At BlizzConline 2021, the Diablo 4 team discussed enemy camps, the open world, mounts and PvP.
In a segment of what comes next for Diablo 4, the development team showed the Rogue class a little more, and also discussed open world aspects of the game, as well as PvP.
According to Blizzard, there will be a lot of exploration in the open world, and with an open world, the team can dive into how Sanctuary fits together, as the player being able to ride from Scosglen to the Fractured Peaks using mounts.
One of the coolest things about mounts is that there will be different breeds of horses and other mounts that you can find all over the world, completing puzzles to find hidden locations, or even killing specific types of monsters. You can also find items to personalize your horse, such as armor, hoof plates and trophies. There are several ways to customize your mount to make you feel like your mate.
There are more things you can do with mounts than just mount them. For example, Rogue can jump out of the mount and shoot Rain of Arrows to destroy everything. Your mount cannot take damage, but if you are attacked while on horseback, it forces you to dismount and engage.
Another aspect of the open world is the fields, which are basically a stronghold of evil in the upper world. In these fields, you can expect all kinds of monsters and bandits whose sole purpose is to dominate the area. You will wander these spaces and begin to recover them for the people of the Sanctuary. Each will have its own history and a unique place in the world.
Missions are something you can find randomly in the world, but camps are a permanent facility that, when you find them, can have an impact on the open world that everyone can see. After defeating that evil, you basically unlock that camp and create a new waypoint that didn’t exist before. Suddenly, all markets will open, you will have a blacksmith and a salesman in a place that did not exist before. New missions and even new stories can be created to be told. Dungeon entrances may even appear in these places later.
Basically, you are helping to restore these areas in the Sanctuary by removing these camps from the enemy.
With PvP, there will be areas called Campos do Ódio in the open world where you can freely enter into this type of consuming and turn you against other players. PvP is not mandatory, as these places will be optional for the player to go. Here, you can collect Fragments of Hate by killing monsters and interacting with the environment, not just killing other players.
As you earn these shards, they will be in an unclean state and will need to be taken to a Purification Event to turn them into a coin that you can use in the small camps around the Hate Fields for armor, trophies or other content. When attempting to purify a fragment, he will alert other players who will enter and attempt to attack the player and take his fragments before the ritual can be completed. Once purified, they are yours to keep, but before they are purified, they are a fair game for other players in PvP.
The more you turn against other players, the more you become a Vessel of Hate. As soon as this occurs, everyone within a large radius of you will see you as a threat on the map. They will receive a bonus for killing you, so when that happens, you will have a certain amount of time to survive. If you manage to survive this long and escape or defeat those who are trying to destroy you, there will be a very big bonus at the end.
According to Blizzard, it only scratches the surface of what to expect from Diablo 4.