With Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion getting closer, players are starting to go over all the possible things that might get changed with the new version of the game, and the open world remains one of the recurring topics.
So far, the open world has never been that interesting in Diablo 4, but is Skovos going to be worth spending time in?
A Beautiful World With No Real Reason to Be There
From launch, Diablo 4 presented its shared open world as one of the most important features, and visually, it works, because the regions are varied, detailed, and genuinely well designed.
The problem is what happens after you finish looking at the pretty designs.
Even with Vessel of Hatred, most players quickly went back to teleporting between activities, farming dungeons, Pit, or bosses, and barely interacting with the world itself. The only few times you really have to walk through the open world are to head to World Bosses or specific quests.
Nahantu looked great, but for many, it did not change how the game is actually played, and that is the concern again with Lord of Hatred and the upcoming Skovos region.
Same Problem, New Zone?
Based on what we know so far, Skovos will likely follow the same structure with a new area, new quests, Temis as the new town hub, but not necessarily new reasons to stay there long-term.
That is exactly what players are skeptical about. A lot of feedback right now boils down to this:
- Exploration feels like a checklist, not an activity
- Events are too predictable and tied to fixed locations
- Most meaningful progression still happens in instanced content
In short, the open world exists, but it is not where the game really happens, because you have no reason to choose to level up or farm anything in the open world.
Could Fishing or Other Similar Activities Change That?
One small feature that might really push things in a better direction is fishing. On paper, it sounds like a minor activity that you will try out for fun and then forget forever, but in practice, it could matter if it is done right.
We know from the recent IGN video about Skovos that we can fish in different environments, such as the Sea or Lava, so guesses are that there might be Rivers or other specific locations. From the video, we can see that lava does not seem to drop the same fish as the Sea either, so if you can:
- Obtain Unique Fish depending on location
- Different rarities
- Useful rewards (crafting, cosmetics, maybe even gear or materials)
Then suddenly, players have a reason to move around the map again. Even if it is just to find all the fishing spots and collect everything, it will be a valuable reason to explore past unlocking the map. However, it does mean the activity needs good rewards.
If not, it risks becoming another system people ignore after trying it once.
What Would Fix the Open World?
The main issue is not the map but the lack of meaningful interaction. For an open world to matter, it needs:
- Random, high-value encounters (not just fixed events)
- Region-specific mechanics or bosses
- Rewards that compete with farming other types of content
- Systems that encourage movement, not teleporting
Interestingly, some upcoming features like customizable Helltides (via War Plans) could go in that direction, but it is still unclear how impactful they will be, or how exactly all this will work.
Lord of Hatred will almost certainly add more space to explore, but the real question is whether it adds a reason to care about that space. Right now, players are not expecting a full overhaul, but they would like to just see the open world become a proper part of the game.
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