Diablo 4: This is how PvP works in the open-world RPG

Diablo 4

Diablo 4 will put you in an open world. You can explore them freely, discover dungeons and world bosses along the way and enter PvP zones where other players are allowed to attack you. Blizzard talked about this in more detail at BlizzConline.

Get important splinters in PvP zones

PvP in Diablo 4 takes place in the open game world, but you have to use the so-called " Enter Fields of Hatred ". These are special places where you are corrupted by the influence of Mephisto and want to attack other heroes. If you manage to defeat a fellow player or a monster that lurks in the Fields of Hatred, you will get splinters as loot. These are also available for the conclusion of events or you can find them as loot in boxes. You can exchange these shards for items such as mounts, armor and weapons.

Recommended editorial content At this point you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations are only displayed if you confirm this by clicking on "Load all external content": Load all external content I consent to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy . External content More on this in our data protection declaration. However, it is possible that other players will take these splinters from you in the Fields of Hatred. So if you are defeated in PvP, you lose your shards. Only when these items have been cleaned will they be bound to you. To clean them up, you must bring the shards to special altars. If you then start the cleaning process there, all other players will receive a message about it. This makes you a target, because other players then set out to prevent you from cleaning the splinters and taking them from you. The more splinters you convert, the more you will notice a bonus that others receive if they defeat you. If you manage to clean up without being switched off, you will not only get the shards tied to you, but also an additional bonus.

PvP should always remain optional in Diablo 4. The Fields of Hatred are located in the open game world, but you can bypass them if you don't feel like brawling with other players.

Source: Blizzard's YouTube channel

Diablo 4 - Everything We Know Ahead Of BlizzConline

Perhaps the most anticipated game Blizzard has in development (that we know of) is Diablo 4, the next mainline installment to the iconic action-RPG series. It was first revealed during BlizzCon 2019 through a cinematic trailer alongside a gameplay showcase. Those in attendance also had the chance to get hands-on with a playable demo. There have been quarterly developer updates since then, but there's still a lot more we want to know about the game--we expect that to change soon.

BlizzConline is happening this weekend, which is a virtual version of the event. Due to the global pandemic, BlizzCon 2020 was understandably cancelled, but that also means that the developer may have plenty to share about its upcoming games. In anticipation of fresh Diablo 4 news expected during the event, we've rounded everything we know so far about the game. For more on Blizzard's games and what we can expect from the event, be sure to check out everything we know about Hearthstone's future.

Release Date And Platforms

Diablo 4 is being developed for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. With the latest console generation upon us, it's likely that we'll hear about PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game too. Diablo 3 was released for Nintendo Switch, but there's no word on its sequel getting the same treatment.

As for when it'll launch, Diablo 4 currently has no release date or release window, but Activision has stated that the game will not come out this year.

The Story So Far

Diablo 4 is taking on a darker, more grounded approach to its story, and that tone seems to have been set from what we've seen. This will be a direct sequel taking place decades after the events of the Diablo 3 expansion Reaper of Souls, but Blizzard has said that it's focusing more on commoners and their struggles within the ravaged world of Sanctuary, as opposed to just supernatural demonic grandeur.

The reveal trailer was terrifying in its own way, showing a blood sacrifice to resurrect the demonic villain Lilith, who is partially responsible for the creation of Sanctuary, which is the mortal world of the Diablo franchise. BlizzCon 2019 also featured a panel on the story and lore of Diablo 4 and offered a ton of insight into the upcoming game's worldbuilding.

Sanctuary is made up of five different regions: Fractured Peaks (snowy mountains), Dry Steppes (desert), Hawezar (swamps), Scosglen (coastal forests), and Kehjistan (ruins of a past civilization). We've been able to see them in-game and in artwork and they all represent distinct biomes, and you'll visit all of them in Diablo 4's campaign.

Lilith has been summoned in the mortal realm and it's probably bad for the people of Sanctuary.

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.

Diablo 4's Gameplay

From what we've seen and played so far, Diablo 4 isn't straying far from its roots. It's still an isometric, dungeon-crawling action-RPG with various character classes that play differently from each other. The Diablo series is built around the loot and gear grind as you level up from fighting hordes of enemies and tough bosses, which the franchise is known for.

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.

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.

Diablo 4's Character Classes

As for character classes, Diablo 4 will feature five in total. So far, we're only aware of three, all returning from previous games: Barbarian, Druid, and Sorceress/Sorcerer.

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Diablo IV - Character Classes Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Size:

Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot'sTerms of Use and Privacy Policy

enter

Barbarian is your powerful melee class that uses axes, swords, polearms, and various one- and two-handed weapons. What's new here is the arsenal system which grants Barbarians four weapon slots so you can swap between them easily. Barbarians have strong AOE attacks and dash strikes.

Druids are shapeshifters who use earth and storm magic. They can transform into a werewolf or werebear for different attacks, and can even transition between forms mid-combo to diversify their moveset in combat (called seamless shapeshifting).

Sorceress/Sorcerer is your standard mage class that uses a combination of fire, lightning, and ice magic with various attack properties like AOE, AOD, or straight-up damage. Of the many spells they have, one that stands out is turning into a ball of lightning and darting across the map to hit multiple targets for high damage.

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:

We expect to see more of Diablo 4 during BlizzConline, possibly including one or both of the other two classes. In the meantime, you can check out our impressions from the Diablo 4 hands-on demo from BlizzCon 2019 to get an idea of what the experience is like. Since it is a free event for everyone, be sure to watch BlizzConline if you want to keep up with what's new with Blizzard's games.