Blizzard Entertainment has shared the third entry in the studio's "Inside the Game" developer insight video series, describing classes and skills in Diablo IV.
Advertisement. Keep scrolling for more
The video and details can be found below, via Blizzard Entertainment. Diablo IV is set to release on June 6 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC (Battle.net).
Over the course of our Inside the Game video series, we’ll sit down with our resident Diablo IV experts—members of the development team—to walk you through elements of the game.
Our third video in this series is Your Class Your Way—an exploration of how player choice is infused in character creation, character builds, gear, and even how you decide to navigate the non-linear story of Diablo IV.
Join Diablo franchise general manager Rod Fergusson, lead class designer Adam Jackson, lead game producer Melissa Corning, and game director Joe Shely as they expound upon how your decisions will define your gameplay experience, and even Sanctuary itself.
Enjoyed this video and hungry for more? Stay tuned! Our next Inside the Game developer video focuses on Story and will release in mid-May.
Play Your Way In Sanctuary
Throughout Diablo IV, you will be presented with choices—everything from how your character looks, what Skills they’ll use to dispatch of Hell’s blood lusting minions, and how the gear you find will enhance your character’s abilities or transform their appearance.
Let’s look further into how these elements work to promote playing Diablo IV your way.
Character Build
Skill Tree: The Skill Tree provides you with a variety of playstyles for each class through Skills, Passive Skills, Enhancements, and Key Passives as your character levels up and hones their abilities. Skill Points are earned from Leveling up and Zone Progress Rewards. Up to 5 Skill Points can be spent on each Skill to increase its rank.
Skill Tree Nodes: Each Class has access to Basic, Core, and Ultimate Skills, as well as Key Passives and Skill types unique to that Class, such as Companion, Brawling, Subterfuge, and many more.
Basic Skills: These are the first Skills a player can access; they unlock at Level 2. Outside of character creation, this is one of the earliest decisions a player will make. Basic Skills typically provide additional effects such as increasing the effectiveness of other Skills, providing resource generation, increasing mobility, or adding utility to your character. These Skills can always be used and do not have a cooldown or resource cost to cast.
Core Skills: The older, stronger sibling of Basic Skills—they are unlocked at Level 4. Core Skills deal significantly more damage, require an amount of a Class’s resource to cast, and will often be the bread and butter of your character’s offensive combos.
Ultimate Skills: These Skills incur a cooldown after being used but you’ll be extremely grateful for having them in your arsenal. Ultimate Skills channel immense power and leave devastation in their wake.
Key Passives: Unlocked at Level 32, Key Passives dramatically affect how your other Skills operate, tweaking your playstyle towards a unified goal as you unlock them.
Paragon Boards: Unlocking upon reaching level 50, Paragon Boards are an Endgame character growth system designed to empower your wanderer. As your character continues their journey to Level 100, they will receive Paragon Points. These points can be used to unlock new Nodes, additional Paragon Boards, and even Glyphs from Nightmare Dungeons that amplify the power of the Nodes on a particular Paragon Board.
Developer’s Note: Our focus is to provide enough contextual connection between Skills, Passive Skills, and Key Passives for players to understand the essential synergies of their class. By the time players reach Level 50, they’ll have a deep understanding of how their class is meant to function, preparing them for the additional depth found in the Paragon Boards and other Endgame content.
Cosmetics and Character Creation
Character Creation: Sanctuary is a diverse world with a variety of unique cultures. The Character Creator in Diablo IV echoes this sentiment with over 8 trillion appearance combinations. Each class boasts unique hairstyle selections and players can dictate their appearance down to eye color, body markings, accessories, and more.
Transmogs: Salvage loot in your inventory to unlock transmog options, allowing armor to have the visual design and color palate you prefer. Diablo IV will launch with hundreds of transmog options.
Mounts: Unlocked after completing the Main Questline with one character, Mounts have an assortment of customization options available to them, such as different types of Mounts, Armor, and Trophies. An example of this is the Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy reward that can be earned from the upcoming Server Slam. These adornments will transform your trusty ol’ steed into one hell of a warhorse. Mount Trophies can be attached to the flank or saddle of your horse. There are dozens of Trophies to be found in Sanctuary. Once a Mount is unlocked, it can be used in all game modes for any and all characters the player creates.
Gear
Legendary Items: These powerful items possess the ability to enhance or change your Skills and lend other helpful bonuses to your character.
No Legendary left behind: If you happen to leave a Legendary Item on the ground or are disconnected before you can acquire it, don’t fret—they can be accessed through a special storage tab in your Stash. Your Stash only has so much room; remember to empty it out from time to time.
Unique Items: Unlike Legendary Items, these rarefied pieces of Gear should be coveted. The bonuses they provide cannot be transferred from one item to another through extraction (more on this below). Dozens of these high-powered, build-changing items will be available at launch, so keep your eyes peeled for the off chance that you may encounter one. Unique Items can only be acquired in Nightmare and Torment World Tiers. Also, treasures from a bygone era have been unearthed in Diablo IV—Unique Items from previous Diablo games, such as Windforce, have returned!
Skill Rank Bonuses: Most item types have a chance to contain a bonus that provides players with an increase to certain Skills while the item is equipped. These Skill Rank bonuses can not only bolster the strength of existing Skills you have unlocked, but can also unlock new Skills from your Class’s Skill Tree, giving you the ability to trial more Skills before committing to them. Skill Rank bonuses can increase the Rank of a Skill past 5, lending an added punch to them.
Extracting Legendary Bonuses: Have a Legendary Item with a bonus you adore but the other stats are too weak? Extracting allows you to take the Legendary bonus from one item and apply it to other items, enabling you to tailor your items to your specific build and have your favorite bonuses on hand.
Crafting: In Diablo IV, we’re trying to emphasize item modification. We want players to find items in the world and consider the potential they hold. Players can reroll bonuses, increase the power of items, exchange Legendary bonuses, and add gem sockets to items.
