Diablo Immortal
Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase. A mobile game in the Diablo series, it is set between the events of Diablo II and Diablo III. Players control a character of their chosen class: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Necromancer, Demon Hunter, Crusader, Blood Knight, Tempest or Druid; they must locate and destroy hidden shards of the Worldstone, to prevent Skarn, the Lord of Damnation, from destroying the world of Sanctuary.
Development of Diablo Immortal began with the aim of creating a Diablo game centered around touch controls for those who predominantly played on mobile, but was later expanded to also support game controllers and PC. The game incorporates a business model which allows players to unlock content through microtransactions, though almost all content can also be obtained through gameplay without paying.
The announcement of Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon in 2018 was met with a largely negative response from Diablo fans, who had anticipated a game designed for PC. It was released on Android and iOS on June 2, 2022, for countries mainly outside of the Asia-Pacific region, with a beta release for Windows on the same date. The game's Asia-Pacific release was delayed several days before its original date, with most releases taking place on July 8, 2022, and its China launch on July 25, 2022.
Diablo Immortal received mixed reviews, earning praise for its combat, graphics, and successful adaptation of the Diablo experience to mobile platforms. However, critics targeted its story, voice acting, and heavy reliance on microtransactions. In response to its monetization and progression system, it became the lowest user-rated game on Metacritic. Despite the controversy, Immortal achieved the largest launch in the franchise’s history, surpassing ten million downloads and reaching thirty million by the end of July 2022.
Gameplay
Core gameplay
Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online action role-playing game, designed initially for play on mobile devices. It is an online-only game, requiring an internet connection during play. The game also features cross-save functionality, linking the player's progress to their Battle.net account and allowing them to continue across multiple devices.The fast-paced, arcade-like Immortal has many gameplay similarities to Diablo III ; however, while it retains the vibrant art style of Diablo III, the game's tone is closer to the more somber style of Diablo II. It features the isometric graphic style common to games in the series.
Many of the game's activities are designed to be small in size, so they can fit with the shorter play sessions common to mobile gaming; however, unlike many games in the free-to-play mobile space, Immortal does not feature an "energy" system to limit the amount of free play time available.
Players can create one or more characters to use within the game. When creating a character, players select one of the game's nine character classes: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Necromancer, Demon Hunter, Crusader, Blood Knight, Tempest, or Druid, each with 12 unlockable skills. For example, the Barbarian class's skills include slamming a hammer and turning into a whirlwind, whereas the Wizard's skills include a beam of electricity that boomerangs back to its source, dealing damage twice. "Charms" can also be acquired within the game and equipped to further increase skill effectiveness and change how they function.
Unlike previous games in the series, Immortal features a "Class Change" system, by which players can change the class of an existing character and receive a new set of "appropriate" items without having to reset their progress. The class change option has no in-game or microtransaction cost; however players are limited to using it once per week for a given character.
The game is designed primarily for touchscreen devices, with virtual controls that overlay the display: a directional thumbstick and skill buttons. Skills feature auto-aim, but the player can manually aim each skill by holding down its corresponding button. Some skills will also "charge" while their button is held, increasing aspects such as damage and area of effect. Alternatively, players can control the game using a connected gamepad: movement and aiming are controlled with the analogue sticks; attacks, potions, and interactions are controlled by the front-facing buttons; and skills are triggered using the top bumpers & triggers. When played using a mouse and keyboard, Immortal supports movement using the WASD keys, allowing for movement with one hand alongside combat-based commands using the mouse.
Unlike previous games in the Diablo series, mana and other class-specific resources have been removed from Immortal, in favor of a cooldown-based system for skills. Performing attacks will also fill the character's "Ultimate meter", which, when filled, allows the use of more powerful attacks, amplifying the perks of the character's basic attack, for a limited time period.
Rifts and other activities
Outside of the game's primary storyline missions, other activities include random quests which appear during exploration, "bounties", "challenge rifts", and "elder rifts". Elder rifts are similar to challenge rifts, but can be modified using "crests" and "legendary crests" for greater reward, the latter of which guarantee a "legendary" gem upon completion.The "Helliquary" is a feature which unlocks by player level 45. Players gain the ability to hunt, trap, and then defeat "boss demons" as part of 8-player raids. Defeating these enemies earns players trophies, which they can place within their Helliquary, granting permanent character bonuses. The development team intend for the game to introduce a new boss each month.
In the Legacy of the Horadrim feature, players earn “vessels” as rewards for completing specific in-game achievements. These items can be placed into a shrine located beneath Westmarch to unlock character bonuses. Nearby, a dungeon that refreshes daily can be cleared to obtain resources used to enhance the vessels, further increasing their bonuses.
Character progression
Through gameplay, characters earn experience points, which allow them to increase their level. As characters increase in level, they become more powerful, earning new skills and increasing the power of existing skills. Each character class has its own system of progression.Once a player's character has reached the game's level cap, they can achieve additional "paragon levels", which can be invested into distinct categories. Blizzard has stated that it plans to add additional paragon trees to the game following its initial release.
Higher paragon levels can also result in players finding items with higher statistics than the base versions.
Loot system
Defeated enemies and opened treasure chests drop items, and NPCs sell similar items in exchange for the in-game currency of gold. Some loot items are also specific to particular enemies. These items can be equipped via a pop-up button or via the game's inventory screen. Such equipment can also be made more powerful by inserting "gems", and via the game's "rank up" system, which uses materials salvaged from other items to make "rare" and "legendary" level items more effective. Such ranks also be transferred from one item to another, ensuring that resources can be invested in progress even prior to acquiring a specific item. Once a legendary-level gem reaches rank 10, it can be used to "awaken" the item it's inserted into, resulting in improved bonuses and a new appearance. Players can also use any additional legendary gems in their possession to "resonate" with others, increasing both their bonus and cosmetic effect.Players can also obtain items that belong to a set from specific locations in the game. Item sets in Immortal occupy the six "secondary" slots. Equipping two, four, or six items from the same set yields additional bonuses that grant non-class-specific benefits, such as increased healing or extra damage dealt.
In addition to items which change character statistics, the game also offers purely cosmetic items, which can be equipped to change the appearance of a character without altering gameplay. Some cosmetic items are available for specific factions to unlock for free by raising their "Dominance" statistic to specific levels.
The game features a cross-player “marketplace” where players can buy and sell materials and gems. However, to avoid repeating the controversies surrounding the “auction house” feature in Diablo III, the marketplace does not permit the purchase or trading of equipment items, which must instead be earned through gameplay
Multiplayer activities
MMO features
Although all of ImmortalThe game also provides voice chat features, allowing players to communicate both with other members of their party, and with a broader range of players via "public" channels. Immortal also features clans for bringing together larger groups of players.
Immortal supports cross-platform-play; however, players must be on the same in-game server in order to interact. A player character can be transferred between servers for free on the first occasion, with each subsequent transfer requiring a one-off purchase.