Diablo 3 Endgame Is Not Enough According To Blizzard

Bashiok, the community manager for Diablo 3, recently addressed a question posted by a user on their official forums. The user Slicktorine asked a very straightforward question of Blizzard:

"Can you please give any info about the possibility of adding some end game content, or at least fixing the problems that exist with the current end game content."

It's certainly a valuable question, after Blizzard arguably removed many of the game's more sustainable features with patch 1.0.3. It seemed to many gamers that Blizzard was forcing users to grind for gear for an incredibly long time, nerfing the hell out of the core game, or pushing players to use the Real Money Auction House in order to progress with the higher difficulties. Here's what Bashiok had to say about the strength of Diablo 3's current end game status:

"We recognize that the item hunt is just not enough for a long-term sustainable end-game. There are still tons of people playing every day and week, and playing a lot, but eventually they're going to run out of stuff to do (if they haven't already). Killing enemies and finding items is a lot of fun, and we think we have a lot of the systems surrounding that right, or at least on the right path with a few corrections and tweaks. But honestly Diablo III is not World of Warcraft. We aren't going to be able to pump out tons of new systems and content every couple months. There needs to be something else that keeps people engaged, and we know it's not there right now."

It's great to see Bashiok addressing the issue officially and acknowledging that there is a problem with Diablo 3's endgame. With any luck they're working on changes that will fix the problem quickly. Many fans are already stepping away from the mouse and keyboards in order to pursue other gaming endeavors. They aren't stepping away because the game is horrible, but simply that the end game grind isn't what many would have expected. Of course, there are still "tons" of fans playing Diablo 3 hoping that as time progresses Blizzard will balance, tweak, patch, and update until the game reaches perfection. For many however, the 10 year wait for a game that seems to need more patchwork post-launch is a deal breaker. In the end, Blizzard is still working to create the best game possible. Blizzard admits that the game needs sustainability and with this in mind they are working towards the next patch.

"We're working toward 1.0.4, which we're really trying to pack with as many fixes and changes we can to help you guys out (and we'll have a bunch of articles posted with all the details as we get closer), and we're of course working on 1.1 with PvP arenas. I think both those patches will do a lot to give people things to do, and get them excited about playing, but they're not going to be a real end-game solution, at least not what we would expect out of a proper end-game. We have some ideas for progression systems, but honestly it's a huge feature if we want to try to do it right, and not something we could envision being possible until well after 1.1 which it itself still a ways out."

How do you feel about the way Blizzard has handled Diablo 3's launch? Are you still playing Diablo 3 day n' night, or did you step away a long time ago? Do you have some suggestions for how they can "fix" the game? We're curious to hear your thoughts, so be sure to drop us a comment below! Source: Diablo 3 Forums