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Diablo Immortal

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Diablo Immortal (Video Game)
Diablo Immortal is a spinoff of the Diablo franchise. Originally released for Android and iOS in 2022, it now also has a PC version, with cross-play between the different platforms.

The title refers to the Immortals, one of the two factions in the game, with the other being the Shadows. Unlike most games where factions are a simple player choice, becoming an Immortal is a privilege that must be earned either by being the strongest player on the server or being invited to join their clan or one of their two allied clans.

The game has periodic content updates, and even new classes are released from time to time. As of July 2024, the available classes are Barbarian, Wizard, Demon Hunter, Monk, Crusader, Necromancer, Blood Knight and Tempest. A free class change mechanic exists such that players don't have to lose all progress to try a new class.

The game is free to play, but has various monetization systems, for which it has received criticism, especially for the Legendary Gem system, which puts it on par with Gacha Games, and has led to it not being released in the Netherlands and Belgium.


Diablo Immortal provides examples of:

  • Advancing Wall of Doom: In the Abyssal Verge game mode, the goal is to run away from a circular area known as "Terror Incarnate" that starts out small but gradually expands to cover the whole map.
  • Boss Rush: The Helliquary Gauntlet. Normal Helliquary runs consist of fighting one boss at a time, but the Gauntlet puts a raid of up to 8 players against a series of bosses, greatly increased in strength from their normal versions, that must be beaten in sequence, with limited resurrections available per player for the whole series. Every update that introduces new Helliquary bosses also updates the roster of the Gauntlets, with the corresponding increase in difficulty. Beating the 3rd and last Gauntlet is one of the most prestigious PvE feats in the game.
  • Bribing Your Way to Victory: Various bundles and battle passes offer accelerated rewards, but the most egregious are Legendary Crests and Gems. A free player can get a limited number of crests over time, while crests can be purchased from the cash shop in unlimited quantities. Each Legendary Crest drops a random gem, with the most sought-after 5-star Legendary Gems having a 4.5% chance - and it will be a random gem, whereas you need a total of 74 copies of the same gem to upgrade it to rank 10. So while a free player may expect one random 5-star gem per month, someone with money can just buy crests over and over until they get the gems they want, and since the shop-sold crests are always unbound, they can sell the "junk" gems on the market for Platinum which they can then spend on the gems they want. Looking at a player's Resonance stat is a tell-tale sign of whether they have spent money on the game.
  • Cast from Hit Points: While the game has no mana system and skills are cooldown-based, the "Sacrificial Power" modifier that may randomly appear in Elder Rifts and Challenge Dungeons causes all skills to deduct a percentage of the player's HP when used.
  • Drunk with Power: Used as the justification for the Cycle of Strife. Immortals are supposed to be the defenders of Sanctuary, but over time they might become corrupt, so the Shadows challenge them to find if they are still worthy of their role. In terms of game mechanics, the challenges that can end an Immortal reign start on the 4th week, with the reign automatically ending on the 7th week regardless of the outcome. The Immortal players then can't be Immortal again for the next cycle.
  • Gotta Catch 'Em All: The Horadric Bestiary, which requires collecting a certain item for a chance to unlock a new page, however there is nothing preventing duplicate pages being received. There is also a separate section for fishing.
  • Heroes Gone Fishing: An actual fishing minigame exists, which is one way to earn progress with minimal game activity. Different rarities of fish exist, with the rarer variants requiring leaving the line in the water for longer. The caught fish can be exchanged for gold and items depending on their rarity.
  • Make My Monster Grow: Helliquary bosses such as Saarodan and Elsauli grow to a massive size for their last phase.
  • Mêlée à Trois: The fight to choose the next Immortal when a reign ends is a 10-way free-for-all between the top 10 Shadow clans, with 3 members from each clan present. The last clan with surviving members takes the next reign. In practice, informal alliances are possible where the allied clans avoid attacking each other until no other clans are left, then they kill each other off in a pre-arranged manner such that the designated clan becomes the winner.
  • Put on a Bus: The Witch Doctor is the only class from Diablo III missing from the roster.
  • Temporary Online Content: Apart from the numerous cosmetics that rotate in and out of the store (and sometimes given as freebies), there are Legendary Gems tied to crossover events that can no longer be obtained after the respective event ended (Mourneskull for the World of Warcraft crossover and Crimson Behelit for the Berserk crossover). Any unbound copies can still be sold after the event ends and there is a limited way to upgrade existing copies, but no new ones can be created. There are also trophies that are no longer obtainable due to the level squish and associated boss raid reorganization, which are appropriately under a "Legacy" category.
  • Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Defense of Cyrangar, a mode where you defend a castle door against waves of incoming enemies, can be completed without any manual input via a combination of auto-spawning summons, familiar's attacks, as well as items, skills and legendary gem effects that trigger on taking or dealing damage or killing enemies (note that dealing damage also counts damage done by summons).

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