News May 12, 2026

Zaven Haroutunian, associate game director on Diablo 4, recently spoke with IGN about the realities of developing a live-service action-RPG at scale. His comments shed light on how Blizzard approaches the countless decisions required to keep an evolving game balanced and engaging for millions of players.

The interview comes as the team continues to refine Diablo 4 following the Lord of Hatred expansion's launch, which introduced the Warlord and Paladin classes alongside significant changes to skill trees, item power systems, crafting mechanics, and the Talisman system.

What Changed

Haroutunian outlined Blizzard's philosophy for navigating complex game design decisions:

'We're often faced with solving real problems, and we don't always have the ideal solution in front of us,' Haroutunian told IGN. 'In fact, there's often no ideal solution. Often, we just have to pick a thing.'

The associate game director emphasized that understanding the true impact of design choices only comes after release: 'It's only after you step back from the stuff you've made that your perspective changes and you understand the impact of your decisions, both positive and negative.'

The Lord of Hatred expansion served as an opportunity for a top-down revamp affecting every class in the game, with Haroutunian noting it 'solves a problem while refreshing every class in the game.'

Blizzard's approach involves constant fine-tuning across skill trees, item power, Horadric Cube crafting, and Talisman mechanics to ensure each skill has meaningful options.

What This Means for Players

For Diablo 4 players, this interview reinforces what patch notes have shown: balance changes are an ongoing process rather than a destination. The Warlord and Paladin class additions disrupted existing meta hierarchies, but Haroutunian's comments suggest that disruption is intentional and part of healthy game evolution.

Players should expect continued adjustments to skills and itemization based on community testing and feedback. The development team's willingness to 'pick a thing' and iterate means the meta will continue shifting throughout seasons. This approach validates player feedback as an integral part of Blizzard's decision-making process.

What's Next

No specific roadmap dates or upcoming changes were mentioned in the interview. However, Haroutunian's comments suggest players should anticipate ongoing refinement across all facets of Diablo 4's systems. The development philosophy prioritizes adaptability over finding perfect solutions, meaning balance patches and incremental improvements will likely remain a constant in the game's future updates.