Blizzard Confirms There Will Be a Season 6 Mechanic - Wowhead & jessirocks Diablo 4 Developer Interview

Posted 2024/08/24 at 3:24 PM by Wowhead

jessirocksDisclaimer: This spoken interview took place between four individuals and has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.jessirocks: What will happen to players who have not purchased the new expansion? Will they be able to play with the new skills for their class, can they enter the new zone, etc.?
Brent: It’s really important to us with this release to update the game for everyone in a major way. This includes major updates to progression, our difficulty and paragon systems, leveling, and social features such as the Party Finder feature, we’re adding that makes it easier for people to play together. Also, all classes are getting a new Active and Passive Skill, which will be available to everybody.

Aislyn: Alongside Vessel of Hatred launching on October 8th, Season 6 is also launching with its own bespoke content, and that’s going to be free to play to all Diablo 4 owners.

jessirocks: Ah okay, so you can still play Seasons without buying the new expansion?

Brent: Yep, we thought it was important to continue the seasonal work and keep the core gameplay loop intact for everybody, whether you purchase Vessel of Hatred or not.
Wowhead: What is the scope of the new expansion regarding gameplay length? How many hours will players spend in the new Vessel of Hatred content?
Brent: It really depends on your playstyle. The next Chapter of Hatred tells a robust story about Neyrelle being a young person who is alone with the Soulstone, and that story branches out into the campaign, the side quest content, and elsewhere. There are lore books everywhere! The amount of story content you experience depends on how deeply you dig into it, so it’s hard to put an exact number on it.

Aislyn: There are also a bunch of moments in the campaign that introduce players to new systems and activities that are launching with Vessel of Hatred. So, depending on how much you engage with those new systems, like the Kurast Undercity, there are tons of ways to get sidetracked from the main storyline, so it’s highly variable.

Wowhead: So, these new systems unlock during leveling and not after finishing the main story, is that correct?

Brent: During — we’re using the campaign to introduce players to the new systems and activities. Another thing worth pointing out is that you can play through the original campaign from the start of the game as a Spiritborn. You don’t have to, but if you want to, players can re-experience everything with the new class. We’ve also made it easy for players who haven’t completed the base campaign to jump straight into the new Vessel of Hatred content. We’re going to recap everything that’s happened up to this point in Diablo 4’s story.
Wowhead: Talking about exploration, a lot of people were quite fond of the lookout points when the camera perspective would zoom out to include a large vista or monument. Are these returning?Brent: We have a couple of really interesting cinematic moments that you’re going to want to experience as the campaign unfolds. I’m not going to give it away, because it’s cool! But there are a couple of surprises in the Vessel of Hatred’s story that you don’t want to miss.
jessirocks: Here’s a question about the Dark Citadel. Can we call it a Raid?Brent: One of the things we’re most interested in is bringing cooperative mechanics into the game. I know the community has passionate feelings about what that means. For us, it’s about making sure we take what’s best about Diablo, which is its combat and builds, and bringing it to an endgame space that challenges players in new and different ways. The Dark Citadel is specifically targeted at the cooperative element. Our co-op community is growing every single month and every single season, so it’s really interesting to give them an endgame — it’s something we really love to do. The Party Finder feature is meant to encourage other people to come in and experience that same cooperative element.

jessirocks: Will the Dark Citadel have different difficulties?

Brent: We’ll talk more about this at the next Campfire Chat (8/29), but the idea is that this is difficult endgame content. We want it to continue to grow, and we want people to come back and continue their progression on a weekly basis. For example, we will reward weekly caches to players who come back week after week.

Aislyn: Something we can touch on here is the philosophy behind the major progression updates. In Season 4: Loot Reborn, we had the Profane Mindcage. The core idea behind this item was to increase the difficulty of the player’s world in exchange for increased rewards. As you know, we’ve brought it into the base game given how much people loved it as a feature — we ourselves love using it as players in Helltide — so we’re looking to expand that approach and philosophy to the entire game. The Dark Citadel is no exception.

jessirocks: Will the Dark Citadel have a lockout system similar to Raids in World of Warcraft?

Brent: No, we really want players to play the content when they want to play it. “Play the way you want to play,” is definitely one of our core philosophies.
Wowhead: You mentioned during the Diablo 4 panel that you could talk about the Paragon system rework coming with Season 6 "for hours." Without spoiling the fun, can you name one particular part of the old system that will definitely change in the new version?Aislyn: The core idea behind our redesign of the Paragon system was to ensure we could add depth to player choice without overloading it with complexity because it’s already very heavy on player choice. Right now, in the meta, we’re finding that people are looking specifically for glyphs, as this is the most valuable thing you can effectively do to increase strength. We want to make sure Legendary Nodes and other parts of the Paragon Boards are getting the attention they deserve. So, all of the changes we’re making are focused around that idea. All of our decision-making here is meant to give players more choice without any additional complexity.

jessirocks: Are there any plans to make an infinite Paragon system as you did in Diablo 3?

Brent: Currently, there are no plans to do that. Right now, our focus is on creating achievable goals for the player.

Aislyn: Another thing about the Paragon system, which has sparked debate both within the community as well as among our team, is whether an infinite paragon progression system adds to the fun or if it starts to feel like a chore. We’ve had a lot of discussions about the concept of a “soft cap” versus a “hard cap,” and it’s something that’s factoring into our redesign as a whole.

Wowhead: In Diablo 3, I remember the community often suggested that the power element be capped and the higher part of the Paragon system be tied to cosmetics or something like that.

Brent: Absolutely, people like to be rewarded for the time they put into a system.
jessirocks: I’m sorry for the next two questions. Are there any plans to add a loot filter?Brent: Bring it on! We have a running list of things that are popping up to the surface, which are based on community feedback, whether it’s a loot filter, an armory, etc. The game is so complex with all the different ways we’re adding power to the systems, and we need to make sure what we’re designing doesn’t fall short. For example, of the feedback we’re getting, it’s loudest for an Armory — and that’s the top of the list. It’s not a question of if, it’s more of a question of when. A lot of us on the team are fans who want it too, but these things are not easy to develop in a game this complex. So, we’re doing the diligence to get it done right. We are road-mapping out all of the quality-of-life changes that we can see Season on Season, so players should expect a nice quality-of-life update every season.

jessirocks: Are there any plans to implement an Auction House for the trading scene?

Brent: Right now, the Auction House is not something we’re looking at. Trading, however, is something we think about every time we add new items to the game. We want to be more generous across the platform without creating any abusive behaviors. That’s why we’re cautious with systems like that — if we create bad behavior, people will start taking these shortcuts and miss out on the excitement of finding that coveted drop.

Aislyn: Speaking more to trading, whenever the systems team makes a new item that’s kept in a player’s inventory, we consider whether the item should be tradable, would it be fun if it were tradable, and how would it affect the economy. We want to encourage more depth in the economy and the trading environment.
jessirocks: Do you have any plans to modify trading for Mythic Unique items? For example, say you are in a group with friends and you get duplicates of The Grandfather. It would be great in this case to give some of those to your friends in the party.Brent: It’s definitely a part of the discussion right now, but we’re not going to be seeing any change on that in the short term.
Wowhead: With so much new content coming to Vessel of Hatred and Season 6, will we see a dedicated "seasonal mechanic" for Season 6 on top of everything else?Aislyn: Well, I have good news for you, October 8th will see the release of Vessel of Hatred with all of its new content features and systems, a significant progression overhaul to the base game, and bespoke mechanics and content that are specific to Season 6. This is undoubtedly our biggest post-release content drop.
jessirocks: Why have you decided to now have a PTR for Season 6, after first saying one was not going to happen?Brent: Part of it is us being in a position where we are ready for a PTR. It’s a two-way window to the community, with us looking at the community and the community looking back. We have got to be prepared for that. When we launched the game, we had an influx of information, things we needed to hotfix, etc., so we weren’t ready for a PTR. Now that we’re here, it’s been amazing. The fluid conversation with the community is sharpening our decision-making, the balance of the game is tighter than it’s ever been, and it’s influencing everything in Vessel of Hatred. All the class feedback we’ve been getting is being directly applied to the Spiritborn right away. The same thing could be said about the new modes as well. We learned a lot from Season 3, for example, the hazards we saw in the Vaults have a lot of influence on the cooperative elements coming to the Dark Citadel. Everything is better because of the PTR, and we’re going to continue having those for a long time.
Wowhead: Everyone loved the Party Finder news. What’s the next big thing in terms of social systems? Brent: We’re in a big evaluation period for our social systems right now. The social part of our community is growing at a rapid rate because we’re reaching out to a lot of new players who grew up with online-only play. There’s nothing to announce today, but we are going to be looking at new social features in the future. We felt it was really important to get out there with the Group Finder feature right away because we want to enable those players to find each other.

Aislyn: Co-operative play in Diablo is near and dear to our hearts. We want people who enjoy co-op mode to effectively experience everything in the game that way. Of course that doesn’t mean you have to play co-operatively, but we want to appeal to as many folks as possible. New social features are a big part of that.
Wowhead: Many Rogue community experts have stated that the Spiritborn looks and feels a lot like their favorite class. Will Rogues get some love with Vessel of Hatred to separate them from the agile, fast-paced Spiritborn?Brent: Honestly, I think players of all classes are going to find interesting things in the Spiritborn. The big feedback we got from a lot of the players who stick with one class was more build opportunity, which we’re adding to every single class. To the degree that build diversity has been a cornerstone for the Spiritborn’s development, i.e., take the gameplay styles you enjoy and try to mix and match them in a way you wouldn’t experience just by playing the Rogue, for example. I like that this class is going to have the highest amount of experimentation we’ll see, and I’m hoping that some of those hard-lining Rogue players will give it a shot.

Aislyn: I have a personal anecdote that I hope will instill confidence in the community in this regard. I absolutely love Rogue, it’s the class I played first. I play it pretty much every season. I’ve found many things in the Spiritborn that are very cool; however, there are new active and passive skills for each of the previous classes. Taking a look at what’s new for each of them has been such a joy. So, don’t worry, we have not forgotten the old classes. They each have some wonderful new toys. Even better, you don’t have to own Vessel of Hatred to experience those new skills or passives.

Comment by bannyvader$40 minimum for an ARPG expansion and they didn't even give a ballpark on how many hours the new Campaign will last, give the Marketing Team another raise.Comment by Draeken$40 minimum for an ARPG expansion and they didn't even give a ballpark on how many hours the new Campaign will last, give the Marketing Team another raise.Comment by Ledaren$40 minimum for an ARPG expansion and they didn't even give a ballpark on how many hours the new Campaign will last, give the Marketing Team another raise.