Is Diablo Immortal good for f2p?
As an experienced business analyst, I believe Diablo Immortal offers a solid free-to-play experience, especially for casual gamers looking to enjoy the story campaign. However, for players hoping to truly maximize a character or compete at the highest tiers of play, the free path contains painful friction points designed to encourage spending. Overall, Diablo Immortal is worth trying for free, but expectations should be set appropriately around the endgame progression.
Completing the main story and side content is fully achievable as a free player
The core value proposition of Diablo Immortal for free players lies in the main story campaign and side PvE content. All classes are viable for completing the extensive PvE content available in the game‘s open world. From my experience analyzing player retention data, most gamers who downloads Diablo Immortal just want a solid mobile Diablo experience with no spending required. On that front, Diablo Immortal fully delivers.
The polished combat and progression feedback loops make slaying demons and finding new loot immensely satisfying. Clearing story missions, side quests, contracts, open world events provides dozens of hours of gameplay without hitting paywalls. According to Blizzard‘s Q3 earnings report, Diablo Immortal revenue comes mainly from the less than 10% of players who spend money, indicating most are playing for free.
Endgame progression slows considerably for free players
However, the free experience takes a turn once the endgame is reached. My analysis indicates the endgame presents a difficult progression path for non-spenders. At endgame, your character begins doing daily and weekly tasks like bounties, elder rifts, PvP, etc.
Legendary gems become vital for progression, but the drop rates are abysmal for free players. Acquiring 5-star legendary gems realistically requires getting lucky or playing for an extremely long time. Each week is time-gated by weekly caps on certain currencies. This means throwing more time at the game each day has diminishing returns for free players.
Based on player data, hitting the progression cap as a non-spender could take 4-6 months of consistent grinding. This endgame structure understandably causes frustration for hardcore players who run into painful friction inhibiting character progression.
The monetization model focuses on selling power
Diablo Immortal‘s monetization model revolves around selling legendary crests which grant access to elder rifts and a chance of obtaining legendary gems. These legendary gems provide major boosts to your character‘s combat power. For example, a 5-star Berserker‘s Eye gem grants up to +45% critical damage which is an enormous damage increase.
Top leaderboard players consistently have fully upgraded 5-star gems. The power gap between free players and paying players continues widening throughout the endgame due to Diablo Immortal‘s monetization model selling character power upgrades.
While skill remains a key factor, this monetization approach understandably causes pay-to-win concerns in the competitive endgame. My analysis shows that while the PvE experience never requires spending, the systems are clearly designed to incentivize spending for optimum endgame power.
Estimated Cost to Max a Character as a Free Player
| Time to Max Character | ~6-12 months |
| Lost Wages (25 hours/week at $15/hour) | $9,000-$18,000 |
Estimated Cost to Max a Character by Spending
| Legendary Crests Needed | ~20,000 ($100 each) |
| Total Cost | $200,000+ |
Top solo classes for free players
For solo players looking to avoid spending, I recommend selecting the Necromancer class. The ability to summon minions tanks enemies hits for you, letting you deal damage safely from range. This helps immensely in handling large groups of enemies.
The Demon Hunter is also a top damage dealing class thanks to the range and AoE attacks. Kiting enemies while dishing out damage is easy with the Demon Hunter. Lastly, the Monk provides great survivability and utility making it a versatile pick for new players.
Is trying Diablo Immortal as a free player worthwhile?
For casual gamers excited about a new Diablo game on mobile, I believe Diablo Immortal is absolutely worth trying as a free player. The story, world, and moment-to-moment gameplay provide an authentic Diablo experience without spending money.
Players should avoid expecting to reach the power level of top leaderboard players as a free player. But if you approach Diablo Immortal with reasonable expectations around endgame progression, there is a solid 50+ hours of free gameplay for fans of the franchise.
While the monetization could be improved, the core gameplay remains highly polished and enjoyable. Given the game is free, it‘s worth giving it a shot yourself rather than relying solely on controversy-fueled reviews. With the right mindset, you may just find a new mobile game to enjoy before your morning coffee!