8 Reasons Why We Still Play: Diablo III
Last Updated on September 21, 2019 by Michael Brockbank
Released in 2012, Diablo III has engaged millions world-wide. Whether it’s on a console or PC, players will gather to slaughter demons en mass. And although some people stopped, we still play Diablo III for several key reasons.
Keep in mind, these are the things that keep us logging into the game on a weekly basis. It’s just an opinion, and you are welcome to agree or disagree as you like.[template id=”145″]
We Still Play Diablo III Because…
The developers over at Blizzard are some of the best storytellers in the gaming market. The progress and unfolding of the world in Sanctuary is rich with characters who are more than just pixels on a screen.
And yes, I was saddened when Deckard Cain was murdered by Maghda.
However, the story that drives us to the game is only part of why we still play Diablo III almost seven years since its release.
1. Lots of Content
One of the highlights to Diablo III is the sheer amount of content. It’s more than just a simple play-through game as it comes with an expansive world, various challenges and a comprehensive way to compete with others.
Lootable lore books and NPC chats are enough to keep me engaged for the long haul. This is because I am a story-line player and love a good tale. It gives the characters in the game far more life and depth than just simple text on a screen.
It’s easy to start caring for the well-being of them. In fact, I get heart-broken each time I hear the tale of Haedrig’s wife. And the note is lootable next to Haedrig’s armor stand if you’re curious.
Another aspect of the content is how things are not always available on every map of specific locations.
For instance, hideouts, houses, NPCs and other pieces of content are randomized. Which means you could reload the same zone for days on end waiting for a specific cave or house to appear.
2. Love the Grind!
A lot of us here love to grind, for the most part. I don’t mind spending hours or even days trying to find a specific item…even if I get frustrated during the process.
This is because I am the type of player who likes to earn what I find. For example, Sam gave me her second Horadric Hamburger…and I still feel like I didn’t earn it, even though I’ve played through Whimsyshire more than 150 times this last week.
The grind, for us at least, fuels the sense of accomplishment and pride when we finally score something super rare or able to create sets of amazing pieces of armor.
For us, it’s no fun to have everything handed over. It’s all about exploration and adventure!
3. Various Ways to Play
One of the more prominent reasons why we still play Diablo III is because of the different ways you can enjoy the game. It’s not merely a single-person game or an online multi-player experience.
Solo Game Play
You don’t have to play with others if you choose not to. And there are days when I just want to go through a few rifts without people bothering me.
You can play at your own pace whether you want to explore for days on end or aim for the one-hour achievement for beating the story mode.
Group with Friends
When you’re ready to group up, you can do so with friends from your Blizzard list or meet new people and join their games.
In Diablo III, you can only have up to four players. Which is good and bad, depending on how you look at it. Too many players may make the game seem crowded, but sometimes it would be nice to play with more than just three other people.
Of course this depends on how you play and what you get out of Diablo III yourself. For the most part, I play alone except for on the weekends when everyone else jumps in for some rifts and bounties.
Campaign, Adventure Mode and Challenge Rifts
The campaign is only part of the experience. After beating the game, you can move on to Adventure and Challenge Rift modes. These add more to Diablo III, making it an even greater rich layout for play style.
For instance, the Adventure mode is full of bounties, Nephalem Rifts, Greater Rifts and grinding to find the best items possible.
In essence, you could play for a very long time and not see everything Diablo III has to offer.
After six years of playing for myself, I still haven’t come across everything.
But I’m also a casual player for the most part. I just don’t have the time to invest hours everyday in a single game.[template id=”505″]
4. Long List of Achievements
Diablo III has a massive list of achievements players can earn. Some of them require team work while the majority can easily be accomplished on your own.
And although I have no doubt someone out there somewhere has all of these achievements, I can say I am not one of them.
However, some of us manage to unlock one or two at least with every season I play. And that’s on top of the achievements earned in each season.
These achievements give us something more to strive for and a great part of why we still play Diablo III.
5. Somewhat Unique Builds and Equipment Layouts
Items that drop in the game are completely randomized. Which means not only do you have a chance of getting various rare, legendary and set equipment, but the bonuses on each are random as well.
This means you could play indefinitely and never come across the exact same layout for an item.
It lays the groundwork for creating unique builds which you can then customize to fit your play style.
Well, kind of. You can reroll one stat on each item in Diablo III to try to get something you like more.
While I do appreciate this feature, I would have liked to customize all the weapon bonuses. It’s not like these rerolls are free. In fact, some of them can become quite expensive in terms of gold, Death’s Breath and gems.
Personally, I love trying to come up with my own combinations to create the perfect build for how I play each character.
6. Striving to Place on the Leaderboards
Perhaps one of the biggest driving motivators why we still play Diablo III is trying to place on the Leaderboard. This is a list of 1000 players in each class of Diablo III who beat a certain level of the Greater Rifts in a specific amount of time.
Again, we just don’t have the time to dump into climbing the ladder. But, it’s something we try to accomplish each season and in off-season play.
It’s one of my goals in the near future to at least reach the top 1000 in any class.
7. Seasonal Play
Speaking of seasons, this is one of the more prominent reasons behind why we still play Diablo III. We love seasonal play and look forward to each one with great anticipation.
Not only does it help us get set pieces due to the reward system, but the unique seasonal accomplishments are worth getting. At least to us.
For instance, in Season 16, one of the rewards is a set of butterfly wings for your characters. And I will have those wings!
Plays Into My “Restart” Mentality
I can’t speak for everyone else here, but seasons also play into my “restart” mentality. That’s because everyone starts off on equal footing with nothing in the inventory and a naked, level one character.
You see, I have a bit of a problem when playing certain games. I’ll get to a certain spot and then restart from scratch…without actually beating it.
For example, I’ve logged in nearly 300 hours playing Fallout 4 and have yet to come half-way through the game because I keep restarting to try something new.
Since seasons wipe the slate, I don’t have to worry about it.
8. Not Plagued with Microtransactions
And lastly, the lack of microtransactions and in-game stores is one of the primary reasons why we still play Diablo III. Don’t get me wrong, buying cosmetic items is OK in some instances.
But not every game needs to generate cash long after it’s published.
And given the nature of Diablo III, I can see how it would be super easy to add microtransactions…barely an inconvenience.
For instance, I know some players out there would rather buy Death’s Breath and other crafting materials instead of spending the time to grind them out.
With the latest news surrounding Activision/Blizzard, I am almost certain microtransactions will be included in Diablo IV, if it’s ever created.
Getting A Lot of Bang for the Buck
The bottom line is Diablo III has an incredible amount of content for what you pay for the game. It’s probably one of the more rich experiences you can have without getting too boring too quickly.
I’m sure some out there might get tired of the same bounties, season achievements and other elements in the game. But I can say, we are definitely not among them.
In fact, I’m sure I’ll still play Diablo III until Blizzard shuts down the servers.[template id=”543″]
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