Diablo 4 revealed a hint of its endgame in a video. Only the smallest bits of information were really new. But for MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider they have shown enough to recognize a trend. He likes the direction, but there are risks.
What’s new about Endgame? Not very much. There were only a few minor details to the already known mechanics.
The only thing that was really new was the information about “Capstone Dungeons”. These special dungeons are completed at the end of a campaign to unlock the next level of difficulty.
I also found a scene about the Paragon boards that was shown exciting. You move across square boards with the Paragon points you have earned and before you run onto the next board you can turn it and choose four different starting points.
You can read more about what was shown here: Diablo 4 secretly sneaks boring MMO content into the endgame, disguising it as something else
However, there was a little hint hidden in the presentation that made me smile. Because this is exactly the information I was waiting for: more signs of “Targeted Loot” or “Targeted Loot”.
You can watch the video of the presentation here:
Diablo 4: Insight into the endgame
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“Targeted Loot” – chance and risk for Diablo 4
In an interview with the chief developer of Diablo 4, an exciting sentence was said about the endgame: “It’s all about finding your desired equipment in a targeted manner”.
After that, we talked about the “Hell Tide Events” in the open world, which allow me to know beforehand what type of item I’ll get for completing it. That’s when I realized: There really is “Targeted Loot” in Diablo 4.
Such a loot system is very powerful.
It gives me greater control over my prey. But it also takes away my control over which activities are worthwhile for me. A double-edged sword. I was also able to observe that with the loot shooter The Division 2.
I found the system to be fantastic all around. In a certain mission, for example, the drop chances for “Gloves” were greatly increased. If I was hunting gloves, did I dead-grind the mission that day or a specific area of the open world.
A daily rotation ensured that if I still wanted gloves, I could tackle another mission the next day. It was a perfect fit for me, I didn’t pay too much attention to the mission designs anyway. I just wanted to shoot.
The big but, however, is the “dead-grinding”.
If you want to play “efficiently”, i.e. collect the best equipment as quickly as possible, then nothing beats the “Targeted Loot” activities.
It is not yet possible to say how exactly this will work in Diablo 4. But after the video we already know 3 types of “Targeted Loot” in the game:
What if I don’t enjoy a certain activity or the quest for a certain loot piece just sucks? Then, for the first few weeks, I’m struggling through certain activities because the game is new and hot.
But Diablo 4 is a service game that aims to retain players over the long term. It’s all about these small efficiency advantages that eventually determine how “Diablo 4 is played properly”.
Experience has often shown that players do what brings them the most and not necessarily what they enjoy the most. “Targeted Loot” can help mitigate this circumstance. But it can also make things worse.
I’m a big believer in a “targeted loot” system. It can make loot-based games significantly better, even allowing developers to control player activities a bit. But a lot can also go wrong and end up creating more frustration than joy.
If you also have an opinion or questions about the system, then leave me a comment.
If you would rather find out more about Diablo 4 as a whole, check out our large info hub for the game: Overview of Diablo 4: Release, Beta, Classes, Gameplay and Pre-Order