Diablo 4 players are angry, and it could’ve been mitigated pretty easily. Here’s how.
The fires of fury burn hot in the Diablo community right now
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Diablo 4 starts its first ever Season mode on July 20, and the new ‘chonky’ Patch 1.1 dropped last night after much anticipation, being met with outrage from many of the Diablo community. In fact, Diablo 4 has beenreview bombed by users to 4.8 on Metacritic.
It’s no secret to anyone who casually follows me on social media, or reads my content here at Windows Central, that I’m the resident Diablo fangirl. If you want negative hot takes on Diablo, there are plenty of other corners of the internet to go to for that, but certainly not here as I love this franchise almost as much as my firstborn child.However, I can’t help but wince at their rationale here as I think much of this controversy could have been avoided or at least quelled, by sticking with the Player Test Realm that we’ve had the benefit of in previous games.
Before I jump into my thoughts on how Patch 1.1 has been received, it’s worth noting that Diablo Community Manager Adam Fletcher has this morning tweeted that the feedback has been heard loud and clear, and there will be an upcomingCampfire Chatdiscussing the patch on Friday.While I think the Campfire Chats are incredibly informative and give the community a chance to air their concerns, I do however think that having this after the Season start is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. A lot of the controversy could have been avoided entirely had we been given the opportunity to test the patch before it went live.
Why are Diablo 4 players unhappy?
If you want to take a look at the patch, we have coveredPatch 1.1 herebut without diving into the specifics again, here are the main concerns of the players:
There are numerous other concerns, it’s actual hellfire over onRedditright now so if you want to know more, and laugh at some great memes, definitely head there. In the meantime though, and back to my main point — all of this could have been avoided with a Player Test Realm prior to the Season start, and the lack of one when it has worked so well in previous games is honestly baffling to me.
What is Player Test Realm (PTR)?
The PTR is a separate server that runs for around 2 weeks, sometimes more sometimes less, with all the huge patch changes and the Season mechanics live for testing prior to the rollout of Season to all players.We had a PTR server for bothDiablo 2: ResurrectedandDiablo 3, and it required a separate drop down button and install on Battle.net to access. The PTRs were an opportunity for the developers to check the stability and balance of the game, and to make adjustments based on the players’ opinions. Sometimes, after a PTR, another patch is issued to address the issues that were raised during the testing period.
Why does Diablo 4 not have a PTR?
Diablo 4 does not have a PTR server yet, and the reason for this is unknown. Many players were surprised thatSeason 1was penned for launch so soon after the game’s release. It seems that Blizzard had already planned Season 1 and wanted to release it without waiting for the players’ feedback.This may have been a hasty decision, as many players are unhappy with the changes to their builds and would have preferred to test them on a PTR server first. I will reserve my final judgement until I watch the Campfire Chat and play the new patch myself, but this is all very reminiscent of the controversy over theHardcore Lilith 4 statue competition. Another topic of controversy for Blizzard that could have avoided backlash by postponing the competition until Season 1, so that all players could participate on equal terms.
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Am I still excited for the start of Season 1, Season of the Malignant? Yes, absolutely.Diablo 4 is a live service game in the baby stage of it’s life cycle, and I thoroughly believe that the developers do not intend to make the game less fun with these changes. I’m sure there are clear reasons behind the patch that will be revealed later, and if not, they will listen to feedback. However, I wish they would involve the community in the balance changes from the beginning and bring back the PTR server, instead of just ‘listening’ to us. Let us be part of the process!
Jen is a News Writer for Windows Central, focused on all things gaming and Microsoft. Anything slaying monsters with magical weapons will get a thumbs up such as Dark Souls, Dragon Age, Diablo, and Monster Hunter. When not playing games, she’ll be watching a horror or trash reality TV show, she hasn’t decided which of those categories the Kardashians fit into. You can follow Jen on Twitter@Jenbox360for more Diablo fangirling and general moaning about British weather.
