The new “Abattoir of Zir” dungeon in Diablo 4 was too hard, tedious, and unrewarding for many players. Blizzard made adjustments, but the community still doesn’t seem fully satisfied.
“Abattoir of Zir” (translated as Zirs slaughterhouse in English) is a new endgame challenge where particularly tough opponents await you. As a reward for completing it, you will receive the glyph “Tears of Blood”. The dungeon is supposed to offer a challenge for all players who are essentially done with Season 2 and have nothing more to do in Diablo 4.
Ultimately, the early levels were quite tough, and some players already declared the season finished. The developers responded to the feedback and nerfed certain elements of the challenge.
However, the community on Reddit now says: There’s still room for improvement. “Abattoir of Zir” is better now, but not perfect.
What the developers have planned for Diablo 4 can be seen in this video:
One problem is the unbalanced difficulty
Why is it still not perfect? Presumably, such a challenge can never be perfect for all players. But a few of them are gathering some ideas and wishes in a post on Reddit from “tjglaser1s” about what would make the challenge better.
The author of the post writes on December 10 that he has enjoyed climbing the levels of the “Abattoir of Zir” dungeon so far. It’s not perfect, but it offers a challenge that makes players have to look closely at every aspect, every ability, and their gear.
His biggest critique lies in the difference between the mobs and the bosses:
I think at this point my biggest critique is the massive power difference between the difficulty of the mobs and the difficulty of the Bloodseekers. It just doesn’t feel good at all. As a necromancer, I reached level 12 today and can shred through the mobs and feel absolutely invulnerable… only to be taken out in one hit by the Bloodseekers.
I understand that the content is supposed to be hard. But the problem is the performance difference between all the enemies leading up to the Bloodseekers. The balance is just not there yet, and this gap needs to be closed.
tjglaser1s via Reddit
Apart from that, he suggests additional things that could make the experience a bit more rewarding. The glyph XP feels quite good at the moment, but the rest of the rewards “could use some love”.
What else should be improved? In the post, “tjglaser1s” writes that players should receive a random chest with materials in every run. To try different builds for the levels of “Abattoir of Zir”, he has consumed many materials.
Additionally, he thinks that item rewards could have an increased chance for Uber Uniques, rising with the levels of the dungeon. For example, he suggests receiving gear with a minimum item power of 900 at the first levels of the dungeon plus a 0.5% chance for Uber Uniques (via Reddit).
“It feels like a lottery”
What does the community say about it? In the comments, other players share their experiences with the challenge as well as ideas and criticism. “Pantarus” also notes that his deaths feel random and that the Bloodseekers are too strong. He wants to learn something from his character’s deaths, but it feels more frustrating.
“ScottdaDM” writes in the comment:
A character of appropriate level and gear is dead in one blow… that’s not good. It feels more like a lottery than a skill game.
He also wishes to receive seal powder for the runs – enough for the next level of the dungeon.
“RavenousIron” finds the underlying idea cool. It encourages players to give their best. He doesn’t think that’s enough, but it’s “a step in the right direction. It’s a building block that still needs to be refined over time.”
On December 12, the Midwinter Pest begins in Diablo 4. The event offers you new mechanics, items, and rewards that you can earn throughout the winter days.
In line with the start, the developers have explained the event and give tips on how to make the most of the Midwinter Pest:
