Diablo immortal, Blizzard’s mobile Diablo game, is rolling out in an alpha testing phase, with Australians getting the first crack at killing demons along the way. On Thursday, Blizzard posted a myriad of details on specification, progression and more on its blog. The company also revealed that an unexpected feature is returning Diablo immortal: a player-run marketplace called The Market.
If you were there in the early days of it Diablo 3You may remember the existence of the real money auction house that plagued the game, where buying your gear was much more efficient than earning it in-game. The Diablo immortal market won’t be following that model, Blizzard said in a blog post and in a preview event attended by Polygon earlier this week.
Players must earn all of their stuff Diablo immortal through gameplay; it cannot be bought or even traded on The Market. Instead, players can buy and sell gems and other “additional materials” on The Market.
Unlike the auction house in Diablo 3where players can earn real money by selling their items, there is no payout system for The Market. However, there is a redemption system. Platinum is the market currency and players can earn it by playing the game or by spending money.
Players can buy and sell their materials for a fixed market rate, earning platinum on the exchange. Players can then use that platinum to buy more things from the market or craft charms, a powerful new item type that will boost your skills.
In a Q&A at the preview event, Blizzard told us that the market is basically a way to reduce bad luck. Players who get a lot of one type of gem can place it on The Market to distribute their items evenly. Blizzard told us that joining The Market is optional, but it seemed like truly dedicated players would have a hard time if they never got around to it.
The Diablo 3 auction house was a highly controversial addition to the action role-playing game in 2012, and Blizzard finally shut it down in 2014. The company is understandably very vocal that The Market is not another auction house situation, assuring players that it has learned its lesson. Instead, Blizzard aims to make The Market a social experience for players, giving them the chance to offload unwanted materials to players in need while earning some in-game cash.