Having launched ahead of schedule just a few days back, Activision Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>has been making headlines for a wide variety of reasons, not least of which is its microtransaction model. Namely, Diablo I<\/em>mmortal<\/em> is a free-to-play game and, as such, features a number of ways that players can support its continued development.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While this approach to sustainability is rather commonplace nowadays, Diablo Immortal<\/em> may have taken things a step further than most players may have expected. According to YouTube channel Bellular News’ calculations, the game’s unique monetization system is set up in a way that makes character min-maxing an exceedingly expensive endeavor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RELATED: Diablo Immortal Will Let Players Change Classes Without Losing Progress<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The crux of the issue, as per Bellular News’ recent video, is that Diablo Immortal<\/em> allows players to buy the so-called Legendary Gems. These are one of the characters’ three progression pillars alongside regular gear and XP level, and they dictate one’s endgame-tier progression beyond what is possible simply by reaching Diablo Immortal<\/em>‘s level cap. As of right now, F2P players cannot earn top-rated Legendary Games, which are only available via some of the game’s monetization options, and fully maxing-out a character effectively costs $ 110,000 in the game’s current economy.<\/p>\n Matt and Michael of Bellular News also make an argument that Diablo Immortal<\/em>‘s Legendary Gems are a deliberately convoluted system, explaining that it would take roughly 10 years of playtime for a F2P player to fully kit out a character in the game’s current iteration. Specifically, Legendary Gems aren’t even a guaranteed drop for paying players, as they are only randomly awarded upon purchasing Legendary Crests (ie loot boxes) – which may be the reason why Diablo Immortal<\/em> didn’t launch worldwide.<\/p>\n Following Diablo Immortal<\/em>‘s early launch, the game does indeed seem to be a “true Diablo<\/em> experience “in more ways than not. The community began praising the core gameplay loop almost immediately upon release, though there was a healthy dose of skepticism surrounding Immortal<\/em>‘s monetization system, too, and that may well have been warranted if Bellular News’ findings are correct.<\/p>\n Since the game also came out on PC, it’s worth considering the notion that Diablo Immortal<\/em>‘s PC release is good news for Warcraft Mobile<\/em> once it comes out, as that game, too, may be available on a greater number of devices than was initially suspected. After all, for players uninterested in min-maxing, Immortal<\/em>‘s potentially egregious monetization might not be an issue, though Gregg2G, another YouTuber, already pointed out that “most F2P players [of Diablo Immortal<\/em>] <\/em>will never see a 5-star gem “in the game as it currently stands.<\/p>\n Diablo Immortal<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>is now available on iOS, Android, and PC.<\/p>\n MORE: Why Diablo Immortal Is The Best Franchise Jumping On Point<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Having launched ahead of schedule just a few days back, Activision Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal has been making headlines for a wide variety of reasons, not least of which is its microtransaction model. Namely, Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play game and, as such, features a number of ways that players can support its continued development. While …<\/p>\n
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