Let me preface this article by saying that I’m not bashing Diablo IV. I genuinely love the game and am having a blast with the new season. But Diablo IV suffers from one major issue: replayability.
While continuously grinding for better loot and stats is what I love about ARPGs, the structure of D4’s dungeons make that grind not so enjoyable.
Dungeon objectives are fine, but when you only have the same 4 objectives in over 100 different but virtually identical dungeons, it becomes tedious and dull. Thankfully the Malignant Tunnels added some variety to this season, giving us faster and less monotonous experience.
As I progress further through Season of the Malignant, I’ve come to realize just how much I don’t enjoy doing the regular dungeons. The Malignant Tunnels are faster, sleeker, and infinitely more fun. Sadly, Malignant Tunnels are just a seasonal thing, and will go away or be relegated to the eternal realm. But what will be left? Fetch two statues…. Kill 3 Monsters for their power juice; deposit said power juice… Destroy three icons…Now go fight the boss. Oh, and by the way, it’s most likely going to be the same boss you fought in the last dungeon. None of the cool bosses from the campaign will show up.
Can you tell I am just a little bit frustrated? The main reason is these concerns were expressed in detail after the initial closed endgame beta, and we were assured there would be adjustments made to the tiresome back tracking and lack of variety. Now we are over a week into the new season, and those dungeons are still as dull and unimaginative as they were back when I first tried them during the closed beta. My only guess is that these dungeons were designed with multiplayer in mind, so both ends of the map could be worked simultaneously and then everyone groups up at the end for the boss fight. But I like to play solo, so the layout is absolutely miserable.
Had they kept the multi-level dungeon layout from Diablo 2 & 3, and added an endgame system similar to POE maps or Torchlight Infinite (HEY BLIZZARD…I have an endgame system that I designed on paper based off of the nine levels of Dante’s Inferno. I’m open to discuss the idea if you’re willing to listen), they could have quite possibly designed the best ARPG ever.
Speaking of the 2000 pound New Zealand elephant in the room….My frustration with Diablo IV’s dungeons has driven me straight into the arms of Path of Exile. For years, I dabbled in it, playing through the first couple of acts, but never really spending the time to learn the game. I always went back to D2 or D3 before I had the chance to get hooked. However, as of this writing I have completed Act 2 on Xbox and am working on Act 1 on PC. I plan on playing these games side-by-side for right now until I decide which one to settle on as my permanent main dopamine supplier. Will it be D4, or will it be POE/POE2? Time has yet to tell, and the decision will ultimately depend on whether or not Blizzard can fix what should be their magnum opus.
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