Name: A Casual Player's Dream ARPG
Item: Diablo IV
Rating: 8.5
Author: Philip Tauschek

Alright. I've played enough hours to pretty much judge the state of the game. This is pre-season Diablo 4, so my thoughts may change depending on the state of the first season. Keep in mind, whether you agree or disagree, ARPGs live and die by its Seasons. Just take a look at PoE and see why its still up and running to this day.  
  
So, let's begin.

PROS:

1\. D4 has exactly the same combat flow and fluidity of Diablo 3. It's fast paced and visceral. And THAT'S how it should be. It's fun and responsive. And with the right build you can add several hours of fun on your playtime.

2.  The aspect system. The aspect system provides a way for you to keep playing a specific build. On other APRGS, when you find a different legendary item, it will change your build to the point it is not playable. But with the aspect system, I can transfer legendary powers from one legendary item to the next.
    
3.  The Tree of Whispers. This is a "bounty" system that you can participate after the campaign. It has far more variety than D3's bounty system.
    
4.  World Bosses. The three current world bosses may be pushovers, but they give a decent amount of rewards to help boost your character up. Hopefully in the upcoming Season, a new world boss will be introduced and he wont be so easy to take down.
    
5.  A far better Paragon system. The Paragon system in D4 is far superior than D3. Every point you earn can be invested on several "boards" you can choose. And these boards can change the way your class performs. Want more Fortify and Overpower? There is a board for that. Want more damage on your 2-handed Bludgeon Weapon? If you got the points, you can .
    
6.  The Butcher. Blizzard did this demon right. He was a joke in D3, but here, he is entirely in a whole different level. If he ambushes you at a time you are unprepared or under-leveled, he will destroy you. This puts a certain fear or anxiety whenever you are deep within a dungeon with no easy means to escape.
    

CONS:

1.  Hardcore is litteraly unplayable. No, I am not whining that I died 4 times in HC. I just think that its lame that out of the 4 characters I lost in HC, 3 of them died due to disconnect issues. So, if you have any plans in playing HC in D4, I suggest you wait till the servers are stable.
    
2.  The Renown system. Honestly, screw this pile of trash. This wouldn't be included in my CONS list if it carries on to a new character. Bu no. it doesn't. Spent hours collecting all the Lilith statues and finishing the renown rewards for the 4 paragon points? Great job. Wanna make a new character? Sure, but you gotta do that ALL OVER AGAIN! F that noise!
    
3.  The EXP crawl grind. Now, I do not mind exp past level 70 to be slow. In fact I expected it to be like that. However, there isn't anything fun to do end game to gather vast experience. Nightmare dungeons? LAME. Tree of Whispers? After the second or third cycle, you'll be gouging your eyes out on the sheer repetitiveness. Dungeon farming? Unless Blizzard adds a reset dungeon button, its gonna be soul-crushingly slow.
    
4.  Uninteresting bounties. Now hold on. You might think that this contradicts point number 3 in my PROS list. Well, not really. I did say it has more variety than D3, however, I didn't say it was fun. It's both monotonous and boring.
    

So, in conclusion, D4 is still a really good game. Its got a solid campaign, an easy way to build your character, and lots of variety to get exp and rewards. Its got some lows in it such as monotonous boring content grinding, but this is to be expected in APRGs. I guess I was a fool to expect such a change from Blizzard. Oh well. If you are a fan of ARPGs, get yourself D4.

Alright. I've played enough hours to pretty much judge the state of the game. This is pre-season Diablo 4, so my thoughts may change depending on the state of the first season. Keep in mind, whether you agree or disagree, ARPGs live and die by its Seasons. Just take a look at PoE and see why its still up and running to this day. So, let's begin.PROS: 1. D4 has exactly the same combat flow and fluidity of Diablo 3. It's fast paced and visceral. And THAT'S how it should be. It's fun and responsive. And with the right build you can add several hours of fun on your playtime. <ol start="2"><li>The aspect system. The aspect system provides a way for you to keep playing a specific build. On other APRGS, when you find a different legendary item, it will change your build to the point it is not playable. But with the aspect system, I can transfer legendary powers from one legendary item to the next.</li><li>The Tree of Whispers. This is a "bounty" system that you can participate after the campaign. It has far more variety than D3's bounty system.</li><li>World Bosses. The three current world bosses may be pushovers, but they give a decent amount of rewards to help boost your character up. Hopefully in the upcoming Season, a new world boss will be introduced and he wont be so easy to take down.</li><li>A far better Paragon system. The Paragon system in D4 is far superior than D3. Every point you earn can be invested on several "boards" you can choose. And these boards can change the way your class performs. Want more Fortify and Overpower? There is a board for that. Want more damage on your 2-handed Bludgeon Weapon? If you got the points, you can .</li><li>The Butcher. Blizzard did this demon right. He was a joke in D3, but here, he is entirely in a whole different level. If he ambushes you at a time you are unprepared or under-leveled, he will destroy you. This puts a certain fear or anxiety whenever you are deep within a dungeon with no easy means to escape.</li></ol>CONS:<ol><li>Hardcore is litteraly unplayable. No, I am not whining that I died 4 times in HC. I just think that its lame that out of the 4 characters I lost in HC, 3 of them died due to disconnect issues. So, if you have any plans in playing HC in D4, I suggest you wait till the servers are stable.</li><li>The Renown system. Honestly, screw this pile of trash. This wouldn't be included in my CONS list if it carries on to a new character. Bu no. it doesn't. Spent hours collecting all the Lilith statues and finishing the renown rewards for the 4 paragon points? Great job. Wanna make a new character? Sure, but you gotta do that ALL OVER AGAIN! F that noise!</li><li>The EXP crawl grind. Now, I do not mind exp past level 70 to be slow. In fact I expected it to be like that. However, there isn't anything fun to do end game to gather vast experience. Nightmare dungeons? LAME. Tree of Whispers? After the second or third cycle, you'll be gouging your eyes out on the sheer repetitiveness. Dungeon farming? Unless Blizzard adds a reset dungeon button, its gonna be soul-crushingly slow. </li><li> Uninteresting bounties. Now hold on. You might think that this contradicts point number 3 in my PROS list. Well, not really. I did say it has more variety than D3, however, I didn't say it was fun. It's both monotonous and boring.</li></ol>So, in conclusion, D4 is still a really good game. Its got a solid campaign, an easy way to build your character, and lots of variety to get exp and rewards. Its got some lows in it such as monotonous boring content grinding, but this is to be expected in APRGs. I guess I was a fool to expect such a change from Blizzard. Oh well. If you are a fan of ARPGs, get yourself D4.

Diablo IV

A Casual Player's Dream ARPG

Player Score

Philip Tauschek