Diablo IV regularly gives its news through long blog post plunging the players into the heart of the development, but it is of course on mobile that the next stage of the license will take place, with Diablo Immortal.
An exit that is slowly approaching
Announced under boos from the crowd at BlizzCon with the now famous statement “Don’t you guys have smartphones?”, Diablo III has gradually reassured the players. Helped by the announcement of Diablo IV, the title gradually presented its ambitions, and the first contact was rather reassuring. The title is not yet available, but the opening of pre-registration has already brought together more than 30 million future players while creating confusion.
Indeed, on iOS, players have seen the date of June 30, which was only indicative as specified by Blizzard. The game will retain the series’ hack’n slash approach, with areas to explore in all directions with various objectives, faults, dungeons, side quests, events or even main missions.
It is these missions that we are going to talk about today, since our German colleagues from MMO were able to ask a few questions to Wyatt Cheng, Game Director, to Joe Grubb Senior Game Designer, about the scripted campaign. As expected, there will be one, which will serve as spine to all content. The two developers initially hesitated, before explaining that the campaign does not work as a linear sequence of missions which we chain one after the other:
Different people need different amounts of time. I hesitate to answer because our story is structured in 8 areas. But you can’t just teleport to the area, play the story, and finish the linked story. The story in each area takes around 15-45 minutes. Or shall we say, about half an hour. But each of them has a level restriction. The Gut Swamp, for example, is designed to be walked at level 40-45. So once you reach level 40, you can experience the story there, which in turn continues the story of the previous area and continues later.
Wyatt Cheng and Joe Grubb also explain that when players have completed the main missions of an area, new activities will be proposed. Rifts, bonuses and dungeons will thus be unlocked, allowing gain experience and, of course, get loot. Activities visibly designed to allow players to wait for the level required for the next zone, and therefore to extend the lifespan.
If it was just the story without any levels, you’d probably be done in less than 10 hours. But there’s all this other content you can do. Immortal is the biggest and most ambitious Diablo to date. That’s why there’s not just one quest line, but a lot of content around it.
There’s also story-based content like side quests with characters you help. It really depends on how long you want to put in it. If you ignore all that content, it goes pretty fast. But if you want to fully experience what Immortal offers, it’s a much bigger experience.
Unfortunately, this interview did not lead to more details on the economic model of the game, which already plans to add content over time. Also, we will have to wait to find out whether or not there will be bridges established between the mobile title and Diablo IV. Finally note that the release date of Diablo Immortal has still not been specified but estimates point to late spring.