Diablo 4 received a lot of criticism before the launch of Season 1 regarding the patch notes and endgame content. Social media, forums, and Reddit were filled with negative comments, and there were even calls for a boycott. Then the season started, and the demand was so high that hardly anyone could log in.
What is the boycott about?
- The preparatory patch 1.1.0 was not well received by fans, too many classes were nerfed, and too little “good” was added.
- The criticism was so significant, that Blizzard immediately reverted some changes and had to buff the unique season mechanics before the release.
- Nevertheless, outrage remained high: on Reddit, reports accumulated, that people would no longer play the game. Diablo 4 was said to be doomed.
This really happened: On July 20, Season 1 started at 7:00 PM German time directly with enormous waiting queues. Players were stuck logging in for over an hour and had to wait for “joining game”.
The influx was so large that the servers buckled under the load. Even those who could log in were greeted with lags and rubberbanding. Exactly the problems that one mainly knows from big AAA releases that everyone is waiting for.
Although some players were annoyed by this, at the moment, the ridicule over those who previously predicted the death of Diablo 4 prevails.
“Best boycott ever, well done, bedwetters!”
The by far largest thread in the subreddit received over 16,000 upvotes and more than 3,100 comments within the first day after the season started. The title: “I thought you all quit? Can you please disappear so I can log in?” Accompanied by a picture of the login queue.
The post follows mockery that exactly those who complain about the state of Diablo 4 are also those who play the most. They would always complain but then still put in another 200 hours into the game.
However, it is important to recognize that the loudest voices do not reflect the community. The user pp21 summarizes:
I wish the super-hardcore and extremely loud D4 players would understand that patch notes are simply unimportant to many people. They just play the game. They don’t follow guides step by step or worry about reaching level 100 faster than others.
This is literally a game about killing demons and upgrading gear to kill stronger demons. That’s all. And people will still do that with Season 1 and patch 1.1.
Amid the cynical comments, there are several such contributions that address where the conflict in the community comes from. Most of those who enjoy the game would simply not visit Reddit. This leads to an accumulation of opinions, which become echoes of the same criticism.
However, Blizzard seems to have been affected by the loud criticism. The developers have already announced that they want to talk extensively about the patch and Season 1:
Diablo 4 discusses the miserable feedback on the patch of Season 1 – New campfire date confirmed
