A couple of weeks back, we got to sit down with Diablo 4 developers as they talked us through the title's robust endgame design. The roundtable touched on just about everything that you can expect from the action RPG once you've completed the main campaign — and we must admit, we came away from the discussion fairly impressed.
Indeed, there's a lot of potential here. More hardcore Diablo fans will know that the quality of endgame activities is hugely important in keeping players engaged. Some will stick around for the story quests and call it a day once the credits roll — and that's fine — but it's that secret endgame sauce that entices people to come back time and time again.
However, endgame goals can take a while to properly manifest — just ask Bungie, or even Blizzard itself. Until we're actually playing Diablo 4's high level activities, we won't know for sure whether they hold up, but at least on paper, it all sounds pretty great.
As you probably already know, Diablo 4 features a large open world map — a first for the series — and that fundamentally changes how endgame content is implemented. Blizzard says that one of its biggest challenges during development was determining how to utilise the open world in entertaining ways — and it's arguably the endgame side of things that pushes the envelope.
Once you're through the campaign, the open world offers up two key activities: 'Helltide' areas, and bounties. The former sees parts of the map devolve into demonic battlefields, where monsters spawn in much greater numbers. Cleansing these areas nets you a currency that can be exchanged for rewards, but perhaps most importantly, Helltides are supposed to refresh your exploration of the open world — a worthwhile distraction
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