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Change is a difficult thing to grapple with. We have a tendency as humans to ascribe morality to change, labeling it ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depending on our feelings, but the truth is that generally it’s simply neutral. It can be difficult to let go of things or embrace the tumultuousness that comes with something turning into something else, and that’s definitely the case when a beloved thing is altered. In Diablo 4, that feeling is hitting fans, and for good reason.
It all centers around the character selection screen. In Diablo 4, when choosing who to hop into, players would be greeted with all the different classes standing around a campfire. Think the lobby from Dead by Daylight or a camping holiday and you won’t be far off the scene. The campfire scene for character selection started in Diablo 2, making this both a callback to that earlier title as well as a lineage that runs through the series for over almost 25 years.
That’s all about to change, as the 2.0 update for the action RPG is set to change how the character selection screen works. In the most recent build of the public test realm, the wider view of all characters standing around a campfire together is gone. In its place is a zoomed-in view of each character, standing alone in the dark with only an off-screen fire to light them from below. You might expect that swapping between characters would show a glimpse of the previous scene but instead a simple fade to black occurs.
It’s an odd change that has some fans scratching their heads. The prevailing theory is that this was done to easily accommodate new classes, like the upcoming Spiritborn, making it future-proof for any additional heroes that may turn up in the game. However, at the time of writing, there has been no word from Blizzard on the reasoning behind this change, so the head-scratching is continuing – for now.
An odd detail fans have noticed, however, is when you compare the game with World of Warcraft. In the MMORPG, the new Warbands feature has arrived which makes the character selection screen look like a small group of heroes, taking a break around a campfire. Despite the brighter color themes and art style, it’s almost mirrored from Diablo 4’s current, soon-to-be-removed version. “Soooo . . . diablo loses the campfire group and WoW gains the campfire group. I see,” reads one highly-rated post on the game’s subreddit.
While this isn’t the biggest change coming in the 2.0 patch and Vessel of Hatred DLC, it is one that has some fans a little disgruntled and has made them feel like the game has lost a bit of its history and flavor.
The Diablo 4 2.0 update along with the Vessel of Hatred DLC will launch on Tuesday October 8. Make sure to keep up to date with everything you need to know about the Diablo 4 DLC release date, and see what we thought of the original game before it evolves into something new with our Diablo 4 review.
If you’re preparing to head into the game again or for the first time, our guide to all Diablo 4 classes will ensure you know how best to bring the pain to your demonic foes. Should you want something else in your life, our guide to the best action-adventure games will have your pulse racing in no time.
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