The Open World: For the first time, Sanctuary in Diablo is not divided into individual zones. You can seamlessly explore the entire game world. So you'll travel regions like the burning desert of Kehjistan, the forests of Scosglen, the wild arid steppe, the rugged cliffs of Shattered Peaks, and the blighted swampland of Hawezar entirely without loading screens.

One exciting detail: Items in Diablo 4 adapt to the region in which they are found. So if you're riding through the desert in the Open World and find a leather helmet, it will look different than it does high in the north.

Open World: What is the Shared World all about?

Mounts: To avoid completely traversing the open world on foot, you can also ride a horse. This is also a novelty in the series. However, the horses are only used for faster progress. If it comes to a fight, you can dismount with a powerful attack or you will be thrown off after a hit.

Fortresses: Since an extremely large number of people died during the events of Reaper of Souls, there are many abandoned structures in the open world. Monsters, demons or bandits have taken up residence here. Players can march in here and flatten everything. Afterwards, people move back in and open up new waypoints and marketplaces. This gives players the feeling that they are changing the game world through their actions.

The Shared World: Diablo 4's shared world is inspired by games like Destiny 2. You'll encounter other players in an open world, just like in an MMO, but not in the dungeons or story missions. You can also encounter so-called world bosses. These are huge enemies that can only be defeated by a large group of players.

Co-op or PvP: How does multiplayer work?

PvP: Blizzard is planning its own PvP areas. There you earn special hate shards, which in turn act as currency for special items. You won't be able to earn the best end-game loot here, though. These zones are even explained in the story. They are areas where Mephisto's hatred rises to the surface and makes heroes more aggressive.

If you play particularly aggressively, slaying many other players in PvP and stealing their shards, you will eventually become a vessel of hate. You will then be visible to all other players for some time and a bounty will be placed on your head. If you withstand subsequent attacks without running away, you'll get a big reward. As in Diablo 2, you will also get ears from the players you kill in PvP.

Co-op: You'll still be able to head into dungeons with a party of friends - or solo, if you prefer. Pure co-op abilities are not currently planned. However, there may be synergies between classes. There is also a mode for couch co-op.

You can find out more about the multiplayer in our related links or in our content interview with the developers:

Story: Who is Lilith and what is it about?

The starting point of the story is well known. According to it, even decades after Diablo 3, the world of Sanctuary has not yet recovered from the bloody campaign of the Angel of Death Malthael (Reaper of Souls). In addition, High Heaven has sealed itself off from humanity.

To make matters worse, the daughter of the great evil Mephisto returns. Lilith once created Sanctuary and humanity, but was banished to the Void due to various intrigues. Now she's back, and arguably appears as the great antagonist. What her plans are, we don't know.