MeinMMO author Maik Schneider ran joyfully through the Hellgate at level 60 in Diablo Immortal. He is a Free2Play player and appreciates the free action RPG. However, after looking at the endgame mechanics, the joy has faded.
Diablo Immortal has brought me back to the Diablo series after many years. With a smile on my face, I think back to my time in Diablo 3. Splitscreen with four players, two TVs, until one of the co-op partners automatically lags behind because the guy on the controller is already asleep.
Instead of playing the Monk, I focus on the Necromancer in Diablo Immortal, and instead of a sleeping teammate, a world full of players opens up to me, with whom I can engage in many activities anytime.
So I diligently played the story since the release and finally reached the endgame at level 60, the start of the Paragon experience.
So far, I haven’t spent a cent and I am satisfied with the experience that Diablo Immortal offers me. I wanted to go straight into the grind for the matching set items for my build and had to find out that I cannot collect them all yet.
Because Diablo Immortal sets clear limits when it comes to endgame grind. And I think the current system after level 60 is a bigger problem than Pay2Win and Legendary Gems.
Because the biggest fans of the action RPG are restricted in their enthusiasm. The people who grind through the game from release and always defend it against constant Pay2Win accusations – it is exactly these people who are limited by the artificial boundaries.
Learn more about the controversial Legendary Gems in our video:
The endgame has 3 major problems
After I completely understood how all the Pay2Win mechanics work, I was briefly demotivated.
However, I made it clear to myself that I do not want to be one of the best PvP players on the server. I just want a quick grind with friends sometimes – always with an eye on a strong build. And for this, there are also plenty of Legendary Gems that I can get without spending real money.
As I delved deeper into the Paragon and endgame systems, I realized that the actual problems for frequent players lie exactly here and not in the Pay2Win approach.
Overall, I would like to point out three mechanics that restrict the endgame or limit frequent players in their ability to explore Diablo Immortal all day:
- Paragon limits do not allow better equipment
- Loot limits restrict upgrade potential
- Real money items tied to characters
Paragon Limit – Progress is slow
Diablo Immortal wants to give latecomers a chance to catch up with the diligent Paragon grinders. For this, the maximum Paragon level has a strict “soft cap”.
On my server, El’Druin, the Paragon server level at the time of this article is 26. All players below this level receive a decent experience point boost. If I am above it, I get fewer experience points. The XP bar at the bottom of the picture even turns red.
- 1 – 2 levels: 80% XP
- 3 – 4 levels: 60% XP
- 5 – 6 levels: 50% XP
- 7 – 8 levels: 40%
- 9 – 10 levels: 30% XP
- 11 – 12 levels: 20% XP
- Further above: hardly any XP
This would not be a problem if the Paragon level only affected the Paragon system. But it is also related to the gear.
The two rings of all item sets can only be grinded on the difficulty “Hell IV”. Hell IV is recommended only from Paragon level 150, and equipment of this difficulty can only be equipped from 150 onwards.
Even if I am struggling through the instance with a team and get the coveted set item, I need Paragon 150 to equip it. Currently, it will take 62 days until the server level reaches this level. That would only be mid-August.
A similar situation applies to the armor smith. No matter how many materials I offer to the smith, eventually I need a higher Paragon level, or there will be no more upgrades. For equipment level 8, I already need Paragon level 30.
Additionally, all gear loses value as soon as the next Paragon threshold is reached. Because at the new Paragon level, there is the important Legendary for my build again in a better version – so grinding again.
Loot Limits – Grinding is explicitly not welcome!
A team of frequent players has discovered that there are loot limits in many activities. For example, I can play a maximum of five cursed chests a day or complete five side quests. After that, there is no more glorious chest as a reward.
Two limits are particularly restrictive: Legendaries and Normal Gems. As soon as I have collected six of them in one day, the chances of further items of that type drop rapidly.
If I patiently wait for the new Paragon threshold, I cannot even really start grinding to bring my Legendaries up to date. If you find six, the next Legendary takes ages to appear.
You can learn more about the loot limits in the game here:
Character Binding – Second Character has to pay twice
Lastly, the shop policy slows things down. If you buy something with real money, these packages are character-bound. You can’t just start a second character and then go full throttle with the purchased advantages.
Only the character on which the items were actively purchased benefits from this. This applies to the Battle Pass as well as to cosmetics and other packages.
Sure, you can also start a second character without all the stuff. But especially with cosmetics, I can’t help but shake my head. Part of the community feels similarly.
Conclusion: Legendary Gems do not matter to me, but let me grind!
Diablo Immortal causes waves in me. At first, I was hyped and had a lot of fun. Then I understood the situation with the Legendary Gems and I was downcast.
Then I realized that I can also build great builds without a 5/5-star gem. Currently, the situation with loot and equipment limits brings me down again.
My problem is that I want to engage more with it, I want to play more. That I actually hold a full-fledged Diablo in my hands, but I keep running into artificial hurdles that shouldn’t be there in part. This includes the XP walls between areas.
That’s why I stand here today and say: Pay2Win is not the biggest problem in Diablo Immortal. It is the progress barriers that have been built in endgame that prevent the biggest fans of the action RPG from enjoying the game without limits.
Feel free to leave a comment on the topic. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
If you are now more interested in Diablo 4, here is good news: Diablo 4: Beta registration started – Here’s how to register for the test
