After a long silence, we finally have news about Diablo Immortal. We have summarized all important information about the mobile Diablo for you.
Diablo Immortal caused the biggest shitstorm in Blizzard’s history when it was announced at Blizzcon 2018. Many fans were hoping for an announcement of Diablo 4, but the developer presented them with a mobile game that will also be Free2Play and developed in cooperation with the Chinese studio Netease, whose titles have all contained Pay2Win elements to date.
Table of Contents
Release Date: When will Diablo Immortal be released?
Blizzard is still silent about the release date of Diablo Immortal. However, the game has been in a public technical alpha since December 18. However, only a very small circle of people has access to this version. Blizzard plans to further increase the number of people in the coming months.
Based on the current state of the game, we also expect a full release in 2021.
Price: How much does Diablo Immortal cost?
As we know, Diablo Immortal will be a Free2Play game with in-game purchases. According to Cheng, however, all microtransactions will be purely optional: All of the game’s items and content will also be obtainable through pure gameplay.
Download: On which platforms will the game be released?
Diablo Immortal will be released for Android and IOS and will be available for download in Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store as soon as it is released.
However, there will also be a way to experience the game on PC: As of now, Blizzard does not plan to put a stop to Android emulators. The programs emulate a cell phone or tablet on your PC and can play Android apps, which can then be controlled with mouse and keyboard or gamepad.
Hardware: Which smartphone do I need?
The official hardware requirements for your smartphones are as follows:
- IOS: iPhone 8 and higher | iOS 12 and higher | 2 GB RAM
- Android: Snapdragon 710 | Hisilicon Kirin 810 and higher | Adreno 616 / ARM Mali-G52 and higher | 2 GB RAM
However, Diablo Immortal has different graphics options at the same time. You can therefore improve the performance on weaker phones by turning the graphics down a bit in the options. You can also decide whether the game should run at 30 or 60 FPS.
Classes: What classes are available in Immortal?
In Diablo Immortal, six classes will return that you already know from Diablo 3:
- Barbarian
- Wizard
- Monk
- Necromancer
- Demon Hunter
- Crusader
All classes will be playable for free – even the Necromancer, which had to be purchased as DLC for 15 Euros in Diablo 3. In addition, new classes will be implemented bit by bit. Each new class will be released with a free update and will be available to all players. We currently expect the Druid to be one of them.
Multiplayer: Does Immortal work as an MMO?
Blizzard describes Diablo Immortal as an “MMO action role-playing game”. So the concept is definitely designed for multiple players. In the technical alpha, there are six open zones where you can meet other players. If you run into a player, you can chat with them, send voice messages, trade or even form a guild. Various activities will occur from time to time in the open game sections:
- Side quests: these smaller tasks are meant to keep players busy for a few hours away from the main storyline.
- Pop-up events: These are random events that occur occasionally and offer various rewards. For example, the player may suddenly be ambushed.
- Zone trials: These are large challenges in which all active players in a zone can participate. Then, in the archives of Zoltun Kull lurks a giant Hydra that acts as a world boss
Besides these open zones, however, you can also enter dungeons where no one will just run into you. However, you can form a group with up to three other players on higher difficulty levels.
Endgame: Are there portals again?
In Diablo 3, the endgame for many players consisted of mastering Nephalem portals. In Diablo Immortal, you can once again enter different portals in addition to dungeons. In total, there are two different portal types:
- Elder Portals: these portals will transport you to a randomly generated dungeon where you can collect lots of loot and experience points. In the dungeon, you’ll have to kill a lot of monsters quickly to fill up a progress bar. Once the bar is full, the boss spawns. The Elder Portals can be completed as many times as you like. With the help of certain crest stones, you can add modifications to the dungeon that make it all harder, but guarantee better rewards.
- Challenge portals: These portals already existed in Diablo 3, but in Immortal they work a bit differently. Here, too, a random dungeon is now created every time you enter. Also, you’ll do the challenge with your own hero. When you complete a level, you get a corresponding level reward. At the end of the week, you’ll also get a reward based on how well you did on the leaderboard.
Builds: How do you build your characters?
Diablo Immortal wants to make sure that you can always optimize your character. Therefore, there are a lot of different mechanics that you can use to improve certain aspects of your hero.
Skills: As in Diablo 3, there is no skill tree in Immortal. You automatically get new skills or ranks for existing skills with each level-up. There are about 10 active skills per class and no more passive ones.
Gems: Instead of passive skills, you’ll need to equip gems that boost various attributes like health. Minor gems are put into the sockets of secondary items, while legendary gems only fit primary items. Legendary gems have even stronger effects and can, for example, reduce the cooldown of all abilities.
Item Levels: At the blacksmith, you can level up items in exchange for materials. Each level brings a better bonus and for every fifth level the item gets a random property. The maximum level is 20, and random traits can be re-rolled with Reforge Stones.
Paragon System: Once you reach level 60, you level up using a paragon system. Paragon points are spent on different Paragon trees. Each tree strengthens a different aspect of your hero. For example, you can become a better tank.
Spells: Spells or charms were last seen in Diablo 2. In Diablo Immortal, you have an additional item slot for this item, which allows you to increase the ranks of your abilities beyond the maximum.
Updates: What will happen after the release?
As a service game, Immortal will be constantly expanded with new content after its release. According to the developers, there are no plans set in stone yet, but they already have plenty of ideas.
For example, future updates could bring the following expansions to the game:
- New areas
- New dungeons
- More chapters of the story campaign
- Additional character classes
Blizzard has deliberately decided against a seasonal structure for Diablo Immortal, as in Diablo 3. Players should spend more time improving their beloved character. However, the big updates are supposed to have a similar effect as the seasons in Diablo 3. They mark the point where many players start again and bring about major changes.
