Diablo Immortal: Suddenly PC
Diablo Imortal comes for the PC. Are all the waves smoothed out? Not quite.
Blizzard really surprised us - and this time in a positive sense, not with other scandals about topics such as sexual discrimination and harassment (although they would no longer be surprises). At Blizzcon 2018, when the Diablo Immortal company announced instead of Diablo 4, it was said that it would only appear for mobile devices. The sentence "Do you guys not have phones?" ("Do you have no phones?"), Which Game Director Wyatt Cheng replied to the booing audience at the time, became a meme and his game for a mockery of the Internet.
The shit storm was huge, but like everyone else, he lay down at some point - certainly also because Diablo Immortal disappeared into the sinking for a long time. The development dragged on tremendously. Actually, the game should have appeared years ago. Now it finally starts on June 2 - and not only on iOS and Android, but to our astonishment, the gates to Sanktuario also open on the PC (in this case as an open beta). And lo and behold: This announcement has already been enough that the title is suddenly in a completely different light.
There are many positive voices among the youngest two videos on the official YouTube channel and in the diaablo subreddit. People are happy that the game now also appears for the PC and even offers cross-play. If you were not interested in Diablo Immortal beforehand because you simply don't gamble mobile games, you are now looking forward to June 2nd. "Where it is now confirmed for the PC, I can definitely see a decent number of hours in this game," says a Reddit comment. And I feel very similar: I only play on my PC and the consoles, I stay away from mobile games. Accordingly, I would have left Diablo Immortal left, as interesting as the game itself is for me. Well, where I know that I can play it on the PC with a mouse and keyboard or controller, I have painted the release date in my calendar in the spirit of red and will definitely try the thing when it is.
IIIHHH, smartphone menus on the PC!
However, a real hype does not want to face and there are several reasons. Number 1 (certainly the slightest problem): The user interface and menus as well as the camera perspective, which is too close, do not agree with me. Blizzard does not fundamentally rebuild Diablo Immortal when it comes to user experience for the PC. The interface is scaled down a bit, so that the icons for skills in particular do not take as much space as on a touchscreen, where they are correct buttons. This is okay so far, but the menus bother me. According to Blizzard, they are also only slightly adjusted and therefore essentially be built up and function as in the mobile variant. Just that the buttons are so large and therefore less space is on the screen to accommodate information is bothered by me.
Only in practice will it be seen how much it all really annoys me. And who knows, Blizzard speaks of a beta without reason. Maybe a lot will change in the future. The maximum zoom level for the camera may be increased. Most PCs should have enough performance, especially since the graphics quality compared to the mobile version is not increased.
Pay-to-win alarm?
My much greater concern is that the monetization of Diablo Immortal will spoil the fun - and I'm not the only 1. In the comments mentioned on the pages mentioned above, I keep stuck on statements that the game has pay-to-win elements. I came across this on a video of the Youtubers Gregg2G, which based on screenshots from the closed beta explains where the problems lie: With legendary jewels, it is possible to significantly increase the damage and the life energy of your character. The problem: You can buy the most powerful variants with five stars in the in-game shop for platinum and make it at the jeweler by using the necessary runes and platinum. Now you can also earn the currency, but it will surely take ages until you have even developed a legendary 5-star jewel if you do not spend any money.
On top of that, there is also the mechanics to "awaken" legendary equipment in order to give them particularly strong bonuses. On the one hand you need a legendary jewel in rank. And if you then want to awaken an item, an object is necessary that is only available for premium currency. That mechanics is therefore aimed exclusively at paying players - well, cheers meal!
Well, this information refers to the closed beta. So a lot can still change in the systems, but I would not calculate that - at least not for the release. A similar turmoil could began here as it is available in the Lost Ark community around its upgrade system for equipment.
What does that mean for Diablo 4?
My third concern has nothing to do with the content of Diablo Immortal. I asked myself why Blizzard suddenly takes the step to publish the game for the PC. The hardly changed user interface proves that this decision must have been made relatively short -term. What happened to me immediately: You do it because Diablo 4 is still in much further than we believe/hope. I am convinced that Blizzard would not have decided to implement Immortal PC if you were sure that part 4 will be on the market in one to one and a half years.
I firmly assume that Diablo 4 awaits us at the earliest in 2024, probably even later. Until then, the PC gamblers should play immortal (and above all spend money on it). And that's why I also assume that the calls will soon be heard after versions for the consoles. With the multi-platform release from Diablo Immortal, Blizzard will get time-time to hopefully hope for the sequel that all fans (especially those who were so disappointed with part 3). That would actually be something good, but of course I can't defend myself against becoming more and more impatient the more years in which we do not find out about a approaching release from Diablo 4. For me, Diablo Immortal, no matter how fun it may be in the end, will not be able to replace with his mobile focus. And I certainly don't stand alone with the opinion.
Now to the Diablo Immortal website!
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