More realism, darker and more bloody. The saga seeks to return to its origins.
Those responsible for Diablo IV are clear that they want to have regular communication with fans, for which they have organized a blog that will have regular content every quarter, with detailed explanations by different members of the study. This time the entrance has also been double, with Angela del Priore talking about interface, control and accessibility as Interface Development Leader, and Candance Thomas, senior meeting designer, detailing one of the groups of enemies that we will find in the game : the cannibal.
During the last Blizzcon, when the first details of the game were offered, one of them was the organization in "families" of the monsters that will ravage the sanctuary. Several examples were given during the workshops, such as the "fallen ones", the infernal hosts; or the "drowned," a new threat that emerges from the seas. This time it has been presented to the "cannibal", a tribe of wild men-eaters.
Far from staying in a mere presentation of monsters, the blog explains the whole process behind the implantation of a family. It is not just a matter of designing an aesthetic of creatures and releasing it in the world so that we kill them without more. Sanctuary is treated as a living, organic creature that manifests itself through its landscapes and inhabitants. Creating a family of monsters implies all its ecosystem, which includes zones, NPCs, bosses, demons and even the wild creatures that we will find at a certain point.
Families of very diverse monsters
Each family has different archetypes and classes, with different behaviors that complement each other to give interest to combat and that is different according to the area in which you are. Some families may put more emphasis on ranged attacks, others on magic or melee, understanding and identifying those patterns will be important when caring for our own positioning.
No one knows the origin of the tribe of the Cannibal, although the most entrenched theory is that they were a faction of the barbarian tribes of Arreat who were expelled for their unnatural practices. Now they wander through the Shrine by surprise by caravans and small towns, devouring live human prey to satisfy a hunger that never ceases to torment them. There are four members of this family: each with a different weapon and a characteristic silhouette so that we can see at a glance what we face. The "bruisers" carry clubs and can stun the protagonist, while the "swarmers" will launch continuous frontal attacks with their two axes. This tribe does not use ranged attacks, but they are supernaturally fast and agile, and will try to surpass the player using numbers.
As a last interesting detail, you can see details of the visual style that aroused such good reviews in the announcement of the game. The stylized and pictorial representation is over, Diablo IV is crude, realistic, wild and an unpleasant point, the enemies are a continuation of that general intention and the cannibals are a good proof of this as we can see in the images.
