Diablo 4 is set to become significantly harder in Season 8. There is currently discussion in the community about whether casual players can even reach the highest difficulty level – and who these “casuals” actually are.
How difficult will Diablo 4 be? In a “Campfire Chat” livestream, Blizzard announced that Torment 4 will be “desirable” starting with Season 8. Only the top 10% of players are expected to reach this level. The highest torment level remains attainable, but it will be a significantly greater challenge.
To accomplish this, Blizzard is tightening the screws in the endgame significantly. In the Pit, the health points of monsters increase by 20% per level – and this is multiplicative. Endgame bosses are also expected to hit harder and withstand longer. You should no longer be able to one-shot them. Players were recently able to test how difficult Diablo 4 will be on the PTR.
The announcement is currently causing discussions in the community. Many who consider themselves “casuals” fear that they will no longer be able to reach Torment Level 4 because of the changes. Others say: Those who see themselves as casuals are actually not at all.
Torment levels as a way to balance players
What are casual players afraid of? There are currently several threads on Reddit regarding Torment 4, the highest difficulty level. Jcamilop93 describes in his post his concern about whether he can even make it to Torment 4 by the end of the season – let alone feel that his character is truly strong enough. Additionally, he emphasizes that he wants his time to be respected.
He does not demand that the game be made easier or that grinding be removed – after all, the feeling of progress is an essential part of an ARPG. But he wonders if there are not also ways to ensure that players with less game time can make progress and have fun.
User Elrond007 sees the division from Torment 1 to Torment 4 as the perfect balance between casuals and hardcore players: “Everyone can experience the entire game, farm everything, and get all drops – based on their own progress.” TOMMISS99 adds: “You shouldn’t be forced to reach Torment 4 [for certain rewards] – but it should be an option if you want it.”
For d4rth3zio, it’s perfectly fine if casuals do not reach the highest level. However, he believes that every type of player should have their own rewards: “Casuals should have easily attainable rewards, but hardcore players should also receive their own rewards. If Torment 4 isn’t for casuals, then we probably won’t reach it. And that’s completely fine with me.”
“Stop pretending to be casuals, you’re not”
This is the criticism of the “casuals”: In another Reddit thread, Solwastaken writes that the casuals complaining about the “new” Torment level 4 are not casuals at all. They enjoy playing competitively.
He states specifically:
All “casuals” who are complaining about the changes to Torment 4 are actually competitive players who are currently at Torment 4. They are not casuals. They belong to the top 50% of players (since 50% reach Torment 4). What they love about this game is the illusion of skill/power by being among the best players in the game, because Torment 4 is the hardest difficulty level. […]
They are not complaining about not being respected as casuals: They are angry that there will be harder content that they will not be a part of. […]
So stop pretending to be casuals, you’re not. You are all Torment 4 players who love to count yourselves among the best in a game that cannot bear the idea of harder content that they cannot/will not reach. Real casuals will go back to Torment 3, finish their day, and not make a fuss.
User taskmaster51 believes that harder content is not a problem – as long as it is not mandatory. He writes in a comment: “I have no problem with it as long as you are not forced to complete Torment 4 content to finish the season.” In comparison: In the current season journey, there are some goals for which a player must play on Torment 4. If this remains the case, some players may not be able to unlock all rewards.
While the torment levels will become tougher from Season 8 onward, Blizzard is at least making life a bit easier for players in other ways. The crafting system “Hardening” is being revamped. In the upcoming season, this will run much smoother and save you a few clicks (and nerves). You can find out more about it here: Diablo 4 removes a mechanic players have hated since release – Eases one of the most important steps of the game
