Ready to turn up the heat? Seven levels of preparation for Diablo IV

Seven more nights before the hordes of Lilith descend upon Sanctuary. If you’re a victim of the Diablo IV hype like me, you must have thrown the necessary extra money down Blizzard’s gullet for the Deluxe Edition with early access. For us, the carnage begins next Friday, 2 June, at 1 a.m. The official launch for the common rabble follows on 6 June, same time of day.

Until then, will you twiddle your thumbs or play a different game? Pah, a beginner’s mistake! There’s a lot to do to make sure you’re as prepared as possible on Day X. The following seven tips will help you do just that. They’re ranked in ascending order of willingness to subordinate your life to the epic battle against the demons.

Level 1: relive the history of Sanctuary

Dark and bloody story lines go with Diablo games like cows and polearms. To help you follow along in Diablo IV from the off, these two videos summarise Sanctuary’s backstory. With the usual dose of pathos and a gravelly narrator, of course.

Level 2: decide what you want to play

At launch, the latest Diablo offers five classes to choose from: Barbarian, Sorceress, Rogue, Necromancer, and Druid. Of course, they all come in female and male versions. The classes play very differently. Your choice defines your first gaming experience and needs to be carefully considered. If you haven’t already tried everything at beta weekends, there are plenty of summaries to try and help you decide.

The «right» class for you depends on your preferences. In the betas, some had it easier than others – but don’t let that impress you. The balancing shifts depending on the level range and is constantly adjusted by Blizzard. For example, in the first open beta, Druids were a complete joke («17 Damage»). As a result, they were buffed and looked much more powerful at the Server Slam two weeks ago. So just choose the class you’re most excited about. I’m going with Rogue.

Level 3: get familiar with the basic mechanics

World tiers, Paragon points, Codex of Power – none of this ringing a bell? High time for a basic course in Diablogy. The fourth instalment in the series comes with complex mechanics. They add depth, but aren’t so easy to figure out at first. It helps to read up a bit and watch explanatory videos before you start the game. For example, you could take the following classes:

Game mechanics

World tiers

Codex of Power

Gems

Paragon system

Level 4: plan your character

Once you understand the basics, it’s on to theory crafting for your specific class. Build Planners are a dime a dozen, this one is my favourite. Pro tip: change the talent view to «List View» in the upper right corner. The beauty of Diablo IV is that different talent builds work. Would you rather play your Necromancer with or without skeletons? Do you go for melee or ranged combat with your Rogue? There are no wrong answers to such questions.

It’s important that you use synergies between different skills, passive talents and aspects from the Codex of Power. For example, there are talents that «daze» enemies hit with certain skills. Another talent, in turn, increases damage to dazed enemies by 15 per cent. And one aspect from the Codex improves damage against «controlled» enemies, which includes dazed ones. This all fits together perfectly.

To discover such interactions, you’ll have to click through your talent tree several times. In the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of your class and its skills. By the way, I wouldn’t plan on levelling towards legendary aspects that you don’t get from the Codex, but from random drops. By doing so, you make your build dependent on RNG.

If you don’t want to deal with such complexities yourself, there are also good guides out there. Professional streamers disappear deep into theory crafting rabbit holes, filling entire Excel spreadsheets in search of the best possible builds. A distinction is usually made between levelling concepts and so-called endgame builds. The latter then also contain possible paths through the Paragon board. However, this only becomes important after the early and mid-game. One popular site for guides is Maxroll.

Here are also a few streamers I trust:

• Raxxanterax: Twitch, YouTube (very well-explained class guides)
• Wudijo: Twitch, YouTube, Discord (list with different builds for all classes)
• Jessirocks: Twitch, YouTube

Level 5: craft a strategy

You now know everything you need to know. But how do you want to play through Diablo IV the first time? Casually or primed for efficiency? Will you indulge in dialogue and cutscenes or skip them? Are you starting at world tier one or two? What about side quests? Will you collect the altars of Lilith while levelling or later on? What dungeons do you want to do along the way? So many questions. If you have a strategy in place before starting, the game will be more relaxed and efficient.

Once you’ve decided on a build, you can make a list of the dungeons you need to complete for your Codices of Power. The planner linked above says where you can unlock each aspect. You can then see where the dungeons are located on this interactive map. It also includes all altars of Lilith and more. The map will be continuously expanded after release.

Level 6: empty your calendar

You’re ready to go. But what about your schedule? If you’re at that level, a hardcore fan, you’ve probably taken a few days off for the release. I’ll spare myself this tip. However, work isn’t the only thing that can interfere with your addiction. Other points to consider:

• Do you have a family or a partner? Warn them in advance. You won’t exist for them for the first few days after launch. As compensation, you can make extra time for them before or after.
• Your car needs servicing? Urgently need a haircut? Need to clean your flat? Wash your clothes? Take care of it all in advance. Now. Nothing is more frustrating than having to interrupt a dungeon because of common trivialities like that.
• Haven’t called your mother in a while? Your friends want to spend time with you? You have exactly one week left to do so. After that, you’ve got a date with Lilith in another dimension for several days. You’ll want to enjoy that without a guilty conscience.
• Got pets? You’ll need a sitter. Ideally a relative – or pay a professional if necessary. Yes, I know, Duriel and Andariel look so sad (what, do you know a better pet name?!). But they too must make sacrifices to save Sanctuary.

Level 7: Min-max your existence

Okay, you’re well informed and have no more appointments. Unfortunately, there’s one more thing that can rob game time: your own survival. You’ll need sleep, food and to stay healthy. This can’t be avoided, but at least it can be made as efficient as possible.

• The demons will be unleashed at 1 a.m. on Friday. You’ll need to be well rested. Use the days before to change your sleep pattern. Get valerian drops and earplugs. Optimally, go to bed before 5 p.m. on Thursday. After launch, sleep as needed.
• Healthy eating is important for your endurance. Therefore, minimise your intake of junk food. Instead, you’re better off cooking in advance. Liquid food is an alternative.
• Shockingly, degenerating into your desk for 16 hours a day isn’t good for your health. If you do sports, work out extensively on 1 June. For some exercise in between, buy dumbbells, find an intense at-home workout or go for a sprint. Keep it under 30 minutes per day.
• The weather forecast for launch weekend is good, unfortunately. As with exercise, you should soak up sunlight extensively beforehand. This’ll lessen the temptation to interrupt your crusade against the demons stemming from a longing for the outside world.

You did it! There’s no better way to prepare for the launch of Diablo IV – or is there? If you have any other tips or strategies, post them in the comments. See you in Sanctuary.