Blizzard Entertainment, known for its works like World of Warcraft and Overwatch, has officially released Diablo Immortal on mobile and PC, setting the stage for the new heroes of the Sanctuary scouring the lands for the shards and splinters of the Worldstone which the now-defeated demon lord Baal hoped to corrupt.
“We’re thrilled to now be able to put the newest entry in the Diablo series in players’ hands. The visceral gameplay, dark story, and depth of character customization that Diablo is known for are all here in Diablo Immortal. And with this being a AAA free-to-play Blizzard game, it was important to us to give players a full and highly engaging core game experience — including upcoming features, character classes, story, and more,” said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment.
Before the launch, more than 35 million players pre-registered for Diablo Immortal, prompting the developer to award a ceremonial Horadrim Cosmetic set for individuals who complete the tutorial within the game’s first month.
1. Learn what events transpired between Diablo II and Diablo III
The story of Diablo Immortal takes place between Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and Diablo III, a 20-year gap where the Sanctuary – a world created by mankind via the artifact called the Worldstone to flee from the Eternal Conflict between angels and demons, is no longer hidden from the heavens and hell.
With the Worldstone’s fragments still possessing the corruption of Baal, the main antagonist named Skarn is tasked to gather these shards and resurrect his master to reignite the Eternal Conflict. The game will also reveal what happened to humanity in the aftermath of the Worldstone’s destruction, the motivations behind Malthael’s abandonment of heaven, the establishment of the Demon Hunters, and the activities of Deckard Cain and the remnants of Horadrim.
2. Take advantage of cross-progression play
Players have the freedom to play on both PC and mobile devices as long as they use a Battle.net account. Mobile players will first have to play as a guest before logging into or creating a Battle.net account to carry their progress over to PC.
3. Discover new characters
As one of the last remaining bastions of stability in Sanctuary, Westmarch will be the hub where the story of the broken Worldstone will unravel, revolving around familiar faces like Deckard Cain, Charsi, Kashya, Akara, Xul, and Valla. It will also introduce new ones like the Helliquary maker Rayek, and warring factions of the Immortals and the Shadows.
With the Helliquary, a device that locates destructive demons and traps their essence after they’re slain, Rayek hopes to prevent demonic incursions similar to the one that obliterated his homeland. Meanwhile, the master blacksmith Charsi continues to equip heroes in their fight against evil, and an emerging conflict between the two bandit gangs Amber Blades and Sand Scorpions might just play a hand in revealing remnants of the Worldstone in the Shassar Sea.
4. Decide how you want the story to unfold
There are several ways players can experience the story of Diablo Immortal: either tackling the main story quests head-on starting in Wortham, taking on the more complicated and longer elite quests which will reward players with unique items by battling big boss fights, engaging in quick-paced encounters from side quests that promise random chest rewards, or single-handedly accomplish unique quests available to the Shadows faction called Contracts.
5. Customize your gameplay
Whether it’s on the PC or mobile platform, players can actually use a third-party controller that can access a free cursor for non-gameplay interfaces. From the Controls tab of the settings menu, players can also adjust the position of the skill buttons, a functionality commonly seen in most games nowadays.
The game also features chat text enlargement up to 200%, voice chat transcription, incoming chat message narration via text-to-speech, and auditory cues to notify other players.
6. Build your team
There are six available character classes in the game: the wandering Barbarian who uses brutal attacks in taking down enemies, the faithful Crusader who supports the team with buffs, the long-range Demon Hunter who excels in both AoE and single target offense, the flexible Monk who combines holy and elemental martial arts-based attacks, the summoning Necromancer most effective for short to medium range combat, and the magic-wielding Wizard.
Unlike traditional RPGs, Diablo Immortal characters do not use a mana or resource system, and instead rely on skill cooldowns. Among the 12 abilities available for each class, players can only equip five at any given time, and automatically upgrades each skill through character level progress.
7. Upgrade your character and acquire new skins
The growing power of Legendary Gems and items are reflected in unique visual cosmetics and wings. Players can also change their existing characters to a new class with new visual customization without losing Paragon level progress and equipped items. The Class Change feature also allows players to revert into their original class and equip previous Legendary items.
Although cosmetics radically change a character’s appearance, it doesn’t actually affect gear and stats, and fits their anatomy by design. Diablo Immortal will be rolling out a new cosmetic set for all classes each month, following the aesthetic direction of that month’s Battle Pass. Free exclusive cosmetic sets can also be earned by raising a faction’s dominance through play.
