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Fresh off a dramatic ban, Twitch star Zack "Asmongold" could not help but be quite critical of Blizzard's new F2P entry in the Diablo series - Diablo Immortal.
After spending more than two thousand dollars on the game, Asmon tried the PvP mode Battlegrounds for the first time on stream and was dismayed to find that he could not join a match. The PvP mode, as his chat pointed out, only opens at specific times.
Zack could not believe that even after spending so much money and time to level up his character, the MMO was still locking out content from paying customers. In a recent tweet, he lambasted the game, saying it "sucks."
In a clip sarcastically titled "Diablo Immortal has the best PvP", Asmon's frustration with the game's mechanics is very apparent.
"How is this real": Asmongold too stunned to speak after learning you can only PvP for two hours per stretch
The OTK co-founder could not believe his eyes when the 'Find Match' button was greyed out as he tried to play the Battlegrounds mode for the first time. He was already nervous about the mode after not being able to gather enough players for a raid. He said:
"I've never done PvP in this game at all. This is my first time ever doing it. So I am a little bit nervous, but we'll see what happens, okay?"
He navigated to the NPC, who starts the Battlegrounds mode, and found that it was closed.
"Battleground Captain - Battleground. Find match. Wait, it's closed. What?"
The streamer was stunned into silence and looked desperately towards his chat for some clarification. They pointed out that the NPC dialogue he skipped tells you when the arena will open.
"You can only PvP from 6-8 PM?"
Asmon turned off his mic to express his frustration about the game as the chat streamed down KEKWs and OMEGALULs. The Austin, Texas native then criticized the game and said:
"There is no way that's true, right. Like, I mean, that's obviously bull****, isn't it? PvP is only for two hours at a time."
(Timestamp 09:07:01)
Although touted as a free-to-play title, many players have pointed out the annoying mechanics of the game, which prioritizes microtransactions. Timed events that are locked even for Battle Pass owners, among other things, are the reason why Diablo Immortal has such low Metacritic scores.
Fans react to the state of PvP in Diablo Immortal
Many Asmongold fans have mirrored his reaction and have been criticizing the game. Comments on YouTube under the clip are full of people dissing Blizzard for creating a micro-transaction-filled game with a low effort put into user enjoyability.
Fans also pointed out that just like Diablo 3, the pay-to-win feature in the game means matchmaking will be difficult for whales and F2P players alike. One fan noted that the free activities are heavily time-gated while paying for the same lifts the time restrictions.
Low reviews and the anti-player-friendly structure of the game have garnered a lot of criticism for Diablo.
Asmongold's frustrating reaction to time-locked PvP is just another in a series of negative reactions to Blizzard's policies. So much so that Asmon himself is doubtful about the next AAA Diablo game, saying in a tweet that the recent experience with Diablo Immortal has lowered his expectations.
