Diablo 4 DEV Q & A - D4 Trading, D4 Seasons, World Boss Events and MORE !!! 

The devs shouldn’t have anything to do with the “builds” per se based on items. There should be unlimited creativity permitted at the player level to provide the best user experience. There are obscure builds in d2 that are still being “discovered” which devs never even considered or thought about. I love that after playing d2 since I was a high schooler, I am still learning about possibilities and able to get creative with my gearing.

Trading was such a large part of my enjoyment of D2 that I am pessimistic about the effects of limiting it in D4. It allowed me to create builds that I would never have been able to make if I was limited to my own in game item find instead of having the ability to leverage that of my friends and Battlenet community members. I am currently in a "wait and see" mode with D4. I like much of the stuff I am seeing and dislike a few things that may or may not be deal breakers for me. I have not bought a Blizzard game since D2 LOD but I am cautiously optimistic about D4 right now.

I think if you read between the lines of dev interviews, what you'll hear is that they are really holding back on what's coming to the release version so that they can hit a super aggressive update cadence. Whether they'll execute well remains to be seen, but given the sheer size of the seasonal content team, I think they are poised to make huge improvements to the game several times per year.

Personally my biggest concern is the difficulty tiering that seems to be similar to D3. What I love about D2 is the moment between nightmare and hell where every elite can kill you and you feel the tension of moving forward. I hate the godmode like feeling off D3.

I'm looking forward to slower D4 combat, personally.

Thanks for very concise video and interesting questions!

That was really interesting! Great questions, informative and digging into some core problems/concerns. So far, personally, I think the boss dynamic is the biggestern concern. Hoping it will evolve in a postive and fun way. But I also do understand it can be hard to find a good balancing sweetspot. Let's see how it goes 🤔

They should keep the drop rate on gear and trading the same as D2. If you want a specific build trade your way too it.

Thanks for asking the real questions. I can’t tell if this put me on the ropes more about pre ordering or not though lol. I think I’ll get it but I’m probably gonna wait and see how launch goes and watch more videos on it tbh

Any idea if they are going to restrict item for ladder and non ladder like in d2 ? I hear you say about session having themes/events. I don't know anything about d3.

Thanks for your last 2 videos Dbrunski. I too am concerned, but also optimistic. My gut is saying it will be a fun experience, but won't keep me coming back like D2 does. I can't put my finger on a specific thing that's making me feel this way, I think it's just a little here, a little there, and all these little things add up. Also, the state of video games now is nothing like 20 years ago, all these layered in live service, cosmetics, battle pass stuff is normal now, but I'm not saying makes the game better. I guess to cap it all off, I'm excited, I'll play it, but I don't think it will keep my interest long term.

Have you also asked about the ridiculous damage scaling we’re seeing in the b-roll footage?

the same logic that they gave when asked about drop rates can be applied to D3. You can chase primal legendaries for weeks but they don't really mean anything. I feel like this will happen in D4 sadly. Hopefully it takes at least a week to fully assemble a build and not a day.

I am really hoping that the keyboard and mouse option for consoles will make it at launch.

For the cross arm photo pose, why do some people tuck the hand and others keep their fingers out over their bicep?

The trading of rare(base) items only sucks. When I think of trading base items, I think of finding a really sick socketed item for a specific rune word, slapping it in my stash knowing I'll get a decent mid-high rune for it that I can then trade for other goodies. It made seeing those drops exciting! I think a lot of people who are against trading just never got involved with it enough to see the beauty of it! It was fun and provided an alternative way of playing! They've basically just removed an element of fun from a video game - which is the whole point of gaming! I understand the botting aspect, but in trying to tackle this issue the devs are just diluting what makes diablo so compelling and fun! I'd sooner tolerate the bots and have more options for fun than strip away the fun for the sake of their war on botting. Misplaced priorities.

Whats going to stop people from drop trading ? Is it a bind item to YOU only?

"Somewhat limited trading" - It's more like "Very limited trading" if we are being generous.

I have to disagree on the items and builds topic, you don't need infinity or griffon's or death web to make a build work, those are high end game items that allow you to stomp p8 on chaos or baal runs, but the average player that wants to try builds really doesn't need them. Also, i expect that D4 will be far more forgiving than D2 on terms of difficulty and viability bc there are no immunes.

Hello, Dbrunski do you know if D4 ll have achievements?:)

Great insights db thanks! Excited to get my hands on it!

i wonder if they will make it available on the mac or at least parallel. i know d2r doesn't support internal graphics :(

Will SOLO play be available for Diablo 4? I really have not heard much on the subject and I'm one of those that only plays Diablo in SOLO Hardcore. Thanks!

What a complete bummer, honestly if they are going to make an absolutely poor decision to ban trading then I’m most likely going to pass on D4 and not waste ANY time playing it, it’s super unfortunate for them to not cater to their core player base, also what exactly is the point of banning the freedom to trade? There are zero negatives and it only makes the game more fun to play when you have the ability to trade with other people, it only adds value. Thats unfortunate. I guess I’ll play D2R for the rest of my life lol.

Bring back the Butcher EDIT: now that I know more about the trading and how it might stop bots I like that idea a bit more now

yo, is it really 1k to use everything in the game?

more importantly - will gamepads be supported on pc?

Hi, will it work on MacBook?

I love your element sweater

DB are there going to be mercenaries in D4?

Nice ty

For veteran players such as my self, I would say that trading is 50% of the game. By removing that aspect or limit it drastically is a bad idea. Just look at the sales figures for D2r...

What about runes and runewords??? I personally don't think they'll add that, unfortunately... It didn't have runes on the closed beta so, it probably won't on the final version... It's a pity, though, because runes and rune combinations are something that can make a game feel... magic, to say the least.

Ever done a video of fastest walking speed possible in d2?

Smart loot of 60% for your class and 40% for other class? Did they give you this numbers or you made them up? In Diablo 3 it is 85%/15%.

hi, got a question to HC in diablo 4, what is about PVP? u will die so u cant handle pvp, but its essentiell i think? or i miss something? thx

Ended video at 1:15. Im not playing this game if trade is limited. hope you guys have fun Edit: Btw thx debrunski for asking the actual important questions right off the bat. Its an important part of the game for me and you basically save me time and money by making it clear for me that this diablo isnt for me. Hopefully if they keep updating D2R ill be satisfied with that

So when is the game scheduled to be out? For those who dont have the information and stumble upon your video

Smart loot sounds good in theory but is just bad honestly. Hey you are a nec, here is Trang helm for 10th time. Oh you were hoping for Tal armor? Sorry, go on your sorc then.

Did they ever decide to add single player?

D4: Master of None

There is no replacing D2R no matter how hard they try.

I'm all for slower combat. Most ARPGs don't feel tactical to play, it's just hutton mashing and getting better gear to wipe out the hoards of enemies quicker. When everything is moving fast on screen and visual feedback is low due to clutter and spell effects the gameplay suffers. Being able to clearly see what's going on and reacting to it feels much better. Having the game difficult enough to punish the player if they don't react effectively is key.

"Designed not to encourage botting" takes away all the things that made the game fun. Good job guys we made it so people can't bot.

Dbrunski seems to be really hoping Diablo 4 is good because he is sick of D2, but since that is the main reason people watch him, he is trapped. I do wish he would bring back the human bot project series again. Those are great videos.

Wow that is a vary short life cycle for ladder.

I really hope they bring back runewords and I hope it takes forfckingever to hit max lvl

it seems theyre just trying to hit the dead center between d2 and d3 but whats gonna be new? anything?

They should bring synergies back 🙌🏻

Why not just make a mode where trading is not restricted? Like hardcore, normal play, and normal play with restricted trading.

im not excitited tbh game looks ok at best im gonna get it once the dust/honny moon phase has setteled

Talking Head! let's go

The trading and loot system is whats gonna keep me from playing it

Would be awesome if you could toggle on and off the smart loot features so that you can farm gear for a second character

Honestly I didn't get into ARPG's until much later on to be absolutely transparent, but for someone like me the combat looks so slow and plodding. The guy with the 2h axe sort of sluggishly hitting things for 10% of it's health seems somewhat boring. I hope that when I play it I enjoy it, but watching a video of someone smashing the ground with a hammer and the screen exploding in Lost Ark or PoE is far more satisfying visually. Hopefully it feels awesome though. Either way I am excited to try it and see how it feels.

Any game that wants to be successful must have a free player market. D3 was dead the moment they pulled the Auction House. Players will look for a third party way of obtaining items anyway, thats why they need to control it from inhouse and make it optional not restrictive.

Since they already stated that u will be able to use a controller on pc, they better bring KBM to consoles, that would be 100% fair and logical. I will be trying out free open beta to check out how it plays with controller, however no KBM at all for consoles would srsly make me reconsider purchasing diablo 4, maaaaaaaybe at big discounts like 20-30 bucks, instead of release date. God i hope they do KBM for consoles.

So you can trade basically everything. You just have to make your own legendary with the afix you can trade.. that's completely fine. Go grind out the perfect rare.

No runes is a bit disappointing, runes and runewords were a huge part of Diablo 2. I am sure that D4 will be a tremendous improvement over the tragedy that was D3, I can't say it will be better than D2 because that game was and is so phenomenal but I think it will be an enjoyable game.

I’m not gonna lie. The methodologies behind them preventing botting is so flawed and naive. As a cyber security expert, people will find a way to take advantage of your product always. The best way to prevent them from doing so is to devote time and resources into detecting and stopping game hacks in real time.

Limited trading and smart loot - oh my, oh my :/

Should be open trade 100%. I rather pay a couple dollars for a subscription per month and they keep a task force on botting then be chucked with no trade. D2 best game ever made

I would rather have D2 style drops and do away with D2 style resistances. Would rather take time to gear up rather than watering down the loot system.

All they had to do was make items BOE, once used can't be traded. Throw in a heavy craft system or upgrade system to gear and people would break items down, I always think back to Hell gate London's upgrade system which was solid, the more you upgraded an item the the heavier the requirements came. D4 itemization is the worst part imo, it seems they didn't really learn anything from d3.

I understand people who are fine with this trading system but for me it's a big barrier to replayability. I've historically played Diablo games to build "wealth" and to do commerce and without that incentive I'm personally just not interested. I'll still get the game and poke around. It's probably for the best ultimately... better for my marriage.

So are runes a thing? I played the beta got to lvl 57. Honestly I really liked D4. And it has great potential. World bosses weren't that hard though. Me and one other guy beat one by ourselves lol

Also smart loot is trash

"mnk not supported by xbox and playstation.. yet" so youre saying switch is the elite option? hehe

I’ll be sticking with d2r as it looks like blizzard is going screw up d4 just like they did with d3. Seems like they didn’t learn

Man, it sucks seeing every aspect of the game I love absolutely gutted by Blizzard. They had such a great concept for a game but threw it away to pander to the latest gaming trends. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd need a battle pass for Diablo. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted I guess..

all for free trading sucks when people trade gear outside the game for real money

Thanks for the video. As a d2 fan I'm sad to see the game play and feel looks a lot like d3 skinned with some dark tint. Sad.

Lost me at smart loot. I love that it's completely random as in D2 because when I find say a Griffon's I can look forward to making that Lightning Sorc or Javason and that eventually leads to me creating a new character to enjoy.

❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥😁

D3.1 pass

I don't like their anti-cheat/bot approach. People will still bot, and cheat.

Limited Trading. Well guys, the hype was fun while it lasted. This will kill D4. I dont understand whats so hard about this "look at D2, make it modern, stick to the Story and banish anything like D3 and Diablo immortal" Any dev thats not able to understand that isnt worth his salary. Dont buy the game, Blizzard only seems to be able to learn when they Lose cash

So limited trading, gearing like Diablo3 where you complete the full build then just chase a +% stat? Well, hopefully they keep developing D2R

Its a hard balance, but I really hope they dont "ruin" the game for the 90% by hindering the 10% playerbase or whatever it is that bots. It seems like an annoying approach to circumvent botters, that you dont allow free trading.. There just has to be a better way to deal with botters than making decisions that limits player freedom. If there is an easy reachable "limit" to the amount of power a player can obtain, then sure there wouldnt be much point in botting, but then also.. is there really anything to do for the 90% of players beyond that point? I know PvP is a big thing and im also a big fan of PvP myself, but for a lot of people I imagine doing MF-runs in Diablo 2 was a huge thing becaue it had potential for them to get sick items and trade them and its just a shame if they take steps like these that ruin player freedom and enjoyment, to prevent the assholes from botting.. Id rather see super frequent banwaves or something that is more isolated on targeting botters without harming the rest of the playerbase. Paragon levels are also perfectly fine for the big grinders if they wanna put that many hours into the game, but as it stands with botters theres just no competing when theyre literally 2k paragon ahead of you a week into the season..

Love your content and thank you..... but your patented "lets jump in" intro lacks the love nowadays ;)

Just like all of activations games we cannot ban bots or hacks if any kind since we are the creators 😂 such a weak answer to bots question… not a good sign.

If End Game Beta testing is the model, then trading will be all but non-existent.... but so saying that, maybe the release of more uniques and set items would change the ability to trade... as it stands now, it was virtually impossible. There is practically ZERO interaction with other players in this area and its VERY bad... they need a middle ground between D2 and D3, and I just can't see it happening at all. The World bosses and events again if similar to End Game Beta will be pointless. At the moment - world bosses only drop crafting items to socket items... and when you dont need them or cant trade them, then what? At least in D2R when DC spawns, you can do it over and gain the rewards to trade or improve what you have - with D4 and world bosses - its POINTLESS. What the latest limited lvl 25 beta test gave you was a false fascade, because it is all novelty and absolutely doesnt highlight the horrendous skill system and especially the paragon boards and system that is the meat and potatoes of the game... THAT has to be fixed - skills have to be worthwhile, there has to be a shake up so a Barbarian is not limited to Berserk up all the time, and the 3 shouts so he wont be one shot... there is no diversity - WW or Ground slam is all thats viable - and only with the right gear and paragon board themes.... theres not even a shield so a Barb can be a tank and sword and board.... theres no singer, throw, or even to be silly and use bows or something unique.... and all this is hidden away with limiting to lvl 25 and not even showing how the paragon works at lvl 50... In other words.... its all smoke and mirrors and the elephant in the room is hidden away and never addressed.

The "smart loot" concept is a HUGE turnoff for me. Why does a coder decide what kind of item should I drop and be allowed to use on my Barbarian? A Barbarian, as a primal fighter, can use a shield, a bow, even a log to smash foes.. We in communism again? :NotLikeThis:

sounds like I might skip it. Why not make a FREAKING game that everyone who still plays D2 would like to play. WHY NOT?????

so its not dead on arrival anymore? lol

they should let us exchange legendaries at least once.... so stupid that u can't give something to a friend.... 3 world bosses is pretty weak... need a ton more.. or just add full blown raids

Trade stuff ok i Can understand what they do. But please it's so slow /boss seems so pathetics. Why release this during summer. It's NOT ready

Diablo 4 top 7 I like Diablo too better

ATTENTION INFLUENCERS AND BLIZZARD CUSTOMERS Through direct or indifferent action, Blizzard has allowed my account to be canceled forcing me to lose my collection of games including my D3 collector edition games that I bought on release. Through numerous support ticket messages, they could not verify or prove that I, the account holder, canceled my account and could not answer my inquiries as to how my account was canceled. They closed the ticket without any justification as to why my account was closed and even suggested that it was my fault that my games were stolen. I was able to get the closure date for my account and I didn’t even have a computer at the time. If you value your accounts, I urge you to write to Blizzard and let them know that their account cancelation policy needs to be changed so that others don’t share my fate. They stand to gain significant revenue if they allow hackers to continue to cancel accounts only for customers to purchase games again if they want to play. This indifference to money we spend to support their company cannot be allowed to stand if they are unwilling to support us when we are the victims of cyber attacks. Thank you for your time.

Seasons are so lame I don't want to start over every 3 months

This open world thing looks exactly like "Lost Ark". Dunno but not a huge fan of it.

what are you gonna do about bots? - we gonna completely screw the trade possibilities and change the drop rates that have kept our d2 franchise alive for 20 years even with botting all other the place. These limitations they are gonna put on trading are a PITA for every player that loves trading while being inefficient on botting. Essentially every game with itemization gives more competitive advantages to players that play more. And that's what bot do. In D3 they destoyed AH and ended up making top items bound to the acc, and yet the game is still full of bots. The items that will incentivize players to bot are the same items that will incentivize players to play. If the only items available for trading are trash, they will be trash for bots AND legit players alike, it will be as if no trade at all is available in the game (imagine D2 where u can only trade pots, arrows and chipped gems for gold). On the other hand, if legendary are bound to accs, but highly demanded components such as crafting stuff or legendary affixes are open to trade, well crafting stuffs and legendary affixes will be botted and traded. So either trade limitation will completely destroy the economy, or it will just be useless against bots, while effectively screwing legit players.

Looks like D3 with a darker tint. I'll buy it, play it once, and go back to d2 :)

I'm just hoping this game will be great. And they stop websites from selling items. It really takes away from the game.

no full trading would be no fun at all, back to d2

I played the beta. Dungeons were so god damn boring and they seem to constitute the bulk of the end game. I really hope the devs make dungeons more exciting.

First we lit

Still looks like a polished D3 unfortunately :(

hardcore 😏😂 only casuals play softcore imo. and yes that makes rhykker a casual 😝😂

If there is no trading like in d2 this game is a fluke