Diablo 4 devs weren't prepared for you loot goblins to take the level 100 grind so seriously
Blizzard is surprised by how committed you all are to the grind
Diablo 4's developers are surprised by how many players are committed to reaching level 100 on all of their characters.
In an interview with PCGamesN at Blizzcon 2023, Diablo 4's production director Tiffany Wat reveals the biggest surprise in terms of initial expectations for the game and how fans actually responded. "One thing that was interesting to see was just how many players have that drive to reach the max level of 100 on all of their characters," the Blizzard developer tells the outlet.
"For a lot of players, this was their main goal, not just hunting for the best gear, and the feedback we received was that it felt like too much of a slog to reach the pinnacle level." Recently, Blizzard announced it was rolling out a new level 1 - 100 roadmap for players tired of the grind.
It certainly didn't take long for players to start reaching that level 100 milestone very soon after the game's launch in June 2023. In fact, the first person to gain such an achievement managed to do so during the RPG's early access period. However, their character was dead just a few days later.
It seems the feedback Blizzard is getting from Diablo 4 players is helping to shape it into a better game. In the same interview, Wat revealed that: "A lot of the recent quality-of-life updates and changes we have made like this were because of the amazing insight from our players," so it's always worth putting your two cents in when asked by Blizzard.
Thankfully, the production director also reassured fans, telling them that this communication between players and the developer "will never stop."
Elsewhere at Blizzcon 2023, it was revealed that Diablo 4's first expansion is expected late next year.
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After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.