Highlights
- Diablo 4's launch hype faded due to issues like the Battle Pass and class balance controversies, which need to be addressed in the next season.
- The game's level scaling makes seasonal content irrelevant, so Blizzard should consider making Strongholds replayable for an engaging and rewarding endgame and leveling experience.
- Replayable Strongholds could be scaled with modifiers and different bosses, providing unique and increasingly challenging runs for players, while also serving as a way to test builds and utilize clan features.
The hype and overall positive reception surrounding Diablo 4 on launch, unfortunately, started to wane the second its first season came out, and that's because Blizzard failed to address some issues while creating new ones - such as the Battle Pass or class balance controversies. There are various reasons why the game is faced with multiple complaints, and Diablo 4's next season should by all means be as much of an upgrade from Season of the Malignant as the latter was a downgrade to the launch experience. Luckily, Blizzard already has the perfect blueprint for a new endgame activity that could be not only fun to replay, but also quite rewarding in terms of loot and experience.
One of the biggest issues with the game is that Diablo 4's level scaling makes seasonal content irrelevant, with the likes of Malignant Tunnels providing diminishing returns of experience the higher the player character's own level compared to the monsters'. With the endgame content mainly consisting of Nightmare Dungeons and Helltides at the moment, players will likely need new ways to farm experience and loot that are both engaging and rewarding. As such, Blizzard should look no further than one of the main campaign's mechanics used to unlock new towns - Strongholds.
Why Diablo 4 Should Make Strongholds Replayable
While exploring the world of Sanctuary in Diablo 4, players can run into settlements where demonic presence seems to have taken hold. These towns and other types of locations are called Strongholds, and they pack quite the challenge for everyone trying to expunge the demons due to the fact that enemies are several levels above the player character's level. These activities can be incredibly good for players' leveling-up process due to the enemy density in Strongholds, and it's fairly common to see Legendaries drop throughout or when beating the final boss.
Strongholds in Diablo 4 are only playable once, however, and players get to turn them into inhabited settlements afterward, often coming with new quests or unlocking areas that were previously inaccessible, like Dungeons. The concept is great, but it could really shine if Blizzard went the extra mile with it, turning Strongholds into replayable activities where players can simply select a node on the map to start them, possibly even including matchmaking to make them even more fun. This type of activity wouldn't even have to be limited to the endgame, and instead, it could prove to be a good alternative while trying to level up or improve one's build while doing so.
These replayable Strongholds could then scale into the endgame by featuring modifiers and different bosses, much like Diablo 4's Nightmare Dungeons, so that every run could be both unique and increasingly difficult the more players level up. It would also be a great way to test players' builds before they start running Nightmare Dungeons, and Blizzard could add both a solo version of the Strongholds and a group version. Whether matchmaking and social features make it into the game in the near future remains to be seen, but it could be a way to put clans to good use.
Yet, Strongholds shouldn't become a seasonal type of activity in Diablo 4, but rather an addition to the base game for everyone to enjoy, including Eternal Realm players. There are many ways in which this could be implemented, such as a rotating Stronghold per week or even per day, making them more enticing and frequently spicing things up. Even the Strongholds' bosses or modifiers could change as they rotate, essentially giving players more reasons to play the game at any given level.
Diablo 4 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
