There’s playing Diablo and then there’s playing Diablo on Hardcore. Since Diablo II, Blizzard has offered players the option to choose Hardcore mode when creating a character, which means, when you die, you die. Permadeath. Game Over. Start a new character. Diablo IV will offer the same option, but Blizzard previously hinted they’d be at least a little bit lenient, saying that being killed by another player in PvP wouldn’t be permanent. Well, it seems they’ve taken that little mercy back.

　　When asked about the issue on Twitter, Blizzard community director Adam Fletcher made it clear that you would in fact be facing permadeath if you died in a PvP encounter while playing Hardcore in Diablo IV. That said, don’t get too intimidated – PvP in Diablo IV takes place in designated areas called “Fields of Hatred” and Fletcher assures players you can easily avoid them. So, if you have the guts to wade into PvP while playing Hardcore, go for it, but if you want to play it "safe" (relatively speaking) nobody's going to blame you.

　　Haven’t been keeping up with the latest Diablo IV details? Blizzard will be holding an additional “Server Slam” beta for the game in May – you can get more details on that here. You can also read Alessio Palumbo’s positive hands-on impressions of the game’s open beta…

　　“The wait was more than worth it, though. Right away, Diablo IV impresses thanks to an excellent presentation, both in terms of in-game visuals (mostly thanks to the fully dynamic lighting) and how the narrative unfolds via in-engine cutscenes. […] I've only played a few hours of Diablo IV, but I'm already looking forward to diving back in and possibly trying another class. It's way too early to pass final judgment, but so far, I'd say the king of the action RPG/hack and slash genre is back.”

　　Diablo IV launches on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 on June 6.