Is Diablo IV Good Now?

Blizzard Entertainment took a lot of swings and gambles with the release of Diablo IV. Some of these paid off, such as the massive, gorgeous, and interconnected world for players to explore seamlessly together. Others were a swing and a miss, especially with the launch of Season 1 and other content. So, I can understood if you are confused if Diablo IV is good or not now.

I had a pretty odd situation when it comes to playing Diablo IV. I was there right at launch, but I wasn’t covering it or a knowledgeable fan like others, so I only played a little bit. As such, I walked away having a good several hours with it, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep me around with other games on the horizon.

Fast forward to recently and I have dug much deeper into Diablo IV to see how it is now. In addition, I am getting ready to prepare some for the upcoming Vessel of Hatred expansion. What I have found is that Blizzard has listened to the fans and come up with solid improvements and changes in recent seasons to appeal to a wider swathe of players.

Take for instance how much easier it is try out different builds. As with any online game, there is a meta to this experience and it is ever-changing. One season, there might be a particular Rogue build everyone is using while it might be a Sorcerer one the next. Trying out different builds for the classes is much easier now than ever before.

What you can do now is salvage any augment you really like and it will be added to the Codex permanently for you to use anytime you want. You can then take it and use it in another build or leave it there for the future. This change, among others, respects the player’s time and effort, and rewards them for it.

I am not sure why aspects were consumable in the first place, but that isn’t a problem anymore. In addition, you can upgrade legendary ones now as you find better versions, which adds an extra layer. Then there are the other quality-of-life improvements like horses sprinting in towns, smoother crafting, better Helltides content, and so on. Heck, it is just nice to be able to pick up items with a larger radius now.

Perhaps most importantly, though, it is now time for Diablo IV‘s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred. Though I can’t comment on how good the expansion will be prior to its launch, a new class and all of the other changes are plenty exciting enough. Without a doubt, this game is quite different from how it was pre-Season 1 and even with Season 1’s launch.

In fact, I would go so far as to say this is the time to check out Diablo IV for the first time or, like me, once again. The gameplay is smoother and more welcoming to newcomers. And for veterans, many frustrations are no longer a problem. Not to mention, there is so much to look forward to with the new Spiritborn class and more new content. So, to answer the overall question, I do think Diablo IV is good now. In fact, I think it is significantly better than its release.

Diablo IV is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Vessel of Hatred will release on October 8, 2024.