Diablo 4 is finally confirmed and fans are already wondering what to expect. While Blizzard said at BlizzCon that the next iteration will go back to the roots of the series, it is interesting to see just how much change the studio will introduce. One interesting aspect players should be looking forward to is the shared world, and here is what we know so far about it.
For starters, you have the freedom to play Diablo 4 solo and enjoy it all by yourself. However, it is important to keep in mind that you cannot do this without seeing other players. Yes, that is right – you will be seeing other players either across towns or around the game’s open world.
Since Diablo 4’s open world is, as mentioned above, shared, you do not have to expect game-wide difficulty levels to exist. In addition, enemy levels will tend to scale so that you and your friends can always play together, although some areas will be more difficult than others to complete. Blizzard said that this is designed to encourage players to explore the game and seek out more challenges.
Interestingly, scaling is not necessarily meant to stop your character from becoming powerful. Obviously, there is a need to find better gear. This is where dungeons come in, but keep in mind that they are private for solo or partied players. In other words, if you want to encounter the public, you must be out in the open world.
In Diablo 4, entering a dungeon allows you to select difficulty options. These options, according to Blizzard, come "with great granularity.” As for areas that are relevant to the campaign, they are either private to you or your party when you first enter. Interestingly, though, this can change as you progress. That is because the world generally changes based on the progress you have made in the campaign.
Lastly, player populations will also change depending on where you are located in the game’s world. As expected, towns will be the most populous. Blizzard said that as players go deeper into the game’s wastes, they will encounter fewer players.
