I’ve heard similar stories about D4 from friends, reviewers, and streamers I watch. They said—much like you—that Blizzard actually made an effort at the start, but then stopped giving a damn about the players, acting like a typical corporation. That said, the more critical voices argue that Blizzard didn't even manage to deliver on that initial promise. I get where both sides are coming from, though; for me, Blizzard games have always been synonymous with longevity. People play them for more than just nostalgia—they’re simply well-coded, expertly crafted products.

These days, Blizzard is just milking the "whales" for cash; it’s more profitable for them to sell a thousand items at a premium price than ten thousand at a lower one. As for the builds—unfortunately, that’s just how it is now. The moment a game like this hits the market, hyper-analytical players tear it apart and figure out the optimal strategies, so everyone ends up playing the same way. Especially in the age of AI. Back when we played Warcraft 3 (and StarCraft 2 for a while, I think), you had to know where to find guides, watch replays (like Boxer, lol), take notes, or at least think things through, practice, and so on. And for Poles, Slavs, Germans, French, or Russians, there was the added hurdle of the language barrier. Now, there’s far less legwork involved—machines have taken over a huge chunk of the thinking process ;).

I haven’t played Diablo 4 at all, and I don’t plan to. Diablo 3 was cool—as were the first two—but I definitely prefer other Blizzard titles.