Diablo IV Class Design and Unique Class Mechanics
-Class-exclusive mechanics appeared to be very compelling during design, especially in group play. The team wants classes to "shine in their own way", increasing the number of choices and ways to customize a character.
-Shely mentions the Necromancer's "Book of the Dead" class mechanic as a prime example. It offers all types of Necromancer players a way to play the class, no matter if they want to play with a lot of minions, only with a singular powerful golem, or with no minions at all in the form of a "dark spellcaster" archetype.
-According to Fergusson, "adding depth without adding too much complexity" was the main design intention of Diablo IV's unique class mechanics. They are designed to offer players more ways to dive deep into class fantasy without overwhelming them.
Diablo IV Skill Trees: Iteration and Design
-Diablo IV's skill tree system has changed "dramatically" over time. According to Fergusson, the current iteration is the fourth iteration since Alpha.
-Iterating skill tree design was possible thanks to extensive feedback by players and fans over the years.
-"Providing opportunity and choice while not overwhelming players" is the main goal while designing the skill tree and paragon system. Players should not ask themselves where to start when looking at these systems.
-According to Fergusson, Diablo IV characters should feel customizable and unique without too much complexity. They don't want Diablo IV to become a game where players have to visit a website and study somebody else's build just because making your own build is so complicated.
-Players being able to theorycraft their own builds is very important to the team.
-Fergusson mentions the "richness of progression" in Diablo II's character progression and feels that this sense of progression is present in Diablo IV.
Diablo IV Skill Trees: Respeccing and Character Builds
-Players can spend gold to respec point-by-point within their skill tree. In the beginning, respeccing is very cheap. As your build progresses, respeccing single points becomes more expensive but still stays affordable, especially in the later stages of character progression.
-The fact that, like in Diablo II, certain abilities can also appear as modifiers on items add an additional way to try out abilities you'd not be able to choose in the skill tree otherwise.
-Builds in Diablo III are mostly defined by items and set bonuses. In Diablo IV, character progression will be tied more to characters directly through the skill tree system.
-That, however, also means that quickly trying out a whole new build on your current character could be problematic due to respec costs. The more you level up your character and your build, the more you should become attached to it.
