00:00I have been playing Diablo 4 since the beta and I have participated in every season so far.
00:06So this article that I've read is kinda interesting because it dwells into season 14 changes.
00:12Basically it's all about how mythic changes are controversial but it's for the game's long term health.
00:19And here's what I can say about this but many other aspects of season 14.
00:23When you think about it, this season might end up as one of the most important seasons in the game's
00:29history.
00:30And the reason isn't because it's giving us a new boss or some flashy seasonal mechanics,
00:34but because Blizzard is fundamentally changing the way the endgame works.
00:39But if you ask me based on what I have read,
00:42this might be one of the most controversial seasons Diablo 4 has seen since the launch.
00:47Now, it remains to be seen what I will feel when I play the game,
00:52but let's just say my gut feeling is telling me something else.
00:56You see, one of Blizzard's biggest goals with season 14 is addressing the fact that a handful of mythic items
01:03have become completely dominant.
01:05For example, items like air or perdition or grandfather are so powerful that once you get them,
01:11that slot is basically sold forever.
01:13And to be honest, speaking from my personal experience,
01:16once I have identified that certain slot, for example in this case helm, is going to be air or perdition,
01:23I actually don't care what I'm putting there,
01:26because for me that item is just a placeholder until I get that particular mythic.
01:32And you can see this on every guide on max roll, every icy way in build,
01:36and eventually every player ends up chasing the same few items.
01:40So Blizzard isn't wrong when they say that's bad for long-term build diversity.
01:45Again, every barbarian, every sork, every rogue ends up using the exact same gear,
01:51and eventually the endgame becomes solved.
01:54So what's Blizzard doing?
01:55Well, their solution is to allow more than 100 unique items to become mythic quality,
02:01giving you many more options.
02:03Essentially, when you think about it on paper, that's a great idea.
02:07However, here's where the things start getting messy.
02:10Blizzard seems to believe that adding more randomness equals more build diversity.
02:15And I think that's where they are making a mistake.
02:19When I think about these things, randomness and depth are not the same thing.
02:23People don't hate fixed affixes because they are boring.
02:27They hate them when there are only a handful of viable items.
02:30So the answer should be crafting meaningful choices,
02:34not turning every piece of endgame gear into another slot machine.
02:38I mean, nothing kills excitement faster than finally seeing one of the rarest items in the game drop,
02:44only to realize it's rolled terrible affixes.
02:48And maybe some of you think this is exciting, but for me it sounds like it's super disappointing.
02:54Essentially, the rarest items in Diablo should make you jump out of your chair,
02:58but instead, most of the time, as far as I'm concerned,
03:02I say something along the lines of,
03:03well, this one is useless and I just scrap it immediately.
03:07And I wouldn't say that I'm angry about this or furious.
03:11I would just say that I'm tired.
03:13That's probably the best way how I would describe it.
03:16Also, I'm not necessarily upset because change is happening.
03:20The biggest problem here is that it feels like Diablo's four core systems are constantly changing.
03:25For example, this new mythic system, it basically adds layer after layer of RNG,
03:31and then what you get is mythic items no longer feel special.
03:36Also, Blizzard has spent years improving itemization since launch,
03:41only to reintroduce so many of the same frustrations that I have complained about before.
03:47And that, to me, screams something along the lines of,
03:51didn't we already learn this lesson?
03:53I don't know, man, it seems like we're making two steps backwards and one step forward.
03:59That's kinda the theme song for the whole freaking game.
04:03Also, one other point that I would like to make.
04:06Fixed affix mythics are actually good,
04:09because once you finally obtain one, that gear slot was finished.
04:13And that was emphasized especially with the last season, because fixed affixed uniques,
04:19well, they are no longer fixed affixed.
04:21And I was busting my ass so hard in order to assemble proper gear for my build.
04:27And let me tell you, that really felt annoying, but most of the time tiring.
04:32I mean, don't get me wrong, I like chasing items and affixes,
04:36but the way this is working in Diablo 4 at the moment,
04:40you don't really get a lot of satisfaction, to be honest.
04:43Which brings me to something Blizzard's design director said during an interview
04:48that I think is incredibly revealing.
04:50When discussing war plans and why Blizzard hasn't made progression account-wide,
04:55he explained that doing so would reduce some of the playtime associated with the system.
05:00And honestly, this particular quote is so insane to me.
05:05And the reason why is so simple.
05:07It hints at a design philosophy that prioritizes engagement metrics over player enjoyment.
05:13Instead of asking questions like, how do we make this system more fun?
05:18They are asking questions, how do we keep players grinding longer?
05:22And let me tell you folks, those are not the same question.
05:26Oh my god, it's like, I don't really understand these people.
05:30Last season, I was so demotivated to play more characters just because of this war plan bullshit.
05:37And because of that, because they are not making it account-wide,
05:41I'm not gonna make more than one character because I'm not fucking stupid.
05:45Yes, there are many characters that I would like to explore and play,
05:48but at the end of the day, because the classes and builds aren't balanced properly,
05:53why would I ever play something that's subpar?
05:57Instead, I'm just gonna play the most powerful build,
06:01pick one of the classes that has it and be done with it.
06:04Or even better, I might actually skip this season because this is just fucking insane.
06:09Adding another 50 hours of farming doesn't necessarily make progression or the game more meaningful.
06:15It just makes it more exhausting.
06:18Look, I think Blizzard correctly identified the problem.
06:22Too many mandatory mythics, too little build diversity,
06:25and basically endgame that's becoming increasingly solved.
06:29But I'm worried they're solving these problems by adding more randomness
06:33and extending the grind instead of creating more meaningful choices.
06:37I would argue the goal in this game isn't to spend forever chasing one impossible item.
06:43It's pretty much reaching a satisfying endpoint and then trying something new.
06:48However, again, because warplans are not account bound,
06:52that something new, as far as I'm concerned, will never be a reality.
06:57I definitely do not want to make an alt. 100%.
07:02And because of that, build diversity is going to suffer,
07:06experimentation is never going to be a thing,
07:09and discovering new combinations is only going to happen if you are a Maxroll creator or a streamer
07:17that is basically doing that as a full-time job.
07:21So yeah, season 14 may ultimately determine whether Diablo 4's future is built around player freedom and creativity,
07:29or around keeping players on a treadmill just a little bit longer.
07:33And I guess I am going to find that out for real when the next season launches.
07:38Who knows, I might actually be completely wrong on this one,
07:43but sadly, more often than not, I am kind of right when it comes to these things.
07:48So yeah, it's definitely going to be an interesting season.
07:52And if the game, or rather the season, turns out to be shitty,
07:56you bet I'm going to talk about it because I'm also going to make a review about that particular season.
08:01And that's basically my take on this news.
08:04Thanks very much for watching, and as always, like, share, subscribe, comment, all that good stuff.
08:09And that's it from me, until the next one.
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