Can You Truly Enjoy Diablo Immortal Without Spending Money?
As a long-time Diablo fan and gaming expert, this is one of the top questions I‘ve been asked about Immortal. My definitive answer after analyzing all the evidence:
Yes – you can genuinely enjoy Diablo Immortal without spending money. But progression will be extremely slow, repetitive and painful compared to paying players. You need to go in with the right expectations.
Let‘s do a deep dive on what free players can access, the grind you‘ll face, and how the monetization impacts gameplay. I‘ll also share some tips for getting by without spending as a fellow free player.
What Content Can Free Players Access in Diablo Immortal?
I‘ll start with the good news – there‘s a decent amount of content playable without spending in Immortal:
- Reach max level 60: You can grind all the way to the level cap without paying
- Main campaign: The full story and side quests are accessible
- Contracts: Daily/weekly contracts for extra loot and XP
- PvP battlegrounds: You can be competitive as free player in individual battles
- Elder Rifts: End-game group PvE activity for set items and materials
- 4-player dungeons: Party up to take down deadly dungeons
So there‘s definitely lots of activities to occupy your time. However, reaching meaningful progression benchmarks as free play will require an immense grind.
| Progression Goal | Est. Hours as Free Player |
|---|---|
| Max Level 60 | 80-100 hours |
| Beat Hell 3 | 150+ hours |
| Full Set Items | 300+ hours |
| High resonance | 500+ hours |
As you can see, getting to end-game power without paying is measured in hundreds of hours – essentially a part-time job! And the grind only gets more painful over time due to…
Predatory Monetization Schemes That Gate Your Progression
Diablo Immortal employs some of the most aggressive monetization systems I‘ve ever seen to pressure free players to pay up. Let‘s break down each predatory mechanic they use to gate your progress:
1. Legendary Gems Offer Huge Power – If You Pay
Legendary gems provide massive stat boosts once socketed in your gear. Things like:
- +500 to primary attribute
- 30% damage reduction from elites
- Double effectiveness of your spells
But acquiring and upgrading legendary gems as a free player is painfully slow. Whales who spend thousands on rare crests progress exponentially faster.
You‘ll constantly face groups demanding you have maxed gems to join. As a free player, most content becomes gated behind these gem requirements over time.
2. Weekly Time-Gating Of Free Upgrade Resources
Let‘s say you get lucky and score a 5/5 star gem without paying (good luck!). Upgrading it requires:
- Gem power: Hard weekly cap via Fading Ember from Shadow Clan
- Can only reasonably upgrade 1 gem/month as free player
- Normal gems: Hard daily cap via Fa runes from Elder Rifts/Bestiary
- Hilts: Required to exchange for crests/runes when capped
See the pattern? Almost all progression resources outside of gambling crest runs are strictly time-gated to prevent free players from ever catching up.
3. Events and Battle Pass Further Tempt You
Every week shiny new events appear offering amazing rewards…but only if you pay up!
Things like:
- Battle pass with exclusive leg crests, skins and materials
- Special events that double your yields from Elder Rifts…by purchasing a time-booster
They dangle all this tempting progression, then hide it behind additional real money purchases. Such a feelsbad trap.
In summary – enjoy running head first into progression brick walls that can only be smashed by whipping out your credit card!
Share of Voice From Paying Players
Now you might argue – "the gameplay is good enough that I can tolerate slow progression!"
Well, not only does the gameplay itself become repetitive quickly (more on that next). But the social dynamics in Diablo Immortal strongly favor paying players:
- Other players with gems/gear carry groups and degrade free players
- Clans require you to contribute resources proportional to your level & progression
- Most groups filter out free players to optimize farming efficiency
Simply put, free players end up severely marginalized from end-game social groups. Your share of voice reduces over time unless you pay up.
In the next sections, let‘s talk about why the core gameplay itself becomes repetitive quickly…
Grindy, Repetitive Core Gameplay Loop
On my journey to Paragon 30 as a free player, I realized Immortal relies on a single repetitive gameplay formula:
- Run Bounties/Contracts weekly for battle pass
- Grind Elder Rifts daily for set items/materials
- Run dungeons/world events when available
- Repeat daily logins for time-gated resources
See the pattern? Nearly all rewarding activities revolve around repeatable daily/weekly tasks. The devs spread worthwhile activities thin to gate progression.
Let me illustrate just how repetitive Elder Rifts themselves are:
| Total Runs to 5x Set items | Avg. Run Length | Est. Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 240 | 10 mins | 400 hours! |
And that‘s just for one class set! Now realize true end-game involves getting multiples loadouts for flexibility.
When you consider the sheer amount of repeat runs needed as a free player, you begin to understand why the gameplay feels so mind-numbingly repetitive compared to the main Diablo franchise entries. This was done intentionally to break you down into spending money.
Now don‘t get me wrong…
In Short Bursts, Diablo Immortal Can Still Be Fun!
Despite all my criticism about the monetization and repetition…
I still find myself returning to Diablo Immortal daily for short play sessions.
The combat and skills feel satisfying in small doses. Running around blowing up big groups of enemies delivers that quick dopamine rush we crave from hack ‘n slash games.
And make no mistake – the early game as you level up and acquire your first set items is still genuinely fun even as free player!
It‘s only after that initial rush wears off that the repetition and gating really kicks in. By then, the addiction mechanics have anchored you into the game loop.
So for casual players just looking to zone out and slay demons during brief play sessions, I would still recommend trying Diablo Immortal as free-to-play. Just don‘t expect to ever reach the end game without spending or insane grinding.
Now let‘s wrap up with…
Tips for Surviving as Free Player
If you‘re determined to enjoy Diablo Immortal without paying like me, here are my top insider tips:
1. Find a Free-to-Play Friendly Clan
Join groups explicitly recruiting free players. You‘ll get sympathy rather than harassment for slow progression.
2. Play Classes That Rely Less on Gear
Necromancers and Crusaders have strong base skills enabling lower gem/gear reliance. I wouldn‘t recommend Monk/Barb due to gear-dependent DPS.
3. Avoid PvP After Initial Levels
Low level PvP battlegrounds are reasonably balanced. But eventually whales with max legendary gems will one-shot you. Stick to PvE as free player.
4. Treat It As Single Player Collect-Athon
Focus less on player power, more on collecting all the cosmetics, achievements etc. This reduces feeling pressured to spend for power.
And there you have it friends! Hopefully this deep dive gives you proper expectations on whether its possible to enjoy Diablo Immortal as free-to-play. I‘m happy to answer any other questions from my painful grind to Paragon 100!
