Diablo IV" Beta Test Experience] You can feel that you have become stronger at every moment! The latest in the series of fun action RPGs [Celebration! Master Up

A beta test of the new action RPG "Diablo IV" was held. The latest title in the series, which can be called the "hack-and-slash" series, is a return to the roots of the genre, allowing players to feel how their characters gradually become stronger and more creative in their character development.

Diablo IV" is an action RPG scheduled to be released by Blizzard Entertainment on June 6, 2023. The series has a 26-year history, and many people have probably heard of the title "Diablo" since the previous title, "Diablo III," was also available on Nintendo Switch.

Diablo is a hack-and-slash (huxla) game and is known as a highly addictive series. The fast pace of the game allows players to use a variety of skills to quickly defeat a myriad of enemies. The sense of urgency of getting stronger little by little by getting randomly generated items. The secret of the fun is the wide range of skill configurations that allow the same character to take on completely different strategies.

Diablo IV," the latest in the series, was recently reported to have finally been mastered. We were able to experience the beta test, and here is our report.

The setting of "Diablo IV" is the sword and sorcery world of Sanctuary. Players become adventurers who travel through Sanctuary and pursue the plot of Lilith, the demon that created this world. The world setting of the series is actually quite elaborate, but for now, players should just enjoy the process of fighting monsters and becoming stronger.

In the world of Sanctuary, the demon Lilith has returned. The main character is almost sacrificed, but he survives with nine lives. He continues his journey in pursuit of Lilith.

Players can choose from five classes: "Barbarian," "Rogue," "Sorcerer," "Necromancer," and "Druid. Each has its own special system and strong personality, making for an interesting and completely different game experience.

Barbarians are muscular barbarians. They can equip three families of weapons: two swords, two-handed swords, and two-handed blunt weapons, and fight by automatically switching weapons according to their skills. He is strong and does not get intimidated even when surrounded by monsters. Each weapon has its own skill level, such as sword, axe, and blunt weapon, and each time a monster is killed, the skill level is gradually increased.

Sorcerers are sorcerers. They are good at long-range combat by sending out flames, lightning, and cold air, but they are not good at close combat. The sorcerer can activate special effects, such as freezing an enemy with a series of hits of cold air, or setting an enemy on fire with fire to inflict continuous damage, and can also be customized with "enchantments" that automatically activate skills when special conditions are met.

The rogue is a so-called bandit class that excels in quick combat using daggers and bows. They can also use tricks such as setting traps on the ground or adding poison or ice to their weapons, requiring a more cerebral approach to battle. There are many special systems in the game, such as a system in which other skills are enhanced by accumulating combo points for basic skills, and a system in which killing specific enemies to accumulate a gauge allows unlimited use of skills for a while.

The necromancer is a summoning class that manipulates the dead. The Necromancer is a summoner class that manipulates the dead, allowing players to enjoy eleven-man battles with skeletal warriors, sorcerers, golems, and other minions. All of their skills are dark, manipulating blood and bone. Only necromancers can use corpses, such as detonating enemy corpses on the ground like land mines or growing tentacles from corpses to attract enemies. The special system "Book of the Dead" increases the Necromancer's combat power instead of summoning minions.

The druid is a greedy class that can transform into a fast werewolf or a powerful man-bear, and can also manipulate the forces of nature. Although the special system could not be unlocked during the beta testing phase, it appears to be a system whereby players can gain benefits by offering "spirit offerings" dropped by monsters.

One of the most appealing features of "Diablo" is the ease of operation and the coolness of its skills, which allow players to defeat an array of monsters one after another. Each class can use around 20 different skills at the open beta test stage, some of which attack directly, some of which set traps, and some of which have additional effects on enemies. It is interesting to be able to fight more efficiently by making some adjustments, such as setting traps on the ground and then moving to lure the enemy to them, or adjusting the distance from the enemy and using skills with a wide attack range, and it is exhilarating when the plan works. In addition to the fast pace of battle, there are countless enemies roaming the map. The excitement is sustained throughout the fight, as you have to walk from one group of enemies to the next.

The action element is not too intense.

Unless you are a well-equipped barbarian, you will have a hard time fighting with your skills hanging from a stick, so you need to move around and work on your positioning to avoid being surrounded. In boss battles, you are required to watch your opponent's motions and get out of their attack range before a big move arrives, but even if you are not good at action games, you will be safe because you are not required to have the same strict timing and foresight as in action RPGs such as "Dark Souls" and "Eden Ring. So even those who are not good at action games can feel at ease. When all these elements are combined into one, you get a strange feeling of "Oh, I could go on battling as long as I want. ...... This feeling of losing track of when to stop and just keep playing one more game, and one more, and one more, is in the tradition of the previous "Diablo" series.

Adding to the addictive nature of the game is the randomly generated equipment. Equipment can be obtained by defeating enemies or opening treasure chests, and special effects are added at random. The same sword may have a higher attack power, a faster swing speed, and so on, so it is exciting to see what equipment drops. In a normal RPG, new equipment is often purchased when you reach a new town, but in the "Diablo" series, the main way to get new equipment is from enemies or treasure chests. Powerful items can appear from casually defeated enemies, making it hard to keep an eye on them even when fighting small fry. You can update your weapons by defeating an enemy over there, and then change into powerful armor obtained from an enemy over here ....... In other words, you can enjoy the feeling of shopping for various items at the weapon shop in the city in each battle.

Legendary items have special abilities that enhance existing skills.

Legendary items are the "winners" among equipment. These items are considered high rarities, or in social game terms, 4-star or SSR, but they can be found in the wild. When they appear, a pillar of light appears with a unique sound effect, and it is a great feeling. In this way, defeating monsters in "Diablo" is like trying to get into a social game. Furthermore, you don't have to accumulate free stones or worry about how much you spend in a month, all you have to do is defeat monsters.

Legendary items have special abilities that enhance existing skills. For example, rogues have the "concealment" skill, which allows them to throw stun grenades and inflict damage on their surroundings when they are out of concealment, if they have the "opportunistic adventurer's gloves" legendary item. In other words, the Legendary items are a major game changer when they come out, and the randomness of where and what items appear makes battles more exciting. In extreme cases, the same class will feel different each time it is played.

The author has participated in several "Diablo IV" tests in the past, and each time he has developed his character from scratch, but because the equipment that comes out is random, instead of getting sick of the same thing over and over again, he enjoys a fresh feeling each time. I think this is an example of a rather unique sting, but that's how interesting randomly generated items are.

Legendary items are not only allowed for high level players. If you're lucky, they can appear at lower levels as well.

And each skill is unique and interesting to customize. In "Diablo IV," players can create their own unique characters by assigning the skill points they earn as they level up to the skills of their choice. Even within the same class, the way you fight will change depending on the allocation of skill points, and the ability to reassign skill points at any time and place is a nice feature.

The rogue is a good example. Rogue skills can be broadly classified into those using a dagger and those using a bow. The dagger is a quick attack and has high firepower, but the rogue himself is not that tough, so it is important to get out of the way before the monsters surround you. The bow is a stable long-range attacker, but its instantaneous firepower is not as strong as the dagger. You can specialize in daggers and run around the field in a hit-and-away fashion, or you can fight with a bow and keep your distance from the enemy. You can also use the bow to keep your enemies at a distance, or you can re-swing to the bow because you got a good bow in the middle of a dungeon.

It is especially fun when you get a Legendary item, which allows you to experiment with different battle strategies without having to recreate a new character. Some skills change the characteristics of specific skills. A rogue's "Nail Stab" is a skill to throw daggers, but with "Nail Stab (full-fledged)" he can throw three daggers at the same time, making him more effective when there are many enemies. It is also possible to specialize in a particular skill by allocating skill points to that skill.

The old skill tree is back!

Some skills can be used to weaken the enemy, so it is possible to build a skill set that specializes in these skills. Some Barbarian skills can inflict "bleeding" on the target, and those who are hit by these skills will continue to take damage as they continue to bleed. Attach "Fray (Struggle)," which increases bleeding damage for a certain amount of time, to the "Fray" that causes bleeding. Take "Rend," which cuts off the front and bleeds many enemies, and add "Whirlwind (Fierce)" to "Whirlwind," which gives the ability to bleed, "Rupture," which deals heavy damage instead of removing the bleeding state of enemies, and "Hamstring," which reduces the movement speed of enemies in the bleeding state You can also build a specialized bleeding build, such as ......, and the field will be constantly sprayed with blood, which is exhilarating. This kind of specialized build is usually the domain of hobbyists, but as mentioned above, skill points can be reassigned at any time, so it is fun to experiment with different builds at your leisure.

Skill allocation can be reallocated at any time. After losing to a dungeon boss, you can try again with a new strategy.

In this way, "Diablo IV" is packed with all the fun of an action RPG, and the most enjoyable part of an RPG is the moment you realize how strong your character is. And in "Diablo IV," there are moments when you can feel your character's strength through high-tempo battles, randomly generated items you can obtain, various skills you can obtain as you level up, and a wide range of tactics that you can freely reallocate ....... The game offers a wide range of skills that can be acquired as you level up, and a wide range of tactics that can be freely reassigned.

This is a tradition of the "Diablo" series, and in this sense, "Diablo IV" is a title that returns to its roots. Every time I defeated a monster, my anticipation for what kind of items I would find rose, and I couldn't wait to level up to try out new skills and battle strategies, so much so that I found myself thinking about "Diablo IV" the entire time I was in the beta test.

Of course, new elements are also present. The world boss battles, in which everyone takes on powerful enemies, are a prime example. In this beta test, "Ashaba, Lord of the Plague" appeared, and he is so powerful that a single swing of his arm can kill several characters instantly. Even so, we were able to defeat him if we all worked together against him, reviving those who fell and taking shelter in the barrier if someone put it up. The reward, of course, was a pile of loot, including Legendary items. It was a new way to enjoy the "Diablo" series, and I enjoyed the sense of solidarity.

The visuals of the characters are dark and realistic. The main character on the screen is also small, and the overall atmosphere is dark, which may be a bit daunting for those who are not used to Western-style games. If you like RPGs and like to keep at it, Diablo IV is sure to be a good fit for you.

The beta test has made us look forward to the release of the full version of the game.

(Text by Shinichi Yanamoto)

Information on the packaged version
Diablo IV
Compatibility: PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4
Release date: June 6, 2023 (Tuesday)
Price: 9,800 yen (including tax)
Genre: Action RPG
CERO: Z (for ages 18 and up)
Players: 1 to 4 players
Online environment: Required

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