Diablo Immortal is the first free-to-play (and mobile) entry in Blizzard’s storied experience, and as such it operates a little differently from other games in the series. Even though the game’s story content, as well as dungeons, raids, PvP, and future content, such as new classes, are all free to play, there are multiple ways that players can spend real money, whether it be on cosmetic armor and weapon appearances, the Empowered Battle Pass, or upgrade materials.
Thus, the question arises: Is it really necessary to spend money in order to progress in Diablo Immortal? Can one play the game for free and have a good time? This is a bit of both.
How to download Diablo Immortal for free
All of Diablo Immortal’s gameplay-based content is free of charge. This allows you to access all the story content and group content, such as raids and dungeons, without spending any money. You will also be able to participate in PvP battlegrounds and the Cycle of Strife without paying a cent. It is even possible to obtain the battle pass for free, which provides some pretty substantial rewards. It’s a lot of content for free, and Blizzard promises free updates in the form of new classes, dungeons, and story content regularly. It is completely possible to simply play casually and enjoy the story and the new content as it comes.
It becomes more challenging in the endgame when progressing your character becomes more difficult. If you wish to access important items, including legendary crests, you will have to be content with having limited access. They are incredibly valuable items, which Diablo Immortal only gives to strictly free-to-play players on rare occasions. Legendary Crests are consumables that, when combined with an Elder Rift, guarantee the dropping of a legendary gem, with a small chance of dropping a rare (and extremely powerful) 5-Star Legendary Gem. In Diablo Immortal’s endgame, legendary gems are crucial to continuing to upgrade your character. This is the primary method of obtaining new legendary gems. Most free-to-play players will use the more common rare crests, which do not guarantee a legendary gem drop, but rather increase your chances of getting one.
Even though there are methods for purchasing and crafting legendary gems, doing so would require a lot more time and resources than simply spending money to buy more Legendary Crests from the shop and completing Elder Rifts to earn gems. If you are strictly free-to-play, you are also likely to have less gold and various crafting resources than players who are willing to spend money, so upgrading gear or purchasing certain items will also be more difficult.
Getting the most out of Diablo Immortal’s endgame is not impossible, but it will take more time and effort as a free-to-play player as opposed to one who is willing to swipe their credit card. To keep up, make sure to claim your free daily rewards bundle every day, level up your free battle pass as often as you can, and claim your first kill of the day rewards as often as possible. It is not necessary to spend money if, however, you are playing the game primarily for the story.
What spending money in Diablo Immortal gets you
There are plenty of things to purchase in Diablo Immortal, including cosmetic armor sets and crafting materials. You can’t exactly buy more power for your character, but spending money does give you access to activities or systems that let you gear up your character faster than a player who isn’t willing to spend money.
It is the Empowered Battle Pass that offers the best value in Diablo Immortal. In addition to cosmetics and legendary gems, it also includes rare crafting materials. If you’re willing to spend some cash, this is a good deal. Throughout the campaign, you’ll also be able to unlock various one-time bundles. Often, these cost as little as $1 and contain a substantial number of resources for such a low price, but you can only purchase them once.
Diablo Immortal also offers a Boon of Plenty, which is a $10 subscription that gives you increased inventory space, 300 Eternal Orbs (the game’s premium currency), a new in-game market channel, and a constant supply of Rare and Legendary Crests for the Elder Rifts. It’s not a terrible deal, and the extra inventory space is nice, but the Boon of Plenty doesn’t offer much beyond the much-needed Legendary Crests it offers.
Eternal Orbs can be purchased directly from the in-game shop, though this is generally not a good deal and is probably the least efficient way to spend your money. As well as crafting materials, rare and legendary crests, and cosmetic bundles, Eternal Orbs are used to buy platinum, which is primarily used to purchase items from other players. If you want to keep pumping money into Diablo Immortal to get ahead, buying Eternal Orbs is the way to go, whether you buy Legendary Crests with them or use them to buy Platinum and Legendary Gems directly from other players.
It’s certainly possible to play Diablo Immortal without spending money, and enjoying the main campaign as you would a single-player RPG is a fun experience that feels like it should cost money. For free-to-play players, however, upgrades and the game’s strongest items will come much slower than for those who are willing to part with $5 or $10 on a regular basis.
If you’re just starting out with Diablo Immortal, be sure to read our essential tips and tricks for beginners. Not sure which class to choose? Here’s a breakdown of Diablo Immortal classes.
