Diablo 4 Season Pass store explanation, cosmetics, monetization

in new Developers BlogBlizzard has made great efforts to replicate something that it has He said it before: Diablo 4The monetization will not include any means of purchasing power or gaming advantages.

In very precise and critical language from Product Manager Kegan Clark, the blog explains how to do it Diablo 4 It will be monetized (following future expansion packs are sold). The in-game store will only sell one thing: cosmetic upgrades for your character.

There will also be a Battle Pass-style Season Pass, which will be updated along with the in-game seasons. The season pass will have a free tier and a paid tier, but once more, the paid tier will only award cosmetics or a premium currency that can be used to buy other cosmetics in the shop. The sale of anything that affects gameplay is expressly and repeatedly disqualified by Clark.

This intentional message is definitely the result The controversy that swept Immortal Diablo. The mobile game, co-developed with NetEase and released earlier this year, has been doing well but has sparked panic from Exploitative and misleading depths of monetization, which lowers paywall rates for the most powerful items in the game, and makes the cost of character maximization prohibitive. Blizzard is clearly eager to try to avoid it Diablo 4 It is smeared with the same brush.

But, although the language of this blog is probably in response to Immortal Diablo, the same is unlikely to be true for a game’s monetization design. A similar controversy was included in the real money auction house in Diablo 3 At launch, Blizzard knew that its players would not accept any monetization of the popular Diablo item set in a premium flagship release. Immortal Diablo It is an exception developed with different markets in mind: mobile platforms, Asian countries, where players’ expectations vary. It wouldn’t have occurred to Blizzard that they might get away with the same in a $60 PC and console version aimed at hardcore fans.

An example of the type of cosmetic armor sets that will be on sale in Diablo 4shop
Photo: Blizzard Entertainment

but, Diablo 4Both the store and the season pass represent an important departure from Diablo’s flagship line, and the community will likely be paying attention to any details of their operations that ring the bell.

Perhaps most surprising is the free season ticket tier will be Advance gameplay enhancements. These are defined as “things that make the new seasonal character leveling journey easier” – for example, a boost that increases the speed at which experience points are gained.

“We want to be clear that players cannot unlock season rewards faster with purchases — there is no way to unlock more boosts, or boosts at a faster rate, by spending money,” Clark said. It’s worth the hammer, because will be You may be able to speed up your progress with the Season Pass by purchasing the next level the traditional way now. But gameplay boosts will be locked at the character level, so there’s no way to shorten their access. And since it is awarded exclusively through free levels, it will be awarded to all players equally.

All other Season Pass rewards, free or paid, will be cosmetic. Some will be exclusive to the season and reflect its theme. It will be possible to speed up your progress in the Season Pass by focusing on the Season Journey, a series of achievement objectives that you will be familiar with. Diablo 3 players.

For cosmetics sold in the store, these will be ways to change the appearance of your character that has no in-game stats or any other influence on the gameplay. It will be possible to closely examine the appearance of all items on your character before purchasing. They’ll mostly be specific to individual character classes (while Season Pass exclusives may look the same across all classes). You will be able to use it on any character of the correct category in your account. They can be mixed and matched with in-game item transmitters.

Diablo 4 Barbarian wears heavy armor on the left, contrasting with a fur band on the right.  Both are very detailed

A legendary in-game armor set obtained on the left, compared to a paid cosmetic set on the right
Photo: Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard would like to point out that the cosmetics may look different than the in-game armor pieces, but not necessarily better. “There are some amazing pieces – unique Legendary Quality items – that players can find without ever going to the store,” Clark says.

As clearly and clearly defined, Diablo 4The monetization design may still hold back the community. The Season Pass inevitably carries the flavor of free-to-play with it, while the highly competitive Diablo community will certainly test the claim that seasonal play boosts are fair and cannot be exploited within an inch of its life.

Selling cosmetics is a common practice in long-running live games, and there doesn’t seem to be any disagreement regarding how to sell them. Diablo 4. However, for some in the community, the awesome appearance of the character should be a sign of the effort and skill that went into getting those pieces of armor. For these players, offering an equally stunning look for sale will reduce this value.

But Blizzard needs to do something to fund upkeep Diablo 4Ambitious long term live service. Those cosmetics and season ticket that give them strength is what he settled on. Time will tell if players find it more palatable than Immortal DiabloPush-to-win race to the bottom.

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