This year's BlizzCon was all about Diablo 4 (and, yes, some other stuff), but Diablo Immortal, the mobile game that caused so much upset at last year's show, got some attention too. Blizzard posted an update on the game's status today that reveals more about the story, the classes, and how the gameplay will differ from the core Diablo games.
The most obvious difference is the focus on MMO-style gameplay. Blizzard said Diablo Immortal is playable solo, but "will thrive with multiplayer features including persistent shared zones, four-player instanced dungeons, full Guild support and social systems, and so much more." Six classes are currently supported, the Barbarian, Monk, and Wizard revealed last year, and the Crusader, Demon Hunter, and—oh yes—Necromancer.
Characters in Diablo Immortal will have Ultimate Abilities at their disposal that will augment their basic attacks with powerful enhancements when unleashed. Legendary items available for pickup can also alter skills in unusual and devastating ways, such as changing a Scorch fireball into a Frozen Orb, or turning arrows into grenades while using Strafe.
Blizzard said that it plans "continued support and regular content updates" for Diablo Immortal after launch, including new zones, dungeons, stories, bosses, and character classes. It also acknowledged that fans are concerned about the presence (and possible prevalence) of microtransactions in the game, but said that "we're taking the time to get it right."
"It’s too early to share details, but we want to make a Diablo game players love and to support it for years to come," Blizzard said. "We plan to achieve that by creating an ecosystem that accounts for and welcomes every type of player—from our most die-hard Diablo veterans to those who’ll be exploring Sanctuary for the first time."
Despite the year gone by, there's still no release date: "It takes significant time to meet the Blizzard quality level we’re aiming for, and we have a lot of ambitious goals for Diablo Immortal," Blizzard said. If you'd like to sign up to take part in the beta test—whenever it happens—you can do so at diabloimmortal.com.
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