Announced yesterday through a cutscene and a little gameplay, the Thief class of Diablo IV continued to unfold throughout the evening.
In addition to its versatility allowing it to be played from a distance or in close combat via the Archer or Assassin approaches, the class has three specialization paths and a particular skill. Using bows, swords or even daggers, the Thief will have several specialization options in Diablo IV. These will obviously be linked to certain questlines specific to the Thief class.
- Combo Points : While fighting, players will accumulate points, which they can then spend to make certain skills more effective.
- Shadow Realm : This is an ultimate skill, which will allow the character to hide in the shadows and separate groups of enemies to eliminate them. By bringing opponents into the shadows, the Thief will gain invincibility frames and deal 50% more damage
- Exploit Weakness : It is essentially a system based on the counter. By activating this specialization, players will see a marker appear on opponents preparing certain attacks. If the Thief attacks at this point, he will counter with a big bonus in terms of damage.
The Thief will also offer players a special system, called Weapon Imbue System. As reported by Blizzard, this system will allow players to change the type of attacks on the fly. Luis Barriga, game director of the game, said on this subject:
The Weapon Imbue system is something new that we haven’t done for any class before. It’s basically a button that you press, and whether it’s Freeze, Poison, or Shadow, all of your attacks take on the characteristics of the selected type.