Diablo 4 Season 12 has only been out for about two weeks. Have you started playing yet? Frankly, to pave the way for the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion on April 28th, Season 12 was an excellent opportunity to reward players and prepare them for the new DLC.
Of course, that's exactly what the developers intended. They not only brought back Killsteak mechanic from Diablo 3, allowing players to enjoy the carnage and accumulate XP and reputation faster, but also, for the first time, allowed players to transform into The Butcher by slaughtering enemies, using this ruthless boss's power to rule Sanctuary.
More importantly, Diablo 4 also launched a collaboration event with Doom and a new Reliquary theme, giving players a cool new skin!
Playing as The Butcher, experiencing an epic Doom collaboration, and enjoying the new Killsteak mechanic—it all seemed perfect, and could have been the perfect prelude to Lord of Hatred expansion on April 28th.
However, player feedback wasn't as positive as the developers initially anticipated. The terrible season system and expensive microtransactions dampened player enthusiasm from the start.
Repetitive Season Cycles
First, we must say we're longtime Diablo 4 players who have been following the series since Season 1. At launch, we all had incredibly high expectations for this new Diablo title, but a series of tedious updates after Season 2 led to a constant stream of players quitting.
For new season updates, besides constantly nerfing or buffing a range of mechanics, they just add some boring new seasonal mechanics.
They always seem to want to make some stunning overhaul to bring the game back to its peak, but their superficial adjustments have left Diablo 4 stuck in the same old ways, leaving players utterly disappointed.
Seasonal and Eternal realms are especially abhorrent. Honestly, I really don't understand the necessity of resetting characters every three months or so.
The hard-won new build has to start all over again with the new season, and players can only experience all the endgame content after reaching the level cap of 60 again. This turns the initial enthusiasm for experiencing the new mechanics into frustration from repetitive work.
Besides maintaining the player base at the beginning of the season, there's really no reason for the developers not to let players instantly reach level 60. Therefore, most players believe that a level 58 boost service, similar to that in WoW Classic, could be introduced to skip the long leveling phase.
The Absurdly Priced Collaboration Gear
When we saw the word free mentioned in the Doom collaboration press release, our hearts were instantly ignited. Become a Doomslayer, Carry a Cacodemon pet—this immediately conjured up images of a free feast for players.
Even if it requires investing a lot of time to earn Diablo 4 gold to unlock these rewards, what's a little hardship if you can finally wear that armor?
However, the so-called free only applies to a rare reliquery that is almost impossible to obtain. Whether because of a bug or an extremely low drop rate, it has never appeared, and many players have never encountered this special reliquery. Perhaps this is simply a game mechanic issue.
Therefore, players can only obtain it from the in-game store, but the core armor, mount, and pet sets are priced at an outrageous price. A $5 cosmetic item is priced at $25, and the complete set would cost approximately $125.
What does $125 mean?
It's enough to buy 3 new Lord of Hatred expansions!
It's enough to buy 2.5 Diablo 4 base games!
It's even enough to buy 2 copies of the newly released Doom: The Dark Ages or Age of Hatred Collection, which includes the base game and two expansions!
I think even a $40 expansion pack is expensive, and a single Cacodemon is priced at $25?! Breaking down a collaboration skin intended for promotional purposes into individual $25 items is not only an overexploitation of the IP's value but also a trampling on players' emotions.
Moreover, these Doomslayer armors are directly copied and pasted from The Dark Ages, showing absolutely no sincerity! This isn't a collaboration; it's clearly using a free gimmick to fleece players!
From Quality Guarantee to Player Deterrence
Over the past decade, they've successfully shattered their own reputation. Previously, everyone considered games from this studio must-play masterpieces; now? Today, most players no longer have expectations but instinctively back away.
Diablo 4 Season 12 was a golden opportunity for a comeback, which they squandered. Over-reliance on loot boxes and lengthy leveling processes constantly wasted players' time showcasing their game's popularity—these repulsive practices can be traced back to Overwatch and OWL.
But when game design is no longer about fun but about financial figures, how long can players' passion last? Players' passion is being gradually eroded by endless loot boxes, exorbitantly priced skins, and a disgusting progression system.