Is Diablo Immortal Good for Free-to-Play Players in 2024?
As a passionate Diablo fan and mobile gamer, I‘ve invested over 100 hours now into Diablo Immortal as a largely free-to-play player. And I‘m happy to report that yes – Diablo Immortal is still great for f2p players as of 2023! With some caveats…
Let‘s dig into the key pros and cons across different aspects of the game through the lens of a free player:
Enjoyment & Gameplay
Without spending anything, Diablo Immortal absolutely delivers on what makes Diablo so fun – slaying demons with punchy combat feels incredible on mobile, and chasing new loot never gets old.
Pros:
- Captures core gameplay loop and combat of Diablo exceptionally
- Lots of skills, builds, and gear to customize your playstyle
- Storyline and open world very engaging as free player
- Early dungeons and group content exciting and rewarding
Cons:
- Can feel repetitive late game without gear/build variety
- Missing out on some group play incentives past F2P power threshold
- Extreme difficulty spikes trying to progress further solo
Scoring Enjoyment for F2P: 8/10
Progress & Power
Dedicating time to Diablo Immortal allows you to reach max level, participate in early end-game activities, and be viable in PvP. But competitive PvE/PvP requires spending to increase your character‘s resonance and gear quality substantially.
Pros:
- Can reach max Paragon and Legendary gems as free player
- Deal decent damage and participate in early Elder Rifts
- Compete in normalized PvP Battlegrounds/Shadow War
Cons:
- Progress slows to a halt approaching server Paragon level
- PvE group content near impossible without resonance
- Non-normalized PvP heavily favors wallet warriors
Scoring Progress & Power for F2P: 5/10
| Aspect | Spenders | Free Players |
|---|---|---|
| Server Paragon | Reach cap each month | Stall before cap |
| Legendary Gems | All rank 10 | Max rank 2-5 gems |
| Set Items | Full sets acquired | Scattered pieces only |
| Resonance | 5-10k+ | <3k |
(Reference paraphrasing from Gamertweak and Game8)
Monetization
Monetization in Diablo Immortal is designed to entice spending at end-game through random legendary gem drops and gambling mechanics. I estimate I‘ve spent $30-40 as mostly f2p over 6 months.
However, avoiding the treadmill requires dedicating unreasonable time or whaling out hard. For context, fully upgrading a gem to rank 10 takes $100k+.
Pros:
- Enjoyment unaffected until late game walls
- Some targeted bundles decent value
- F2P makes small spending more impactful
Cons:
- True end-game requires spending thousands
- Gambling mechanics prey on addiction tendencies
- Fosters resentment toward "wallet warriors" in PvP
Scoring Monetization for F2P: 3/10
Conclusion
For the average mobile gamer looking to enjoy the world of Diablo Immortal, the free-to-play experience delivers tremendously through early end-game. Spending only substantially impacts the grind after the first 100 hours.
Hardcore players will feel forced to spend to progress past the daily F2P caps. And competing at the absolutely highest tiers of PvE and PvP remains a distant dream.
Overall though, Diablo Immortal is a great game in 2024 for f2p players – offering exciting combat paired with meaningful progression for 30-50 hours before spending ever feels mandatory. Give it a shot!
What do you think of Diablo Immortal as mostly f2p? Share your thoughts and experiences below!
