Diablo 4 is almost here, and if you’re anything like me you’re busy sizing up your strategies for when the Diablo 4 release date arrives. Whether or not you spent any time with the Diablo 4 server slam, there’s no question that it’s influenced a lot of theorycrafting ahead of launch. If you were wondering just how different the Blizzard RPG game will look in its 1.0 form, it seems like the answer is actually ‘not much.’
Initially, Diablo 4’s associate game director Joseph Piepiora had mentioned that the release build will feature “balance changes and bug fixes” from the 0.9 build used for the server slam, which was itself dramatically altered from the previous beta tests. However, he has since clarified that the server slam build was in fact “a version of our day one build” and that “there will be very few changes between this build and the one players will be playing at launch.”
That’s great news if you were already eyeing up the best builds for all Diablo 4 classes from the server slam, because the chances are it’ll still work at launch. Piepiora does add, however, that “We will be evaluating the game and are prepared to make adjustments as we go to ensure a smooth gameplay experience,” so if something really broken starts to spring up in the endgame (that whirlwind Barbarian build, I’m looking at you) then don’t be surprised if Blizzard springs a nerf on it.
Piepiora also notes that the build reviewers and content creators played – yes, that’s the one we had access to for our Diablo 4 review – is “the version you’ll all be playing.” In addition to this, while there may not be many balance changes from the server slam, community manager Adam Fletcher notes that “there are still lots of performance optimizations and bug fixes” in the day one version.
The Diablo 4 early access start time is extremely close now – if you have access via the Deluxe or Ultimate editions, make sure to check when you can preload Diablo 4 so that you’re ready to go at launch. In case our glowing review wasn’t indication enough, I’ll say that I probably haven’t been anticipating a game’s release this much since Elden Ring – I’ll see you all on the Fields of Hatred!
Make sure you meet the Diablo 4 system requirements to avoid a truly hellish experience, and check in with where to find all the Diablo 4 Altars of Lilith that you’ll want to discover, along with everything else on the Diablo 4 map so you don’t get lost in Sanctuary.