Diablo 4 is still in development with no confirmed release date, but thankfully fans of the Diablo series will have their hands full for a while with upcoming titles. Diablo 2: Resurrected is just around the corner, with Diablo: Immortal following some time afterward with a release window of 2021. The last Diablo game to be released was Diablo 3 in 2012, with expansions releasing in 2014 and 2017. It has been some time since fans got Diablo content, and it has seemingly never come this frequently, with Diablo 4 rumored to possibly release in the next few years.

Blizzard's website updates fans with blog posts pertaining to each of its games, and most recently a blog post about Diablo 4's art direction was released. Not only did it showcase the art direction shift since Diablo 3 and a new Physically-Based Rendering (PBR) system, but it revealed there will be character customization for each class. This is a big deal for fans of the Diablo series, as they haven't had any way to really personalize the look of their characters in the past aside from the gear they equip.

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Character Customization in the Diablo Series

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The Diablo series has always been about slaying hordes of demons, sifting through loot, and building a character based on a chosen class. Ever since the original Diablo players could see how their character looked with the combination of gear they equipped. This has since been a staple for many games in the Action-RPG genre, though it has steadily improved in the Diablo series in particular. However, with Diablo 4, players can truly customize their class characters from the get-go according to the June 2021 Blizzard blog post.

The original Diablo was limited in how customized a character could look, as many different swords would look the same despite varying degrees of power. Diablo 2 took this further and added many more prerendered sprites for all sorts of armor and weapons. Diablo 2 had a social hub that showed everyone's character in a chat room, which gave the sense of community among players. There, players could see what other characters looked like based on the gear they had equipped. This was scrapped in Diablo 3 in favor of a more invasive inspection system more similar to World of Warcraft.

It was revealed in Blizzard's blog post that Diablo 4 will offer players more customization options for their chosen class than ever. Diablo 2's classes were gender locked and this was changed in Diablo 3, allowing players to choose their gender with each class. Now Diablo 4 will go even further allowing players to not only choose the gender of their class but also the option to customize their character's features. This includes what face preset the character will have, including the style of hair, beard, eyebrows, nose and ear piercings, makeup, tattoos, and body paint. Many of these options, including skin and eye color, will also be open to changes.

What Diablo 4's Character Customization Means

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Diablo 3 introduced the transmogrification system, which not only helped characters look distinct from one another, but added a new layer to the item acquisition as players probably wanted better-looking pieces of gear. Diablo 4's June 2021 blog post mentions keeping the overall look of the game grounded in reality, which means the over-the-top armors seen in Diablo 3 will more than likely stay with Diablo 3. Returning from Diablo 3, however, will be an improvement to the dye system. While players can dye the same types of armor as before, thanks to the new PBR system parts of the equipment will reflect light more realistically.

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A player's character will be shown up close throughout Diablo 4, including the inventory paper doll, the social screen, and in real-time cinematics. Real-time cinematics are a new feature in Diablo 4 that will show a player's character zoomed up-close during the action. This means that despite the faraway isometric camera angle Diablo games are accustomed to having, all the customization and detail players have put into their characters will be front and center at certain points. This is all the more reason to spend extra time perfecting that Rogue look.

Diablo 4 will feature an open-world aspect that will allow players to see each other in real-time and the Fields of Hatred PvP area. Much like how players could see each other's character in the Diablo 2 chatroom before selecting a server, players will be able to get a glimpse at what other players are rocking in terms of equipment. This can be skewed if the transmogrification system makes its return, but being able to see a vastly different looking Barbarian from another should be helpful to differentiate who to focus on in PvP.

Diablo 4's Social Hubs

Diablo 4 will allow players to help save settlements, which will then act as social hubs for players to buy, sell, or trade loot. Though seeing another player in the world will be sparse so as to not make Diablo 4 feel like an MMORPG, the few players that fans will come across should stick out. Thanks to characters being more customizable than ever, this gives each player a unique sense of who they might be coming across when they encounter someone else in the wild. A player could see someone in town, and then later see them with different gear at a large boss event, helping add to the social growth aspect.

Though it is uncertain if players will be able to inspect each other's equipment, skills, and stats like in Diablo 3, being able to simply recognize another player in the field from a previous encounter could help cement a new way of being social. Both Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 had a more menu-focused social engagement, so being able to possibly make friends in the Fields of Hatred would be unique for the Diablo series.

Diablo 4 is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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