Come on and jam, and join the server slam! This weekend marks the beginning of the Diablo IV “server slam” stress test weekend, and it’s doing so with a little tempest in a teapot related to the ARPG’s battle pass.
Naturally, the test itself has details and rewards players might want to bear in mind, including confirmation that all characters start from zero, no character progression will carry forward into the launch, and content will include the prologue and Act I as well as a world boss fight. As for rewards, players can earn a mount cosmetic for slaying the world boss as well as another chance at cosmetics granted during previous tests.
As for that aforementioned pay-to-win complaint, that spawned among the D4 community after some armchair analysis by players of the earlier dev livestream that discussed the battle pass’ offerings. The major issue is tied to the fact that levels earned by characters also match levels earned in the pass if players pay for premium, with the argument being that access to more gold, magic find, and XP grants paying players an unfair advantage.
The matter caused a number of reactions from gamers on Reddit, with some crying foul and others claiming hypocrisy. The noise further spilled over to Twitter, which roused series Global Community Development Director Adam Fletcher to respond:
“We aren’t selling power. That is the philosophy of the game and team. If anything comes up like an edge case where it would be possible, that would mean it isn’t working as intended and we would immediately resolve it. No ifs ands or buts about it.”
Meanwhile the D4 subreddit is already awash in initial reactions to the stress test’s build, with many threads decrying a nerf to necros and pets, remarking how good loot drops feel now, and noting some generally solid initial server performance.
