Diablo 4, the popular announcement of Blizzcon 2019, excited a large audience. Since it's an announcement with a beautifully cinematic, Diablo 4 seems like it will occupy the agenda of the gaming world for a long time. We had a chance to talk about the next Diablo game at the Blizzcon 2019 event with the producers. Jason Roberts, designer of Diablo 4's quests and their associated spaces, and Tiffany Wat, senior producer of Diablo 4, answered our questions. We asked them what we had in mind and what you were wondering.
Diablo 4 still has a long way before release but we had our fair share of details
I have a very important question. We kill Diablo on every game and he always comes back. Why?
– First of all, he's immortal. You always need a devil. And He is a compelling character. You know, having him within the game kind of the core of the what the gamers about. Although for Diablo 4, we certainly wanted to explore new antagonist. And, look at the Lilith. In sort of kind of very interesting character. That we can build a very interesting story about it.
Also, we killed Lilith on Diablo2, too. Now, she is back again. Can we think Diablo's Brothers (Mephisto and Baal) will be back on next games or expansions?
– Perhaps. But I don't want to give any spoilers related to the story for this question. But you know, they are wearing black soul stone. And Malthael consuming that soul stone when he was defeated. Kind of release their essences, their spirits back into the universe. Being immortal evil, you can certainly imagine that the right back up over time. But, at least for now, like Lilith is the something pulled out of the abyss.
Blizzard brings back the character classes of Diablo 2. We saw only three classes in the demo, and Paladin was not one of them. But, as we all know, the Paladin class is considered the main hero of Blizzard. Will we be able to play Paladins in the new game?
– When the game comes out there will be exactly five playable classes. We have announced three of them now, but we have two more classes. When they are ready, we will announce.
What about the mounts? How the mounts will affect the game? Will it only increase our speed or will additional features we have with mount? Like increased inventory spaces.
– It is still early days. They are not actually playable on the demo. Because we are still trying on figure out, exactly how it's in the world. But, Diablo is an RPG. We have added custom itemisation to the mounts. It's also like you said there are items that you can change to change how behaviours the world in terms of… You know, increasing the speed of mounts, reducing your damage while you are mounted… We are still exploring and we are open ideas. Having an inventory could be awesome. It fits the fantasy.
In the demo, I saw Dol and Vex runes similar to Diablo 2. Will Blizzard put the Diablo 2's rune mechanics, like runewords, into the new game?
– Since I am not part of the game's design team, I can't talk much about it. But character development and personalization will be in the core of Diablo 4. Each talent has a higher level, and as you develop talents, you can create your own style. To give an example from the wizard class; In the game, you can choose your fire or ice abilities. Each one will have a very different effect on the enemy. On the other hand, we add hundreds of legendary items to the game. The effects of these legendary items on the characters will be different. The rune system will work through the items and will make a major contribution to the gameplay.
How will the trading system work in the new game? In Diablo 2, items were easily sent between the players. What changes will Diablo 4 have?
– Currently, we are still in the development of the trading system. For now, some items will always be suitable for trade. However, strong goods may have trade restrictions. Nevertheless, we will carefully review the feedback from the players.
Will there be a monthly payment system in the game?
– We haven't announced it yet. But the main game will be sold once and then there will be expansion packs.
Each Diablo game has only one expansion pack. Will be the same for Diablo 4?
– We love Diablo very much and hopefully, there will be more than one expansion pack.
We could play together up to eight-player in our party on Diablo 2. Unfortunately, we were able to take on missions with four people on Diablo 3. What will be the size of our party in the next game?
– First of all, you can play the whole story by yourself. But, for the big monsters in the open world of the game, you definitely need help. The parties of the game will be for four people.
Do you think this Diablo game is looking more like a World of Warcraft kind?
– First, let's underline that Diablo is an action role-playing game. The social side of the game (similar to WoW) is to defeat the enemies we encounter as parties.
Will there be any offline mode in the game?
– No, it will not happen. Because most of the activities in the game are designed for online gameplay. The day and night cycle in the game will vary depending on your region, as you are connected to the online system. Even the weather conditions of the game will adapt to your region.
When will the beta process of the game begin?
– We cannot give a clear date on this topic. However, we can say that this process is not very soon.
