With Diablo 4 set to release next month, Blizzard has explained how the level scaling will work in the next installment in the series. Diablo titles have been released since 1996, and since then, numerous improvements have been made to the franchise, with Diablo 4 potentially modernizing things even more with its level scaling.
While Diablo 2 had numerous levels of difficulty that have been retained in modern Diablo titles through Nightmare and Hell modes, the game didn't feature level scaling. Because some older Diablo titles didn't have level scaling, many players were able to turn areas that used to be difficult to drudge through farmable by getting progressively more powerful gear. Continuing a tradition that began with Diablo 3, Blizzard will be implementing level scaling in Diablo 4 that may provide appropriate challenges for players despite their level or inventory.
According to Diablo 4 Associate Game Director Joe Piepiora, the game's level scaling is an attempt to prevent early parts of the Blizzard action RPG from becoming "utterly trivial." The first two Diablo games had areas that eventually became trivial for some players which is something that the Diablo 4 team was seemingly conscious of when developing the latest installment. Joe Piepiora has stated that the more difficult Diablo 4 locations will still be at a higher level than the player is with the level scaling system that the team is using, but skipped campaign moments can be visited later without feeling too easy due to what advancements may have been made.
Recommending that players still challenge themselves with quests that are higher level than themselves, Joe Piepiora used an example of a level 25 character with a powerful legendary and build going into a level 32 area. These Diablo 4 players may be able to exceed enemies by a "couple of levels" in any given area, but the level scaling will activate to keep battles against the Diablo bestiary engaging. This ultimately means that the aforementioned level 32 area will never become as easy as it was challenging when a player arrived, ensuring that exploring these zones isn't a cakewalk despite any progress that has been made.
While players often did seasonal Diablo 3 bounties or rifts to see early zones in an entirely new light, Diablo 4 is seemingly taking a different direction by incentivizing returning to such zones through scaling. Diablo games aren't the only experience that Blizzard has with level scaling as World of Warcraft received the feature with the Legion expansion, and it has had its own tweaks in the years since.
Diablo 4 releases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 6.
Source: Eurogamer