by Hotstreak - 2 years ago     show comments

With Diablo Immortal only just hours away from going live, it felt like a good time to put together a crash course guide on what kind of content and activities you should expect from this new Diablo game. So if you’re someone who wrote it off because there wasn’t initially a PC version and are now interested, or if you aren’t super familiar with the game or franchise, then this should be more than enough to give you a good grasp of what kind of game this is. If you are familiar with DI and the franchise then hopefully there’s something here for you as well.

Let’s get into it!

Introduction

DI is a new take for the franchise with it shifting towards being an MMO experience on mobile and PC instead of a traditional singleplayer/coop action rpg. This means that the world is persistent and exists even when you’re not online. There’s a much larger focus on group content and multiplayer based activities this time around, more so than other games in the franchise. DI does have a story campaign though, one that can be played cooperatively or solo. So for fans of the franchise who are interested in some new lore and story content, there’s definitely something here for you. For players who are new to Diablo this is perhaps one of the most rich experiences to get you familiar with the franchise. Or if you’re just looking for a new MMO to play, this may very well scratch that itch.

Classes

Diablo Immortal is launching with six playable classes all with their own abilities and unique playstyles. They also all have different armor types and class specific gear pieces.

Barbarian

This is your classic dual wielding berserker class that focuses on brutal and heavy hits. You build up your Fury resource with melee attacks to unleash strong AoE and single target based abilities that send your opponents flying off of the screen. Barbarians are also great for group play as they are one of the best AoE classes and bring some nice group damage buffs. For players who prefer warrior archetypes that use Axes, Swords, and Hammers, this is the class for you.

Crusader

The Crusader is all about smiting down your opponents with holy fire using a big sword and shield while being the tankiest class in the game. They are fantastic for group and solo play as they bring very good support in the form of party wide damage and mitigation buffs. Crusaders are also one of the most mobile classes in the game so they excel at speed farming. If you love the Paladin archetype or you just want to be a heavy armored machine then look no further.

Monk

Monks are perhaps one of the more unique feeling classes in DI by being the only martial arts themed class. They combine holy and elemental power and channel them into both fast and heavy attacks while zipping around the battlefield with flying punches and kicks.  They can also turn into a tornado and fling their opponents around, which is really cool and very satisfying. If you love really cool ability visuals and using your fists instead of steel, then you’ll love the Monk.

Wizard

Wizards are your classic mage style class that use Arcane, Fire, Frost, and Lightning magic with multiple skills using different magic types. They focus on staying ranged and nuking their opponents with meteors, arcane missiles, ice blasts, and chain lightning. If you love spellcasting classes then you’ll feel right at home with the Wizard.

Necromancer

Necromancers specialize in medium to short range combat by summoning undead minions and casting dark magic spells. Similar to a Wizard, you’ll be doing most of your damage at range but with undead pets fighting for you on the frontline. This makes the class great for solo play as you’re never alone to fend for yourself. They also have access to some powerful damage dealing direct spells so relying completely on your pets isn’t necessary if you want a more active play style. If you love warlocks or pet based classes then this is a perfect fit.

Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter is the agile bow based class of DI bringing all of the firepower and edgy one liners you could ever want. They excel at ranged damage dealing with both good AoE and single target options for various types of encounters. Some of the most iconic DH skills are returning like Rain of Vengeance, Strafe, and Multishot. If you want to unlock your inner Van Helsing, then DH is what you’ll want to play.

PvE Content and Activities

Diablo Immortal has a really good amount of PvE content available at launch with multiple types of activites.

• Story Campaign – If you love Diablo lore or if you’re somebody who is new to the world of Sanctuary, DI has a lengthy fully voice acted story that will take you through all nine zones and covers what was happening in between Diablo II and III. Which hasn’t really been explored much in the video games so, players new and old will find some new interesting lore revelations.
• Elder Rifts – This is a activity that you’ll most likely be doing a lot of especially at max level. These are randomized dungeons that are made to be super repeatable for loot farming and use Elder Crests of different rarities to add different positive and negative modifiers to your run for better rewards. Legendary gems, set items, and legendary gear can all be found here.
• Challenge Rifts – Similar to ERs, these are completely randomized dungeons but with a time limit twist. You have a certain amount of time to defeat enough enemies and take down the end boss for a chance to place on the regional Leaderboard. While there are loot rewards from this mode, it’s more geared towards players who love competition and seeing how their build does compared to others.
• Helliquary – This is DIs version of eight player raid content. Once you hit level 41 and are far enough along in the main story, you can unlock the Helliquary and start gaining the Scoria resource to upgrade it for more boss encounters and better passive bonuses. Once your character is at the appropriate level and has good enough gear, you can attempt the boss encounters with seven other players. This is one of the highest level end game PvE activities so don’t expect to jump right into these at level 60. Once you manage to take down one of these bosses you get a bunch of loot and special items to equip in the Helliquary that give powerful passive bonuses.
• Kion’s Ordeal – Another piece of raid content that puts four groups of twelve players into a boss rush mode with each group fighting a different boss. There are multiple difficulties so choose wisely as these are not easy encounters.
• Group Dungeons –  More traditional MMO dungeons that can be done solo or with up to four players that you can queue into via the built in group finder. There are multiple difficulties you can do these on and they are soloable on the lower difficulties if you want to just relax and enjoy the story. If you want the best rewards you’ll need to crank it up and take them on with other players. Dungeon bosses have items unique to their loot table so you’ll definitely want to farm them depending on what kind of build you’re running. They are also a good source of XP and general loot drops so doing them while leveling up is also beneficial.
• Zone Events –  Randomized public events that can happen in any zone. Each zone has different event types like wave based events, world bosses, objective based events, and multi stage events unique to the zone. Doing these as you encounter them while leveling or farming is another really good source of loot and materials. They also offer a change of pace while going through the story and are generally fun to take on with other players.
• Lairs –  Mini dungeons that spawn in each zone and have a couple of floors and a unique enemy to fight. They are generally pretty quick to go through and offer another change of pace while leveling or farming with various drops and rewards for clearing them. You’ll encounter a lot of these during your time with DI.
• Bounties – Small quests with varying objectives that reward currencies, materials, and XP. They are a good source for getting some battle pass XP as well if you are trying to grind out tiers.

Player Versus Player

Something new to the franchise is DIs take on PvP. Instead of just dueling and collecting ears, there’s actually an entire endgame focus on it with Battlegrounds and the Shadow War. There are two factions that are battling against each other. The Immortals and Shadows with both factions having different requirements in order to join.

• Battlegrounds – These are 8v8 battles with a Attacking and Defending team that fight over map objectives. Battlegrounds are available four times a day for two hours at a time (8am, 12pm, 6pm, 10pm server time) and requires you to be level 55 to enter. You get well rewarded too with materials, gold, xp, battle pass progression, and the chance of getting Legendary items.
• Shadow War – This is a clan war PvP conflict between dark clans of the Shadows faction that starts every Thursday with a final battle the following Saturday. Signups happen every Monday-Tuesday.
• The Vault  – As a Shadow your objective is to raid the vault for the really strong rewards within. One of the most sought after items will be legendary items with tri stats (Strength, Willpower, Vitality for example) but if you’re caught by the wardens guarding it,they will then alert players of the Immortal faction to come defend it through PvP combat. Players on the Immortal side have a chance at some very strong loot and rewards for successfully defending the vault. The Vault is available from 12pm-10pm server time and requires a group of four to enter.

Progression and Gear

Character progression is pretty straight forward in DI. Your main focus at the start will be going through the story mode and unlocking everything the game has to offer. While leveling you’ll be picking up and equipping new armor and weapons constantly so you’re not going to need to worry about fine tuning your build until a bit later. You will want to be on the lookout for materials, legendary gems, and legendary gear though as they can really give you a big power spike and change up how you play.  You Items come in different types with multiple rarities.

• Common – The lowest rarity with no affixes and are white in color
• Magic – Items of this rarity will start rolling with affixes like strength, willpower, intelligence, etc. These are blue in color.
• Rare – Items of this rarity roll with multiple affixes and stats. These are yellow in color.
• Legendary – These not only roll with multiple high level stats but they also come with a unique power that alters or buffs one of your class abilities. You will be building around these items. They are orange in color with a big glowing beam and a star indicator on your map so they are hard to miss when dropped.
• Set Items – Amulets and rings have the ability to be set items that have powerful set bonuses when all matching set items are equipped. These are super important and will be a big part of your build crafting. These are green in color and also have a glowing beam and a map indicator when dropped.
• Stat Gems – Your equipment can roll with sockets on them that allow you to insert gems for passive stat increases. You’ll come across many different types of gems with different stats and bonuses that you can use to further power up your character.
• Legendary Gems – Socketable legendary quality gems that have very strong passive bonuses. There are many to choose from all with completely unique effects. One of your main endgame focuses will be upgrading these to the highest quality that you can. In order to upgrade them you’ll need to gather runes which drop from a lot of different activities within the game.
• Charms – Items with their own slot that roll with powerful passive class buffs. You can only have one equipped at a time so you’ll want to find one that has the most synergy with your skill build.
• Paragon Levels – Once you hit max level you’ll start earning Paragon XP. This will allow you to access the Paragon passive trees for further endgame build customization. Each tree has completely different perks and themes for you to invest in.

Once you’ve hit max level that’s when the real build tuning starts. You’re going to want to target end game pieces of gear like jewelry sets and high end legendaries that compliment your play style and build. You’ll also be progressing Paragon levels and looking to upgrade your Legendary Gems as they give very powerful passive bonuses. You’ll do this by farming repeatable content like Elder Rifts, Dungeons, Zone Events, Bounties, weekly Helliquary clears, or whatever content you enjoy the most. The number one goal is to get as powerful as you can for whatever goals you set for yourself. Whether that be leaderboard climbing, PvP, Helliquary, Rifts, etc. Like most MMOs, DI has a variety of different things to do for a variety of playstyles so just play what you enjoy and have some fun with it!

All in all Diablo Immortal is shaping up to be a very large game that offers a lot of different types of content. Whether your a PvP player, solo player, loot collector, or a demon slaying enthusiast, there’s something here for everyone to enjoy. Will you be playing DI at launch? What system will you be on? What are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments below!