In Diablo 3 Season 20 is currently running, and our author Patrick Freese is still having a lot of fun in the game. Even though it’s already 8 years old. But why?
What’s happening in Diablo 3? Actually, not much is going on in the game. New content comes with large intervals and is then rather limited. Each season has a new seasonal theme that slightly changes the gameplay. There are also a few new sets and balance changes. But no one expects any major expansions anymore. The last addon bringing the Necromancer came in 2017.
Many say that Diablo 3 has run its course, that nothing happens anymore. But the seasons pull me and other players back into the game every time. A few days ago Season 20 started and I am having fun again.
What is fun in Diablo 3 now?
Even though the game has been around for a few years, I always enjoy coming back. It’s not that I play Diablo 3 continuously, 24/7. I’ve spent several hundred hours with the different classes in the game. Each season, Blizzard’s monster slaughter new catches me and I enjoy coming back.
For me, the following points are in the foreground:
- I can play it solo
- I can also play it with friends
- In the meantime, I can watch streams/Netflix
- If I want, it’s competitive; if not, I play it brain-afk
Play alone or with friends – I decide
Why is that important? There are simply days when I don’t want to put on the headset and sit in voice chat with my friends while gaming. Sometimes I prefer to listen to a podcast, music, or simply nothing at all. Then I level up alone with a guide to max level or grind through the rifts.
On other days, I really enjoy playing with my people. Together, we try out new group compositions in the high G-Rifts, goof around, or talk about all sorts of things while we tackle dull tasks – like farming bounties.
The fact that I have the free choice to play alone or in a group is worth a lot. And for that, I don’t have to switch from my single-player career to online mode and experience two different games. The transition is seamless, and that is good.
Mindless or competitive – whatever I feel like
This is how it goes mindlessly: Often after work, I want to turn off my head for an hour and chill out. This works on the PC when I start a stream and just play a little. Diablo 3 offers optimal possibilities with small rifts or bounties. I and most other players complete them without really paying attention to what happens on the screen. At a certain gear level, it doesn’t matter – you just go in blind.
I enjoy it because it brings me something. I farm materials, improve my character, and at the same time I let myself be entertained by a stream, podcast, or YouTube video. Perfect for mindless gaming.
This is how it goes competitively: It doesn’t do anything for me if a game never challenges me. It quickly becomes boring. As a complement to mindless farming, Diablo 3 offers the Greater Rifts to continually challenge oneself to climb the leaderboard.
That’s fun because I can compete with other players or friends. Or participate in the leaderboard with friends and we push each other as a team. Joy also comes from theorycrafting to see how we can further strengthen our character or build. In the tier list for Season 20 in Diablo 3, there are many good templates.
It looks good too
All these benefits are worthless if the game doesn’t appeal to me visually. And I have to say: You can see its age here and there in Diablo 3, but the graphics are perfect for me to have fun in it.
That’s purely subjective and will surely be viewed differently by some players. After all, Diablo 4 takes on a different look and is meant to provide material for nightmares.
Conclusion – Diablo 3 doesn’t always entertain me – but when it does, it’s a lot of fun
In summary, Diablo 3 is not a game that I would play continuously throughout the year or even for months.
Every few months I like to come back, play for a few weeks and then leave again. And during the time I play, I have a lot of fun. Mindless, brain-afk, or quite competitive.
I know that at the start of a season, friends of mine always jump in. Even if we barely keep in touch, Diablo 3 is often the common ground, and at the start of a season, well-meaning insults and teasing immediately fly through the chat as if nothing had ever happened. Just heartfelt. This little bat motivates me in Season 20.
It doesn’t take long to find your way back into the game, and with its many facets, Diablo 3 is a treasure that will always have a place in my heart. Well, at least until Diablo 4 colors my heart black and I then jump into the next compartment of hell.
What we know so far about Diablo 4 and its release you can find here. Do you still enjoy your time in Diablo 3 until then or has that ship already sailed for you?
