Diablo IV (Beta): Are you getting caught up in the hype, or are you in the dark?

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Diablo IV closed beta testing this weekend; the Open Beta will start next Friday. The game is currently on everyone's lips and is already being hotly debated. Are you also in the Diablo hype? Or are you left cold by Blizzard's newest role-playing game? And which Diablo did you start with?

Table of Contents

  1. Diablo IV follows Diablo III… and Immortal< ol>
  2. Diablo IV should be different again
  3. Two beta weekends in March
  4. Euphoria and nostalgia at the start of the beta
  • How do you feel about Diablo IV and earlier parts?
    1. What is your favorite way to play Diablo?
    2. What is your first and favorite Diablo?
  • Participation is expressly desired
    1. Overview of the last ten Sunday questions
    2. Motivation and data usage
  • Diablo IV succeeds Diablo III… and Immortal

    Diablo IV, the fourth full part of the prestigious computer game series, is scheduled to be released on June 6, 2023 – more than 25 years after the first Diablo, which developer and publisher Blizzard released for New Year's Day 1997.

    In the meantime, there have not only been two other classic Diablo ARPGs, but also a disguised mobile game only last year: With Diablo Immortal, Blizzard has on the one hand sharply criticized, but on the other hand, thanks to Pay2Win game mechanics and the gacha concept, is extremely financially successful MMORPG -released a spin-off that takes place between Diablo II and Diablo III.

    For many PC gamers, the aggressively monetized but shallow story and gameplay title is the epitome of what's currently going wrong in the gaming industry, and especially at Activision Blizzard. Basically, it's not even a game with an in-game shop anymore, but rather a micro-transaction portal with an in-shop game.

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    Diablo IV should be different again

    Diablo IV, on the other hand, the developer assured several times, will be completely different. Diablo IV becomes a real Diablo, a dark and atmospheric action role-playing game for passionate Diablo players that ties in with the events of Diablo III. Diablo IV will be a full-price game that will have an in-game shop and an optional free or paid season pass, but will not sell any game benefits for money. And Diablo IV will be a real, 90 GB PC game that offers cutting-edge features such as Nvidia's DLSS 3 (test) with frame generation, someday ray tracing and maybe even DirectStorage (test). In short: If you want to believe Blizzard, Diablo IV only has the name and setting in common with Diablo Immortal.

    Two beta weekends in March

    Diablo fans can at least get their own first impression this weekend and next. Two phases of beta testing will allow players to play the prologue as well as the entire first act; Characters can be brought up to level 25. The beta version is not only available on PC, but also on PlayStation 4 and 5 as well as Xbox One and Series X|S.

    Access to the first beta, which runs until 9:00 p.m. Monday evening, is reserved exclusively for Diablo IV pre-orders. The second beta test run, which is open to all interested parties, will then take place next weekend, starting on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Pre-orderers can play on both dates and carry their game progress from the first beta weekend into the second, allowing them to continue playing seamlessly. However, the game progress of the second beta period cannot be transferred to the main game later: On June 6th, all players have to start again from the beginning.

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    Euphoria and nostalgia to start the beta

    And what's the mood like so far? Diablo IV is going down well with most players so far; Beta testers report a captivating hack'n'slay and rave with nostalgia. Blizzard did manage to tie in with Diablo III and not Diablo Immortal. While there are some criticisms – some gameplay, some technical (some bigger (VRAM consumption is still very high at the moment), some smaller) – Diablo IV is already so much fun that Blizzard is keeping the title by the Release could no longer screw up.

    But now only three days of possible playing time have passed; the euphoria of launching a new game is still there, and what beta testers see is curated by Blizzard and limited to the start of the game. And speaking of beta testers: The very players who have already been able to try out Diablo IV are exclusively those who have already pre-ordered the game anyway – the fact that the impressions collected so far and presented everywhere are to be taken with a grain of salt is obvious hand.

    What do you think of Diablo IV and earlier parts?

    But how is Diablo IV received in the community on ComputerBase? First of all, a fundamental question: Are you interested in Blizzard's new action role-playing game at all? Or do you leave the game concept and publisher cold?

    Are you interested in Diablo IV?

    • Yes, very much! I pre-ordered Diablo IV and am already participating in closed beta testing.
    • Yes, I will be playing Diablo IV as part of the open beta.
    • Well, I do follow game updates, but I won't be playing the beta versions.
    • No, Diablo IV leaves me cold – I don't like the game.
    • No, Blizzard is scorched earth to me. There you see' I can't even go into more detail.
    • Abstain (Show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    The second question is obvious: how do you like what you've seen about Diablo IV so far? Of course, you don't have to have played the beta yourself to take part in the survey. However, if you've already made your way to Sanctuary, feel free to share your experiences in the beta and your thoughts on Diablo IV in the comments.

    What's your impression of Diablo IV so far?

    • To be honest, I'm pleasantly surprised. I really like Diablo IV so far and it's on the way to becoming a really good game!
    • Overall, I'm impressed with what is known about Diablo IV so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.
    • While Diablo IV looks solid, I'm pretty sure it won't be able to build on the success of earlier Diablo parts.
    • Well, I would have expected more, but it's not a total failure either. Let's wait and see what the release looks like.
    • Diablo IV is the last nail in the coffin for the series after Diablo Immortal. The game gets almost everything wrong.
    • Abstain (Show result)

    Please log in to vote! What grade do you give the current status of the technical implementation? (1 = very good)

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • Abstain (Show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    The other five questions come from the community this Sunday and are aimed at all those who have already dealt with Diablo IV and played the previous titles. Community member eXtra asks how other readers like the graphics style, which is much darker than in previous Diablo games. The survey is preceded by some screenshots from Diablo IV for demonstration purposes.

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    Diablo IV (Image: Blizzard)

    How do you like the dark graphic style in Diablo IV?

    • Good and actually better than the style of previous Diablo games.
    • Neither better nor worse than the style of previous Diablo games.
    • Not so good, I preferred the style of earlier Diablo games.
    • Abstain (show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    What is your favorite way to play Diablo?

    eXtra would also like to know how you actually play Diablo . First, let's look at the five classes available to players in Diablo IV – which one do you like the most based on experience in previous Diablo games and first impressions of Diablo IV?

    Which Diablo class do you like you best?

    • Barbarian
    • Druid
    • Hunter
    • Necromancer
    • Sorcerer
    • Abstain (Show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    And also: Do ​​you actually play Diablo with a mouse and keyboard, with a controller, or do you even compare all three input devices?

    How do you play Diablo?

    • With mouse and keyboard.
    • With a game controller.
    • Mainly via controller, but I use mouse and keyboard for menus etc.
    • Abstain (Show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    What is your first and favorite Diablo?

    Community member HAse_ONE, on the other hand, would like to know when ComputerBase readers had their first contact with the Diablo series: Which part did you start with? If you haven't come into contact with Diablo yet and don't know anything about Diablo IV, please abstain.

    Which part was your first contact with the Diablo series?

    • Diablo (1997)
    • Diablo II (2000)
    • Diablo III (2012)
    • Diablo Immortal (2022)
    • The beta About Diablo IV
    • I've never played a Diablo, but I'm still interested in Diablo IV.
    • Abstention (show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    And finally, HAse_ONE asks which Diablo you have liked the most so far. Justifications for your answers are welcome in the comments.

    Which part of Diablo has you liked best so far?

    • Diablo (1997)
    • Diablo II (2000)
    • Diablo III (2012)
    • Diablo Immortal (2022)
    • Abstention (show result)

    Please log in to vote!

    Participation is expressly desired

    As always, the editors are happy to receive well-founded and detailed reasons for your decisions in the comments on the current Sunday question. If you have completely different views that are not covered by the polls in the article, please post them in the comments. Ideas and suggestions for additions to the content of the current or future surveys are also welcome.

    Readers who have not yet participated in the past Sunday questions are welcome to do so – the Surveys always run for a period of 30 days and the only requirement for participation is a free ComputerBase account. In particular, there are still exciting discussions going on in the ComputerBase forum about the last Sunday questions.

    Overview of the last ten Sunday questions

    • Retro hardware of the year 2023: What is the oldest component in your PC?
    • 3D V-Cache against 6 GHz: 7950X3D or i9-13900K(S), who is your favourite?
    • GeForce, Radeon & Arc: How much memory does your graphics card have and is that enough for you?
    • Desk equipment: Is your PC on the table? And what else does it say?
    • Light or dark: do you use dark modes? And if so, where and when?
    • Game modding: Do you modify your games? And if so, which ones and how?
    • Rebranding and new editions: old technology with a new name – (when) is that legitimate?
    • TV and video streaming: which streaming services do you use it and how much does it cost?
    • The perfect PC screen: what does your display setup look like on the PC (in a dream)?
    • The CES 2023 in retrospect: what are yours Las Vegas highlights and lowlights?

    Motivation and data usage

    The data collected as part of the Sunday Questions is used solely to make the mood within the community and the hardware and software preferences of the readers and their development more visible. There is no financial or advertising background and there is no evaluation for market research purposes or the data is not transmitted to third parties.