At the dawn of season 3 and Diablo 4’s first Vessel of Hatred DLC, we had the opportunity to chat with the developers to take stock of the game’s recent and upcoming developments.
Diablo 4 has progressed well since its release and Blizzard has listened to players. An important aspect which made it possible to make saving changes for the current game, and which will undoubtedly be used for all future content. This is precisely what was discussed, in part, during our interview with Rod Fergusson, the emblematic producer of the cult license, and Brent Gibson, associate game director on the game.
Diablo 4 changed thanks to player feedback
At its launch, Diablo 4 won millions of fans, but by season 1, the skies turned dark for hack’n’slash due to poor decisions. Quite quickly, the developers wanted to correct the situation with a series of updates. They even made their mea culpa. “We made mistakes in how we managed expectations. And it was difficult because we felt like we were doing the right thing. We tried to move a little quickly, to be reactive, but that wasn’t the solution.”.
Blizzard has shown openness and listened to Diablo 4 players. An attitude which is in no way a temporary facade. “There are a lot of discussions and debates for each return and we always try. We always try to think about the right timing to bring what the community wants at the right time”.
Despite this, it is essential to sort and prioritize the changes to be made according to Fergusson. “ We must prioritize according to what seems important to us. Depending on what is needed quickly and what is feasible in the time we have. We don’t want to do things partially because we didn’t have enough time. Some suggestions can be really important, but also take a lot of time and we need to wait until the next season. Or on the contrary, it’s fast and we put it in a hotfix as quickly as possible “. “That’s what I like about our seasonal model. It gives you a fresh start when you try things.” Fergusson added.
Trying things to change opinion is what’s happening with Diablo 4 season 2.
We really feel a change of opinion and that’s what’s really exciting. Players come back and discover vampire powers and Blood Harvests, it’s really rewarding. […] A game service must be a collaboration with the players. Season 1 was practically finished before we launched the software. So it was something that was done in parallel with the development of Diablo 4. With season 2, we were able to act directly on what was wrong with season 1. And the pre-season as well as the patch notes of 14,000 words reflect that. The enchantment preview window for the Occultist, the boss tweaks, the quality of life changes, all of these things are based on our interactions and discussions with players.
Rob Fergusson during Blizzcon 2023.
Our information on the Vessel of Hatred DLC (story, playing time, etc.)
The developers took the big stage at Blizzcon 2023 for a highly anticipated announcement: the reveal of the Vessel of Hatred DLC. A first expansion which will be a return to basics since the story will revolve around Mephisto aka the Lord of Hatred. “We are really excited to tell a story around Mephisto. Return to where his story began. It’s coherent for us from a narrative point of view and it also completes the continent, it’s the home stretch of the climax of this new region, so it makes sense to naturally expand this area. An area which will also offer a change of scenery, in order to add a “new color to the palette” of Diablo 4. Which also allows you to move away a little from the Eastern European vibe, with a more extreme environment such as the jungle, as the game’s producer explained to us.
Beyond the story of the Vessel of Hatred DLC, which should thrill early fans, the expansion will stand out with the introduction of a new class never before seen. Neither in Diablo 4, nor in the other episodes of the franchise. “For the expansion, we asked ourselves whether we should still capitalize on a classic or something new. The whole team feels like it’s our responsibility to bring new things to the game. So we want to evolve the world in a little different way and the new class was the best way to do that.” Judge Gibson. A class that will allow you to explore with “a new perspective, new skills and new gameplay”. On the other hand, no information on the nature of the class, it will remain secret for a little longer.
And rest assured, if you don’t fall for this Diablo 4 expansion, you won’t be cursed by the teams. Free content will continue to enhance the main game.
The expansion will be something you can play but we will always have content and things to do. Even if you don’t buy the extension. There will always be plenty of things to play for free. Players will purchase the expansion to play the new class, try the new story, experience a new region, and other things we can’t talk about yet.
Rob Fergusson during Blizzcon 2023.
The future of Diablo 4 and its future expansions
The Vessel of Hatred expansion will be a complete expansion in terms of narrative and ambitions. “The seasons have a scripted part, which provides context to the theme, for example by illustrating what it is to be a vampire etc. But they don’t have a complete story. The expansion will have one, with new cutscenes, and this continuation of the story of Diablo 4 should please players » explains Rod Fergusson.
Will the DLC be long? It’s still too early to know. “We cannot yet give an answer, we are still working on it. It will depend on different aspects like gameplay, classes, balancing and all those things that we are still working on. There is a goal that we want to achieve because we really want players to feel like it’s an expansion, but we don’t have a window of play time at the moment.”. And what’s next? at least one more expansion for Diablo 4. However, the pace of releases is not yet defined.
It’s still too early to tell. The game content is so rich that we have several teams. One for balancing and for daily operations, one for the “old” seasons (1 and 3), one with the seasons where we mainly work (2 and 4), one for the first expansion and another team for the second. With the arrival of the first DLC, we are still in the learning phase on creating an expansion of this type, of this size and for this kind of game. We are not yet ready to say “we want to follow such a pace or we want to systematically produce this type of content.” We know where we want to go in 2024 with the first extension, but beyond that, we are still in the discovery phase.