Apparently, it’s time for a break in Diablo 4. This is what several Blizzard employees are saying in a livestream. The game is intentionally designed to encourage players to stop when they achieve their goals and start again when a new season begins. Then everyone will start hunting for items and leveling up together.
This is the situation with Diablo 4:
- Diablo 4 has been out for a little over a month now, and some players have fully immersed themselves, using every free moment to kill mobs and farm loot.
- For these players, there isn’t much to do at the moment, especially since many describe the endgame as not being very optimal: The dopamine kick is missing
- Diablo 4 will really continue with Season 1 on July 20. But what does one do until then?
It’s okay to play something else – We’re doing it too
This is what the developers say: During a Blizzard livestream last week, the developers made it clear how Diablo 4 is intended to be played.
Associate Game Director Joseph Piepiora advised:
If you have achieved your goals and done the things that are important to you, and you want to take a break and play something else: That’s great. We will do the same.
The start of a new season is a good time to return and engage with Diablo 4 again.
Another developer, Tim Ismay, says with a smile:
I want to be honest. When the next WoW expansion comes out, there’s not a 0 percent chance that I will play it for a while. But it will be great to know that I can return to Diablo 4 and start fresh with everyone.
The head of the game Rob Fergusson explains another advantage of the system:
It’s a live service game. If someone buys Diablo 4 in a year, we don’t want them to feel like they are forever far behind.
Therefore, it’s also not a problem to skip one or two seasons.
The boss says: If you are in Season 4 and someone buys the game fresh, they are at Level 1 just like someone who has been playing for a year.
This is what it’s about: This “frustration after the initial honeymoon phase” is a phenomenon known from many games designed as “Games as a Service”:
- People play an insane amount at the beginning; no game is played as much as in the “initial leveling phase”
- Hardcore players finish within 2-6 weeks and complain that there is nothing more to do because developers can’t keep up with content delivery as fast as players consume it
- The game has taken up a big part of their daily schedule by that time, and they long to continue – but there’s nothing to do and it quickly becomes stale
- Now the mood often shifts and the once dearly loved game is described as boring or “not worth the money” – developers are suddenly lazy, the game is no good
At Blizzard, they clearly state: Diablo 4 is not meant for you to play non-stop throughout the year. Instead, you should take breaks, play something else, and then return with a new season in Diablo 4. Or not, and you skip a season and come back later.
In that sense, you are also not “missing” anything because with the new season, the hunt starts anew.
As far as Blizzard is concerned, when they say “You should play something else,” they ideally mean World of Warcraft:
Here are some alternatives:
Games like Diablo – Who needs Diablo 4? Here are 10 current alternatives
