The first major beta test of Diablo 4 is slowly coming to an end. On the penultimate day of the closed beta, many players already have an opinion about the first hours in the game. The overwhelming majority looks positively towards Diablo 4. However, there are some criticisms.
This is the beta:
- The early access beta of Diablo 4 runs from March 17 to 20 for pre-orderers and anyone who could snag a key.
- From the 5 classes of Diablo 4, only the Huntress, Sorceress, and Barbarian are playable. The experience is limited to level 25 and the first act of the game.
- After long queues and server problems caused frustration on release night, the following days ran largely smoothly.
You can find all the info about the beta here:
What is well received: On Reddit and other social media, players are now discussing how they found the beta. Great praise is especially given to the atmosphere and gameplay. The dark approach is well appreciated. There were big doubts shortly before the beta.
Diablo 4 is seen as a successful successor to the series, strongly reminiscent of favorites Diablo 2 and the remake Resurrected. Some fans are even convinced: Even in beta, Diablo 4 is better than Diablo 3.
A particularly good feature is seen as being able to pet dogs in Diablo 4 – even if fans suggest you probably shouldn’t do that. But that alone makes the game 110% better, some users joke.
Even the story of Diablo 4 is already a great feature, which has never been as good in the series. You can see gameplay from the beta here:
Sterile UI and repetitive dungeons
What bothers the players: There is still criticism of Diablo 4. Many players give suggestions for improvements such as minor tweaks to the UI or an extra tab for gems in the inventory. Also, the lack of a map overlay is considered bad.
Two points of criticism often arise and receive a lot of support from other commenters.
The first point is the UI itself and the font used for numbers and texts. Everything feels too sterile and clean, which doesn’t fit the dark mood at all. Some even feel reminded of mobile games. “It feels like I’m reading a spreadsheet,” criticizes a player in a thread with 1,700 upvotes on Reddit.
The second point is the dungeons. Diablo 4 offers well over 100 different dungeons where you can find enemies, bosses, and even guaranteed legendary aspects. You enter dungeons alone or with a group, but never with random strangers like in the open world.
The criticism here is that the dungeons are too repetitive. Although the layout is slightly different each time, fundamentally you always do the same: collect 2-3 items from different wings, unlock the boss room with them, kill the final boss.
Over time, it becomes dull if there is no variety. The dungeons available in Act 1 are already said to be not fun, according to a highly discussed thread.
There is also skepticism about the shop not being in the beta yet. After the debacle of Diablo Immortal, many fans are now suspicious and would like to know in advance what can be bought in the shop.
What is surprisingly well received is the initially controversially discussed feature of the shared world. You can find all info about multiplayer here:
What will improve? Some players reassure that since they are only level 25 in the beta, things like enemy density and difficulty will only come later. Currently, only 2 of the difficulty levels can even be adjusted.
Blizzard has set up a forum for feedback on the beta where criticism is collected. How much of this will be implemented remains to be seen. The release is still a few weeks away; Diablo 4 is set to be released on June 6, 2023.
Perhaps some changes will already be visible in the open beta on March 24. We will keep you updated as soon as more is known. The important thing is that Diablo 4 really turns out well. Not just for Blizzard, but for all games in the genre:
