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Arguably the king of MMORPG streaming, Zack "Asmongold" has been a vocal critic of Blizzard's recent policies when it comes to implementing gameplay mechanics. However, in his most recent stream, the streamer commended their upcoming game Diablo 4 for its trading element, calling it a big win for the game.
The streamer's jubilant reaction was in response to Diablo Community Lead Adam Fletcher's answer to his question. Zack had asked whether the upcoming Diablo 4 would have trading options for items bought with premium currency. He quickly replied after receiving an answer:
"There it is dude, there it is. W."
"You cannot trade anything purchased with premium currency": Diablo 4 Community leader clarifies Asmongold's question about in-game trading on Twitter
Blizzard was widely criticized by many for their monetization policies in the previous entry in the Diablo series, Diablo Immortal. The free-to-win game was quite heavy with micro-transactions and many started calling the game pay to win as a consequence.
On August 12, a YouTuber named Force Gaming released a video chronicling recent leaks for Diablo 4 from an alleged German survey, and the OTK co-founder reacted to it a couple of days ago. The video contends that the game will have premium cosmetic items as part of more expensive packs.
While noting the apparent trading policies, Asmongold exclaimed that he would be highly disappointed if premium items were tradeable between players:
"I want Blizzard to come out and I want them to say definitively that you will not be able to sell or transfer any item between players for gold that is cosmetic that you can obtain on the store."
Today, the Diablo 4 Quarterly Update blogpost went live a few hours ago, and the streamer tweeted at the game handle and asked for clarification on the matter:
"Hey guys, big question I see not answered here: Will any of the items on the shop or items purchasable with "premium currency" be tradable in any capacity between other players? Not between your characters, but other players so you can effectively "sell" them."
Adam Fletcher, the Global Community Lead for the Diablo franchise, promptly replied to the message, allaying Asmongold's fears of that being a possibility:
"You cannot trade anything purchased with premium currency in Diablo 4 with other players. This includes items unlocked in the Season Pass."
The tweet had the intended effect, as not only Asmongold but others too started praising the developers for the decision.
Fan reactions
Fans of Diablo and the streamer welcomed the decision, but many remained skeptical of Blizzard's policies. A few aired their grievances below the clip posted on YouTube. Simon commented:
"Knowing Blizzard, after the immortal sham of "you can't buy gear" and now "you can only buy cosmetics" might just mean they're adding stats to cosmetics."
Fans such as VanTesla pointed out that similar things were said about Diablo Immortal, but it all turned out otherwise:
"Didn't somebody who worked on Diablo Immortal say similar stuff? If so then I'm not recommending trusting. If not I'm still not trusting for prior several issues with Blizzard... The constant lying by the same companies makes it hard to believe anything said."
Diablo 4 is yet to get a precise release date as fans get increasingly frustrated with a tentative 2023 date. Many expect to see a comprehensive update on the issue at the upcoming Game Awards 2022.
