The announcement of Diablo Immortal is over 3 years ago and the game is still dismissed as a cheap mobile copy. Completely unjustly, says MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus – who was himself critical of the game until recently.
Almost everyone who has played Diablo Immortal is convinced that it is a really good game. The problem is that only a few can play it so far – especially here in Germany. Accordingly, many Diablo fans in the comments here, on YouTube or reddit have been critical of the game. Just like I was until recently.
As a “jack of all trades” I often get games at MeinMMO that I am asked to work on, which don’t fit anyone else. This is thanks to my tens of thousands of hours of experience in all sorts of genres and games (a true basement dweller).
This was also the case with Diablo Immortal and I cursed inwardly about it. Well, I like Diablo, but I’ve never enjoyed the endless grind. And mobile? Meh. I am a PC gamer through and through! And even the boss left Diablo Immortal before the release. Why would I want to do that?
But the more I write and read about Diablo Immortal now, the more I am interested in the game. And the less I can understand why it still receives so much mockery. Because that is absolutely unwarranted, even if I understand where the initial discontent comes from.
A catastrophic first impression
The launch of Diablo Immortal couldn’t have been worse. Some of you probably don’t even remember what actually happened back then – it’s been a few years now.
At BlizzCon 2018, Diablo Immortal was announced. The reactions from fans cannot even be sugar-coated: It was hated with every fiber. It ranged from a fan asking if it was an April Fool’s joke to accusations that Immortal was just a blatant clone to a content creator who was worried about his future because of Diablo Immortal.
But why, actually? There are several reasons:
- On the one hand, Diablo Immortal was “the big announcement” of BlizzCon 2018. It got the prime spot on the big stage.
- Traditionally, blockbuster titles are expected here: new WoW expansions, a new Warcraft or something similar.
- On the other hand, particularly Diablo fans were waiting here for Diablo 4 – or any news about “their” franchise.
- Diablo has always been a PC title and since Diablo 3 only interesting for console fans. Hardcore followers felt betrayed by a mobile title.
The announcement was capped when game director Wyatt Cheng countered the question about a PC port with: “Don’t you all have phones?” From then on, Diablo Immortal became the enemy image. And it has remained that way to this day – but undeservedly.
From “April Fool’s joke” to MMORPG
After BlizzCon 2018, things went quiet about Diablo Immortal. The game disappeared into obscurity and many – myself included – assumed that Blizzard was waiting for the storm to pass.
As Diablo Immortal is primarily developed in and for China, only a few pieces of information trickled over to the West. At least until the first major alpha at the end of 2020. Here, players were able to test for the first time on a larger scale and … were surprised at how much they liked it. Even colleagues at GameStar were astonished by the quality of the game:
Now, in 2021, more and more information about the game is coming, and since October, the closed beta is running in Canada and Australia. I also have access, but Immortal is quite hard to play due to the ping to the next server.
What I have seen of the game so far is extremely good. I am really convinced that the features of Diablo Immortal do more than just make it a mobile Diablo. It will be an MMO, maybe even an MMORPG.
Cities full of life, dungeons full of loot
Diablo Immortal relies on all features for multiplayer. From lively cities to taverns where you can drink with other players to guilds, PvP, and real dungeons.
In doing so, I am not talking about those lousy, randomly generated caves on random maps somewhere in the ice desert or greater rifts, but about real dungeons. In Immortal, it is possible to complete instances in a group.
In these, specific bosses await with loot, which, however, still seems to be random. There are level recommendations, group builds like tank and support, and different strategies for the mechanics in the dungeons.
According to current information, certain dungeons even have a kind of lockout – they can only be visited a limited number of times until the next reset. Just like what you expect from MMORPGs like World of Warcraft.
The loot is similar to what you already know from the series. Sets and legendary items with specific, random values that can roll more or less well. The hunt for the god roll therefore remains.
What speaks even more for a living, breathing MMO is the PvP. The PvP represents the king class of Diablo Immortal.
Rise to the god of an entire server
Diablo Immortal will have a proper guild system – the so-called “Dark Houses”. Players in these houses will be referred to as “Shadows”.
These shadows fight in the endless “Cycle of Strife” for dominance over the world. Literally, because those who establish themselves as the strongest house will become “Immortal” – one of the two factions in the game.
Immortals protect Sanctuary and receive special buffs. A maximum of 500 players can become “immortal” per server – compared to the unlimited number of shadows. The icing on the cake is the leader of the leading house.
Every week, he will become a raid boss, against whom 30 other players must compete, and who can simply oneshot the opponent. If he wins, he remains the god. If he loses, another player can secure the Eternal Crown and a new ruler will be established.
The king is dead – long live the king!
The fight for this crown is the actual story of Diablo Immortal – it exists! Shadows and Immortals constantly fight for the protection of Sanctuary and to ensure that the immortals are not corrupted by their power, the shadows continuously “test” them.
In the game, this looks like the 10 houses with the most points send their 8 best fighters into battle to fight against 10 teams of immortals. This results in the Rite of Exile, a classic “payload” PvP mode.
If the shadows win at least half of these battles, the challenge of the immortal is called. Each leader of the houses selects his 2 best comrades-in-arms, so that 10 teams of 3 players each in the arena face the immortal, as described above.
If the immortal falls, the shadows are resurrected and then fight as 10 teams in a battle royale. The leader of the survivors becomes the new immortal. This event takes place every Sunday – even if only a few players will see it:
2 factions with different tasks
Through shadows and immortals, there are two factions that fight against each other. This happens dynamically, because if you are not strong enough (or if the immortal is not there on Sunday), other players take over leadership.
Depending on what you are, you have different activities:
- Immortals get raids for 48 players,
- while shadows are allowed to loot the vault of the immortals in smaller groups.
By the way: Players from the Dark Houses must work together to participate in the big endgame activities. To do this, they must complete various actions that contribute to the account. PvP is therefore a communal effort.
Even if you choose to avoid PvP, you can still benefit from it. PvP is optional, even if there are powerful bonuses as an immortal – such as an increased chance of magical items. The good thing is: The bonus apparently applies to the entire group. So you only need to know one of the 500 immortals on the server who can take you along.
Diablo as an MMO – Exactly what fans have wanted for years?
Fans have been demanding a Diablo MMO since at least Diablo 2, increasingly louder since Diablo 3. World of Warcraft has shown how to transform a franchise into a really good MMORPG, and now Diablo fans want that too.
In fact, Diablo Immortal is exactly what can fulfill this desire. Everything I see and hear about the game sounds promising. It apparently delivers exactly what a Diablo MMO should have:
- social interactions in cities, not just in your own lobby
- real guilds
- PvP and PvE activities instead of “just mindless grinding”
- still Diablo feeling through visuals and classes
Diablo Immortal also looks surprisingly good and remains at heart a Diablo. Testers have already said, it plays like Diablo 3 – only better.
“But this is mobile trash!”
Yes, Diablo Immortal is a mobile game. And I have been annoyed about it and have often wished lately that it would come out for PC. However, that is not planned for now.
After a conversation with my boss Leya precisely about this topic (and this article here), she explained to me that the future lies in mobile gaming. Sure: the mobile market is growing, and from a monetary perspective, a mobile MMO is the only right decision.
And yes, it’s probably true. Diablo Immortal is primarily aimed at the Asian market, where mobile gaming is already much more widespread than here. And with the revenue, the studio would have a better basis to finance new games.
Blizzard needs Diablo Immortal as its last hope. Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 have been postponed for now, WoW is in deep trouble, and only Hearthstone is still somewhat afloat.
Immortal must be a success if Blizzard wants to remain a name. Still, as a player, I wish it would come to PC. In the podcast, MeinMMO discusses whether Blizzard still has a future:
But there is still a small consolation. Emulators like BlueStacks are not categorically banned. They are not officially supported, mainly because such things happen at your own risk. You can therefore also play Diablo Immortal on PC and with controller support, even very comfortably. A guide for the emulators can be found at the colleagues from GameStar.
That Diablo plays excellently with a controller has already been shown by Diablo 3 and Diablo 2: Resurrected. By now, I even think that it feels better with a gamepad.
This makes it a bit easier to bear that I am not getting a PC MMORPG from Diablo – and I am looking forward to finally testing and playing it properly.
Diablo Immortal is even on our list of the most promising MMOs and MMORPGs on MeinMMO:
