Games like Diablo II: Resurrected received immense hype when they were first announced but failed to win over people when it released. Diablo IV Gold Immortal received ridicule from the very beginning, which didn't let up following its release. Diablo 4, however, is another entry into the series that has generated a lot of hype, and the developer team has a grasp of the pressure on it and the legacy it's expected to live up to when it releases on June 6 2023.

Having spent eight to 10 hours playing Diablo 4 on the Xbox Series X, I am able to confirm that the short amount of time I spent with the game was downright alarming -- in a good way. Its "Return to Darkness" tagline is more than an advertising ploy. It signifies a return the dark, bleak world of Diablo that has been captivating gamers since the game's first appearance in 1997. It was a time when playing an opponent named Diablo was enough to be a bit of a shock. In 2022, the envelope is been pushed more. It becomes apparent that the loot -- the equippable items that change the power of your character up to the point of altering how your skills work is carefully moved away from center on the stage.

In addition, equipment can be ranked up, and the rank is then moved to another item in the same slot. This means that a large part of your progress has been shifted from receiving exciting drops from monsters and into an incremental boring, monotonous grind, where you can salvage huge amounts of unwanted loot for scraps to be used in upgrades in the machine.

In addition, your items are now enhanced greatly by placing them in the hands of legendary gems that have immense power. This is where most complaints about Diablo's monetization are targeted.

One Diablo Immortal character comes with six legendary gem slots. Every gem comes with ratings ranging from one up to five stars. The rating can't be altered, and greatly affects the strength of the gem. Gems with Diablo 4 Gold five stars are rarer than ones with one star. Gems with legendary status can be upgraded by consuming other legendary gems. The simplest method to do this is using other gems with legendary qualities. A gem that is upgraded can then be further enhanced through the "gem resonance" system , which requires -you know what -additional legendary gems, up to five more per gem slot.