Why Diablo 4 Skips Diablo 3's Rifts

With the highly anticipated release of Diablo 4 on June 6th, both dedicated fans and newcomers are excitedly preparing to dive back into the world of Sanctuary once again. It has been over a decade since the last major mainline entry, with Diablo 3 originally debuting back in 2012. In that time, Blizzard has gained valuable insight into what players truly desire in a Diablo game. As a result, Diablo 4's developers knew that they had to make some major changes to the endgame experience, including the controversial Rifts and Greater Rifts system from Diablo 3.

First introduced in patch 2.1, Greater Rifts were initially designed as a timed endgame play mode that would increase in difficulty as players progressed, ultimately providing commensurate rewards. Since then, Diablo 3 has seen the launch of 28 seasons, with the latest season introducing The Altar of Rites, a new progression system that allowed players to choose from a range of character buffs to apply account-wide. However, despite the many improvements made over the years, Rifts have remained a source of discontent for many players. Early on, players had no say in their rewards, forcing them to grind endlessly in hopes of obtaining the one piece of gear they needed.

In an interview with Game Rant, Associate Game Director Joe Piepiora and Dungeons Producer Ash Sweetring Vickey discussed the changes they aimed to make in Diablo 4 regarding Rifts and Greater Rifts. Piepiora emphasized the importance of capped progression rather than never-ending power progression. The team wanted to prioritize the choices players make and the rewards they receive for those choices, rather than solely focusing on the time invested in a character.

The developers behind Diablo 4, Piepiora and Vickey, recognized that players were growing tired of the never-ending system present in Diablo 3. The constant running on the hamster wheel that was Rifts and Greater Rifts had become tedious and frustrating. Even the process of accessing these systems was viewed with annoyance, as players had to find a Keystone of Trials and fight waves of enemies to determine the level of the Key they would use. Therefore, the focus of Diablo 4 was shifted away from this endless system, despite it being counter-intuitive from a game development standpoint.

According to player feedback, the rifts became monotonous over time, despite being adjusted in patch 2.3 with the introduction of the Realm of Trials. In response to this, Vickey noted the development team's decision to replace rifts with Nightmare Dungeons. These dungeons allow players to increase their personal player power and tailor gameplay to individual preferences.

Instead of continually chasing better equipment with better stats through Rifts, Diablo 4 offers players the option to improve individual gear for a better quality of life. The new Paragon Board and Nightmare Dungeons also provide more choices for players in how they build their characters. "That was one of the big things that we were able to take away, how we can improve an everyday quality of life item that people still enjoyed, but something that we could make better for the long run for players," said Vickey.

The new approach to enhancing individual items represents a significant departure from previous Diablo loot progression systems. In previous titles, players were required to search for specific items with the best stats, resulting in burnout as they tirelessly hunted for that elusive piece. However, in Diablo 4, the focus is on improving singular gear pieces and offering players a plethora of customization options. This approach aims to provide players with finite goals, rather than an endless search for ever-more powerful gear. The emphasis now lies in finding the right affixes, legendary powers, and unique items that suit players' needs.

The decision to eliminate constant gear hunting will likely be welcomed by those who have spent the past decade grinding high-level Rifts and Greater Rifts in search of that elusive gear piece to complete their build. The inability to choose which gear piece drops has fueled the increase in ultra-meta Rift builds, prioritizing speed and ease of clearing content over fun or unconventional builds for players. The Diablo 4 development team seems to have taken community feedback into consideration by removing the Rift grind, but only time will tell if their approach will truly enhance the overall gameplay experience. Diablo 4 is set to release on June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.