Coming soon Diablo Immortal, the new MMO for iOS, Android and PC. MeinMMO had the opportunity to ask Wyatt Cheng (Game Director) and Peiwen Yao (Executive Producer) some questions in advance. Our topics: the future of the MMO, upcoming updates, and the state at release.
After we were able to talk to Wyatt Cheng and Principal Game Designer Joe Grupp about the ambitions of Diablo Immortal at the end of the beta, we were allowed to ask the heads some more questions about the game.
In the first part of this interview, we talked about the Pay2Win criticism from big YouTubers and how Diablo Immortal deals with it. Here you will find the full interview about how things will continue after the release of Diablo Immortal.
MeinMMO: How much content is actually ready for after the release, or how long could you provide new content already?
Cheng: First of all: The game is in constant development. Instead of saying how far certain content is already finished, I would ask: How much content do we have planned? New zones are in the works, new dungeons, and a new class. There will also be many events for the players and all of this is in different stages of completion.
Making games is work and takes time. We have been working on Diablo Immortal for a long time. Creating post-launch content also takes time. We have to plan all of that. But I am already looking forward to all the support we can offer players in the form of updates.
Yao: I would like to add that there is no end to this. We are committed to supporting Diablo Immortal as a live service for many years. Regular updates with dungeons, story, bosses, cosmetics, and classes are coming. The launch is not the end [of development], but the beginning.
MeinMMO: But just to clarify: there is already stuff finished that you can just throw out after release?
Cheng: Of course! I mean… Let’s take a new dungeon as an example. It takes a long time to make – 6 to 12, sometimes 18 months. Voice acting, visuals, models… If we hadn’t started already, we would definitely not be ready in time.
We know that players want content constantly. If we hadn’t started a year ago, we couldn’t bring a new dungeon or a new zone when players are ready for it.
Everything you need to know about Diablo Immortal – in 3 minutes:
Everything will be free – Including new classes
MeinMMO: How will DLCs work in Diablo Immortal? More in the direction of updates and big expansions like WoW, or more like seasons and DLCs like in Diablo 3?
Yao: First and foremost, Diablo Immortal is a mobile game and free to play. Regular updates are coming, monthly or quarterly. The download is always seamless. Whenever you start the game, updates will be downloaded in the background or foreground.
MeinMMO: That means there won’t be huge updates with 60 GB download size or something like that?
Yao: laughs Even if there were, you probably wouldn’t notice. It’s hard to give an exact size, but we try to integrate downloads as seamlessly as possible.
MeinMMO: Can you already tell me how we will get the DLCs and updates? Do we have to buy them or will they be free?
Yao: All upcoming updates will be completely free. We are a free-to-play game, so everything that follows will also be free to access.
MeinMMO: Even new classes?
Cheng: Yep, new classes will also be free. Classes are probably the most work in terms of development, so they will take a while. But they will be free.
“We will be more like World of Warcraft”
MeinMMO: What new story or game modes will you bring?
Cheng: I’d rather not reveal too much yet. The game will feel very large and complete at release. We have many plans for what comes next and will reveal more when the time is right.
Think about what has come between the technical alpha, the alpha, and the beta. We brought a ton of new systems: the Cycle of Strife, new zones and dungeons, a higher level cap. And there will be even more at release.
When you play from level 55 to 60, there is a new zone, the Realm of Damnation, that no player has seen yet. And new features will also come that no one has seen before, like the Armor Vault, where you can switch builds.
We are constantly working on new content and I said that I don’t want to reveal much, but one thing already: the class switching feature will come after the launch. […] Shortly after release, you will be able to switch your class and take all progress with you.
That is just one example of what is to come.
MeinMMO: When a new season or update comes, what happens to my gear and progress? Will it still matter?
Cheng: You keep everything you have farmed. We do not follow the season model of Diablo 3. In the seasons there, everyone is reset to level 1, you have to level up again, farm gear again…
We will be more like World of Warcraft. A new zone is coming, new story, and you will be able to continue playing with the character you care about.
MeinMMO: You just mentioned World of Warcraft. In that MMORPG, you always have to grind for the new best gear. Lost Ark, for example, has the problem that there is too much content; you have to do all the old stuff before you can get to the new. Is there a catch-up system for new players?
Cheng: I will answer that in two ways. First of all, we are still working on how exactly that will work after the launch. That requires a lot of foresight.
Our game has a built-in catch-up mechanic, the World Paragon Level. This works like this: the maximum level is 60. After that you get Paragon levels, with which you receive new perks and such.
The World Paragon Level starts at 0 and increases by 2 every day, as if the server were leveling up. If you are above the World Paragon, there could be a deduction on the experience you receive. But that only affects players who really play a lot.
Players who somehow play 30 minutes or an hour a day, who join later or take a break, who simply fall below the World Paragon, will receive a boost for their experience points. A bit like the recovery system in World of Warcraft, just a little different. There are improved EXP rates to catch up to your friends.
Joining later is no problem: You level up faster
MeinMMO: So you are balancing out heavy players and casuals a little, so that there isn’t such a huge discrepancy?
Cheng: Exactly! The social component is really important. We are an MMO and we want people to come together and play together for 4-player dungeons or 8-player raids, 8 against 8 battlegrounds…
When you want to participate in all these activities, it is not ideal if the levels differ too much. One does all the work and the other just collects the loot. That’s sometimes okay, but you don’t want to play every day like that.
MeinMMO: Let’s say I am one of those core players and want my friends to catch up. Could I just push them through and boost them to my level?
Cheng: No, our EXP calculation works a little differently. Let’s say you are in a zone for level 40. If you are above that level, all monsters there will still be at level 40 for you. If you are below, there is also a minimum level.
A player at level 38 will also see monsters at level 38. So every player sees enemies with a difficulty that corresponds to them when they are in a zone for their respective level.
MeinMMO: What about difficulty levels? Diablo is known for its legendary Hell or Torment levels. Does Immortal have something like that too?
Cheng: Yes, we do. When you finish the main story and reach level 60, you unlock Hell 1. The difficulties go up to Hell 5. At higher difficulty levels, there are more items and Paragon levels.
Part of the incentive is that there are really cool set items. And as you unlock new Hell difficulties, you also unlock new set items as well as the chance to get simply stronger items. The stat ranges are higher.
In the podcast, we discuss whether Diablo Immortal will become the next success story for Blizzard. You can find the podcast on Spotify, iTunes or right here:
Classes can be switched, but not arbitrarily
MeinMMO: Back to the classes: Can you at least give me a little outlook on which old or completely new classes will be coming?
Cheng: Diablo Immortal is launching with 6 classes: Barbarian, Monk, Crusader, Wizard, Demon Hunter, and – the favorite of many – the Necromancer. People were particularly happy about him.
MeinMMO: Many are freaking out because the Druid is returning in Diablo 4 or also because of the rogue counterpart. Is there a chance to see them?
Cheng: I already mentioned that we are working on new classes, which will still take a while. I can’t say more about that today.
MeinMMO: But they will all really be free, right?
Cheng: Yes, exactly. And I already mentioned that we are working on the class switching feature. We are still figuring out what it looks like when you play Diablo Immortal for a while, build your character, and then a new class appears.
This feature is a different way to switch. We still have to decide how exactly it will work when a new class comes, as we are more like World of Warcraft and the progress is always limited.
MeinMMO: You said earlier that class switching will only be possible about every two weeks. Can you go into more detail about how often that will really be? There has been confusion in the community because some thought it would be possible at any time.
Cheng: I want to reiterate that this is a post-launch feature and just an example of how we want to expand the game. The exact cooldown for it has not been determined yet; that is a number we can change very easily.
That will depend on playtesting and live game. Until release, we can only base such a thing on internal tests. Once it is live, we will really see what players need or want and can then adjust.
Earlier, I said that the cooldown would be between one week and one month – mainly because we want players to be able to use the feature when they think they need it.
At the same time, we don’t want you to constantly switch your class depending on the content you are currently doing. Battlegrounds as a Barbarian, Rifts with another class… No, no. You choose a class and play it. If you are not satisfied with it, there will be at least the opportunity to switch.
MeinMMO: Just to confirm one more time: There WILL be a cooldown?
Cheng: Yes, absolutely, between one week and one month. We’ll see.
Pay2Win and more – What happens with the feedback?
MeinMMO: There was quite a lot of negative feedback regarding the beta, especially regarding monetization and the shop. How do you generally handle such feedback?
Cheng: We always listen to the players, and we paid attention to the feedback from the closed beta. To name a few things that really went well: someone said the Battle Pass was really good. Many bought it, saying it had good value. They were also satisfied that this was an optional purchase, you didn’t need it, but it gave bonuses and improved gameplay when you got it.
I love battle passes and think they are really fun when they are done well. That’s why I’m very happy about this feedback. But there was also feedback that the rare emblems [“Rare Crests”] were not so good.
They were a bit disappointing, so we are improving these between closed beta and launch. We want to make it easier for players to use the emblems to get runes or eliminate the crafting costs.
This way it should be easier for players who don’t want to play or don’t want to use the shop. These players should be able to use emblems more easily to craft legendary gems than was the case in the closed beta.
MeinMMO: The emblems were those things you could buy to level up gems?
Cheng: There are two types of emblems: legendary and rare. The legendary ones add 2 modifiers to an Elder Rift and guarantee the drop of a legendary gem. You can buy those.
Rare emblems cannot be bought; you find them quite frequently through playing. One is available for free every day. These have a chance for a legendary gem and you always get a few runes.
With these runes, legendary gems can be crafted. We already had this system in beta, but players with many runes found it difficult to process them into legendary gems.
That’s what we want to improve.
Here you can find 7 minutes of gameplay from Diablo Immortal:
“I love battle passes” – So Diablo Immortal will also get one
MeinMMO: You talked about the Battle Pass. How long does it take to complete it?
Cheng: Depends on your play pattern. I would say if you play about 30 minutes to an hour a day, you can complete it. It depends on what content you focus on and whether you complete the quests. There are quests for the Battle Pass every few days.
You can play Diablo Immortal in many different ways and some activities might not grant battle pass points. If you enjoy completing events in the world that don’t give points, you will naturally take longer.
We will observe how many people complete the battle pass and make adjustments if necessary. Right now, we think that the majority of players who play regularly can complete it. That was already evident in the beta.
MeinMMO: How do I level up the Battle Pass?
Cheng: I already mentioned that some activities don’t give anything, but most do. Elder Rifts? You get battle pass points. Bounties? You get battle pass points. Dungeons? You get battle pass points.
For most activities, you get points. It’s not meant to be that you intentionally hunt for them. You should find more of an activity to complete and earn battle pass points for it.
Then there are quests. These help you when you don’t know exactly what to do. Then you have a quest that says: Complete 3 Elder Rifts. Great! Then I’ll do that, I have a goal, some structure… that’s what I enjoy!
MeinMMO: Immortal will have full controller support and I know from personal experience that Resurrected plays excellently with a controller. It’s as if Diablo was made for controllers. I know that Immortal is “Mobile First”, but is there a small chance that it will come to PlayStation or Xbox?
Yao: We are coming to mobile and PC and controller support is intended for these two platforms. Right now, we don’t have anything regarding consoles for you.
MeinMMO: Thank you for the interview!
You can get a picture of Diablo Immortal for yourself starting June 2 and see whether the critics’ negative points are really true. Diablo Immortal will be a lively MMO that will continuously evolve.
If you are still not sure and need more food for thought, you will find here on MeinMMO 5 things you should know before the release of Diablo Immortal.
