Why do I care about my cool new pants, if I’m going to need to spend an absurd amount of money on the legendary gem required to get the most out of them? Dumpster diving for ham scraps But by making it nigh impossible to get the five-star legendary gems that represent the gateway to endgame play – and asking for an absurd amount of money and/or grind to rank them up even if I do have them – Diablo Immortal has kneecapped itself. Normally, the march of time would indicate legendary gems were just the latest in a long line of equipment 'Macguffins': the hot new thing to chase at the top of the equipment pyramid. By moving the bulk of power and progression into legendary gems (items which go into sockets on my equipment to provide massive stat bonuses and unique passive abilities), Diablo Immortal has trivialized my interest in my equipment.

But Diablo Immortal doesn’t just flood me with a lot of items, it’s also found a few new ways to rob me of my excitement. In recent times aRPG’s have made item drops more common – moving away from the days where I would leap from my chair in excitement when an unidentified Rare or Unique item fountained from the dying body of a defeated boss.

These tiny little stories are what draw me into an aRPG, and each item is normally a new roll of the dice on a new story.

Each one could have a weird bonus that sparks an interest in building my character differently, or simply a big stat upgrade to my weapon that has the wrong colored sockets, leaving me to ponder if it’s worth the change. Each new colorfully glowing addition to my inventory from treasure chests and defeated enemies represents the potential for a surprise. Put simply, the microtransactions have compromised some of the most important elements of a Diablo game.Įvery drop in an aRPG is sacred to me. This microtransaction abomination slows its trail of destruction to shove entire features into its mouth, gulping down critical parts of Diablo Immortal. There’s no way to talk about Diablo Immortal without confronting the 55-ton demon in the room, which takes the form of a cash shop, rampaging through the whole of the game.

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