Release of Paladin v Diablo 4 it's been a long time and Blizzard noted that it was the most requested class prior to its launch at the start of Season 11. Diablo 4's Paladin is iconic in its own right, the class draws heavily from its classic iteration Diablo 2. Consequently Diablo 4 the development team had a lot of work to do with the translations Diablo 2's Paladin gameplay Diablo 4modern systems.
Game Rant spoke with Diablo 4 Lead Class Designer Dominick Sileo on the creation of the Paladin and the challenges the team faced in modernizing the class from hers Diablo 2 incarnation. Sileo was able to share some useful details about the pro design philosophy Diablo 4's Paladin along with some accommodations that were necessary to make the class feel at home in modern Diablo game. The result is a compromise that unites fans of nostalgia Diablo 2 they have the game goals for the class that the team had for the modern interpretation of the holy knight archetype.
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Diablo 4 developers describe how the Paladin's aura skills had to be paired with Diablo 2
Although the Paladin is not the only Holy Knight class Diablo— crusader from Diablo 3 is a riff on the same archetype – there are some core aspects of the class that are important parts of its identity that the developers wanted to incorporate into a modern take Diablo 4. Early on, Sileo cites the Paladin's Zeal skill as an example of this desire, noting that Zeal was not part of the Crusader's skills in Diablo 3but he felt the need for the Paladin to enter there Diablo 4. According to Sileo,
When we looked at Zeal, we knew we wanted to bring it back. We found it to be central to the core of Paladin, but it was like “hey, how do we really modernize this?” We did a lot of collaboration and a lot of early prototypes with animation and VFX to experiment and see what it would look like now. If Zeal didn't even exist and we somehow made it up, what would it look like?
This idea is essentially a redesign of the parts Diablo 2's Paladin to fit into the modern game Diablo 4 he intervened deeply in the development of the class. Although the Zeal skill was part of the Paladin's set Diablo 2the team wanted to reimagine what the skill would look like if it were a completely new unique concept Diablo 4 with the aim of creating a sense of class designed entirely for the modern age.
How the 'Aura Sandwich' concept influenced Paladin's game design
Arguably the Paladin's defining feature is its Aura skills, but these skills also include some of the key differences between Diablo 2's Paladin and his Diablo 4 version. Especially Paladin's auras from Diablo 2 had to be shortened Diablo 4with Sileo noting that there are 20 aura in it Diablo 2 and 24 skill tree slots Diablo 4so the class would be almost all Auras if all 20 returned Diablo 2.
FYI, Paladin's Auras v Diablo 2 include:
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Prayer
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Resist fire
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Resist the cold
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Resist lightning
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Defiance
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Cleansing
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Vigor
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Meditation
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Redemption
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Salvation
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Urine
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Thorns
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A blessed goal
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Concentration
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Holy fire
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Holy Freeze
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Holy shock
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Sanctuary
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Fanaticism
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Conviction
While Diablo 4 It only gives the Paladin 3 auras: Fanaticism, Holy Light, and Aura of Defiance. To complement these auras and give players the feeling of having a much wider range of auras to use, Sileo introduces the “Aura Sandwich” concept, which explains,
What if someone is really sad that meditation isn't coming back for some reason because they just like the regen from it? Well, you can actually upgrade your auras to this “Aura Sandwich” and then it's different auras that would sort of combine into this giant mega Aura.
Sileo further notes that this design choice was born out of a desire to keep the Paladin's auras from being too overwhelming. Limiting them to 3 base auras instead of 20 that could be combined and modified with uniques like the Dawnfire gauntlets, or active and passive abilities of each of the 3 auras, allows for easy aura setup on the surface as players delve deeper into them.
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Paladin's goal in Diablo 4 was to balance nostalgia with a modern feel
While the Paladin game has been heavily modernized Diablo 4the development team wanted to preserve the classic elements of this class Diablo 2 a version that gives longtime fans a sense of nostalgia while playing. Sileo reveals that the key to achieving this balance comes from the Paladin's sound design, specifically in relation to the sound of the Paladin's Blessed Hammer skill,
There's that very lo-fi, iconic 1999 or 2000 sound, and we wanted to make sure we got it right…It was really about balancing the nostalgia, but making it so that you actually play a modern game, and neither is overwhelming.
Despite some compromises in the skill department, Paladin of Diablo 4 has enough elements Diablo 2 fans will be familiar to feel like in a classic class, such as sound design. In addition, the “Aura Sandwich” concept feels like modern game design, giving players the freedom to work with the mechanics at the level they're comfortable with, while still reusing many of the features they've created. Diablo 2's Paladin so iconic in the first place. The balance of these two sides of Paladin's design philosophy shows the tight-rope approach the developers have taken to bring the iconic class to life in a way that feels fresh while staying true to the original.
- Released
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June 5, 2023
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and gore, intense violence, language, in-game purchases, user interaction
