For Blizzard, Maintaining Momentum is Easier Than Getting it Back Later
Blizzard has already come out to clarify that leaderboards will not be implemented in time for Diablo 4's first season. Without the competitive motivator, it will have to dial in the other aspects of the game that make it so rewarding, and most of all, fun. The seasonal theme could be an ace up the studio's sleeve, with an eye-popping aesthetic style, maybe wrapped around a core feature it kept out of release to polish for season one.
Something like the Uber Bosses in previous titles paired with a visual nod to Diablo 2, or introducing an item like the Horadric Cube would go a long way to satiating the fan base until the loop of seasonal ladders with leaderboads is up and functional. Whether it is something entirely new for Diablo 4, or just expanding on the least fleshed-out features, Blizzard can not afford to get by on the bare minimum.
The less it does to solidify its long-term players now, the more it will have to do with a larger-scale expansion down the line to claw them back. In terms of player retention, Blizzard will want to spend a penny now to save a pound later. Regardless of what season one entails though, Diablo 4's initial offering at launch is an impressive one, and bodes well for what is to come.
A Diablo 4 fan translated the in-game text used by the Church of Light, only to discover the word "werewolf" over and over again. If this hilarious detail is any indication, it seems the Church of Light in Diablo 4 has a bit of an obsession with lycanthropes.
The Cathedral of Light, the religious order created by the angel Inarius in Diablo 4, is one of the major factions in the game. All across Sanctuary, players can find stylized text from the Cathedral in various places, from statues and engravings to books and leaflets, which fans have affectionately dubbed "Lorath Ipsum."
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However, Diablo 4 fan TheoryOfN discovered something hilarious about the in-game text and shared their findings on Reddit. The Collector's Edition artbook for Diablo 4 has a key to translate the Cathedral of Light text. Using it, they were able to translate the words found in Diablo 4. When they did, they found nearly every piece of text in the game – and in the artbook itself – was some iteration of the word "werewolf." Occasionally the letters would be jumbled up in some other fashion, but werewolf was consistently repeated everywhere they looked.
There are a few instances where Diablo 4 used this text to say other things besides werewolf. The holy book from the first Blood Petal cutscene in Nevesk uses the same text, but the words are complete gibberish. The Diablo 4 world map, on the other hand, features some actual words on the far eastern edge that roughly translates to "BEWARE FRACTURED MOUNTAIN" and "BEWARE HERE BE DRAGONS," though the text cuts off, so it is difficult to read it perfectly.
Diablo 4 players got a kick out of the particular discovery. Some joked the Cathedral of Light must be obsessed with the Druid class in Diablo 4, or that they were sick of dealing with the werewolf infestation that plagues Sanctuary. Others mused the text was secretly a hint that one of Diablo 4's upcoming seasons will be lycanthropy-themed.
Other fans were actually disappointed with this particular Diablo 4 design decision. Since players love finding little details like this, so it was only a matter of time until they discovered the repetition of Diablo IV Gold the word werewolf. These players think Diablo 4 could have added actual lore, hints, or other jokes in the text, and that just repeating werewolf seemed lazy. Either way, now that fans have the translation key, they will undoubtedly be scouring the game world for more non-werewolf messages hidden in Diablo 4.