After plenty of rumors and speculation, Diablo 4 was finally unveiled at BlizzCon 2019, giving fans a sneak preview at the upcoming game.
After Blizzard's tumultuous week and the loss of a major sponsor, the dev was able to get itself back in good graces with the major announcement of Diablo 4 and pulled no punches with plenty of new offerings for fans of the video game series. Not only did fans get a fascinating cinematic reveal trailer of Diablo 4, but Blizzard also released a brief video of gameplay footage and revealed three playable classes that will be coming to the game.
Of the many new features that the game's development team revealed at BlizzCon, players will be able to choose between classes of Barbarian, Druid, or Sorceress (with more likely to become available upon release). As hinted in previous leaks, each class will offer players a unique style of combat, abilities, and spells that will improve through gameplay. Barbarians will again offer players a brute fighting style, while the Sorceress class will be able to call in attacks like meteor strikes and elemental bolts, and Druids (a character that wasn't initially planned to be in the game) will be a hybrid character of the previous two. Though only a small portion of the game was shown to the viewing audience, some minor details of the game have been released, such as the many different skills and abilities players can expect to see in the Barbarian class.
Basic Attacks
Bash: Attack incoming enemies with weapon and deal plenty of damage with the chance to stun enemies.
Warlord: Flay nearby enemies and deal damage in just a few seconds.
Frenzy: Unleash a rapid flurry of blows to nearby enemies and deal damage with a pair of attacks. Also increases attack speed for a few moments.
Lunging Strike: Lunge forward and strike an enemy.
Fury Attacks
Rend: Cleave nearby enemies and inflict damage.
Hammer of the Ancients: Slam hammer on the ground with the fury of the Ancients and deal damage to a concentrated area of attack.
Double Swing: Sweep weapons in opposite directions and deal damage with each weapon. Enemies in the center of attack are hit by both weapons.
Upheaval: Tear into the ground with weapon and flings debris toward the enemy.
Whirlwind: Rapidly attack nearby enemies.
Defensive
Rallying Cry: Bellows a rallying cry, granting allies increased movement speed and reduced damage for a few seconds.
Ground Stomp: Smash the ground and stun nearby enemies for a few seconds.
Undying Rage: While taking fatal damage, this provides a few extra seconds to fight. Killing an enemy during this period of time revives and heals the player.
Challenging Shout: Fortifies player and taunts nearby enemies. During this time, players can generate Fury when attacked.
Brawling
Kick: Kick an enemy and knock them backward. Upon collision, nearby enemies will take additional damage.
War Cry: Bellows a war cry, increasing damage per enemy for nearby allies for a few seconds.
Leap: Leap forward, slam downward, and deal a lot of damage.
Charge: Rush forward and push enemies. Swing upon collision for extra damage.
Weapon Mastery
Primal Axe: Throw weapon with a chain attached and deal damage by pulling in nearby enemies.
Rupture: Skewer enemies and inflict damage. If an enemy dies while bleeding, the cooldown is reset.
Death Blow: Attempt a killing strike and deal plenty of damage to nearby enemies. If this attack kills an enemy, the cooldown is reset.
Ultimate
Wrath of the Berserker: Go Berserk for a few seconds and generate Fury to increase effects.
Call of the Ancients: Call upon the Ancients to aid in battle.
Iron Maelstrom: Whirl weapon on a chain and continually deal damage to enemies.
Talent Tree
Battle Frenzy: Using a Brawling skill grants Berserk for a short time.
Blood Thirst: Make enemies bleed for a percent of critical strike damage over a few seconds.
Booming Voice: Player's shout duration is increased by a percentage.
Close Quarters Combatant: Deal increased damage to enemies within melee range, but makes players vulnerable to damage from enemies outside of melee range.
Concussion: Enemies struck by Brawling skills are slowed for a few seconds.
Combat Prowess: Damage against immobilized, stunned, or slowed enemies is increased by a percentage.
Cut to the Bone: Stunning a nearby enemy increases their bleeding.
Defy Pain: Evading an attack increases players' damage reduction for a few seconds.
Endless Fury: Increase Fury generation.
Endurance: Gain Life per second while out of combat.
Fierce Brawler: Increase attack speed by a percentage while using one-handed weapons. Also increases critical strike damage while using two-handed weapons.
Guttural Yell: Cause enemies to deal less damage for a few seconds with Shout.
Gushing Wounds: Bleeding effect deals a lot more damage.
Martial Vigor: Increased damage reduction.
Master of Arms: After using Weapon Mastery skill, the next Fury skill is free and deals more damage.
Momentum: Generates extra Fury.
Slam: Knock enemies down.
Slaying Strike: Increase damage against enemies below 30% health.
Swiftness: Increased movement speed.
Thick Skin: Increased non-physical damage reduction.
Unbridled Rage: Fury skills deal more damage, but costs more.
Unstoppable Force: Berserking grants Unstoppable and increases damage.
Walking Arsenal: Use a different weapon to increase damage for a few seconds.
Quick Impulses: Damage reduction is increased while moving.
Among other announcements, Blizzard also revealed Diablo 4's villain, Lilith, as well as improvements to the game's loot system which will allow players to kill enemies, pick up armor, rings, and other various gear of increasing rarities. Diablo 4 also promises an improved story that takes place 20 years after its predecessor, new hub zones that will provide players with a chance to chat with other players and trade loot, and new PvP-enabled zones where players can battle each other. Though much of the game is sure to be revisited and changed before its official release, Diablo 4 is gearing up to be an exciting addition to fans of the series.
Diablo 4 is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Game Informer
