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News video games 21 April 2023, 15:14

author: Jacob Blazewicz

Diablo 4 Won't be Pulling Punches in Hardcore PVP; Die and You'll be Deleted

Hardcore mode in Diablo IV will be risky for PvP fans, but could drive audiences for streamers.

Diablo IV will have no mercy for daredevils seeking extreme challenges. The developers have confirmed that in Hardcore mode, death means deletion of the character, even in clashes with other players.

The news was delivered by Adam "PezRadar" Fletcher, community manager of the Diablo series, in response to a question from an Internet user (via Twittter).

Diablo 4 Wont be Pulling Punches in Hardcore PVP; Die and Youll be Deleted - picture #1
Source: Adam Fletcher on Twitter.

Some players are not thrilled with this information. In their opinion, in practice, this means the exclusion of "hardcore" characters from PvP. After all, who will risk losing a character they have invested hours into?

Permadeath an attraction for streamers

However, surprisingly, many Internet users don't mind. These fans are pointing out, that in Diablo 4 the PvP mode will be limited to special zones, and even that only applies to characters that - like in Diablo 2 - will be marked by the player as ready for such clashes. Thus, those afraid of losing their virtual possessions can simply ignore PvP (or create a "regular" character under this mode).

An interesting argument put forward by proponents of permanent death is the potential of permadeath for streamers. After all, they love to attract viewers with unusual content, such as making the game more difficult in various ways. Duels or even entire tournaments in which the "lives" of Internet celebrities would be at stake, are likely to be thrilling spectacles.

Diablo 4 Wont be Pulling Punches in Hardcore PVP; Die and Youll be Deleted - picture #2
Serial players are unlikely to be willing to risk their characters, but they would love to watch "life and death" duels of streamers. Source: Blizzard Entertainment.

Anyway, such a solution will probably find enthusiasts among common players as well. First, duels in hardcore mode will be accompanied by the thrill of knowing that one of the combatants will lose everything.

Second - in Diablo IV there will be achievements for winning five and ten "hardcore" PvP clashes. Probably some players will go for the easy way, involving their friends (unless Blizzard introduces additional requirements), but for others it will be, as it were, a badge for an outstanding achievement (and another challenge for streamers).

Diablo IV will be released on June 6 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Recall, that further beta tests will be organized in May.

Jacob Blazewicz

Jacob Blazewicz

Graduated with a master's degree in Polish Studies from the University of Warsaw with a thesis dedicated to this very subject. Started his adventure with GRYOnline.pl in 2015, writing in the Newsroom and later also in the film and technology sections (also contributed to the Encyclopedia). Interested in video games (and not only video games) for years. He began with platform games and, to this day, remains a big fan of them (including Metroidvania). Also shows interest in card games (including paper), fighting games, soulslikes, and basically everything about games as such. Marvels at pixelated characters from games dating back to the time of the Game Boy (if not older).

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