Following the news that Diablo IV is undergoing Friends & Family Alpha testing with mostly positive buzz, a new leak from this build appeared on Reddit, showing plenty of character creation and game creation screenshots.
We can glean the number of options available for face and body, accessories, skin tone, and hair color, among others. On the gameplay side, you can choose to create a regular character, a seasonal character, or a hardcore character (with permadeath enabled); you can tweak the game to provide less or more guidance, though it is unclear whether this is merely for the tutorial; last but not least, you can select the difficulty between Adventurer and Veteran, with the latter providing better loot drops and increased XP/gold gains. The leak also revealed that the client currently weighs around 70GB on PC.
Diablo IV will be released next year on PC and consoles with cross-play and cross-progression. Check out an overview below.
Inside Sanctuary—a realm long embattled by the devastating wars between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells—decades have passed since the events of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, but the world remains plagued by a sinister, corrupting force. And now Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred, has been reborn in the mortal world and is determined to rule over Sanctuary once more.
Joining the battle alongside iconic classes Barbarian, Sorceress, Rogue, and Druid is the legendary Necromancer, the fifth playable character class, which returns with newly designed undead mechanics. Players will be able to utilize the Necromancer’s Book of the Dead, an all-new ability for the class, allowing them to dominate the battlefield with deeper customization of their undead army than ever before. Fight with aggressive skeleton Warriors, fast-attacking Skirmishers, sword and board Defenders, or scythe-wielding Reapers. Unleash a litany of spells with Skeleton Mages, imbuing them with shadow, cold, and sacrificial magics. Deploy tanking Bone Golems, health-stealing Blood Golems, and charging Iron Golems. Or sacrifice them all to absorb their power.
Diablo IV’s version of Sanctuary is massive, and every inch is rife with opportunity for adventure. Character customization in the game is richer and more extensive than ever, and players will be able to let their curiosity (and perhaps foolishness) guide them through over 140 dungeons and dozens of side quests in their pursuit of victory over Lilith’s forces . . . and ever-more-powerful gear. Mighty world bosses pose added challenge throughout Sanctuary, encouraging players to team up with others they encounter on their journeys to defeat them and reap their treasures. And for the first time, players can forever alter the world around them by conquering and converting corrupted Strongholds into friendly outposts.
There’s no golden path to follow in Diablo IV; players can choose to progress in whatever nonlinear way they want to. This open-ended experience extends to the end game, where players can test their skills in Nightmare Dungeons, enjoy combative mayhem in dedicated PvP zones, build Paragon Boards to continue advancing and customizing their characters beyond max level, and engage with the Tree of Whispers to unlock further world objectives and bounties and acquire Legendary gear.
