In a new blog post on the Diablo 3 website, Blizzard developers posted a system design update for the upcoming Diablo 4. The goal of the post is to garner feedback from the Diablo community, so the Diablo 4 team has an idea of what players want. The post discusses a few interesting philosophies behind Diablo 4, but, more importantly, reveals the beloved Elective Mode from Diablo 3 will return in the sequel.
By default, Diablo 3 and 4 assign certain skill categories to certain buttons. If you want to use a primary skill, that’s on left click, and you can only have one. If you want to use a defensive skill, that’s on the one key, and so on. Turning on Elective Mode gives players the power to choose their own build.
Maybe you don’t want to use a Primary, since none of the skills in that category work with your build. With Elective Mode, you can place anything on left click, or run a full build of primary skills on left click, right click, and the number keys. It’s an important feature for hardcore Diablo players, as it allows for the kind of build flexibility you need to really push the game’s hardest content.
In the post, Blizzard corrected a misconception that players — ourselves included — got from their time with Diablo 4 at BlizzCon 2019. “There’s a misconception that Diablo 4 will lock skills to specific slots because of the BlizzCon demo user interface,” said Blizzard. “Like many other things in the demo, the UI is not final and we will support Elective Mode-style skill selection. Skill selection and assignment will always be completely open for all players.”
With this post, Blizzard confirms that the customization Elective Mode offers is key to the Diablo experience — calming the minds of anxious build-crafters everywhere.
Blizzard’s yet to reveal a release date for Diablo 4. While you wait, check out some of our impressions from the BlizzCon 2019 demo.
Comments
I think all I want from Diablo at this point is darkness. Actual darkness and shadow like the first two had, not the cartoony dark greys and blues of D3.
By gutsdozer on 11.19.19 6:15pm
Weird. Here I am just hoping the game plays well and is fun. I don’t really quite care if the lights are on or not. Diablo 3 had a style I quite enjoyed.
By MFTWrecks on 11.19.19 6:32pm
Nah I agree with the darkness… To a point. Ambience was a big part of what made D2 great. The story felt awesome even though it’s incredibly minimalist because of it. D3 has really good gameplay but it absolutely lost some of that spark in part due to the lack of real horror through the visual style (and storytelling choices).
My only caveat is that D2 was not that dark visually. It was really bright and shiny in a lot of places so "dark" doesn’t always mean "dark".
By Arkayjiya on 11.20.19 12:52am
Mmm not mutually exclusive.
They were both hamster wheels, but the originals felt like they had stakes and atmosphere, whereas Diablo 3 felt like… mechanics and tile sets… you could see and feel the gaminess of it. I had fun, but everything felt like you could see behind the curtain, and this new blizzard was all about making evil bubbly for the approachability. Diablo was never that.
By KD27 on 11.20.19 8:05pm
"whereas Diablo 3 felt like… mechanics and tile sets… you could see and feel the gaminess of it"
I completely agree with that
"Diablo was never that."
However I do not agree with that part. Diablo was literally conceived as "Baby’s first RPG", it’s the epitome of accessibility. It’s basically the same ruleset and world and principle I used in middle school when that one guy who knew P&P RPGs taught the other kids how it work with improvised system they came up with on the spot and some actual pen and blank paper.
By Arkayjiya on 11.23.19 10:56am
My comment saying "Diablo was never that" was referring to the artstyle Blizzard adopted for Diablo 3 – "bubbly for the approachability" – they started to Warcraftify every franchise they had and Diablo 3 was swept up in that, so for what I was addressing there I was more talking Diablo being that dark franchise, not the smack talking rogues gallery of characters we currently have.
By KD27 on 11.23.19 11:30pm
Totally. I want that feeling of dread, like I know the butcher is down here somewhere, and this is a hopeless place. Wall of flame everywhere just to light up the space.
By KD27 on 11.19.19 6:33pm
"We’re not going to lock away specific skill slots. Unless you’re from Hong Kong, then your skill slots are determined by our Glorious Leader."
By ClanCrusher on 11.19.19 7:39pm
Yeah, I’m really digging the visuals way more than i did D3. Can’t wait to play this.
By I_Got_No_Name on 11.19.19 7:58pm
Same. I liked the art style of 3 just fine, but I’m liking this waaaay more.
By Tanooki on 11.19.19 8:08pm
They’re focusing more on the Reaper of Souls aesthetic and much, much less on the base games abysmal visual aesthetic this time around it seems. Also focusing more on the Reaper of Souls Adventure Mode gameplay and less on a linear story.
By Nicholas Steel on 11.20.19 6:05am
I think they will do ALOT with lighting and darkness/shadows. Bringing light into an otherwise dark floor might be an interesting mechanic too.
By Michl Angelo on 11.21.19 8:57am
Elective Mode = Basic Input System. It’s crazy the game didn’t launch with it in the first place.
By Nicholas Steel on 11.20.19 6:03am
It’s been so long since I first booted it up and played through on my PS3 that I forgot it was something that wasn’t the default. How they thought locking all that down would provide a better experience is beyond me.
By MFTWrecks on 11.20.19 9:23am
Diablo 3 did launch with elective mode available, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
Beyond that I can understand the concept of locking down show floor demos so people can play without wasting time messing with the UI and menu stuff.
By ttvp on 11.20.19 9:36am
Right. Maybe that poster started on console or something? Played D3 since it came out and always on elective mode. I don’t really understand why its a "mode" at all. Seems like it should just be the way the game works.
By jayclones on 11.20.19 10:31am
The article says Elective Mode was patched in to the game and my memory is bad so I took the article writer at his word.
By Nicholas Steel on 11.20.19 10:41am
No biggie. Folks agree with your main point… It’s weird that it’s considered to be an "option."
It might have made sense if there was some sensible separation of the other skill classes (I forget what they’re called) such that it made sense to try to have one of each available but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
By jayclones on 11.20.19 2:21pm
It’s a sad day when adding basic keybind options to a video game is worth a news article. xD
By CactuarInAManSuit on 11.20.19 1:13pm
I just want Blizzard to bring back composer Matt Uelmen from Diablo 1 and 2. Pay him whatever he wants, his music was the heart and soul of the damn franchise and it was missed in D3. I agree with others on darker tones but also tone down the size/crazyness of the armor. D3 armor looked like warcraft, keep them separate please…
By nymbis on 11.20.19 8:01pm
I mean, it’s fantastic that they are bringing back the Elective Mode (I never thought it would be gone, if I’m being honest), but I think things like this:
Is a whole heckin’ lot more important than clarifying the status of the freedom of our ability placements.
By Berethos on 11.21.19 3:46pm