Diablo was better when it was about completing quests

Diablo 4’s embrace of live service has stripped out the soul of the series, but it’s not too late to get it back – and quests are the answer. 

While Diablo 4 wasn’t the first game in the series to flirt with live service elements, it was the first mainline entry to go completely all in with them. This was a foundation built for it by Diablo 3 and Immortal, but for long-time fans of the series, it sometimes feels like Diablo has forgotten what brought it to the dance.

You see, Diablo used to be a simpler series, you’d pick your class, decide on a build, play through the game’s various story quests, talk to NPCs, and increase your power. The series has always been about grinding for loot while you hack and slash monsters, but this always had a point.

Diablo’s quests give meaning to the grind

The grinding, the loot chasing, the endless waves of monsters, all existed within the framework of completing a quest. Perhaps you had been sent to take out a certain target who was terrorizing the townfolk, or maybe you needed to retrieve a mystical object for Deckard Cain, everything you did had a purpose.

Grinding was fun when it had a motivating reason behind it. In Diablo 2, for example, you’re coming to the end of Act 1 and the game has been building up to a confrontation between yourself and Andariel. But you need to grow a few levels before you can challenge her. Also, that leather armor you’re wearing isn’t going to cut it, time to increase your strength so you can finally equip some chainmail. 

Quests not only provide a purpose, but they also add logic and stakes. As the story builds to a crescendo, as the threat to Sanctuary grows more dire, your character strives to become stronger until you come face to face with The Lord of Terror himself. This is also more satisfying for the player who sees the culmination of all their hard work pay off in a climactic showdown. Sanctuary is safe, at least until the next expansion when a new threat rises. 

Sure, Diablo 4 has a campaign – an excellent one, in fact, and the world is also brimming with side quests to complete, not to mention fantastic little moments designed to reward long-time players. The problem comes once all this is over. 

We’re in the endgame now

In Diablo 4’s endgame, you grind to get stronger – so that you can grind to get stronger. There’s never a tangible goal other than the pursuit of more strength. Then, when a new season comes around, you abandon that character and do it all again. 

Now, for some players, this is their idea of fun, and hats off to them. But for players like me, this just feels hollow and disposable. I just find myself asking, “What’s my motivation?” I enjoy Diablo 4’s endgame, to a point. Helltides are great when you just want to throw yourself into the madness and grind a few levels. The same goes for, Infernal Hordes, Whispers, Nightmare Dungeons, and the rest. 

But here’s the thing, these elements aren’t enough to keep me playing indefinitely. It’s side content, simply more to do until something better comes along. Now, if each season added a new set of quests that expanded the story in some way, that would ensure I came back every time. However, this isn’t always what we get.

While some seasons have had great questlines to follow, like Seasons 2, 3, and 5, most of the time, progression is tied to the groan-inducing Seasonal Journey. So, if you want to enjoy these quests, you’ve got hours of Helltides to do – something that really sours my desire to even bother. 

This is why Vessel of Hatred was so refreshing, it added a new area, new characters, and new quests, all while expanding the world in a meaningful way. Now, VoH was an expansion, so I’m not suggesting that every Diablo season needs to be so rich with new content, that would be unrealistic, but surely a few new quests could be added? And not quests that are gated behind the Seasonal Journey or exclusive to the Seasonal Realm.

Sadly, Seasons 6 and 7 didn’t continue that approach, and this was a wasted opportunity. Even Diablo Immortal adds new quests periodically to keep players engaged – without forcing them to start a new character. 

Season 5 was arguably the perfect Diablo season, as it added new quests to both the Eternal and Seasonal Realms. All the same Seasonal Journey stuff was still there, but it meant that players who just wanted to play new quests could do so. 

Diluting the experience

It feels like Blizzard is trying to steer Diablo 4 away from traditional questing and more towards the endgame activities that complement its live service elements. 

Some players also appear to be happy with this, with some even skipping the campaign to jump straight into the endgame content the moment they buy the game. Sure, skip the campaign if you’ve already played it, but skipping it before even trying it? That’s just a tragic waste. 

Spending money on a game only to skip its best content just so you can do the repetitive endgame tasks over and over is truly baffling to me. It’s like players have forgotten that this is a Diablo game. Or that the tiresome Call of Duty “Nobody plays campaigns anymore” mindset has infected Diablo. 

Everyone has the right to enjoy games in whichever way they see fit, but for all Diablo 4’s success, I can’t help feeling like it’s losing itself. All games must evolve, and when they do, there’ll always be players who resist – which may be what I’m doing. 

However, I feel like I enter a state of mourning when I play Diablo 4, something that only becomes more pronounced when I fire up Diablo 2 and 3.

All is not lost yet, as Vessel of Hatred proved, but Blizzard would do well to remember that the biggest fans of the Diablo series fell in love with it by completing quests – and we’re still here.