Diablo 4's release date is fast approaching, with the apocalyptic action RPG springing forth on PS5 and PS4 on 6th June. It's officially gone gold (yay), but the Tweet announcing that fact was something of a double-edged sword, as Rod Ferguson, the dark lord of the Diablo franchise, popped into the replies to confirm a familiar feature would not be returning, at least not anytime soon.
The map overlay is not the sexiest feature ever implemented; simply a way for the player to navigate more easily as they deplete entire Circles of Hell of their demonic populations. Still, with the push of a button, players could pull up a rough estimation of the randomly generated world they were currently exploring without interrupting the flow of action. This has been a feature in the series since the first game, and one we have grown to rely on. Diablo 4 players, however, will need to make do with the minimap alone.
It's disappointing, and really one of our only complaints from the recently held open beta sessions was the feature's notable absence. Diablo 4 is otherwise shaping up to be excellent, and we can't wait to get our hands on it regardless. Still, we hope Blizzard sees the light and adds the feature in a future update.
Is this feature as essential as we think, or are we making mountains out of molehills here? Set us straight in the comments section below.
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[source twitter.com, via ign.com]
Comments 18
Oof. Yeah, honestly... That's a stinger. I love having a map overlay in dungeon crawlers.
Big question for me is, uh, why doesn't it have it and why are there no plans for it? That's a pretty essential feature if you ask me.
Lame. It should be there
It gonna be hard to keep up with areas you’ve missed.
That's a serious playability issue imo. Why would they remove that?
As a Diablo-noob (currently playing Diablo 3) that seems a really odd decision. Navigating those dungeons will be a trip!
Not good. Thats gonna be a pain when trying to fully explore areas. I hope they give some kind of reasoning for such a bizarre decision.
You can see the entire map, it's just more steps than the push of a button. Maybe long press the emote button activates emote tab, short press, brings up map overlay
"Coming this fall, Diablo 4's map season pass."
More like they gonna release an unfinished game and then add these features later as if they're listening to players feedback
@zupertramp my guess from using the tools in the beta? They don't think they need it and they'd be right for the overworld, you can drop a pin and it'll give you a route to follow... but in the dungeons it's a pain constantly bringing up the full map to check for missed passages.
The other reason they probably don't think they need it is because it was always a hideous looking solution even if it was a useful one.
Somebody needs to tell the Blizzard spokesperson(s) that explaining why certain decisions are made makes it easier to understand them.
Maybe it’s a cynical thought, but what else is missing at launch?
It may have something to do with the atmosphere of the game. They want players to feel lost in the world of the game. Nothing should distract their eyes from the core gameplay. They should find their own way without looking at the map every second. My guess anyways. But I think an overlay map is essential for dungeons, they are mostly too long and sometimes dull. Easy to lose your way.
I'm sure they'll be happy to add it as a microtransaction.
Not getting this blizzard has no heart for fans
Oh good lord no thats an instant no buy for me. I'm going to have to boycott this now as its really ruined it for me. Seriously though its no biggie tbh and i'm sure it will be patched in once the outrage reaches unacceptable levels. Oh maybe it can be a paid for extra 👍
Honestly, I'm waiting for a good sale later on.
$70 games, which are semi-broken at launch, suck.
I'd rather pay $35 for a fully patched game later.
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