Diablo 5's director says builds will beat reflexes, unlike Diablo 4
Game director Joe Shely says Diablo 5 will lean on planning and investment rather than dodge-roll execution, describing it as "an INT/STR game" where any challenge can be beaten with the right build.
Diablo 5 is three years out and Blizzard has shown no gameplay, so every line from the team counts for a lot. On September 29, game director Joe Shely offered one of the more revealing ones yet, in a short post on X about how the sequel's combat is meant to feel.
What he said
"While Diablo 5 will continue to feature some DEX (moment-to-moment execution) mechanics, on balance the game will be an INT/STR game (planning and investment)," Shely wrote, as quoted by PC Gamer. "We are designing to the core tenet of ARPGs that any challenge can be overcome with the right build."
The framing borrows a way of describing games by stat rather than genre. A dexterity-led action RPG is one where quick reflexes and dodge-rolling can carry a mediocre character; a strength-and-intelligence one is where the fight is largely decided before it starts, by how you built and geared. Diablo 2 sits firmly in the second camp, and Diablo 4 - for all its depth - drifted into the first.
Why the comment landed now
PC Gamer notes Shely did not name what he was responding to, but the post follows a video from former Path of Exile game director Chris Wilson that argued Diablo 5 would simply continue where Diablo 4 left off. Shely's answer suggests a bigger course change than that.
It also lines up with what Blizzard has said elsewhere. Speaking to PC Gamer in a group interview earlier in September, Shely said the team would "take a somewhat different approach" to Diablo 4's monster level scaling, because automatic scaling "can get in the way of" the feeling of getting stronger - though he added the specifics haven't been settled internally. Blizzard's BlizzCon showing also promised procedurally generated areas, Diablo 2-style loot including items that occupy multiple inventory slots, and more classes than any previous entry.
Why it matters
The gap between Diablo 2 diehards and Diablo 4's faster, flashier combat has defined a decade of argument about the series. This is the clearest indication yet which side Blizzard intends to build on - and with Diablo 5 not due until 2029, it is a commitment made very early.
Why it matters
It is the first substantive statement on how Diablo 5 will actually play, and it points away from Diablo 4's reflex-heavy combat toward the build-first design older fans have been asking for.