Summary
Diablo 4is the first open world experience in theDiablofranchise, and though the environments are breathtaking, some players believe that Blizzard needs to improve the game’s level scaling. A contentious topic since launch,level scaling inDiablo 4was criticized for making level ups feel more like a punishment than a reward, and one of the ways that the developers tackled the subject was by scaling down the monster levels in the open world for Season of the Malignant.
This change was accompanied by its fair share of controversy, as many players felt it significantly slowed down thedaunting leveling process inDiablo 4, and thus contributed to the overall backlash that Season 1 has gotten. The higher cost of mystery chests inDiablo 4’s Helltides and the removal of player boosting have done little to dissuade the community from feeling like the grind has gotten worse in the latestDiablo 4patch.
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To that end, people like webber294 have expressed a desire on theDiablo 4subreddit for the level scaling changes to be reverted. Having played the game since the Open Beta, webber294 claims that by reducing the monster level in both the open world and instanced zones, it doesn’t feel satisfying to clear Malignant Tunnels inDiablo 4and not get a single Paragon Point out of an hour of playtime. This problem extends to grinding Renown, as side quests no longer provide any passive experience gain as well. UnlessDiablo 4players start to grind Renown early, the process doesn’t have a valuable return for their efforts, and starts to feel more like a chore.
While the community may be torn on what level scaling should look like inDiablo 4, it is clear that the current solution isn’t working as well as the developers may have liked.Diablo 3also had level scaling, but the real difficulty curve was locked behind its Torment levels. SomeDiablo 4players have speculated that the solution lies in implementing more World Tiers, where eachWorld Tier inDiablo 4would then be assigned a certain level multiplier, making it more in line with how power scaling works inDiablo 3.
Ultimately, the dissatisfaction with Season 1 extends past the leveling process. Thenerfs to survivability across allDiablo 4classes, the changes to endgame, as well as the continued problems ofDiablo 4’s itemization have made the game feel worse for players and streamers alike. That being said,Reaper of Soulshas proven that gameplay is malleable, and that the major gripes fans have withDiablo 4right now may not be a factor down the line.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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