With the news of an upcoming Netflix adaptation and the announcement of Diablo V is now in the rear-view mirror for Blizzard . Not so. Game Director Brent Gibson says seasons will keep coming as long as players keep showing up, and Season 15’s Hell’s Legacy brings back all three Prime Evils + Deckard Cain. We sat down with Brent and Senior Game Designer Bjron Mikkelson at BlizzCon to talk more about Season 15, the Amazon, and what Diablo V means for Diablo IV.
Interview Highlights
Here’s a recap of the most important highlights of our interview:
- Seasons in Diablo IV will continue after Diablo V launches. Blizzard plans to support the game as long as players keep playing, the same way Diablo II and Diablo III are still supported.
- Story-wise, DIablo V is set 100 years after Diablo IV. The 3 years until launch give the devs a big lore window.
- Three variables influenced the decision of adding the Amazon class to the game: player demand, an opening in the class line-up, and the 30th anniversary of the Diablo franchise.
- The Amazon is a long-range sniper. Bow and javelin get distinct identities, and skills evolve like in Diablo II.
- Design-wise, Season 15 was built around the dark wanders and Deckard Cain, ending with all 3 Prime Evils, with classic bosses expanded into real Diablo IV fights.
- Some of the seasonal content carries forward, other parts are retirered and could return in the future as capstone content.
Full Interview Transcript
With this new season of Hell’s Legacy celebrating the 30th anniversary, what went into deciding who to bring back, what content to bring back, and how to adapt that into Diablo IV?
Brent: It’s going back through all the old games and having deep, heart-to-heart discussions about what we found fascinating as fans of the previous games. Ultimately, I loved where we landed where we focused on the Dark wanderers from the past. Allowing us to have Deckard (thank God). It didn’t feel right without his voice.
…Focusing around those core elements was first and foremost what we needed to set the stage for a good story, but we knew we needed to end with all three Prime Evils. Where’s Diablo? How do we do that after just beating Mephisto? What do we do with Mephisto? I think the team has done a brilliant job at making this living nightmare approach to getting all those things in. Really start with the core must-haves, and then have fun with the flavor as we went along.
Can you tell us about your class selection process? Do you have all the classes planned in advance, or is there something like a competition?
Brent: There’s always a competition. We do a really good job at paying attention to the fans and listening to what class they want next. We knew the Paladin had to come out when it came out. At the same time we were in the middle of developing Lord of Hatred, and the Amazons were starting to take shape. The opportunity to have the 30th anniversary, the fact we had an opening in our class lineup, and the fact people wanted the Amazon. It all clicked. So it made it a really easy decision to bring the Amazon back.
With so many classes in the game, what steps are you taking to make the Amazon feel unique?
Bjorn: Classes are there to give people variety, to find something that fits them, right? For us, it always starts with the pillars, and then driving into those. So for Amazon, she’s an expert soldier with unrivaled athleticism and mythical magic. And for us, those define how she’s different from the Rogue, or how she’s different from the Barbarian. She’s not just someone who fights. She’s trained, she’s disciplined.
For the Twisted Waking Nightmare dungeons, what can players expect for times to run those?
We’re not looking to radically change the formula. Every dungeon is designed in a way that helps us tell that specific nostalgic story. So it varies from dungeon to dungeon, but it definitely fits the flow that we have for normal D4 dungeons.
Something that other developers talk about is how encounter design takes a considerable amount of time. What did you change in your processes that allowed you to make so many different encounters for Hell’s Legacy?
Brent: First off, we’ve gotten into a flow where making content for the game is much more natural. The designers are spending more time with the tools, they’re second-guessing themselves less. We know what’s working for the game now, so it’s easier to make stuff. The other thing is we have the luxury of nostalgia. We know what it should feel like, we’ve seen it in the other games. Even if the interpretation isn’t one-to-one, we know how we felt. That allowed us to cut to the chase. We didn’t have to over-imagine something new.
Is the upcoming assortment of D4 content setting the stage for Diablo V?
Brent: The events of D5 happen one hundred years after Diablo IV. That’s a massive amount of time. But the Lord of Terror is also learning from the Lord of Hatred. What that does is give us the creative space to tell a story between those two moments in time. We know where we want to go with the story.
…But the cool thing is three years is a long time. So we get to play for a while. Where the story could lead us, where the fan theories are going to go, we don’t know yet. I think that’s awesome, and we have a big lore window to experiment with in that time.
Can you tell us your thoughts about the incoming Switch port?
Brent: First off, “It’s about damn time.” [Laughs] We wanted it on the Switch for a very long time. It’s a big game. We’ve had moments where we thought, ‘It’s impossible, there’s no way we can do it.’ But the team took that on, and boy did they do an amazing job. If you haven’t played it, please do. The concessions we’ve had to make are barely noticeable.
A lot of the focus on Hell’s Legacy has been on the bosses. What about trash mobs like Tormented Souls or Stygian Puppets?
Brent: You’ll see a lot of mob content coming back as well. We’re working backwards from a moment in time.
…So yes. Start on the boss, work your way back, was our main principle, so you’ll be seeing some of that stuff introduced as well.
Deckard coming back is exciting. Can you speak to the process of bringing back this classic character?
Brent: It’s super nostalgic. He’s got unfinished business. He’s got some regrets he feels guilty about. When you experience it, it will make sense. You’ll say “How can I help Deckard?” I feel the bonding gets even tighter when you finish the story in the upcoming season.
…It’s been really wonderful to play with Deckard as a character, and bring him back in a way that is befitting to him before he has to resolve his business and has to go back to the land of the dead.
How will you be improving upon the systems in Diablo IV for V?
Brent: We’re going to continue to look at build novelty and itemization. We are one team, and we are constantly learning. We’re making the game that you want. Which means we’re listening. And that is impacting all of our development, not just with Diablo IV or V, or any other content we’re releasing along the way. Any feature we are working on is a lesson to be learned. And we urge all of you in the community to stay engaged with that, because it will make a difference.
How has the announcement of Diablo V impacted the team?
Brent: This has been the plan all along, to get to D5. We’ve been talking about what that road means, and we’re still talking about what that road means. We’ve still got three years left. As we make decisions, we are moving around and staying agile. The impact of the announcement on the team? They were elated. It sucks to talk in codenames and keep secrets. We can be a little more open-minded, we can hear from people and that will affect our decision-making.
Some feathers have been ruffled with Diablo V’s announcement. Some players think this means Diablo IV will be going on life support. What do you say to that?
Brent: I have an analogy. If you’re wearing a sign in the middle of Times Square saying, “The end is nigh,” the end is not nigh. We have a lot coming. We have Amazon coming down the road. The train isn’t stopping. One of the things I love about our world is we are not a series of games. We are a universe. We are even adding to Diablo II with the Warlock. It’s one of the few franchises where we have the luxury of continued play, and we know our communities. If you’re worried, don’t sweat it. Because we’re going to be making content for a long time. But we are excited about Diablo V. We got a show coming. Gone are the years of waiting a decade for more content. It’s a great place to be.
Tech-wise, will we see much sharing between Diablo IV and V in terms of features? Could we see things from V end up in IV?
There are certain things with a live-service game where the flexibility isn’t there. But it isn’t a debt. We are sharing updates to processes all the time. But there are some advancements that when D5 comes out that will make it feel like a brand new game. As we continue down the road, you’ll see improvements constantly. But it’s not really something we think about. It’s opportunistic at most.
Are you going to continue to release new seasons for IV after V comes out?
Brent: We are planning on supporting seasons as long as the community continues to show up for D4. Similar to what we have in D2 and D3. There are still people who play those games, and as long as you’re showing up, we’re going to continue to be making content.
Is there any plan to keep old seasonal content going forward?
Brent: Some stuff will move forward, like the items we talked about. Some of the stuff we plan to put to rest, and for good reason. Some stuff you need to make changes to. I don’t have a roadmap to show what that looks like. But, now that we have this, maybe we revisit it later and turn it into a capstone in the future. So once we have it developed, it’s stuff we can play with season upon season.
Do seasons take on more weight with the new expansion?
Brent: We’re spending more and more time on seasons. I think everybody can see that. I think that’s a good way of putting it. It puts the focus on the build novelty for sure. Quality of life features for sure. We’re adding reaver. Some people might be like, “Oh that’s cute.” For some people, that’s a big deal.
What kind of builds can we expect the Amazon to focus around in endgame?
Bjorn: We’re really focused on defining the playstyles she can have. Part of that is distinguishing her from, say, Rogue for instance. We see Rogue as kind of that scrappy fighter, in and out, shotgunning people in the face with arrows. Whereas the Amazon is more of that long-ranged sniper, heavy artillery kind of class. But that’s only one of four. At the same time we have the javelin. The Amazon has the bow and the javelin, and we want those to feel distinct. Not just adding a weapon for aesthetics. That’s something we’re really doubling down on, giving each of those weapons she wields unique identities that will change the way she plays, as well as transform her skills in different ways.
If you think back to the Amazon in D2…she had these evolving skills. You think about going from chilling to freezing to frozen exploding arrows, or taking the pierce passive that amplifies the way your skill works. Having different numbers of projectiles as skills level up. To really feel that progression in your skills, it’s almost like Pokémon evolution. We really want to see that progression shine through with her. Because that’s such an inherent, iconic part of her.
Can you speak on developing the bosses for Hell’s Legacy, and introducing them into Diablo IV?
Brent: Diablo himself is a good example. That D1 Diablo, he didn’t really do that much. Great nostalgia. The way I like to talk about it is…there’s a feeling you had when you fought them, make sure you get that feeling. But we’ve added. We have definitely added to make sure the experience holds up as a legit fight in Diablo IV.
How do you feel about the switch in focus from expansions to seasons, in regards to story?
Brent: I think it’s liberating. You’ve completed the story but the butterfly effect can take us anywhere. We’ve got Season 15 with all the events of Pandemonium leading to someone else taking the mantle of death. Who is it? It allows us to be creative with all the pieces that we have. I say it’s liberating.
For the Prime Evils, did the team go back to play those old bosses?
Brent: There’s a lot of us who went back to play the OG versions…You go back and play the game, and try to recreate that memory you may have had decades ago. You watch some videos because we have developers on our team that were barely born when the content came out. It’s a little bit of all of it. It was fun to come back and enjoy it for a moment.
How did you decide what content to bring forward for Hell’s Legacy?
Brent: There are just things you have to have. If we could go back to Tristram people would be like “What the heck?” We know how much we can fit into a season. We exceeded that because we have passion for that stuff. The decision making was very barebones, heart to heart, and then we let the team’s passion bring in all of that.
