{"id":1562558,"date":"2026-04-25T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/YEUND2rfXtxsQchKRpSCxL"},"modified":"2026-04-25T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T17:00:00","slug":"i-finally-like-diablo-4-now-and-its-because-i-embraced-laziness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/i-finally-like-diablo-4-now-and-its-because-i-embraced-laziness\/","title":{"rendered":"I finally like Diablo 4 now, and it’s because I embraced laziness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dungeon Master<\/div>\n
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Welcome to Dungeon Master<\/a>, PC Gamer’s regular RPG column, where Online Editor Fraser Brown delves into PC gaming’s most beloved and enduring genre. Grab a seat in our badly-lit tavern and please ignore the goblin puke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred<\/a> is nipping at our heels, and to prepare I’ve been mucking around in Sanctuary again. I finally finished the OG campaign, which I initially bounced off in favour of seasonal distractions, and I’ve rolled a couple of new characters. And despite never vibing with Blizzard’s latest before, I am finally enjoying myself. <\/p>\n

I never thought Diablo 4 was terrible. The aesthetics and vibes are much more in line with Diablo 1 and 2, Lilith and Mephisto are great villains, and Blizzard’s managed to do some interesting stuff with its seasons, running plenty of little experiments that reconfigure our path of slaughter through Sanctuary. <\/p>\n

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But it simply left me bored. Even Diablo 3’s character progression and skills felt more compelling and primed for madcap buildcrafting, and honestly I couldn’t come up with a good reason to keep playing when Path of Exile 1 and 2 were there, doing significantly bolder things with the ARPG framework. <\/p>\n

Where Diablo 4 didn’t come alive until endgame, and left you feeling underpowered and lacking in interesting build options before then, Path of Exile’s passive skill tree means the wild experimenting can begin straight away, as you strike out on whatever path you fancy. The sheer potential of that tree is mesmerising. <\/p>\n

If you try to follow a build guide in PoE or its sequel, or attempt to make your own build, it feels like you need a degree in dungeoneering. There’s so much to wrap your head around, so much to pore over. It’s intimidating but thrilling. Diablo 4 isn’t comparable. It’s a checklist that doesn’t reward experimentation. Though it sounds like Lord of Hatred will solve this somewhat.<\/p>\n

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Per Tyler Colp’s glowing Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred review<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Freestyling a build in Diablo 4 used to be like being stuck in a maze and constantly running into dead ends. A skill could sound effective, but you’d all too often discover that it was garbage unless you paired it with a specific item. Now, a lot of the most powerful effects are in the skill trees themselves. Your gear still matters, but it’s been moved to a more supplementary role.<\/em><\/p>\n

In practice, playing through the campaign on my warlock gave me the same thirst for experimentation that Diablo 3 did. I swapped skills in and out in between quests just to see if they’d make the cut for my final build and found it hard to stick with one set. This is how, after going through some combinations I still want to explore in the future, I ended up with the world’s strongest demon.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is exciting! But since I’ve been waiting for Lord of Hatred like the rest of you, I’ve had to make do with the current version of Diablo 4. And I’ve still managed to have a good time. It’s all because I’ve stopped giving a damn. <\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Tyler C. \/ Blizzard Entertainment)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead of wishing Diablo 4 was as complex and compelling as Path of Exile, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it never will be\u2014and probably shouldn’t be. We already have two of those games, and other ARPGs like Last Epoch that do more unusual things with skill trees and builds.<\/p>\n

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