Although it’s almost three years old, Diablo IV continues to receive updates that don’t focus exclusively on implementing new content. It’s true that Blizzard‘s action RPG is preparing to welcome the Lord of Hatred expansion, which will arrive alongside the Witch Doctor class, but the game has also undergone small modifications to its internal workings to refine mechanics and solve balance problems. After all, Blizzard and players always find details to adjust in the title, which, for the developers, justifies going through multiple “transitions.”

Zaven Haroutunian, the game director, addressed the constant changes applied to Diablo IV in a recent interview with PC Gamer. Because this isn’t exclusive to Blizzard‘s title — it’s a very common characteristic of the ARPG genre: “At this point, it’s almost a meme about action RPGs in general, that they go through this transformative arc and, well, we can’t escape it. Just like any other action RPG, for the same reasons,” he begins.

Basically, the director views it as “normal” for games like Diablo IV to go through what he calls “transitions.” After all, ARPGs evolve based on the needs presented by the community: “I call them transitions because the people who play an action RPG from the beginning change as they play for longer, and they start to require different things,” explains Haroutunian. “There are friction points that we could never have imagined (that players perhaps don’t even imagine) that suddenly rear their heads after 10,000 hours of gameplay.” Therefore, the Blizzard member assures that teams must be aware of these kinds of situations to ensure that the ARPG experience remains fun for fans who repeatedly return to its world.

Blizzard Acknowledges It’s “Very Difficult” to Keep Up with Diablo IV

Now, it’s evident that the vast majority of Diablo IV players won’t log 10,000 hours of gameplay and, therefore, won’t notice the “friction points” Haroutunian speaks of. In fact, the director assures that “we know it’s also very difficult for players to keep up [with Diablo IV], particularly for those who don’t play with every new update.” For this reason, the Blizzard team must also consider the number of changes applied to the ARPG and whether these might overwhelm the user who returns after a good amount of time away.

“I’ve said it before, I believe it: if a part of the game isn’t working, we have to give it some attention,” continues Haroutunian. “I don’t think anyone gets excited about an outdated part of the game sitting there, not fulfilling its function or adding anything.” In fact, a revision of the Paragon system in the coming months is not ruled out, but we’ll have to wait for news from Blizzard to understand what its plans are in that regard.

Source: 3djuegos