a clear image problem. Diablo 4 cosmetics likely won't fix that.

In any case, it hopes to solve those problems with Diablo 4, which is now seemingly the golden goose that will restore some of the company's reputation: at least in the eyes of some execs. But they're having a hard time selling it given, well, e?verything we just talked about above.

Following criticism that flowed via Immortal, Blizzard's GM of the Diablo franchise, Rod Fergusson, t?ook to Twitter?? to defend the upcoming mainline entry. He explains:

"To be clear, D4 is a full price game built for PC/PS/Xbox audiences. We are committed to delivering an incredible breadth of content after launch, for years to come, anchored around optional cosmetic items & ??full story driven expansions."

So, reading between the lines, this seems to imply that there could be a lack of paid gameplay-impacting items, but with modern Blizzard, you never know how that might turn out in the end. The big straightforward takeaways here is that it's still a "full price game," with "optional Diablo 4 cosmetics" (that's going to be a yikes from a lot of people given that they just reconfirmed it's a full-price game) and "full?? story-driven expansions" (which could be good, but how is this being monetized, is the question).

Also, what about the inevitably of a season pass? This was likely already talked about behind closed doors, but not confirmed (this listing doesn't bode well on that front). In any case, under duress, we have a bit more info on Diablo 4 now. Optimistically, under Microsoft, the company could improve overall, and "years to come" of content could be a step up from what Diablo 3 ended ??up getting. But I know a lot of people understandably aren't betting on that.

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Get your Skellybobs together

As a part of today's Xbox and Bethesda Games showcase, Activision Blizzard released the trailer for its fifth and final class for Diablo IV �speak with the dead and command the armies of the grave,?? as you step into the terrifying visage of The Necromancer.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwxIR4Qx6Fo

In typical Bliz??zard fashion, the reveal was accompanied by a grim 'n' gory cinematic sequence, wherein our titular deathtalker comes upon a party of corpses, using their unholy abilities to learn of their fate. Our anti-hero then embarks in a showdown with a frightening pack of lycanthropes, evening the score with a host of Ray Harryhausen lovin' skeletal army.

The reveal of the Necromancer was followed by brand new gameplay footage from Diablo IV, along with a release window of 2023, when the title will arrive on PlayStation, P??C, and Xbox platforms.

For full clarity, you can find an abridged timeline of the ongoing Activision Blizzard controversy, investigation, and response right here.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPuDHf8maU

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As my mom used to say, you reap what you sow

No one likes coming to terms with the fact that many of our heroes are monsters, but hey, here we are. Turns out one of the most beloved game studios of all time �so beloved, in fact, that they have their own convention every year �is home to some bad people. If only the women working there had been trying to tell us this for years, maybe ?this all could have been avoided.

Now it's not just the victims of these bad players' actions who are speaking up, but almost the entirety of Blizzard's staff, as well as heads of other huge game companies like PlayStation and Xbox. Unlike other studios' allegations and lawsuits that could be more easily swept under the rug, the skeletons in Blizzard's closet are on full display for the world to see, and it has me wondering whether it m?eans things are actually going to change for once.

Blizzard has been a tentpole of the games industry for decades, but now, they're at an impasse, and their next move will determine the gaming landscape for yea?rs to come. Right now the biggest call to action is the removal of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, which would really be the bare minimum at this point, but definitely a step in the right direction.

This is the best chance Blizzard has at showing their company and the public that they actually care about making a change. I'm not a business-minded person in the slightest, so I don't know the nuance of how any of this works, but the way I see it is that anything other than getting rid of Kotick would be the final nail in the coffin for Blizzard. Maybe it's that they've had plenty of senior developers jumping ship, or that they're scared of a potential takeover, but at this point, there is no excuse.

The way I see it, there are two options �either Activision Blizzard removes Kotick at the very least, and hopefully continues to?? evaluate how the company is run and take out anyone else who is causing harm, or they�do nothing, I guess? It's hard to believe that this could actually be the case considering the outcry and it being a generally terrible situation that needs to be amended, but unfortunately we've been let down before.

It's just that if Blizzard refuses to make significant changes, I think it's over for them. Admitting that they're wrong and doing everything they can to fix the company culture they've created is the only way forward.?? Because those senior staff have been leaving huge projects in droves, without any sort of substantial change, I can't see any o??ther veteran game devs worth their salt wanting to jump in to take their spots anytime soon. Without that experienced staff, their games will suffer, simple as that.

This won't just be a matter of public opinion of Blizzard, but a crumbling of the projects that have made the company successful ??to begin with, as well as potentially successful in the future.

It's interesting looking back at Riot after the exposé about their workplace mistreatment went public in the summer of 2018. At first, there was some apprehension about whether any action was really taken, but from what I can understand as of now in 2021, the company has made huge strides to prevent the locker-room-bro culture from continuing, building up their female deve??lopers, and diversifying their teams quite a bit. From what I've hea??rd from friends that work there, it's not perfect �but it's a genuinely nice place to work where they feel supported and heard.

And just look at how Riot is doing now. They now have multiple franchises that are absolutely killing it with some of the most popular games in the world, and now they've successfully broken into other types of media as well, like television. Correlation does not mean causation, but part of me has to wonder whether they've been able to excel so much over the past few years because they placed a greater? focus on their employees' wellbeing.

I want this same future for Blizzard. Saying that I ??want every game employee to be happy and healthy and feeling fulfilled by the work they're doing should not have to feel like something out of a fairytale, b?ut here we are. They have a choice to make, and an easy one from where I'm standing, but it's only a matter of time before we see what path they've chosen, for better or for worse.

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More time needed for the games to reach their 'full potential'

During a Q3 2021 earnings report, Blizzard announced that Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 have been delayed �not that either o?f these big hopeful games felt clo?se to begin with.

In a slide for investors (viewable on page six), Activision Blizzard shared an "update on our pipeline." After what has been �and will continue to be �a very hectic year full of investigations, lawsuits, and high-profile staff departures, something had to give.

"As we have worked with new leadership in Blizzard and within the franchises themselves, particularly in certain key creative roles, it has become apparent that some of the Blizzard content planned for next year will benefit from more development time to reach its full potential," Blizzard said on the earnings report slide. "While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged."

"These decisions will push out the financial uplift that we had expected to see next year," noted Activision Blizzard. "But we are confident that this is the right course of action for our people, our players, and the long-term success of ??our franchises."

In other words, Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 still feel out of reach �which is arguably a good thing depending on who you ask. After the delay, a 2023-or-later release seems likely. To be clea??r though,? Blizzard has not announced a release window for either of them.

I'm not saying I'll never be in the mood to play these games in two series I have fond memories of, but I don't see that attitude changing easily or quickly. It's not a sure thing. Of the two delays, Overwatch 2 probably stings the most. What a bumpy road it's been for fans, even just in the context of the sequel itself and not the wider corporate culture.

On top of the delays, Blizzard announced that co-leader Jen Oneal is leaving the company this year, and the other co-leader, Mike Ybarra, is staying put for now. If those names don't ring a bell, they stepped in after Blizzard president J. Allen Brack's departure.

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Mike Ybarra will be taking over sole leadership of Blizzard

One of Blizzard's leaders has an?nounced they're stepping away from the company. Today, Jen Oneal announced she'll be leaving the company at the end of the year, with her co-leader Mike Ybarra taking over Oneal's responsibilities.

Oneal and Ybarra were announced as the new co-leaders of Blizzard Entertainment following the departure of J. Allen Brack, which came after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard over reports of discrimination and a toxic work?place culture.

Oneal's career ran back over 20 years across Activision, Vicarious Visions, and then Blizzard. According to an Activision Blizzard statement, she will be taking ??time to find new opportunities ?that bring her two passions closer together: game development and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

"I am doing this not because I am without hope for Blizzard, quite the opposite—I'm inspired by the passion of everyone here, working towards meaningful, lasting change with their whole hearts," Oneal wrote in a goodbye letter (via GamesBeat). "This energy has inspired me to step out and explore how I can do more to have games and diversity intersect, and hopefully make a broader industry impact that will benefit Blizzard (and other studi??os) as well. While I am not totally sure what form that will take, I am excited to embark on a new journey to find out."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKXS_YA9s7E

Activision Blizzard has also said i?t will be making a $1 million grant to Women in Games International in her honor. Oneal will leave at the end of the year, spending her remaining time transitioning into a new role building up programs that could be funded by the grant. Ybarra, meanwhile, will assume Oneal's current ??responsibilities at Blizzard.

Activision Blizzard recently outlined changes coming to the company in response to the investigations, including an end to required arbitration. The ABK Workers Alliance characterized it as a "huge win," but also said there's more to be done. Employees had previously signed letters and organized a walkout, calling for change at the company.

As part of today's Activision Blizzard earnings update, the company also confirmed that Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 would be coming later than expected. This follows after both the Diablo and Overwatch teams saw turnover at the top.

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Diablo IV director and two other developers were let go

According to a new report, Diablo IV game director Luis Barriga, Blizzard lead level designer Jesse McCree, and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft have been let go. Kotaku reports that the news was delivered to the developmen??t teams today.

A source told Kotaku that the developers' names are no longer visible in the internal directory at Blizzard. A source at Blizzard also tells IGN that their names have been removed from the comp?any Slack channel. IGN's source also says that while development teams were reportedly informed of the departures, there has been? no internal communication on the matter within Activision Blizzard.

We've rea??ched out to Activision Blizzard for confirmation on the departure of these three.

[Update: Acti??vision Blizzard PR has confirmed the departures to Destructoid, saying that Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree, and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer with the company.

"We have a deep, talented roster of developers already in place and n??ew leaders have been assigned where appropriate," said an Activision Blizzard spokesperson. "We are confident in our ability to continue progress, deliver amazing experiences to our players, and move forward to ensure a safe, productive work e?nvironment for all."]

Barriga had been with Blizzard for some time, working on previous games like Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. McCree was linked to the recent Kotaku report on the "Cosby Suite," as part of the ongoing reporting and investigation into the culture at Activision Blizzard. This stems from the lawsuit filed last month by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging discrimination and a toxic workplace culture ?at the company.

LeCraft was also pictured in the report on the aforementioned suite. Kotaku says two so??urces have confirmed to them that another Blizzard dev pictured there, Cory Stockton, w??as put on leave last week but appears to remain at the company.

Activision Blizzard employees have since signed a letter decrying the initial response from the company's leadership, as well as organized a walkout and formed a coalition ac??ross Activision, Blizzard, King, and other studios.

The employees have made several demands for change, including an end to forced arbitration, and workers at Ubisoft have backed them with their own joint letter. An investment group and shareholder in Activision Blizzard also recently criticized the company's response, laying out its own demands for cha???nge at the company.

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The Blizzard art team says there are hundreds of armor components to mix and match (and dye)

Blizzard dropped another quarterly development update for Diablo IV today. After glancing around, my main takeaway shouldn't come as a surprise: I'm?? going to spend entirely too long �and care entirely too much about �nailing my cha?racter's design.

The new dev blog is pretty d?ense (?as these things should be), and the topic of the day is character art, with insight from a few team members, including art director John Mueller.

In pursuit of making "characters in Diablo IV look as artistic and as hand-crafted as possible," the d??evelopers h?ad to achieve "massive improvements to the level of detail" and "completely rebuild our rendering engine and authoring tools," according to Mueller.

This character customization system "is entirely new to Diablo and it was a daunting amoun?t of technical character work," he said. "These solutions had to work not just for a single character, but for hundreds of componentized armor sets, different body types, dozen??s of unique personas, and completely unique art for five distinct classes (to start)."

"One of the benefits of the investments we've made in our character art development pipeline is that now most of our story cutscenes will be rendered in our engine using the game models," explained Mueller. "In previous Diablo games, the high-fidelity cinematic story moments were all pre-rendered. We will still have those amazing cinematic moments from Blizzard Animation, but now we also have cinematic moments that featur??e your character up close, rendered in our game engine."

In terms of raw fine-tuning-your-perfect-look potential, there are "hundreds of armor components" to "mix and match" in Diablo IV, to say nothing of dyes �your helmet, chest, gloves, le??gs, and boots can even be dyed with different color palettes.

You can alter your character's face, "hairstyle, the facial hair (beards and eyebrows), and add jewelry (nose piercing or earrings), makeup, and body markings such as tattoos or body paint," according to lead character artist Arnaud Kotelnikoff. "You will also be able to change the color values of your character’s skin, eye?s, hair/facial hair, and body markings. Some elements will be class-specific, to support the classes�unique backgrounds, but many will be shared between classes allowing more possibilities to mix and match."

But what about during, you know, gameplay? As nice as the art glow-up looks up close, "all things Diablo are in service to our isometri??c point of view," as Mueller puts it.

"The fidelity we put into the characters and the balance of detail all has to work with our game camera. Those looking closely will notice we like to work with bigger shapes on the armor, and we? tend to reduce things that affect readability. I think we've found a sweet spot of detail that retains the readability, works well with the environments, but also keeps things looking grounded, which is super important for this vision for Sanctuary."

I'm convinced one of my favorite things about Diablo IV will be just seeing and sharing everyone's customized classes??. That's ??gonna be a blast. Bring on the Blood Bishop.

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You might confuse this cartoon dog with the video game series

In one of many tales of panicking billionaires surfacing this morning, Blizzard Entertainment is seeking to block FOX Media from its registration of the term "Diablo" as it pertains to tie-in merchandise related to upcoming animated series HouseBroken.

The new cartoon features a dog that shares a name with Blizzard's hellish video game franchise, and as such the latter is concerned that FOX's trademarking of the name will cause confusion among audiences. FOX' recent application for "Diablo" specifically concerns the usage of the character's name on crockery, beverage holders, pet treats, doggie bowls, and other merchandise — which has gotten Blizzard execs r??eaching for the 'phone.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Blizzard argues that FOX's registration of "Diablo" in regards to HouseBroken merchandise comes into conflict with Blizzard's own Diablo trademark, which the developer/publi??sher has held since it launched the hugely successful RPG series way back in 1996. Blizzard has requested that FOX' request, therefore, be rejected by the United States Patent Office.

"Members of the public will erroneously believe that [FOX's] goods offered under the 'Diablo' mark originate with, or are in some manner connected or associated with, or sponsored by, [Blizzard Entertainment], all to the harm of [Blizzard's] goodwill and reputation." reads part of Blizzard's notice of opposition, which was filed on April 25.

Blizzard is currently working on three new titles in the Diablo franchise: remaster Diablo II Resurrected, free-to-play mobile release Diablo Immortal, and highly anticipated mainline sequel Diablo IV. Meanwhile, HouseBroken will premiere on the FOX Network May 31.

Disclaimer: HouseBroken is not a Diablo spin-off.

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