UPDATE: Activision Blizzard has responded to PCGamesN with regards to this story, explaining “we’ve heard feedback that some Diablo Immortal players are unable to find matches in Battleground PvP, or it might take a long time. We’re looking into these reports and expect to roll out changes to the matchmaking system this week.” The original story follows below:
A Diablo Immortal whale says PvP games have become inaccessible after they have spent $100,000 USD upgrading their character in Blizzard’s free-to-play RPG, leaving them unable to compete in either battlegrounds or the Immortal clan contest Rite of Exile.
YouTuber and Diablo Immortal streamer jtisallbusiness says they have spent between “48 to 72 hours” in total waiting to be put into a queue for a battlegrounds game, with each attempt ending without them finding a match. This is apparently doubly frustrating as the clan lead by jtisallbusiness recently won the Rite of Exile battle on their server, enshrining them as the reigning Immortals – jtisallbusiness repeatedly receives prompts telling them to “prepare to defend their reign” by playing battlegrounds, only to find that battlegrounds matches are inaccessible.
Also troublesome is the Rite of Exile match itself. The Immortal clan headed by jtisallbusiness is expected to defend its reign over its server, but when jtisallbusiness travels to the Rite of Exile entrance to register the clan, again, they are not offered the chance to join or schedule a PvP match. Suspecting this may be an issue with their own account, jtisallbusiness has attempted to either leave their clan or pass clan leadership to another player. However, they are not able to perform either of these actions, meaning that both jtisallbusiness and other members of their clan are unable to register for the Rite of Exile event.
Jtisallbusiness speculates that of their 300 clan members, between 30 and 40 have spent at least $1,000 USD upgrading their characters since reaching Immortal status. If the clan cannot be registered for the Rite of Exile, their rivals will simply face a group of NPCs, giving them a potentially higher chance of claiming the Immortals crown.
In terms of their own character, jtisallbusiness says they have spent $100,000 USD on Diablo Immortal, and speculates that the reason they are currently unable to find a PvP match is because they “spent a ton of money right at the start” which meant that they played “100 battlegrounds without losing”. This huge run of victories has possibly increased jtisallbusiness’s match-making rating (MMR) higher than others players on their Diablo Immortal server, meaning that the game is now unable to match them to a suitable opponent.
jtisallbusiness states they have considered requesting a refund for the money that they have spent on their character, saying “if this character can never be in BG [battlegrounds] again, I don’t want this character”. They also claim to have contacted Blizzard support via its forums and on Twitter, and say that the developer has acknowledged the issue is “MMR based”. PCGamesN has also contacted Blizzard with regards to this story and will provide any updates that arise.
If you’re an Immortal player and need to know more about the Rite of Exile, you can check out our Shadow War guide. We can also tell you how to beat Lord Martanos.