Former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra: "I'm not sure where Diablo is going"
- Thread starter Topher
- Start date
March Climber
Member
For Diablo 4 fans is this good or bad? I play these games casually so I'm just waiting on a remake of D1.
Magic Carpet
Gold Member
It's supposed to go somewhere? I thought you just play it over and over till you get bored and move on.
simpatico
Member
I play Diablo 4 a lot and I never have any idea what these critiques are about. I think it's just for people who want to completely live in the game and grind for the best rolls on the best weapons etc. I just like clearing some dungeons with my brother. It's really good at that.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
to hell.
Hawk The Slayer
Member
Diablo 1 to 3 were the best.
1 and 2 were gritty and badass.
Even though 3 went with a more vibrant color and style. It was still cool and always wanted to see another expansion from it with Imperius as the big bad.
1 and 2 were gritty and badass.
Even though 3 went with a more vibrant color and style. It was still cool and always wanted to see another expansion from it with Imperius as the big bad.
DownLikeBCPowder
Member
Diablo and Diablo II are some of my favorite games ever... I considered myself a mega fan, there was nothing more earth shaking to me than the coming of Diablo III. But that game fundamentally turned me off from the series. Tried the IV beta too, couldn't care. I just stick to playing the first two games - it's amazing that I don't even think of the series anymore outside of that honestly. Never could have convinced me that it would be the case 20+ years ago.
Syphon Filter
Member
Diablo sucks after the 2nd game.
MiguelItUp
Member
It's wild how much better 3 got with Reaper of Souls onward. I always enjoyed it, but it definitely picked up.
With 4 I enjoyed going through the campaign, but so much just... didn't matter afterward. Even after everything they've done, I don't see a point in going back. I don't know if I ever will.
With 4 I enjoyed going through the campaign, but so much just... didn't matter afterward. Even after everything they've done, I don't see a point in going back. I don't know if I ever will.
Puscifer
Member
I still fire up 3 to pl a character and do adventure mode. D3 got better continuously, D4 is a fundamental disaster and it was obvious when the devs did a live dungeon run and said something like "this doesn't seem fun..."
Comandr
Member
Every time I think of Blizzard I just can't help but feel sad for how far this studio has fallen. Blizzard used to be masters of gameplay and storytelling in the 90s, every universe they crafted was thematically rich, deep, and intriguing. Now they just feel completely neutered. I put about 100 hours into D4 at launch and tried to convinced myself that it was worth playing for a couple months after that and just... couldn't bring myself to care. The end game of grinding hell tides over and over and designing the biggest bosses to only reasonably be taken down with a bunch of players was just not fun,. The rollercoaster of class "rebalancing" every few patches. The insane itemization [gives you a [.04]% chance to do [1-6]% more damage while [3] enemies are nearby if you used your primary ability within the last [2] seconds]. It was just a [mess]. D4 at launch was so obviously 1/3 of a story that you knew they were going to nickel and dime you for a complete experience, being online only was really just the nail in the coffin for me.
It kills me that we'll never get another StarCraft game that is as brutal and captivating as the originals. At this point, I really don't even trust Blizzard to make a good one. It feels like they have the Sadim touch and everything they get their hands on turns to shit.
It kills me that we'll never get another StarCraft game that is as brutal and captivating as the originals. At this point, I really don't even trust Blizzard to make a good one. It feels like they have the Sadim touch and everything they get their hands on turns to shit.
Holy shit. Did that actually happen? What a train wreck.
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Kacho
Member
Such a shame Bobby killed it because they couldn't monetize the game. Then you see what Diablo 4 became and it's like… ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I despise this game with every fiber of my being.
MiguelItUp
Member
Yeah, no kidding. The only thing that maintained my interest was the fact that it looked darker and grittier than D3. But after playing it for awhile it just felt like such a slog. Needs a lot more for me to keep going back, and that ship has surely sailed. At this point if I feel like I'd wanna go back I'd probably go to POE 2 before that.
Kacho
Member
Diablo 4 from the start felt like a less fun Diablo 3 to me. Haven't touched since day 2 of early access because it was fundamentally that bad IMO. I rarely drop games that fast but I had to trust my gut.
I'll still play the occasional Diablo 3 character and have a good time (until Primal farming starts). Wish that game got more expansions.
Hero_Select
Member
Don't worry, Blizzard doesn't know either.
Just sell all the micro(marco)transactions, that's all that matters
Just sell all the micro(marco)transactions, that's all that matters
dsp
Member
Same but I never tried 4. There are some neat things in 3 but overall it felt a bit too over the top and fast, somewhat gimmicky. I also haaaaaaated the lack of basic chatrooms. It didn't feel like you could build a community to play with since there was no Discord at the time. I'm still slightly upset that they changed the Barbarians jump animation from the original demo. Diablo 1 and 2 were a huge part of my teenage years.
Did you ever get to play Slashdiablo when it was active? That was a lot of fun. A shame it sort of died when they released the hd d2.
Hawk The Slayer
Member
They tried going back to that "dark style" for 4 but just couldn't capture the magic and greatness of the first 2 Diablos.Diablo 4 from the start felt like a less fun Diablo 3 to me. Haven't touched since day 2 of early access because it was fundamentally that bad IMO. I rarely drop games that fast but I had to trust my gut.
I'll still play the occasional Diablo 3 character and have a good time (until Primal farming starts). Wish that game got more expansions.
Agreed that 3 should have just gotten more expansions.
ssringo
Member
I really enjoyed playing through story and even part of season 1. I certainly got my money's worth. But the treadmill they implemented just isn't fun to hop back on. I tried a couple times after season 1 and maybe made it half an hour before tapping out. For all it's flaws over the years, Diablo 3's treadmill was rather enjoyable to get back on each season; even if it only lasted a week or two before getting stale again.
And I'm sorry but Diablo 2's potion guzzling is ass gravy.
And I'm sorry but Diablo 2's potion guzzling is ass gravy.
Kacho
Member
Yep. Diablo 4 is total cover band garbage. Mechanically the game is doodoo.
Thankfully we have D2R and D3. I still play both.
MiguelItUp
Member
Yeah, you made a good choice. I think it helped that there was nothing out at the time and that allowed me to finish D4's campaign. But I hardly remember anything about it which says a lot, lol.Diablo 4 from the start felt like a less fun Diablo 3 to me. Haven't touched since day 2 of early access because it was fundamentally that bad IMO. I rarely drop games that fast but I had to trust my gut.
I'll still play the occasional Diablo 3 character and have a good time (until Primal farming starts). Wish that game got more expansions.
I believe it! I'm genuinely shocked it didn't. It's really upsetting that we didn't get more.
HeisenbergFX4
Member
He isn't even in gaming anymore, he is the CEO of Prize Picks
He ruffled too many feathers
AJUMP23
Parody of actual AJUMP23
MrRibeye
Gold Member
Remember the goosebumps when Russell Brower played Leah's theme live at Blizzcon?
Or at the end of Reaper of Souls when you kill Malthael and you expect a fanfare for defeating this evil and instead an extremely sad violin starts playing and you contemplate the meaning of death. Those games drew me in deep on an emotional level.
It's the music in D4 that doesn't stick with me. The announcement trailer with Lilith in the fleshy bridal cape and red petals flying through the air was totally awesome, a goosebumps moment, but none of the music was memorable to me.
I wonder why they didn't get Derek Duke to compose again. Everything this man touches is so memorable (like the Overwatch theme, that's so easy to recognize).
Or at the end of Reaper of Souls when you kill Malthael and you expect a fanfare for defeating this evil and instead an extremely sad violin starts playing and you contemplate the meaning of death. Those games drew me in deep on an emotional level.
It's the music in D4 that doesn't stick with me. The announcement trailer with Lilith in the fleshy bridal cape and red petals flying through the air was totally awesome, a goosebumps moment, but none of the music was memorable to me.
I wonder why they didn't get Derek Duke to compose again. Everything this man touches is so memorable (like the Overwatch theme, that's so easy to recognize).
I collect VHS tapes
Member
peaked with d2/d2r
sadly, it's the only blizzard game I have any interest in playing anymore
sadly, it's the only blizzard game I have any interest in playing anymore
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DryvBy
Member
PoE 2 will. I bought it and have no regrets. Just waiting on the final version to hit so I can tear into it more.
icecold1983
Member
I never understood why Diablo fans dont just get a part time job in data entry. May as well get paid for mindless grinding.
Not_A-Cop_Maybe
Member
Playing games for fun? What the fuck is wrong with you?
/s
Yeah, all these live service game for some reason keep trying to appeal to people who literally no life these kind of games. It's literally a never ending scenario to keep these kind of players invested. You turn the xp bar into infinite and people will complain about pointless grinding. You quantify the xp bar with levels and "prestige" levels, and they'll complain its not enough.
I get the grinding for loot, but are these dungeons not RNG? Is that not enough to keep people entertained on the grind or is the RNG too generic?
i've have not grinded Diablo since D2, but even then i was fine with just moving on eventually when C&C and Starcraft expansions came out lol.
Also Mike saying shit like this means nothing. This dude was in charge of Blizzard while this game was coming out, him being able to look from the outside now after being around/in charge for D4's release and its content schedule just means that he has the hindsight of knowing where he/blizzard fucked up. He has some valid points, but i think everyone would agree that yearly expansions can be worth it, if the content is there.
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Fess
Member
All I've played of Diablo is a couple hours of Diablo 3 on Xbox One. Was alright but I fell out of it fast.
Then I started playing Diablo 4 a couple weeks ago, just planned to try it a bit through Gamepass. Ended up enjoying it a ton, it's almost the only thing I've played lately. So, can't relate to it needing to go anywhere. Not yet at least. The skill and gear upgrade system is fun, it really push you to experiment, the story is surprisingly engaging (not done yet though) and the world is varied with different biomes and enemies.
Negatives:
I have no idea why people say it start at level 60. I'm level 60 now and all that happened was unlocking the Paragon tree (+12 now) and getting access to higher difficulties. Major letdown for me. I thought for real that something big would happen.
Biggest problem is the online aspect. I have zero interest in playing online and the servers or my internet or whatever has been slow a couple times so I literally can't play the game. Either halts at the title screen or the character and enemies hop around with delayed deaths and locations, literally unplayable.
Oh and there are no achievements unlocked on the Gamepass version, or playtime logged. I used the Xbox App to install the game, linked me to Battle Net. Then MS pretend to not understand that I'm playing the game, even if I'm starting the game through their Xbox app. It says played a day ago etc but that's it. I don't get what they're doing. They didn't buy Blizzard yesterday, that system, server, launcher, whatever inconsistency should've been erased after first week of acquiring them.
Then I started playing Diablo 4 a couple weeks ago, just planned to try it a bit through Gamepass. Ended up enjoying it a ton, it's almost the only thing I've played lately. So, can't relate to it needing to go anywhere. Not yet at least. The skill and gear upgrade system is fun, it really push you to experiment, the story is surprisingly engaging (not done yet though) and the world is varied with different biomes and enemies.
Negatives:
I have no idea why people say it start at level 60. I'm level 60 now and all that happened was unlocking the Paragon tree (+12 now) and getting access to higher difficulties. Major letdown for me. I thought for real that something big would happen.
Biggest problem is the online aspect. I have zero interest in playing online and the servers or my internet or whatever has been slow a couple times so I literally can't play the game. Either halts at the title screen or the character and enemies hop around with delayed deaths and locations, literally unplayable.
Oh and there are no achievements unlocked on the Gamepass version, or playtime logged. I used the Xbox App to install the game, linked me to Battle Net. Then MS pretend to not understand that I'm playing the game, even if I'm starting the game through their Xbox app. It says played a day ago etc but that's it. I don't get what they're doing. They didn't buy Blizzard yesterday, that system, server, launcher, whatever inconsistency should've been erased after first week of acquiring them.
![L*][*N*K](/data/avatars/m/842/842515.jpg?1744192062){kind=avatar}
_Idea_of_Evil_
Member
I didn't hate Diablo III or IV, I spent a lot of time in both, but now with Path of Exile 2 being a thing, I don't see myself ever going back. Blizzard will really have to step it up with Diablo V, which I doubt they will do.
Diablo II will always be the GOAT in the genre for me. The art direction, tone, and gameplay is timeless imo.
Diablo II will always be the GOAT in the genre for me. The art direction, tone, and gameplay is timeless imo.
ShaiKhulud1989
Gold Member
With PoE 2 finally catching up in terms of production values (and despite its own unique set of flaws), the aRPG landscape got progressively more difficult for Blizzard. They kinda sucked with Diablo 3 and 4 launches, but 3 bounced back wonderfully with RoS and console versions. D4 never got this phoenix moment and remained a strange treadmill full of bloat and light on proper endgame. And judging by the first expansion, Blizzard has no idea why the game is fundamentally not fun.
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John Bilbo
Member
Diablo should go to hell.