Let’s start with the good news —Tristan is back to chat with us about the next act of Diablo IV. The undercurrent of this episode is the volatility of a game that is so reliant on updates and patches that can wildly alter the gameplay experience. We happened to play this act during the reviled 1.1 patch, which made boss fights and combat feel like - as Cam says during the episode - swimming through peanut butter. Our discussion covers the subsequent patch that fixed things (and actually made the game better than ever), the truly lousy experience we had playing Act Four during the bad times, and the core instability at the heart of Diablo IV. Other topics include: narrative balance and world building, fractal damage modifiers, the tension between world tiers & fun factor, and the tremendous power of legendary drop rates.

Get bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SecondBreakfastPodcast

LINKS: YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam’s stories

Send us your feedback & theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com