On September 23rd (Friday), patch 2.5 came to Diablo 2: Resurrection. Overall updates such as convenience improvements and error correction were made, and the realm of fear system was officially applied. The realm of fear, where the level of monsters in a specific area rises every hour, is taking its place as a new hunting culture.
On October 7th (Friday), with the start of Ladder Season 2, you will also be able to meet the Talisman of Destruction, another protagonist of the patch. The amulet of destruction, which has the effect of removing the immunity of monsters, has already been evaluated as a key item in Ladder Season 2 and is expected to bring a new wind to character setting.
This 2.5 patch contains a lot of changes. From hunting grounds to item settings, the key keywords of this patch seem to be diversified. Inven had interviews with Robert Galerani, Design Director, and Michael Bukowski, Technical Director, to hear detailed stories regarding the background of the introduction of the Realm of Fear and the Talisman of Destruction.
Q. The realm of fear is getting a lot of attention. I’m curious as to what motivated you to add a new system.
Robert Galerani: We wanted to make the journey of reaching level 99 enjoyable for more players. And what was just as important was to provide diversity. After reaching a high level, there are not many types of monsters for the player to enjoy. The play was repeated in such a way as to hunt Baal thousands of times. We wanted to make it possible for more users to have a new experience so that the game might be enjoyed more extensively through the realm of horror.
Q. Through the patch, there were some changes to the target of designation of the area of fear. Is there a reason to choose additional pits, the damned?
Robert Galerani: One of the criteria we have in selecting the target area is the density of monsters. Many players see experience and drop items and focus on a specific target to farm, but with the addition of the Territory of Fear, the entire area has been changed to give valuable loot. Because monster density was important, areas that did not meet the criteria were removed, and new areas were added to maintain the total number of target areas. The Pit and the Cursed have been added because the monster density is high as well as the fun of hunting.
Q. Some say that there are too many candidate areas. What is the developer’s opinion on this?
Robert Galerani: As mentioned earlier, the big goal we had was to provide diversity. That’s why he decided that it served his purpose to allow him to enjoy more realms. There is also randomness in the designation of the realm of fear. From the player’s point of view, it seems to be fun to wait for a certain area to be selected as the realm of fear. Also, the choice of strategy or build may vary depending on the region. It seems to be able to easily adjust if there is an inappropriate place by including various areas as a target.
The frequency with which the domain of fear is designated is also important. Before the current frequency was decided, we also considered ways to designate a fear zone once every 24 hours, but I think it’s a way to enjoy the game in a fun way even at a high level.
Q. Contrary to what many people expect, the realm of fear appears in Standard. There were many opinions that it would be for ladder only?
Michael Bukowski: We wanted more players to enjoy the horror realm content. I thought that it would be good if users who lack play time or lack a level might enjoy the realm of horror. So, it was designed so that the realm of fear can be played even with the current character.
Unlike the realm of horror, the talisman of destruction will be an important element of enjoying the ladder. In the realm of fear, many users can experience it regardless of ladder and non-ladder, and in ladder, the direction is set so that the amulet of destruction and the realm of fear can be enjoyed together.
Q. It is expected that reaching level 99 will be easier. Is there any reason to speed up?
Michael Bukowski: With the addition of the realm of fear, it seems that reaching level 99 may become easier than before. Our biggest goal was to make this play experience a little more accessible. We wanted to provide an opportunity for more users to reach level 99. Looking at the existing play patterns, reaching a high level itself was not an area that many users challenged. Depending on how you play, the speed of reaching level 99 may be shortened, but it seems unreasonable to say that this process will be easy.
Q. There is an opinion that big changes are not felt in farming. Is it possible that the 50 life force amulet set on the PTR character is related to the realm of fear?
Robert Galerani: Testing new features can be tricky. From the user’s point of view, starting from level 0, they will naturally acquire and grow equipment, and expect to see how new features and content will feel. However, in actual testing, there are times when fast progress is needed within a short period of time. For this reason, equipment necessary for the purpose of testing is sometimes provided in advance, and powerful equipment is prepared so that players can feel the experience of reaching a high level.
For example, in order to see how the Realm of Fear will feel when the Blessed Hammer Paladin is equipped with the best gear, they need to test on items that match their level. It can be seen that this is an area where it is not easy to control the balance. From this perspective, the realm of horror was introduced before the start of Ladder Season 2. We wanted to see how players enjoy the new content of Realm of Horror with their real characters.
Q. There is a lot of interest in the amulet of destruction. Why did you add it?
Michael Bukowski: Even among the devs, we have great expectations for the Talisman of Destruction. This is probably the biggest change among the many changes applied to the game. When Diablo 2: Resurrection was first introduced to the world over a year ago, what I thought was impossible is now possible with Talisman of Destruction. The goal was to allow more users to enjoy various builds, so we considered the option of the amulet of destruction.
Inside the game, we also understood that touching the resistance might affect certain builds. Still, I thought it might be an idea that might make fun of the concept of immunity not only in the realm of fear, but throughout the game. I added the amulet of destruction because I thought it would fit well with the game’s direction, and I’m planning to look into what kind of impact it will have in the future.
Q. I checked on the PTR, and unlike Gid’s luck, it was possible to put multiple talismans of destruction on one character. Will it persist on live servers?
Robert Galerani: It will be maintained on the live server. This is part of the intention, but I did not want to limit the creativity of users. The amulet of destruction has a very good effect, but since there is a limit to destroying immunity and a penalty is given, it is not an item that can only benefit from wearing more. Therefore, there was no need to technically prevent this. If the user wants to use all of the many charms of destruction, of course they can. However, there may be insufficient free space in the bag, so you should consider these aspects carefully.
Q. The Amulet of Destruction option has been modified. Is there any particular reason for the change from the original option?
Michael Bukowski: When we first introduced the Talisman of Destruction to the PTR, there was a lot of thought regarding what value it might give. The main reason for testing was to hear feedback from players and see how to use them in practice. And we wanted to examine whether the design of the new content prepared through this process is working as intended.
In the case of the amulet of destruction, the penalty given to the player was excessive. An example would be an amulet that destroys physical immunity. In addition, it seemed that more value and fun might be given if a range was included in the options. Even if you have the amulet of destruction, we wanted to keep the possibility of getting a better option of the amulet of destruction open. I was able to learn many things through PTR.
Q. How difficult is it to obtain the Amulet of Destruction? Is it similar to Gide’s luck?
Robert Galerani: I think I can give a detailed answer on this part. It’s likely that many players would expect the Talisman of Destruction to be included as part of the TC (Tresure Class) normally applied to the game. Gide’s luck is the only unique-grade giant amulet that existed in the game, so it seems like it might be considered the same category.
As a general concept, you would know that when I kill a monster, TC is used, and the loot is determined by the game system by rotating a random number. What type of item will appear is first selected, and if it is a giant amulet, a type determination is made as to whether it is a unique grade. If there is a unique rank in the system here, it would have been predicted that Gid’s luck or other amulets of destruction would be included in the candidates.
However, the amulet of destruction was designed differently. Amulet of Destruction is separate from other TCs. In other words, when you kill a monster, you can get Gid’s Luck and Destruction Charm at the same time. The process of determining the loot is different from the normal TC. Although it is not possible to say specifically regarding the probability of acquisition here, it seems that users will be able to understand it naturally as they play the new season. It is by no means impossible to obtain.
Once once more, our goal is to make new content accessible to more people. Of course, since it is a high-level equipment, it is impossible to acquire at the initial stage, and it will require effort to develop characters. However, if you continue to enjoy the game, you will have a chance to get it. At the same time, the drop probability is set differently depending on the type of amulet of destruction.
Q. I wonder what will happen to the amulet of destruction that you have following the ladder ends.
Michael Bukowski: The Talisman of Destruction works just like any other item. After being moved to the warehouse, a transition will be made so that it can be enjoyed as a non-ladder character. Whether to use the amulet of destruction is entirely up to the user.
Q. Lastly, please say hello to Korean users.
Robert Galerani: I sincerely thank the fans of the Korean community. It would be good to think that the whole process of listening to your voices by applying changes during the PTR and continuously supporting various features is for the user community. Thank you for your support always.
Michael Bukowski: I want to convey a very happy feeling. In fact, it is a great honor to be able to work on and develop this game. It’s a fun game for us because it’s a game that has been loved all over the world. Thank you very much for your support so that we can continue working on the project.
