![]() These tough-as-nails zones present a unique series of combat scenarios tied around a specific story, and conquering them sometimes unlocks a new settlement complete with new side quests and, sometimes, another fast travel point. My favorite and most intimidating diversions are Strongholds. Over 100 sidequests range from simple fetch quests to multi-part story arcs, the latter of which often go in some intriguing directions that make them, for the most part, good side dishes to the main course of the campaign. I also liked hunting the dozens of well-hidden Altars of Lilith that grant precious permanent stat buffs. I enjoyed most of these and often went out of my way to complete any I stumbled upon. Raising my Renown became an effective hook, which rewards skill points, money, and even additional potions for discovering new areas and waypoints, and completing quests and dungeons, among other routine ventures. Regularly occurring live events present a variety of combat tests that reward two tiers of treasures depending on how well you perform. I’m glad there are plenty of things to kill, but there’s rarely a stretch where you’re left alone.ĭespite these dangers, uncovering every inch of Sanctuary is largely worthwhile. You’ll spend at least half the game traveling between the relatively limited fast-travel points on foot, and I sometimes grew tired of being constantly assaulted by occasionally suffocating mobs of enemies when I just wanted to reach my destination and soak in the beautifully detailed scenery and great soundtrack. Sanctuary is gigantic, though exploring this biodiverse continent can be a slog, primarily due to how long it takes to get a mount. For those who hate the idea of constantly visiting the menu to swap out new gear, I usually got a lot of mileage out of simply upgrading my existing gear until I found something that was too good to pass up. ![]() And even when you’ve crafted a winning set, decent loot drops meant I still found superior items often enough, with Legendaries appearing more frequently as the game progressed. Options such as replacing unwanted gear traits with new ones at the Occultist, destroying worthless loot for crafting materials to upgrade equipped items multiple times, slotting in stat-boosting gems, or imbuing gear with affixes to add powerful effects had me gleefully upgrading my loadout like a fantasy-version of Tony Stark. Diablo IV offers great flexibility in letting players mold weapons and armor to fit their playstyle. Tinkering with gear also became a point of near obsession. That kept the action fresh and prevented me from resting on my laurels for too long. I rarely respec skills in RPGs, but Diablo IV’s well-balanced difficulty and variety of dangers challenged me to refund powers (at a reasonable gold cost) to experiment with others. I got a kick out of discovering how skills and perks synergize to create fun combos, such as upgrading my fiery serpent summon with a gravitational pull that turned enemies into a bundle of sitting ducks for a chain lightning assault. At that point, it becomes an entertaining and often chaotic dance of blasting apart foes, artfully dodging attacks with the evade maneuver, and timing cooldowns to unleash hell at the perfect moments. Though combat is enjoyable (if a bit mundane in the early hours due to limited offensive options), the fun picked up in a big way once I acquired enough skill points to fill up my hot bar. The same philosophy applies to the abilities on your skill tree. Progression is less about making the number of your level go up – enemies scale right alongside you, so you’re rarely more than one level higher than them – and more about smartly utilizing the best gear sporting the most useful effects relative to your class and playstyle. ![]() The experience succeeds in making this hunt for strength engaging, challenging, and satisfying. Diablo IV’s thrill comes in the increasingly exciting chase for power, whether it be rare loot or powerful skills, to take down scores of foes as quickly and effectively as possible.
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