Diablo Immortal has some features that Diablo 4 could really benefit from, and Blizzard should really consider adding them.
Wait, I hear you say, you’re talking about Diablo Immortal? A mobile game nobody asked for that was riddled with microtransactions at launch and suggesting that Diablo 4 should be more like it?
Yes, but temper your fury, fellow Nephalem, and hear me out, as there are valuable lessons Diablo 4 could learn from Diablo Immortal.
Before I go any further, I acknowledge the criticisms of Diablo Immortal, especially regarding its pay-to-win model at launch, but the game has evolved since then. Of course, microtransactions are still a thing, but they’re optional and, in the view of this Horodric scribe, are pretty pointless.
Diablo Immortal’s Enhanced Battle Pass can be easily ignored and the controversy the game’s microtransactions caused at launch is likely why Diablo 4’s Seasonal Battle Pass has always felt like it was neutered before release. It, too, can easily be ignored.
Diablo Immortal is great now
The fact is, a great game was always hiding within Diablo Immortal, and in 2024, this is really starting to shine through. Unlike Immortal, Diablo 4 was a huge success upon release, but the game’s seasons have struggled with consistency.
Thankfully, Season 4: Loot Reborn has most fans feeling positive again, but the things I yearned for in Season 1 are still the things I wish we could have in Season 4, and weirdly, all those things are available in Diablo Immortal.
Now, after returning to Diablo Immortal to check out the new Tempest character class, I find myself wishing that Diablo 4 could be more like its much-maligned mobile cousin. What’s great about Immortal is that you don’t need to start a new character when a new season rolls around. Instead, you can enjoy all the changes and new features with your existing characters.
Sure, you can start a new one if you like, just like I often do with Diablo 4. With both games, I have taken a new season as an opportunity to give a new class a try. Although, this can only be done so many times. So, it’s nice to return to my main character, the Necromancer I’ve had since launch, and continue his journey.
Returning this way provides a fun sense of living in an evolving story, with my hero responding to each new threat as they emerge. Since I originally took down Skarn, my Necro has had many adventures and has continued to grow in his badassery.
It’s also great to see the content stack, making the world expand around me. Meanwhile, with Diablo 4, all these adventures are siloed off from the last, and my characters become redundant once a season ends, essentially wasting the time I invested in them. In contrast, my Necromancer in Immortal is always ready to slay some demons, and every hour I invest means something.
Diablo 4 seasons feel like Groundhog Day
I wish I could say the same thing about my Diablo 4 Necromancer, a character I’ve had since launch and who has had no opportunity to hunt down a vampire menace, build a robot companion, or join the Iron Wolves.
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Is it too much to ask for these questlines to come to the Eternal Realm once a Season is complete? Rather than simply being gone forever. Fans understand Blizzard’s insistence on starting a new character every season to level the playing field; we saw it for 30 seasons of Diablo 3.
There are a lot of us who hoped Diablo 4 would drop this requirement and deliver a system a little bit more like Diablo Immortal’s. After all, seasons aren’t expansions; they’re just a new way to play the same game, which is exactly how they’re portrayed in Immortal.
I feel like Blizzard makes a rod for its own back with Diablo 4’s seasons, hyping them up as if they were expansions or more meaningful than they actually are, and this is what contributes to some fans becoming disappointed.
Loot Reborn has been an excellent way to mix things up and balance the mechanics, but all I really want is for my Necromancer to be able to join the Iron Wolves and have a little robot spider buddy.
I have no doubt that the Vessel of Hatred DLC will reinvigorate my love of Diablo 4, as it will be fresh and meaningful content that my existing characters will be able to partake in. But once I’ve done everything there is to do, I feel like my time with Diablo 4 will end, at least until the next annual expansion.
Let’s be honest: every character class we make is a mayfly living on borrowed time. Every time I make a new one for a Season, I have this voice in my head telling me they’ll soon be as disposable as the last class I made, so why am I bothering? The more seasons that pass, the stronger this feeling becomes.
Changing the game
However, Blizzard could pull me back in every season if fresh content was added that I could enjoy in the Eternal Realm, such as new quests connected to that season. Even if it was just the story elements and new features, but most importantly, it needs to stick around after the season,
Yes, Helltides are great, but how many of them do Blizzard honestly expect me to do? There are other games and pastimes calling to me, so I’m going to need some motivation, as once I’ve run out of character classes to try, I’m done with Diablo 4.
Diablo Immortal, on the other hand, is built around convenience and respects my time. I can drop in and drop out of it whenever I like and don’t experience the fear of missing out on anything as I do with Diablo 4, a game that I feel dictates to me.
It tells me that if I want to experience new content, I need to play when they say and play their way with a new class. When all I really want to do is play the new questline, earn some nice rewards, and feel like my progress matters.
Now, I’m not saying Blizzard needs to change the new character per season system; that’s here to stay. Although, if players like me are to stick around, then Diablo 4 needs to be a little bit more like Diablo Immortal.
