Blizzard Entertainment has shared an update on the development of Diablo 4.
In a new Blizzard blog post, the developers confirmed that the team is still working on new content and systems for the game, and have also “made big strides” with every build containing a host of “expanded content, new art, balance changes, and other iterations.”
Lead Systems Designer Joe Piepiora went on to address itemisation, confirming the return of +Skills on items, a new way to interact with legendary powers, and early work on targeted drops. In Diablo 4, players will be able to invest points into skills and they will also be able to equip items with +Skill Rank for a skill they haven’t learned.
Legendary and Unique items will also return and be a core part of the game. Piepiora said that the team has made a change to Legendary items in Diablo 4 by allowing legendary powers to appear on multiple item slots.
The post also detailed the Paragon Board, which unlocks for each class at level 50. The player will start at the centre tile of the Paragon and make selections from four tiers of tiles as they proceed. Once players reach a gate tile, they’ll be able to choose a new Paragon Board, with the intention of personalisation.
Lead Visual Effects Artist Daniel Briggs goes on to discuss the VFX side of the game as well, detailing how Diablo 4’s new engine has allowed the team to “make frame-by-frame combat more precise and nuanced”.
On the topic of combat improvements, the developer said that it has revamped the way hit effects are applied to monsters, as well as adjusted melee and AoE [area-of-effect] animations so target areas are now fully animated with VFX that play out.
Following the ongoing Activision Blizzard lawsuits, the company delayed Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4. Both games have yet to receive an official release date.
In other news, Star Wars Battlefront 2 modders have created self-hosted servers so players can join custom games together.
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