Diablo IV Global Launch Schedule Revealed for Early Access and Regulars; Late game progression explained by Blizzard

Diablo IV is gearing up to release in June and before that we got the global release times for Early Access and Regular Launch. In a tweet, Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment confirmed that players who pre-ordered the Deluxe and Ultimate editions of the upcoming dark fantasy dungeon-crawler will be able to play it early June 1 at 4 p.m. PT. For India, this translates to June 2 at 4:30 a.m. IST. Meanwhile, the Standard Edition is scheduled to launch on June 6 at 4:30 a.m. IST / June 5 at 4 p.m. PT in the US. The time and date remain consistent across all platforms, and you will need continuous internet access to play Diablo IV.

To avoid confusion, Ybarra confirmed in follow-up tweets that European time was in BST, while for Asia it would be Korean time. While these dates indicate a promising launch, it’s worth mentioning that the developers haven’t declared it gold. In December, a Washington Post report pointed out that Diablo IV was originally aiming for a 2022 launch, but was delayed to April 2023, and ultimately June 2023. Blizzard seemed unwilling to push the launch any further, forcing a developer crisis. “We’re at the point where they don’t want to delay the game anymore,” a Blizzard employee told TWP. “So we all have to follow through and figure out how badly we’re willing to hurt each other to make sure the game comes out in a good enough state.”

Blizzard also covered some endgame progression in a developer video, which details how they plan to keep you hooked for hundreds of hours after the main story is complete. The endgame begins with a Capstone dungeon, which when completed grants access to world tiers ranging from Adventurer to Torment difficulty, which must be unlocked gradually. The higher the difficulty, the more powerful the loot and items you earn. The idea is to keep getting stronger, long after you’ve reached max level, through the Paragon system. Think of it as an extended skill tree where you can choose paths and choose perks and glyphs to get stronger and make it “uniquely yours”. The board can also be rotated to unlock nodes geared towards a particular attribute, such as strength, intelligence, willpower, and dexterity.

Nightmare Dungeons return in Diablo 4’s Endgame, allowing you to choose one dungeon from over 120 present in the Sanctuary and upgrade it to a more difficult playing field. This can be achieved by finding a Nightmare Sigil and using it to activate a “Nightmare” version of a dungeon, adding difficult objectives, more enemies, and even portals that drop monsters that aren’t native to this region. Think of it as the same as realm tears in God of War (2018), which would occasionally bombard you with high-level enemies to kill; in Diablo IV, you don’t control when it’s activated.

PvP enthusiasts can head to the Fields of Hate, where they can complete tasks to collect shards, which will then need to be purified before trading them in nearby towns to purchase unique cosmetics and rewards. However, attempting to purify the shards will alert other players online, urging them to aim their attacks at you and try to steal them. So be prepared to lose some items if you plan to engage in PvP. Diablo 4 also includes a battle pass system, which will only be focused on cosmetic items. A new Necromancer class has also been added, which can summon and command the undead to demand your evil deeds.

Diablo IV releases June 6 on PC (via Battle.net), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. As mentioned earlier, early access for Deluxe and Ultimate edition pre-orders starts on June 2 in India and June 1 in the US.

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