Fans of Blizzard's action RPG dungeon crawler series have been looking forward to Diablo 4 for a long time, and thankfully its release is finally imminent. With Diablo 4's launch only days away, many are looking forward to diving into the rich world of angels, demons, and a whole host of other dangers. But for some, Diablo 4's launch will be an extension of their experience so far if they managed to check out the game's betas. However, the game's early glimpses would've benefitted from showcasing one promised gameplay feature.
Ever since Diablo 4 was announced at Blizzcon 2019, players have been keen to see where the series would go next and what things developer and publisher Blizzard would retain from earlier entries. While Diablo 4 has kept aspects of the franchise like procedurally generated dungeons and a focus on gaining loot, it's also innovated a few features of its own. Customization options are one way that Diablo 4 is upping the ante from its predecessors, as well as its exciting open world. But one upcoming addition that is new to both the franchise and to beta players is the use of mounts.
Diablo 4's Beta
The last mainline entry to the Diablo series was released over a decade ago, and while fans have been able to enjoy a range of other content in the meantime like substantive expansion packs, the Diablo 2: Resurrected remaster, and the controversial MMO Diablo Immortal, many were craving the arrival of Diablo 4. The game might still not have launched just yet, but the public betas were a great way for gamers to dig into parts of the upcoming title and see what they made of it.
However, although fans might have been able to get hands-on with the highly anticipated game for the first time, that didn't mean they were let loose on the world of Sanctuary. Gamers were restricted to exploring the Fractured Peaks – one of five regions within the open world – and could only experience Diablo 4's Prologue and Act 1. While this did encompass a fair few missions and the open beta included all five starting classes, there was still a lot of the game that players never got to see, as well as fun features such as mounts.
Mounts In Diablo 4
Mounts will be joining the Diablo franchise for the very first time in Diablo 4, which should make getting around the game's open world a lot easier. Not only will the different mounts help open up more traversal options, but they also have other benefits such as increasing a player's defense stats. Unfortunately, players weren't able to make it to the mission where they could unlock mounts as an option in the beta, as they can only be accessed in Diablo 4's Act 2. Considering how much of Sanctuary there is to explore, being able to get around faster than walking speed is a massive advantage that beta players missed out on.
Not only do mounts give a speed advantage, but they can also be customized as well. This is in keeping with Diablo 4's mission to include much more customization options in general and means that players can adapt their mount to their particular aesthetic needs with cosmetic changes like adding gruesome trophies to their saddles or even picking what buffs they can have. There is no doubt that mounts will come in handy, but one of their coolest features is the synergy that can exist between a mount and a specific class. All classes have their own unique dismount attacks, so gamers can utilize their steeds in a variety of different ways in combat as well. These pleasingly cinematic actions would definitely have been great to see in the beta, but it's one more thing for fans to look forward to when Diablo 4 finally launches.
Diablo 4 launches on June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.