Diablo 4 - Everything We Know So Far

Diablo IV is almost here, arriving more than a decade since the last game in the series. First announced all the way back in 2019, Blizzard's return to the world of Sanctuary is aiming to be darker and grittier than its predecessor. Since its initial reveal, the company has shared a lot of details on the game, its classes, locations, held several betas, and even joined forces with KFC to help promote its arrival with some strange menu choices. Here is everything we know about Diablo IV so far--be sure to also check out our Diablo IV review.

Release Date And Platforms

Diablo IV is set to release on June 6, 2023. This will put it about 11 years after the release of Diablo III, which first launched on PC before later coming to consoles.

The release plan is different for Diablo IV, which was announced for consoles and PC at the same time. Alongside PC (via Battle.net), Diablo IV will launch on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4. Diablo III and Diablo II: Resurrected both also came to Nintendo Switch, but that platform has not been announced for Diablo IV.

On Xbox Series X, Blizzard says Diablo IV will support full 4K at 60fps, while the Xbox Series S version will run at 1080p at 60fps. Thanks to the SSD technology in both of these consoles, Diablo IV won't have loading screens as you move from zone to zone across the open world, but you will encounter those screens briefly when teleporting back to the town or you move into a dungeon.

"One of the things we really try to do is create [a] seamless, shared open world," Blizzard SVP and Diablo EP Rod Fergusson said. "As you move from zone to zone, you seamlessly have that transition, and you can really feel that when you have the power of Xbox behind you."

The Story So Far

Set after the events of Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion, Diablo IV's story is set to be a darker tale than we saw in the previous game--similar to Diablo II. The demonic villain Lilith is shown during a resurrection ceremony in an early trailer, and we know that we'll be able to work for the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye during the game. This organization was present in both original games, and you'll be able to turn in ears from fallen enemies to use as upgrades.

Diablo IV isn't structured linearly like Diablo III. Instead, the shared open-world environment is yours to explore, and you can freely roam and conquer enemy strongholds if you don't want to stick to completing the main questlines right away. With a horse, you can more quickly traverse the environment, as well, which should encourage more exploration.

There are five different regions that make up Diablo IV's Sanctuary setting:

• Fractured Peaks (snowy mountains)
• Dry Steppes (desert)
• Hawezar (swamps)
• Scosglen (coastal forests)
• Kehjistan (ruins)

These five regions are split into various sub-regions, each offering its own unique environmental style. Overall, the world is bigger than all previous Diablo maps combined.

Diablo 4 is set up as a shared open-world online game with multiple dungeons and regions that players can choose to explore. Whereas other Diablo games followed a more linear story progression with Acts, Diablo 4 is said to offer more freedom with where you want to go and what you want to do even with an ongoing story. During BlizzConline, it was revealed that players will be able to freely roam the map, conquering enemy strongholds and taking them for themselves, and even discovering corrupted zones known as the Fields of Hatred. In our chat with art director John Mueller during BlizzConline, he stated that players will be able to have a greater sense of appreciation for the world with its new structure.

"We're creating this open world of Sanctuary for the first time, where it's a connective space. You can get on your mount and go from the harsh horrid coasts, all the way to the deserts, and then going through different regions along the way," he said. "Everything has a place now, so the history, the lore, everything you've heard about Diablo, it's no longer just a 2D representation that you click and go to a map. You're traversing the space on your horse, and it's a really different kind of experience. I think for the genre and for Diablo players, I know it's something people are going to enjoy."

Blizzard has described Diablo IV's storyline as its most most tragic tale yet. Set 50 years after the events of Reaper of Souls, the Diablo III expansion in which humanity was almost wiped out by the archangel Malthael, the world of Sanctuary is still recovering from those horrific events.

"With Diablo IV, you're watching a tragedy unfold," associate writer Eden Trujillo explained. "It's very much a story that we wanted to create, around people. Not just the apocalyptic elements that surround the story. And that's something that we really sought to bring to you as a part of the Diablo narrative."

With so much death and decimation, Sanctuary has seen power vacuums filled by new factions, and with the world in a broken state, the archangel Inarius and the demon Lilith have returned. The creators of Sanctuary, their return may not mean the best for humanity, and they've arrived at a time when Diablo's greatest legends have faded into memory and the Horadrim order has become a shell of its former self.

Diablo 4's Gameplay

Diablo 4 isn't straying far from its roots as an isometric, dungeon-crawling action-RPG. The Diablo series is built around the loot and gear grind as you level up from fighting hordes of enemies and tough bosses, and there's now more options for you to acquire more loot and ascend in power. As stated previously, Diablo IV is now an open-world action-RPG, what this allows for is more freedom to explore and more opportunities to engage in new activities. Along with main quests, you can also find world events happening in the world, allowing you to sync up with other players to take down large targets or raid dangerous dungeons.

Some of the standout features that've been announced are PvP battles, mounts for faster traversal, and character build customization tools. Specifically, Rune Words (a feature from Diablo 2) are the way to tune your character and further tweak how they function--attaching rune words grants different effects and stat buffs. All classes also have skill ranks and talent trees that you'll progress through as you level up. Skills and talent trees will be vast for each class and Blizzard said that players will only have around 40% of skills unlocked by the time they reach the endgame. Along with that, the endgame will also introduce a new meta-leveling system similar to the Paragon levels from Diablo III, though not much has been said about how that will work at this time.

Diablo 4 will be an always-online game in a persistent world shared with other players, even for those who wish to go about things as a solo experience. However, multiplayer is a big factor in the Diablo experience--enemies will scale to the party's levels and dungeons will be separate instances with various difficulty options. This also extends to the new PvP gameplay with the Fields of Hatred. In these zones, players can fight for loot against more challenging monsters and escape with your haul to keep it. In similar fashion to The Division's Dark Zones, it blends PvE with PvP.

Returning for Diablo IV is the +Skill Rank affix system, which sees skills grow in "potency" as more points are spent on them. If a player finds an item with a skill they haven't acquired yet, they're also able to use that ability anyway. You will also get special legendary powers via items, including armor or accessories, and these are not tied to specific unique items–that means you have a much better chance of actually getting the ability in question than you would in the past.

As players earn skill points, they'll be able to unlock more titles on the Paragon Board. There are several types of tiles ranging from "Normal" to "Legendary," with only one of the latter available on each board. There are also Socket tiles with special Glyphs, as well as a single Glyph tile you can use to unlock a second Paragon board connected to the first.

Endgame Activities

Similar to Diablo III's challenging Rift system, Diablo IV will feature Nightmare Dungeons. These are essentially deadlier remixes of Diablo IV's standard dungeons, of which the game will have more than 120, and any of them can be converted into a Nightmare Dungeon using a Nightmare Sigil. This adds more difficult monsters, different objectives, and various mutators to change up the experience, with one example being a Hellgate modifier that randomly spawns in enemies that aren't usually found in dungeons.

The best rewards will come from playing on higher World Tier difficulties, which can be unlocked once the campaign has been completed and capstone dungeons have been conquered. For PvP fans, the Fields of Hatred is Diablo IV's endgame PvP zone where you can battle other players and acquire resources that can be used to purchase endgame gear.

If you're looking to build the best possible Nephalem warrior, some farming will be in order. Fortunately, Diablo IV's endgame Helltides will allow for target-farming of specific item slots. This endgame activity will let players seek out loot caches within these areas, and slaying monsters in Helltides will earn you Cinders that can be used to unlock the caches.

The cost of a specific cache does vary depending on the item slot it offers and Helltides are time-limited events that last roughly an hour in a specific area. Cinders will disappear at the end of a Helltide or if you leave an afflicted area, and if you get greedy, dying in a Helltide will make you lose half of your collected Cinders. Essentially, you'll need to play smart, efficiently, and know when to cash in your Cinders to unlock caches.

Diablo 4's Character Classes

Diablo IV includes five character classes: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer. When compared to previous Diablo games, the classes of Diablo IV will be far more customizable, allowing for a deeper focuses on build management and designing the look of your chosen archetype on their journey.

Barbarian

The Barbarian class is your archetypal heavy melee tank class in Diablo IV, with two-handed weapons delivering massive blows and dual-wielded weapons offering quicker strikes. This class features an "arsenal" system for weapon slots so you can switch between up to four weapons on the fly, and attacks like dash strikes and war cries allow you to control enemy clusters and keep others safe.

Druid

The Druid is a nature-wielding shapeshifter who is capable of taking many different forms, depending on the situation. These include both a bear and a wolf, and the Druid can even change forms mid-attack for more complex strategies. The earth, wind, and storm are all under a Druid's control making for an eclectic mix of abilities.

Necromancer

Returning from Diablo III's DLC, the Necromancer class is, as the name suggests, capable of conjuring an undead army. Three death-focused bastions--Bone, Blood, and Shadow--are all at a Necromancer's disposal. Along with your skeleton army, you'll also be able to wield a scythe, the classic weapon of any self-respecting grim reaper.

Sorceror/Sorceress

A classic mage-style class, the Sorceror and Sorceress are able to harness several different elements to deal damage. These include ice, lightning, and fire, which should provide them with plenty of options against Sanctuary's varied enemies. They can even turn into a ball of lightning and shoot across the map, dealing plenty of damage and escaping sticky situations.

Rogue

If you liked the Demon Hunter in Diablo III and were disappointed to see it missing in Diablo IV, then the returning Diablo 1 Rogue class is for you. This class uses short swords and bows, as well as speed-focused and stealth-focused moves. Rogues excel in both close-range and long-range combat, and you can also apply shadow or poison effects to deal extra damage in the middle of your speedy, flashy combo attacks.

Gallery

Where To Find More On Diablo 4

We've been covering Diablo 4 since its reveal, and there are a ton of finer details about the game. If you want more check out our stories below:

• Diablo 4 Feels Like A Demonic Destiny Thanks To Its Shared World
• Diablo 4 Is Adding New Elements And Bringing Back Old Ones In An Attempt To Be More Replayable
• Diablo 4 Will Let You Spend Money On New Skins For Your Characters
• Diablo 4 Will Bring Back Talent Trees And Rune Words To The Series
• Diablo 4 Devs Talk Controller Support On PC, UI Changes
• Diablo 4's Creepy New Cannibal Enemies Are Fast And Hungry
• Diablo 4's New Boss: Concept Art Is "Nightmare Fuel," But In A Good Way
• Diablo 4 Update Details Its New Open-World Multiplayer Areas
• Diablo 4's Reworked Skill Tree Revealed
• How Diablo 4 Changes Itemization, Including The Removal Of Mythics
• Diablo 4 Designer Discusses How Itemization Will Work And Some Major Changes Being Made
• Diablo 4 - How The Rogue Class, PvP, and Open World Work
• Diablo 4's Server Slam Went Surprisingly Well, But Some Fan Criticisms Remain
• Blizzard Clarifies How Diablo 4's Mounts Will Work
• How Diablo 4 Is Being Built For A Modern Audience
• Diablo 4 Devs Have "No Plans" For Key Map Feature, And Fans Are Divided On It
• Diablo 4 Has Gone Gold Ahead Of June Launch
• Diablo 4's Dungeons Are Becoming Less Repetitive And Tedious Thanks To Beta Feedback
• Diablo 4: Release Time And How To Play At Launch

Diablo IV Guides

You can check back on our Diablo IV guides hub after the game launches for updated tips and tricks, but for now, the recent betas and server slam tests have provided plenty of information and builds and strategies. For a quick roundup of essential guides, you can check out the following features:

• Open beta dates and early access
• Connection issues and queue times
• Waypoint fast travel locations
• How to respec skills
• How to increase World Tiers
• How to create and join Clans
• Transmog system and dyes/pigments
• Murmuring Obols and Whispering Keys
• Beta cosmetics and titles

Season Pass and Cosmetic DLC

Post-launch, Diablo IV will adopt a seasonal model for telling more stories within the world of Sanctuary. These will be quarterly seasons, lasting three months at a time, and will function similarly to how they did in Diablo III as players will be able to complete objectives as part of a Season Journey. Each objective will be broken down into chapters and tackling them will help level up the seasonal battle pass, which will feature 27 free reward tiers.

On the free reward tier, a special currency called Smoldering Ash can be earned. This is used to unlock and upgrade Seasonal Blessings perks, which have a range of effects, such as increasing XP gain or offering a higher chance to obtain rare materials. There will be a premium season pass as well, that will cost $10 each season, and will largely consist of cosmetic items throughout its 63 tiers. Additionally, you'll have the option to spend roughly $25 to unlock an accelerated premium battle pass with 20 tier skips. Associate game director Joe Piepiora estimates that completing Diablo IV's battle pass will take around 80 hours. Diablo IV's first season will arrive in mid-to-late July following the game's launch on June 6.

An online shop will also be available, but as Blizzard explained, this store will only offer cosmetic items. There'll be zero gameplay benefits to buying this content, but there will be fashionable benefits with items that tie in to class-specific fantasies or aesthetics. To purchase them, you'll need to buy the in-game currency Platinum, and these cosmetics will rotate in and out of stock. Any class-specific cosmetics can be used by any character of that class associated with your Battle.net account, and these will be available on any platform, so long as you log in.

Will there be a secret Cow Level?

Sadly, not at launch, it would seem. Blizzard confirmed in an interview that there won't be a cow level in Diablo IV, as it wouldn't match with the grim tone and world of the game. As the game progresses with new seasonal content, the developer might consider adding a goofy level to lighten the mood. That said, Blizzard is known for denying the existence of a secret cow level even when one did exist.

PC Requirements

Blizzard says that Diablo IV will be able to run on PCs that are below its recommended specifications, although it has cautioned that users may find that "the game experience may be significantly diminished."

For the minimum specs, it's recommended that you have a PC with an SSD, but for the GPU, you can get away with a surprisingly old graphics card installed and still enjoy a 1080p gaming experience on low graphical settings. To get the very best visual experience, you'll need to be equipped with at least a high-end 30-series Nvidia GPU or an AMD RX 6800 XT, as well as a beefy amount of RAM. If you do meet those requirements, you'll be able to explore Sanctuary in ultra-detailed quality in 4K and with a smooth frame rate.

Diablo IV will also offer DLSS 3 support when it launches, giving it a boost from Nvidia's AI-powered Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology.

Diablo IV Minimum System Spec Requirements

Settings to run Diablo IV at 1080p native resolution/720p render resolution, low graphics settings, and 30fps:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10 version 1909 or newer
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-8350
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9 280
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: SSD with 90 GB available space
• Internet: Broadband Connection

Diablo IV Medium System Spec Requirements

Settings to run Diablo IV at 1080p resolution, medium graphics settings, and 60fps:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10 version 1909 or newer
• Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD Ryzen 1300X
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 470
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: SSD with 90 GB available space
• Internet: Broadband Connection

Diablo IV High System Spec Requirements

Settings to run Diablo IV at 1080p resolution, high graphics settings, and 60fps:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10 version 1909 or newer
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 2700X
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: SSD with 90 GB available space
• Internet: Broadband Connection

Diablo IV Ultra 4k System Spec Requirements

Settings to run Diablo IV at 4K resolution, ultra graphics settings, and 60fps:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10 version 1909 or newer
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
• Memory: 32 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series for fully supported DLSS3 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: SSD with 90 GB available space

Internet: Broadband Connection

Open-world activities

There are several activity categories in Diablo IV, including cellars, which are shorter scenarios with less-grandiose rewards, as well as longer dungeons that feature winding pathways and bigger boss fights.

There are also public activities that benefit from Diablo IV's shared-world structure, such as strongholds, which see groups battling against a number of enemies in camps. Later on, players will also encounter World Bosses, though these will be optional, and the story quests will not require any cooperation between random players or groups.

Development controversies

Blizzard has had plenty of controversies over the past few years, many related to allegations of harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. These led to firings and resignations, and Diablo IV's development team has also been affected by this. The original director and lead designer were both fired, and in a report from the Washington Post, current developers on the game said they have experienced crunch as they've struggled to hit deadlines. Internal release dates for the game have reportedly shifted several times, and turnover at the studio has been high.

Blizzard will still be revealing more information on Diablo IV as we approach its 2023 release. This will likely include more footage of the five classes, more information on enemies and locations, and more endgame teases. The final release date is set for June 6, 2023, but you can play Diablo II Resurrected across consoles and PC while you wait. For more, check out GameSpot's hands-on Diablo IV preview.