The Dark Side of Diablo 4: Glitches Threaten Hardcore Players' Quest to Level 100

Gamers are expressing frustration due to technical difficulties with Blizzard's highly anticipated Diablo 4, which have caused glitches in the game that led to the painful end of their Hardcore mode race to level 100. Despite its official release date being set for June 6, players who pre-ordered the game on PC and consoles were given the opportunity to pre-load Diablo 4 earlier this week for the game's early access period.

Diablo 4 is the latest addition to Blizzard's long-standing action RPG series, and it marks a return to the dark and gritty tone of the franchise's first two releases. While the color scheme and overall visual style of the game resemble Diablo 2 the most, Blizzard made a wise decision to incorporate some of the quality-of-life improvements that were introduced to the franchise with Diablo 3 in 2012. In an effort to give fans a glimpse of the game before its launch, Blizzard hosted a series of open beta weekends and Diablo 4 Server Slam events, even offering in-game rewards for completing specific tasks during the testing period. This early preview helped to alleviate concerns among fans that Diablo 4 would be similar to the free-to-play Diablo Immortal, rather than the games that gave the franchise its start.

Two players attempting to reach level 100 in Hardcore mode have encountered bugs in Diablo 4's early access period. Streamer Max "Maximum" Smith shared a clip on Twitter that showed his Hardcore run coming to a messy end after a bug caused his Sorceress character to become stuck in a stunned state, rendering him unable to move or access his abilities as he was swarmed by enemies. Despite his attempt to quickly exit out of the game, Maximum's Hardcore Sorceress run, along with his 18 hours of play, were brought to an untimely end by the bug. Similarly, in another instance, Twitch streamer imexile's Sorceress was affected by a glitched poison attack that slowly drained his life until his character was dead. Despite having the Flame Shield equipped, which should have protected him from the poison's effects, it failed to do so, leaving him with no choice but to try to exit the game before his health ran out. However, like in Maximum's case, the damage was already done, and his Hardcore run was ruined. The full clip can be seen here (warning: language).

For players who have dedicated a significant amount of time to Diablo 4 since early access, these two stories may prompt them to ensure that all aspects of the game are functioning correctly before diving into their next battle. Despite the presence of these potentially significant bugs, players can still enjoy the fun of exploiting Diablo 4's Butcher while waiting for Blizzard to address these issues. Diablo 4 can be played on a variety of platforms, including PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: PC Gamer