Viewing the changes from season 1, we all know it's going to be …well no great, but the game has amazing strong core that can make it a great game. That's why I've created my take on the list of changes for season 2. They may not cover everything I'd like to see in the game, but I believe they would lay the groundwork for future improvements.
The proposed changes are aimed at enhancing three key metrics I believe are crucial for the game: Build Diversity, Skill Expression, and Meaningful Target. There are other metrics like Quality of Life that Diablo IV needs, but I think they are less critical for making the game enjoyable.
Be prepared for a long post, this is not a list of what i want to be improved but a proposition of ideas, with a totally new “game mode” and the changes needed on the game to make this end game mode fun.
In addition to the changes themselves, I'll write a post explaining the context, reasons, and goals behind each change. This other post will allow anyone who wants to give feedback to do so about the premise or suggest improvements while maintaining the premise.
I'm sure there are many ways to improve what I propose, but I'd like to know what the community thinks about this direction, whether you find it interesting to pursue, and how it could be further enhanced. I'm not a game designer, although I've been passionate about it for many years; there are for sure flaws in my reasoning and elements that I haven't taken into account.
We will create a game mode called "Defend the gates." This new game mode is inspired by the scene of Inarius's arrival in hell. Our mission will be to defend the sanctuary's doors from countless hordes of demons trying to breach them, holding out until we exhaust our strength. Each location on the map will have a door accessed through some strongholds, which will start a "run." The run can be completed if the player either abandons or dies. The goal of the mode is to reach as high as you can in the number of waves beaten, increasing the player's power as the waves progress.
This game mode will have two variants, single-player and party mode.
Monsters will arrive in endless waves, with short breaks every 5 waves. The waves will consist of different quantities and types of monsters (large groups of small monsters, small elite monster groups, a miniboss, etc.) with a boss appearing every 25 waves. (really fast waves, not tedious waves as the ones in events)
After every group of 5 waves the player will be granted a power to choose from 3 options, increasing the player's power as the waves progress. These powers will range from minor stat improvements to legendary abilities that can completely alter a character's gameplay.
Players can pause the run and continue it later each time they defeat a boss. The idea is to have intense confrontations for about 10 minutes, which can be linked together for longer sessions.
In addition to this game mode, we will make changes to the paragon system, game difficulty, and items.
The paragon system will be simplified and unified to be used as power during the waves, with legendary powers being reformed to have a more significant impact.
The difficulty will be changed so that it's not about surviving a single hit but minimizing the damage taken by dodging mechanics or using defensive cooldowns effectively.
Finally, we will modify items to make it easier to switch between different builds, allowing players to approach each defense in a unique way.
There are many more changes that I believe would improve the game, but these are the minimum "set" of changes that I think would make the game enjoyable to play, even if you already have the best possible equipment.