First things first, I have always been a huge fan of Diablo franchise ever since I was a little kid. These are just personal opinions from someone that played both of the games a good amount of time to have enough experience and right to criticize.
I remember the first time I got Diablo III. Technically it was my first time playing a hack and slash game properly (not counting my Diablo II adventures at 8-years-old). I finished the story pretty slowly without rushing to get the feeling of it. Afterward, it was grinding and discovering the game. There were some changes and updates to keep the game fresh but recently these updates stopped.
Before you all complain about how they brought Necromancer to the game, I don’t see it as a major change. It is going to take you one season till you have enough fun to be bored of it.
What makes the game repetitive is seeing the same maps and mobs every single run you do. Grinding the same equipment with minimal differences in power. The game lost its rewarding state and the only thing that you can obtain is seasonal profile portraits, pets, and wings. I do still play the game, but it is just out of boredom. Before I move on to Path of Exile, I am not implying that Path of Exile is better than Diablo III. If Blizzard worked on Diablo III with new patches and added new content, I wouldn’t be making this article. It’s a bit of a rant really.
Diablo has so much potential with such a strong storyline and there are millions of elements that could be reworked and implemented into the game. But sadly, Blizzard has given up on the game and not aiming to release another Diablo game for another decade, or they are secretly cooking up something big without giving out any teasers. I pray for the second one.
Moving on to Path of Exile.
Most of the games that rival a game which is on top of the genre rip something off from that game and make themselves similar. The reason why I liked PoE so much in the beginning, and still like it now, is that uniqueness and continuous updates that keep the player base entertained and connected to the game without copying something from another games. I would say storyline is a bit weaker compared to Diablo’s but I cannot blame them for you cannot compete with Blizzard’s cinematics and story making. PoE offers diversification on every aspect. Classes, skills, playstyle completely depend on you and your likes. Of course there is a ``meta`` with best builds and everything but you can still build you way into something that you love and make it viable.
``Oh but the endgame is endgame, and they are similar after a certain point`` you might say, and you are right. But there are two things which keeps this game going and without them the fate of PoE would be similar to Diablo’s: Trading and Expansions. I will not be talking about trading that much for it is an essential part of the games like this (R.I.P Auction House). PoE had seven expansions ever since its release. All of these expansions brought a new storyline, new mobs and bosses, new maps, new items, new skill gems and a lot of new mechanics that were to be explored.
I don’t expect Diablo to be like that, for Blizzard wants to make every expansion very special. I assume six years is a pretty long time to at least let the players know that you are working on a new project.
We cannot predict what the future might bring, but as a fellow Diablo fan my intentions aren’t to imply Diablo is a bad game.I just think that it is about time that we get something new from the company we love and believe in.
Overall, if you are an experienced Diablo player you get to enjoy more from PoE for it has more to offer and will take a longer time to reach to the end game. There is always something that you can do and try out. But fingers crossed. Hope we get a new game or at least a new expansion from Blizzard in the future. Don’t stop believing!
