Diablo IV

The Diablo IV logo

*Diablo IV* is a paid multiplayer action role playing game (ARPG) and dungeon crawler developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2023. Players are able to explore a large world by themselves and with other people, guided by a main story campaign using customizable character classes with unique abilities. Diablo also offers a seasonal model, with dedicated seasonal story missions and battle passes.

## In-Game Currency

Diablo IV’s iteration of in-game currency is Platinum, which is the only currency relevant to its microtransaction offerings.

* **Platinum :** Only purchasable through real life money and its applicable only to the player's account, meaning that it cannot be traded to other players.
	+ **Uses:** Cosmetics, Battle Passes, Mounts.

### Currency Bundles

#### Purchasing Platinum

Platinum can be purchased by navigating to the shop menu and then selecting the “Platinum” tab. Players can view their platinum balance at the top right of their screen while in the shop.

There are six platinum bundles that can be purchased, with three out of six bundles offering bonus platinum as a better deal for buying a bigger bundle.

### Currency Exchange Rate

The currency exchange rate is an estimate calculated by accounting for all currency bundles available for purchase. You can find a detailed breakdown of this process here.

The currency exchange rate is the average rate of all 6 bundles: 1 CAD to 78.13 Platinum.

### Payment Methods

Current payment methods include the following:

* Mastercard
* Visa
* Amez
* JCB
* Discover
* PaySafeCard
* PayPal
* AliPay
* UnionPay
* WeChat Pay
* Battle.net balance
* Steam Wallet (if purchasing through a Steam account)

### Refund Policy

To refund Diablo IV, the refund is dependent on the platform they purchase the game on. Generally, players are able to refund Diablo IV within 14 days of purchase, provided they have not played the game more than 2 hours. Similarly, unspent platinum can be refunded within 14 days of purchase.

## In-Game Items

Diablo IV offers a simple cash shop with item bundles and mount skins available for purchase with platinum.

### Cosmetics

Diablo IV features a rotating cash shop offering outfit bundles, accessories, and mount skins available for purchase with platinum. These items exclusively offer a cosmetically different outfit model, and do not have any stat bonuses associated with them.

Outfit bundles are grouped based on the different classes available to the player, meaning that outfit sets can only be used by the class it was designed for. There is also a section called “Recommended for You”, which offers you outfit and accessory bundles based on the class you are currently playing.

The in-game store refreshes weekly, and items are not exclusive when they are rotated out of the shop as they may return at a later date. The Diablo IV rotating shops will offer the following cosmetics:

* **Prestige Equipment**
	+ Helmet, Chest, Gloves, Pants, Boots, Markings, and 2 Weapons
	+ 2000-2800 Platinum.
* **Armor**
	+ Helmet, Chest, Gloves, Pants, and Boots
	+ 1200-1800 Platinum.
* **Accessories**
	+ Back Trophy, Markings, and Headstone
	+ 800-1000 Platinum.
* **Prestige Mount & Armor**
	+ Mount, Mount Armor, 2 Mount Trophies
	+ 1600 Platinum.
* **Mount Armor**
	+ Mount Armor, 2 Mount Trophies
	+ 800-1000 Platinum

### Item Costs

As of October 25 2023, the current lowest and highest cost items that are purchasable in Diablo IV are the following (not including items that are given for free or have to be purchased as part of a bundle):

 **Most Expensive Item** | Prestige Equipment

## Battle Pass

Diablo IV follows a seasonal model that refreshes roughly every 12 weeks where new time-limited content will be introduced to the game. This will include new story missions, additional game mechanics, seasonal challenges, and items. Additionally, each season will have a dedicated battle pass with both a free track and a premium track that must be purchased with platinum.

The battle pass has a total of 90 rewards including both free and paid rewards. Starting from the second reward which is free, every third reward offers a free item whereas everything else can only be attained by purchasing the premium track of the battle pass. The standard battle pass can be purchased for 1000 platinum. The premium battle pass, purchasable for 2800, offers 20 tier skips (get first 20 rewards instantly) and offers an exclusive emote.

Seasonal welcome page that explains how the season works.The battle pass is only available in the seasonable realm.Description of how battle pass rewards are designed.The battle pass has a mix of free and premium rewards.
## Subscriptions

Diablo IV does not have any subscriptions in its offering.

## Loot Boxes

Diablo IV does not have any loot boxes in its offering.

## DLC

Diablo IV does not have any DLCs at the time of recording. However, Blizzard Entertainment has officially confirmed that there will be DLC expansions in the future.

## Editions

Diablo IV comes in three editions which are Standard, Digital Deluxe, and Ultimate Edition. Each edition includes the following:

* **Standard ($89.99)**
	+ Base game and seasonal content with access to cash shop.
	+ Inarius Wings + Murloc Pet
	+ Amalgam of Rage Mount
* **Digital Deluxe ($119.99)**
	+ Everything offered in Standard Edition.
	+ Temptation Mount + Hellborn Carapace Mount Armor
	+ One Battle Pass unlock.
* **Ultimate ($129.99)**
	+ Everything offered in Digital Deluxe Edition except battle pass unlock.
	+ Wings of the creator.
	+ One Battle Pass unlocked with 20 tier skips.

It is important to note that players are able to upgrade to Digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition from the Standard Edition through the in-game shop in the “Add On” panel using platinum. The upgrade to Digital Deluxe from Standard is 2000 Platinum whereas the upgrade to Ultimate is 3000 Platinum.

## Pay-to-Win Systems

At the time of recording, Diablo IV does not have any pay-to-win systems as all cash shop items are for cosmetic purposes only.

## Limited Time Offers

### Shop Bundles

Store item bundles are all time limited as the shop refreshes weekly with new offerings. Offerings that have left the shop have a chance to return in the future during a refresh.

## Personal Review

**How does the video game’s culture impact microtransaction spending?**

It does not as Diablo IV is the first game in the series to implement a microtransaction model and there is a lot of criticism from the community due to these systems. Currently, the community has a rather united stance on not spending money on microtransactions.

**What is the value proposition offered by the microtransaction systems and are they substantial improvements over not spending?**

The main value proposition is exclusive customization options that are not available without paying. They are not significant improvements over not spending as there are many default cosmetics that look just as appealing.

**Is it worth spending on microtransactions in the long run?**

It is not, customizations are exclusive to the class you purchase it for and given the nature of Diablo IV, it is likely that you will switch classes overtime to experience the full set of offerings in the game.

**Do I recommend that you spend on this game based on my personal experience playing it?**

I would not recommend it. The base game is already fully priced, so it is not worth spending additional money on cosmetics that do not offer substantial benefits.

## Resources

1. ↑ Diablo IV Wikipedia
2. ↑ Platinum in Diablo IV Guide
3. ↑ Blizzard Support - Refund Policy
4. ↑ Diablo FANDOM Wiki - Cosmetics Shop
5. ↑ Cosmetics Shop in Diablo IV
6. ↑ Diablo FANDOM Wiki - Battle Pass
7. ↑ Diablo 4's first expansion, packing a new class and a fan-favorite Diablo 2 location, arrives late next year