Diablo 4 Server Slam went extremely smooth. If Blizzard keeps up the momentum, they were positioning themselves for an excellent launch.
However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some hiccups along the way. So, here, I’ll be sharing my final thoughts on Diablo 4 pre-launch and recapping my experiences with Server Slam.
Server Stability / Preformance
Starting out with server stability, it was buttery smooth. Although that may be due to a smaller turnout than expected on Blizzard’s part. A large portion of the bugs from previous betas were no longer present, and I didn’t experience one server cue disconnects or rubber banding during my play time.
Additionally, I had no massive FPS drops and was able to record with OBS while also having background tabs open simultaneously. So, it seems the memory leak and other hardware related issues caused by the game were mostly ironed out.
An important thing to note is the issue with Gigabyte graphics card still seems to be present as one of my friends nearly tried his GPU while playing. So, if you do have a Gigabyte 3080 TI, it would be smart to contact a manufacturer and try and get that fixed.
Item Drop Rates
Next, we’ll be moving into drop rates.
In the most recent tests, the drop rates were set to what they will be at launch and this allowed us to really feel character progression. After the servers went down, I was left with that feeling of constantly wanting more. For that, I do give props to the dev team and want to say this is exactly how loot rarity should feel.
Now, some methods for farming legendaries were just plain broken, like Kor Dragan dropping 20 legendaries an hour just by clicking on corpses. I’m 100% certain this is not going to make it into live. Obals seem a bit overtuned as well, primarily due to the ability to server swap events and get guaranteed Obals from every chest.
Treasure Goblins were bugged and dropping hardly any loot other than Diablo 4 Gold in some materials. According to a Tweet from Rod Fergusson, the dev team is aware of looking into the issue.
Class Balance
Moving on to class balance, Blizzard just buff every Druid’s skill by like a hundred percent. The classes felt great, considering all the nerfs, that rolled out and the most recent patch.
Of course, Necromancers were having struggles to keep minions alive. But Blizzard hot fixed their HP during mid Server Slam Beta. And that plus the buff to minion damage leaves them in a great spot. Despite the huge hit to Sorcerer, they remain likely the best class in the game.
Compared to other classes, Druid does need more attention from Blizzard. But I have to admit that Druid has indeed received some improvements in this Diablo 4 Server Slam beta. And of course, Druid is a hard class the judge to begin with, considering the super low level cap in the Server Slam and not being able to access their class mechanic.
After hearing that Shouts will be nerfed, many loyal Barbarian players are very worried. But in fact, the final adjustment effect is not as bad as everyone imagined. Not to mention the Whirlwind buff felt so smooth. So, for all Spin-to-Win players, be ready for your weapons.
Rogues are also still in a good spot as well, especially when using Poison Imbuements.
A big thing to consider here with class balance was we were only able to hit level 20 in the Server Slam. So, it’s pointless to make any more extreme changes based upon that experience alone. The best option is just to tweak numbers after release when we have access to Diablo 4 endgame gear, Paragon Boards, etc.
4 Changes I Want To See
So, now I’m going to share four main changes I’d like to see.
Number one, Blizzard please bring back dungeon resets. It’s annoying clearing a dungeon, then aimlessly running around for a minute. It’s a function that has no place in Diablo. Just make a requirement to clear the whole dungeon. Then, allow it to be instantly reset as the cooldown really contradicts the whole plate your way motto that you’ve coined for the game.
Number two is going to be a map overlay. It’s really annoying constantly hitting tab and having your whole screen covered in a map when trying to navigate places. It’s a staple in the franchise and it should have never been removed in the first place.
Number three is the item identification for legendaries and the above. Maybe I’m alone in this one and it could just be a beta thing, but I miss it. When a nice item drops identified, it leaves me just feeling gypped.
For number four, I really hope they add more benefits to playing in Veteran Mode. The monsters are markedly harder with really no incentive other than some increased XP in D4 Gold. And when compared to Adventurer difficulty, where the clear speed is 10 times faster, there isn’t a reason for players to pick it.
Overall, Diablo 4 has a solid foundation and needs some tweaking to get things right. But if Blizzard keeps up these improvements in the endgame proves to be meaningful, it’s on a solid path for being at least an 8 out of 10.