The summary of ‘CohhCarnage Reacts To The Diablo Developer Update July 6th 2023’

00:00:00

In this segment of the video, the Diablo developers introduce themselves and discuss various updates for the Diablo franchise. Adam Fletcher, the community director, talks about using new microphones for the stream. Rod Fergusson, the general manager of the Diablo universe, joins the conversation. The team emphasizes that this is a more official developer stream compared to their casual “campfire” chats.

The major highlight is the announcement of a new character class for Diablo Immortal, the Blood Knight, which will be released on July 13th. This is the first new character class in nearly a decade for the franchise. Ryan Quinn, the senior narrative designer, provides background on the Blood Knight, explaining its vampiric nature and unique abilities, along with its inherent drawbacks. The Blood Knights are individuals who have undergone an ancient ritual to arrest their transformation into thralls, giving them supernatural abilities but also dark burdens they must manage through rituals.

00:10:00

In this segment of the video, the speakers discuss multiple aspects of the “Blood Knight” class in Diablo Immortal. They explain the class’s transformation ability into an “Abomination,” detailing how this transformation grants increased power but must be filled by defeating enemies, similar to an ultimate ability. Additionally, they describe the Blood Knight’s melee hybrid nature, its skills for close combat, and legendary essences that aid mobility and life-stealing. The unique abilities include a dagger that can be thrown or slashed and a powerful skewer attack with an area stun effect.

The segment also covers the introduction of the Blood Knight on Diablo Immortal’s anniversary, highlighting how new and existing players can access the class. Existing players can freely switch to the Blood Knight using a one-day cooldown during the event and even revert back instantly if desired. There’s also a mention of the “Crimson Plane” event, a roguelike experience where players can test out Blood Knight abilities. Lastly, they touch upon the inclusion of a new legendary gem and other items with the upcoming July 13th update, urging viewers to check further details on the official blog post on Diablo Immortal’s website.

00:20:00

In this part of the video, the speakers focus on recent updates and changes in a game, highlighting specific features like crafting set items and converting duplicate legendaries into a currency to strengthen current legendaries. They mention improved dungeon experiences, including clan play and the tower. The discussion includes excitement about the new Blood Knight character, voiced by Abby Trot and Ben Prendergast, who recorded around 2,000 lines. They then transition to Diablo 4 content, introduce key team members, and talk about the game’s development and feedback process since launch. The upcoming patch 1.04, addressing additional feedback and including gameplay adjustments like Hell Tide chests having a chance to drop unique items, is also mentioned.

00:30:00

In this segment of the video, the team discusses their responsiveness to player feedback while managing the development schedule. They emphasize their ongoing commitment to support the game through multiple seasons and expansions. Season One, named “Season of the Malignant,” is introduced, which follows the events of Diablo 4’s main campaign. The storyline involves a new threat—a corruption that affects creatures across the world. Players will meet a new character, Corman, an ex-priest trying to combat this corruption. Key gameplay mechanics for the season include battling malignant versions of elite monsters to obtain powerful items called Malignant Hearts, which can be socketed into gear to unlock potent new abilities. These mechanics aim to provide fresh challenges and customization options for players.

00:40:00

In this part of the video, the speakers discussed sockets on rings and jewelry during the season of the Malignant, focusing on the different colors and types of sockets and malignant hearts. They explained that rings and amulets found or gambled for during this season would come with specific colored sockets, and unique rings would always have a color associated with them. There are three types of colored sockets and four types of malignant hearts, with the wrathful heart being rare and powerful, fitting any socket. They also talked about malignant tunnels where players can target farm malignant hearts using crafted invokers. Additionally, they covered that the new season will include new bosses, legendary items, and new unique items that will also appear in the eternal realm. The patch for these updates will be available on July 18th, while the new season starts on July 20th. The segment ended by introducing the season journey feature, which is segmented into chapters with various objectives for players to complete.

00:50:00

In this segment of the video, the speakers discuss several key features of a game, focusing on the battle pass and season journey mechanics. Players can earn “favor drops” by completing objectives, which fuel their battle pass progression. Upon completing chapters, players receive significant favor and item rewards, including new legendary aspects not available via the usual Codex of Power. The game allows players to progress without mandatory activities they dislike, offering flexibility in how they advance through chapters.

The season journey and battle pass are accessible to all players, with free and premium tiers available. Players earn favor through various in-game activities, including killing monsters and completing dungeons. While some seasonal features become available only after finishing the main campaign, earning favor and progressing the season journey can still happen concurrently with the campaign.

Cosmetic rewards in the battle pass are class-agnostic, allowing for a preview across all classes, while smoldering ashes obtained through the battle pass can be invested into seasonal blessings for various in-game advantages. These systems are designed to provide ongoing goals and incentives, enhancing player engagement throughout the season.

01:00:00

In this part of the video, the speakers discuss the battle pass system and how it functions in the game, particularly focusing on cosmetics, transmogs, and smoldering ashes for seasonal perks. They emphasize that the paid items in the battle pass are purely cosmetic and do not impact gameplay power. The conversation then shifts to the mechanics of seasonal progression, explaining that players’ map explorations, altars, and Renown earned in previous seasons carry over to new seasonal characters. They advise players to log in with their most progressed characters when the patch goes live to ensure all progress is credited to their account. This will enable players to start the new season with significant advantages, such as additional skill points and potion charges. The team acknowledges that this system was implemented based on player feedback and was rapidly developed to address concerns about losing progress between seasons.

01:10:00

In this segment, the speakers discuss the ongoing efforts to improve Diablo 4 based on player feedback, emphasizing a commitment to delivering a high-quality gaming experience. They highlight the challenges of implementing and testing changes quickly. Key points include the upcoming “chunky” patch on July 18th, which will introduce various updates and improvements for Season 1, such as class balance changes and better rewards for activities. Additionally, they mention new features like the Scroll of Amnesia, which allows players to reset their character’s skills at no cost. They also confirm that the new Blood Knights in Diablo Immortal will be free and outline future considerations for integrating seasonal mechanics into the main game. The segment closes with a Q&A session addressing various community questions about game updates and mechanics.

01:20:00

In this part of the video, the team discusses their approach to adding new content to the game, specifically focusing on how they want to avoid making the game overly dense with features by regularly switching out elements like Malignant Hearts between seasons. They emphasize that each season will introduce fresh new experiences and builds, ensuring the game remains engaging. They also highlight the benefits of seasonal resets, allowing new and returning players to start on the same level without feeling left behind. There is a discussion on cosmetics, confirming that any purchased items will carry over between seasons and characters. They address feedback on teleportation mechanics within dungeons and the design inspirations for new character classes. Lastly, they touch upon plans for balancing adjustments during game seasons and reassure players that such updates will be scheduled and communicated in a structured manner.

01:30:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses plans to improve the situation with Diablo 4, including efforts to create more space and addressing issues with game components like gems. They mention the duration of seasons, confirming a minimum of 12 weeks, and touch on the possibility of new classes, although none are currently announced. They also highlight upcoming updates: Diablo Immortal’s update on July 13, Season One of Diablo 4 starting on July 20 with a preceding patch on July 18, and a patch release happening that afternoon. The segment wraps up with plans to raid two Diablo content creators after the stream and emphasizes the informal, organic outreach effort of these updates.