Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo 4 debuted at BlizzCon 2019 and seemingly has everything fans could want. The combat of Diablo 3 mixed with the mood and aesthetic of Diablo 2 sounds good, even if elements like always online and shared world gameplay could be suspect. However, one welcome addition is the support for Elective Mode.
In a new blog post, lead systems designer David Kim confirmed that, “Skill selection and assignment will always be completely open for all players.” This means you can have any skill in any slot, even if that means having a number of abilities that all share one resource. It’s one major change that helped Diablo 3 break free from its original constrictive gameplay.
Kim also said that more details on itemization would be coming soon. The objective seems to be on making Rares strong while also offering a wider range of affixes. “We’re still working through all the feedback that came in regarding itemization and we’re actively discussing ways to add more depth and complexity to base items (including Rares), ways to add greater variety to item affixes to make those powers interesting and your choices meaningful, and ways to give players more freedom to choose how to customize items, so you can have fun exploring a wide range of effective gameplay possibilities instead of just looking up ‘the optimal build’ online.”
It also seems that Ancient Items – which are versions of Legendaries and Gear Set Pieces which higher rolled affixes – will be changed. This should be good news for Diablo 3 fans who criticized the system as offering little more than an excuse to farm the same gear twice. Stay tuned for more information on what’s changing in the coming months.
Diablo 4 is in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.