Is Diablo 4 Season 8's Torment 4 too difficult for casual players?

With the difficulty changes to Torment 1 - 4 in Diablo 4 Season 8, there’s a lot of discussion around the average/casual player. I want to be clear that there’s nothing wrong with being a “casual” D4 player — or a casual player in general. As long as you’re enjoying the game, that’s genuinely all that matters. By a casual player, we mean someone who doesn’t have a high-level knowledge of game mechanics/builds and likely plays a few hours a week or more.

I myself tend to be a more casual player of Diablo 4, and I’ve repeatedly hit Torment 4 in the past, and expect to do so again in Season 8. I’ve dipped my toes into the waters of the PTR, and after experimenting and watching some other content creators, I think I can say that it won’t be too bad.

Note: This article contains the personal and subjective opinions of the writer.

Will Torment 4 be impossible for casual players in Diablo 4 Season 8?

Torment 4 will definitely not be impossible for casual players in Diablo 4 Season 8, but there is something that will slow players down a bit — “not understanding class mechanics/stats/build." While game literacy plays a big role in progression, I don’t think it will make the difficulty impossible.

At first, it was pretty difficult, but as time went on, I got a better hang of what I needed to do to survive (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

However, I think a lot of the blame can fall on Blizzard in this case, but not all of it. Diablo 4 doesn’t really make the display window clear/accurate, and the stat system isn’t always incredibly clear either. Instead of investing time learning why something should be the way it is, it becomes much easier to look at a guide and mimic what that person is doing. The downside is that they may not fully understand the reasoning behind those decisions.

I was pretty stressed about the upcoming season, that’s for sure. However, thanks to a YouTuber named MacrioBioBoi, and their recent Tier 4 video that led me to dive into the PTR and give things a test for myself. Ultimately, you will be able to reach Tier 4, and it’s not going to be locked away so that you, as a casual player, can never possibly reach the end.

To prove this, MacroBioBoi played on a Summoning Necromancer, with sub-optimal gear, only one Mythic Unique, none of the seasonal powers, and no masterworks, glyphs, or gems. He only had Paragon Level 225. Now, admittedly, this is someone who has a real mastery of Diablo 4, so getting to Tier 4 in Season 8 isn’t a surprise. The problem isn’t in the difficulty of the game, it’s the understanding of the game itself.

If only I had gear with better stats! The more effort I put into the build, the stronger I got though (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

I do wish there were better explanations of how stuff works and why it works in Diablo 4, but that’s just not going to happen anytime soon. When you don’t understand how something works, it can become frustrating, and then that only amplifies the difficulty of the task you’re currently working on — and that includes online game difficulty like Torment 4 of D4.

Now, I don’t think every single build is going to reach the pinnacle of the game, not by a long shot. If you’re running something incredibly weak, I wouldn’t expect to be pushing Tier 150 or something. But I do think every character/build should be able to reach Torment 4.

Being able to take your time, learn a build, and progress meaningfully through the difficulty ranks is something that just doesn’t happen right now. Most people blitz through, reach Torment 4 in Diablo 4, and then have no idea what to do the minute their build fails them.

My build is still being fine-tuned and adjusted, but I'm making progress in Torment 4 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

When you’ve only spent a handful of hours playing your Whirlwind Barbarian and don’t understand anything about it, that’s expected. This is something that should certainly change about the game if Blizzard wants to make the game harder. How things work should be more accessible to everyone.

I do think that with a decent build, and a solid understanding of why that build works, players will see fewer issues climbing to Torment 4 in Season 8 than they think they will. That’s why the game perhaps needs to be slowed down. Players need to have a firm grasp on why their build works. However, the game also needs to make many of the things in its stats/stat windows clearer.

Of course, all this could mean nothing, and the experience might feel completely different on live servers. I plan on rolling a Summoning Necromancer to level through Diablo 4 Season 8 and see what I can do to get into Torment 4. I’m not a hardcore player, but I think things are going to be just fine.

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Edited by Ashmita Bhatt