Diablo 4 devs on what Vessel of Hatred has learned from Reaper of Souls a decade on

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As a seasoned gamer with over two decades under my belt, I have witnessed the evolution of Diablo from its humble beginnings to the monolith it is today. The anticipation for Vessel of Hatred, as the first major expansion since Diablo 4’s launch, has been palpable within the gaming community.

This year at Gamescom, I had the opportunity to chat with Brent Gibson, an Associate Game Director, and Aislyn Hall, a Systems Designer from Blizzard Entertainment, regarding Diablo 4’s expansion titled “Vessel of Hatred.”

As a passionate fan, I couldn’t help but feel intrigued when the game unveiled its first significant expansion following over a year of seasonal content releases. With Diablo III still fresh in my memory from before Reaper of Souls was released, I found myself wondering how this new update compares to that transformative expansion. For those who may not be familiar, the game was in quite a challenging state before Reaper of Souls hit the scene. I had even asked Gibson and Hall back in 2014 about how much the current team takes into account the impact that expansion had on the series’ course.

Diablo 4 developers on the switch to live service

“Gibson points out that this topic is frequently discussed. For Diablo 3, Reaper [of Souls] was a significant milestone, and what sets this apart is that instead of accumulating changes as Reaper did, we’ve had the opportunity to implement improvements continuously throughout the process,” explains Gibson.

“In Season 4, we introduced a significant shift in our foundation. Since then, we’ve been fine-tuning our work, and now we’re moving on to Season 5.”

As I dive into the world of Vessel of Hatred, let me tell you about some exciting changes we’re making to the game’s progression systems. We want to ensure that your character grows and develops in a way that benefits you over the long haul, making every moment spent in the game more rewarding for you, the player.

“We’ve gained valuable insights from Reaper’s approach, yet our current status as a live game gives us significantly greater freedom to explore and utilize the content at our disposal in creative ways.”

Hall says the team is ’empowered’ by the move to a seasonal, live-service model.

She clarifies that the team has been granted a great deal of autonomy due to both the seasonal approach and the live service methodology.

“We’re eager to make the most of these upcoming advancements. They will bring about substantial transformations in your journey through the game, as well as significant enhancements to your character development experience.”

“The upcoming season will have significant alterations to the character advancement system much like Season 4 of Loot Reborn, and we’re thrilled about these modifications!”

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2024-08-29 16:14