Diablo III Q&A Follow-Up

In December 2016, Blizzard Entertainment held a Diablo III-themed Q&A session on Facebook. Afterwards, they got a number of follow-up questions, most prominent of which have now received answers. These questions touch on the Paragon system, creating additional end-game activities, and Blizzard’s decisions regarding the meta game aspects. An excerpt:

Question 1: Are we satisfied with the Paragon system and do we intend to make any changes to it?

We’re generally satisfied with the Paragon system. It accomplishes two main goals:

First, Paragon levels allow players to continue gaining experience after reaching level 70 and to devote that experience to offensive and defensive specialties for that character (for the first 800 levels). It is core to Diablo design philosophy that time played translates to character advancement, even if you don’t get a new drop in a given play session. As your gear improves and item upgrades become less frequent, this becomes especially important. This is why Paragon is (essentially) uncapped. Even when you miss the 15-minute threshold on a Greater Rift, you’re still rewarded with experience toward your next Paragon level. And each Paragon level earned makes that next rift just a little bit easier.

Second, Paragon experience is shared across all your characters in the same play mode, encouraging you to try all the different builds and play styles Diablo has to offer while progressing your current main character. This also allows for some progress to be maintained when a powerful Hardcore character dies, taking a little of the sting out of that loss.

We believe that the purpose of the Paragon system aligns well with the goals it’s accomplishing, so we have no plans to make further changes to the Paragon system at this time.