While Diablo Immortal is launching as a free-to-play (F2P) title, pay to win mechanics could become an issue. Read on to learn more about Diablo Immortal's pay to win gameplay mechanics and what F2P players can expect while playing.

Is Diablo Immortal Pay to Win?

Diablo Immortal Contains Pay to Win Features

While most of the PvE content in Diablo Immortal is free-to-play (F2P), its endgame loot grind is pay-to-win (P2W). Some aspects of Diablo Immortal like buying Legendary Crests, can only be regularly purchased through real world money.

By locking rapid progression behind equipment that require in-game currency to upgrade, it is safe to say that Diablo Immortal's endgame is monetized at its core. And this paygate is the central issue for a lot of fans: the essential experience of farming equipment for the best builds is gated behind a huge paywall.

All of Diablo Immortal's In-App Purchases

PvP Greatly Affected by In-App Purchases

Since gear and builds are the primary focus of PvP, free-to-play (F2P) players will always be at a disadvantage when going against players who spend more on in-game purchases, as paying money to get more Legendary Crests and Scoria will definitely lead to a much stronger character.

Furthermore, becoming one of the server's high-ranked Immortals is almost assuredly impossible for F2P players. If all of the high-rankers are spending money for boosts, the only way to really catch up is to also spend yourself.

Best Builds for PvE and PvP

Diablo Immortal Pay to Win Features

Purchasing Legendary Crests

A player could purchase an unlimited amount of Legendary Crests using Eternal Orbs. These Crests speed up your acquisition of Legendary Gems, which are necessary to give your character incredible stat boosts and passive skills.

Considering the rarity of 5-Star Legendary Gems, the most powerful Gems in Diablo Immortal, throwing more money into the game will drastically speed up your chances of getting the ultimate endgame build.

Legendary Crests: How to Get Crests

Awakening Gear with Dawning Echoes

A Dawning Echo is an item that can only be bought with real money, and help Awaken your Legendary gear, granting them powerful passive buffs. The more you pay, the faster you get these extremely powerful endgame benefits.
Awakening Guide | How to Get Resonance

Rewards from Empowered Battle Pass

Purchasing the Empowered Battle Pass rewards you with more Scoria, which is necessary to upgrade the Helliquary and increase your Combat Rating, resulting in a much more powerful character overall.
Battle Pass Guide: Tracks, Rewards, and How to Buy

When Does Progression Slow Down?

Level Grind Slows at Level 35

Free to play players will hit their first progression wall at level 35 when the game prevents you from accepting further quests from the main story until you level up. These progression walls continue to appear approximately every 5 levels.

It is not necessary to spend money to progress past these level walls; you can continue leveling up (albeit at an increasingly slower pace) through replaying dungeons and grinding Elder Rifts until you reach the max level without spending a dime.

Leveling Guide: The Fastest Ways to Level Up XP

Difficulty Spikes Near Max Level

As you get closer to level 60, though, you'll start to feel the difficulty ramp up suddenly, and that's when it becomes crucial to upgrade your gear and gems. The thing is, these progression systems have hidden caps themselves that further slow you down.

How to Upgrade Gear Ranks

Hidden Caps Slow Down Progress

To level up your legendary weapons beyond level 6, you'll need to reach Paragon level 30, a system that begins after you reach max level.

On top of that, rewards you get from completing side quests diminish after a while. You'll usually receive rewards like Enchanted Dust from Cursed Chests and Normal Gems from Hidden Lairs. However, after you complete these quests too many times in a given day, the game stops rewarding you. In effect, this caps the amount of progress you can make in a single day, unless you decide to spend money.

How Much Should the Average Player Spend?

How much you spend on Diablo Immortal will largely determine the kind of gameplay experience you can expect to have.

Free to play players can enjoy the game casually by completing Main Story Quests, killing monsters for Bounties, unlocking all character Skills, and salvaging and upgrading Legendary Items up to level 5 without spending a cent.

An Average Player Might Spend $5-20 Per Month

If you're looking to spend a little money on Diablo Immortal, the monthly Empowered Battle Pass offers the best value ($4.99). In addition to some cosmetic bonuses, you'll also get a lot of bonus rewards, including Scoria, which is required to level up your Helliquary. This will get you to the end game content faster so you can start grinding on Hell I+ Difficulty.

The next best value is the Prodigy's Prize track of Prodigy's Path at $19.99, which grants you additional Legendary Crests (20 more in total) and Scoria at every level. This is for players who want to power up their legendary gear with Legendary Gems, which are extremely rare to come by without spending money on the game.

Maxing an Account May Cost Thousands of Dollars

Players who are hoping to be competitive in PvP modes should expect to open their wallets, as recent estimates place maxing your account in the six-figure range. Although it's still early to say for sure, staying competitive will likely come down to who has the most-upgraded, highest level legendary gems in their build.

Diablo Immortal Non-Pay-to-Win Features

No Energy Systems or Play Limits

There are no limits to playing the game, and no energy bars that need to refill each day. A player could play through Quests, grind in PvE, progress through the Main Story, and engage in Co-op as much as they want without having to spend anything.

Catch Up Mechanics

While players who spend more on in-game purchases will undoubtedly get a massive headstart, F2P players will still have the chance to quickly catch-up, with mechanics such as the World Paragon system, where underleveled players will get a massive experience boost.

Paragon System Guide | Paragon Levels and World Paragon Explained

High Ranks are Entirely Optional

While the title and rank of Immortal does come with a lot of perks, free-to-play players will still be able to enjoy Diablo's classic gameplay without having to spend a dime. Story missions, PvE raids, and a host of brand new activities will keep you occupied without having to think about player ranks and leaderboards.

Casual spenders or even free players will still be plenty, leaving you with a lot of people to play with outside of the gated Immortal and Shadow content.

All New Gameplay Features

Diablo Immortal News

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