A Diablo 4 player shows off his barbarian character designed to look like the villain Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat. The Diablo 4 open beta ran from Friday, March 24 to Monday, March 27, and let fans get a taste of Blizzard's upcoming new installment to its legendary action RPG franchise.
Shao Kahn is one of the most recognizable antagonists in Mortal Kombat and fighting games in general. The tyrannical Emperor of Outworld, he's been a recurring antagonist since his debut as the final boss of Mortal Kombat 2 in 1993. Shao Kahn's popularity may be partly due to his over-the-top villainous personality but also because his iconic appearance has stayed relatively consistent across many generations of Mortal Kombat games.
Reddit user e2Nokia was one of several fans who jumped into Diablo 4's open beta last weekend. Recently, he decided to share his custom Barbarian character, which the player designed to look like Mortal Kombat's Shao Khan. Wielding a large stone hammer, the Barbarian wears a masked helmet with two large horns, and his armor features a pair of flared pauldrons not unlike those worn by some versions of Shao Khan. Of course, the Barbarian's armor covers more of his torso than what Shao Kahn wears, and there aren't quite as many spikes as usual. Still, it's clear who he's supposed to be.
The player used Diablo 4's Transmog system to create his tribute to Mortal Kombat. This system lets Diablo 4 players customize the appearance of their armor to look like previously unlocked items, allowing players to dress however they want without worrying about sacrificing better stats for aesthetics. Diablo 4 players can Salvage their old items by taking them to Blacksmiths. Players can then use the item's appearance as a skin for new equipment by interacting with the Wardrobe in the player character's Lodgings in cities, such as the early game town of Kyovashad.
The Shao Kahn-inspired Barbarian proved popular when e2Nokia posted a screenshot of him on the Diablo subreddit yesterday. However, at least one person did question the practicality of fighting demons in sandals. Another player also took this opportunity to complain about how weak melee characters were early in the game. Still, one grouchy Diablo 4 player was not enough to bring down the mood of the post, with most commenters either making Mortal Kombat references or talking about how much they loved the new game's Transmog system.
Diablo 4 releases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 6.