Diablo IV was treated to a first beta weekend thanks to early access. A second arrives. Numerama, who was able to play it, brings together the tips and advice to effectively navigate the dark world of Sanctuary.
Early access to the Diablo IV beta was offered from March 17 to 20, for people who pre-ordered the game, the release of which is still set for the beginning of June 2023. Numerama had the opportunity to play it from long hours all weekend, on PC and PlayStation 5. The opportunity to finally discover the long-awaited hack’n’slash, ten years after Diablo IV.
This early access will be followed, the following weekend, by another test phase, this time open to everyone. From March 24 to 27, players will be able to return to the world of Sanctuary, this time without any prerequisites. There should be a lot more people: for Blizzard, it’s both a good stress test and an opportunity to promote the game.
If you’ve never played a hack’n’slash, if it’s been a while since you’ve had a Diablo in your hands or if you’re the type to grope your way through video games, here are some recommendations so that your grip in the game goes as smoothly as possible. These are basic tips, obvious to many, but so essential.
Tips for you
1. Don’t be stingy with potions
2. Take Over To Travel Fast In Diablo IV
4. An action wheel with shortcuts on Diablo 4
5. Change the difficulty level in Diablo IV
7. Test and Reassign Skill Points
9. Select Your Character Wisely
10. Read Blizzard’s Tips
Find our big recap of everything there is to know about Diablo IV, one of the most anticipated video games of 2023.
1. Don’t be stingy with potions
Sanctuary is a violent world, especially if you opt for a more challenging game mode. Your potions may be what will keep you a hair’s breadth from death. Do not hesitate to consume them, especially since their ingestion conditions access to the regeneration globes which sporadically drop from the monsters you face.
The potions you carry are limited in number in your satchel. For each sip to be effective, also consider upgrading them (this is possible every ten levels of your character). All you have to do is go to the local alchemist and pay the requested amount. Of course, the better the vial, the more it will cost you.
2. Take Over To Travel Fast In Diablo IV
The region available to you in Diablo IV is vast, very vast. Large enough that you quickly find the comings and goings that the quests will ask you to do painful. Fortunately, there is a fast travel option: relays. They are scattered all over the world, especially in cities. Remember to activate them by clicking on them (there are no mounts in the beta).
In the beta, the accessible area has seven relays – the most important is the one in the center of the map, in the city of Kyovashad, because it is from this locality that you can easily radiate everywhere. In principle, you can’t miss it: at the end of the prologue, the game makes sure to take you there. For others, beware not to miss it!
3. Draw paths on the map
Diablo IV offers an option to draw paths on the map, placing a pin in the desired location. This generates a route to follow, including areas you haven’t discovered yet. Once you arrive at the indicated location, the pin is removed automatically. The route is indicated at the same time on the general map and on the mini-map. It is essential for direction.
4. An action wheel with shortcuts on Diablo 4
You have access to additional commands by pressing the “E” key on your keyboard, if you are playing Diablo IV on PC. This will bring up an action wheel with shortcuts: you have access to emotes (in the top wheel), but also to the most common commands (middle wheel), such as inspecting a character, inviting another player, etc.
This wheel can be customized, as seen with the associated button. There is also a lower wheel also available with empty slots. There are also other slots to take. Certain emotes can sometimes trigger small in-game events. We think of the greeting that can be sent to a dog… but it is not necessarily recommended.
5. Change the difficulty level in Diablo IV
Diablo IV is a harsh, demanding world. If you have aimed for a difficulty mode that is a little too complicated, know that you can readjust it at any time with a more accessible setting. And, when you have better control, excellent equipment and a good group of comrades, nothing will prevent you from increasing the challenge a little later.
There are currently four difficulty levels: Adventure, Expertise, Nightmare, and Torment. The quality of the rewards, the amount of Diablo 4 gold, the advantages and the challenges depend on the degree of difficulty. Access to certain modes is conditional on your performance in the game. We can expect Blizzard to add other, even more excruciating difficulty modes in the long term.
6. Don’t scatter over skills
Diablo IV’s talent tree can be intimidating and the temptation exists to want to place dots all over the place. It’s tricky: on the contrary, attribute your skills by targeting techniques and spells that you really use, and that you push to the maximum. It’s better than putting a few dots all over the place, which leaves you with “basic” skills. Prioritize specialization over versatility.
The choice of skills will of course depend on the class you play, the items you pick up over the course of the adventure and your style of play. But in the majority of cases, it is better to push the abilities you use fully. in your game, to maximize the damage, increase your defense to the maximum or take advantage of any bonus.
7. Test and Reassign Skill Points
In Diablo IV, don’t hesitate to “reroll” your skill points, i.e. reallocate them if you feel that your current distribution is not pleasant to play or more optimal. You should get started all the more since the distribution of points is free up to level 15 – which allows you to test the skills to which you have access, without paying anything.
Beyond level 15, it becomes chargeable, but the prices are not excessive – at the beginning, at least. In any case, you will have no choice: it is very unlikely that the build you have proudly put together will still be reliable at a higher level — unless you are a theorycrafting genius — and consistent with the items you will have recovered .
8. Consider Your Item Bonuses
To allocate your skill points (or to reallocate them), a track that you should not neglect is in the bonuses of your Diablo IV items. Some items that you will equip have special abilities (for example, +1 point to all your imprint skills, as can be seen in the capture below).
These bonuses can be an indication of how to direct your build. However, be careful not to always change as soon as a bonus is present. Sometimes this will be too different from your playstyle or mess up your stats. In the case of the amulet, camouflage techniques were not used during the game, because we wanted to play differently.
9. Select Your Character Wisely
The main highlight of the game is its characters (classes of heroes). Diablo 4 consists of five heroes named Barbarian, Sorceress, Druid, Rogue, and Necromancer. Each hero has a unique skill set and personality. Barbarian is the strongest and the mightiest among all classes. He’s a specialist in close-range fights. Rogue is a specialist in hand-to-hand combat; her adaptability and agility are unmatched in different fights. She is so versatile that she can summon shadow magic, and she can also create thunderous attacks to demolish her enemies. Druid can shapeshift and transform himself into a towering bear or vicious werewolf, which is very scary for his enemies. Druid can also use his super ability to heal his friends and harm his enemies. Sorcerer can use any natural power of elements in her favor into destructive force to guarantee her victory. Necromancer is a powerful magician. He can also summons soulless creatures to fight his enemies. He can curse his enemies for defeating them.
10. Read Blizzard’s Tips
Last tip… Diablo IV loading screens are full of tips. Read them, even if you are a Diablo specialist, because this new opus will bring new mechanics and subtleties. Some comments from the studio will seem basic to you, others more technical. And, sometimes, you will see a very useful suggestion for your adventures.
