Diablo IV Quarterly Update – June 2022

Having just told us that the Necromancer class will be making an appearance in Diablo IV, Blizzard Entertainment now brings us a new quarterly update for the game that delves deeper into what makes the class tick, its various playstyles, summoning mechanics, and more.

Here are a few paragraphs from the game’s director Joe Shely to get you started, and you take it from there:

Hello and welcome to the mid-year Diablo IV Quarterly Update. We hope you enjoyed last quarter’s behind the scenes look at the art of Sanctuary and its Dungeons. That blog and our previous updates are available here if you missed out.

I’d also like to take a moment to congratulate Diablo Immortal on its launch. The Immortal team worked incredibly hard to bring Diablo to life on mobile, and it’s exciting to have another way to enjoy Diablo.

Today, we’re going to look at the final launch class: the Necromancer. Now that it’s been announced on the big screen, we can jump into some of the grittier details and mechanics of the class. You can think of this blog as a companion to that announcement, with our Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson doing a deep dive into the core playstyles of the Necromancer, some of its skills, and its unique class mechanic: Book of the Dead. We’ll also look at a selection of the incredible armor and weapons that Necromancers can use.

Diablo IV is committed to the principle of player choice. It shapes how we approach many of our systems, from character customization, to the density and layout of our open world, to the design of our classes and builds. As you’ll see below, the Book of the Dead focuses on this idea of choice and what kind of Necromancer you want to be.

We hope you enjoy this update and look forward to your thoughts and reactions. Later this year you can expect to hear more about how we plan to support Diablo IV after launch, including our plans for Seasons. We’re grateful to have you with us on this journey.

Thank you for playing the games we make.

-Joe Shely,
Game Director, Diablo IV