A new update for Diablo IV gives us a look at one of the new Monster Families we will be facing off against when Diablo IV launches
If you were expecting many things to stay the same in Diablo IV, then get ready to have a bit of a twist brought to you here. They are not going to be that way, as we all know Blizzard likes to try to innovate and press forward with things. Something that is going on here in the game even if it may not come across right away. This is in terms of what they are calling Monster Families in Diablo IV. The quick version of this being that these are the overarching creature types with sub-archetypes under that. All so each group feels like they belong together and not just a hodgepodge of monsters fighting you because you are the player and not an NPC. I think that is the quick and dirty version of it all.
With that all said, here we go with a look at one of the families in Diablo IV called the Cannibals. One guess as to what they are all about and how they will fit into it all. While it is hard to dictate how all of them will fit into the various sub-types (Examples being Swarmer, Bruiser, Ranged, Melee, and Boss) we can take a guess from what we can see. They also do seem to play into the darker tone that Diablo IV, as they will usually be identified before you see them by the partially eaten corpse in the area. Hence the name that they will hold.
An interesting thing for this group, and to an extent the other families, is that each “family” will have their own fighting style and extras in Diablo IV. For the Cannibals here, while they do not seem to have any ranged combat, they have supernatural speed to them and will also be able to jump over obstacles and other enemies to get to you. Even if they are not what we would think of a Swarmer in Diablo IV. These are supposed to be traits specific to this family so that they not only stand out more from the others than just how their silhouettes make them.
Diablo IV — Cannibal Family Turnaround
Corpses riddled with bite marks. Splintered bones scraped clean of marrow. Tongues sawed off and eyes gouged out of their skulls. These are the bloody fingerprints the Cannibals leave behind—if they leave behind anything at all. No one is certain where they come from, but some legends claim they are a former tribe of barbarians, banished from Arreat years ago. Whether their cannibalism led to their exile or developed out of desperation afterward is unknown. The outcasts brought their endless hunger to the Dry Steppes, and from there spread to the far corners of the world to prey on lonesome caravans and unsuspecting villages.
The few who have survived encounters with these butchers share the same stories. They tell of the mad fire that burns in the eyes of all Cannibals, of how eating the flesh of their victims in battle only fuels their hunger for more. They whisper of the unlucky souls spared in the attacks, hauled off like livestock for the raiders to pick clean until their next hunt. And then, they say no more. The silence speaks for them: sometimes it is better to die than to live and remember.
Diablo IV — Cannibal Family
What thoughts do you have for the upcoming Monster Families in Diablo IV and how they will blend in? Do you think it will work out better in the form of a bestiary or could it get a bit more repetitive along the way? Do you like the look and feel for this group and see how much darker the game could go than the past ones? Let us all know down in the comments what you are thinking and then feel free to discuss. When we have more to share for Diablo IV, you know we will share it all here. All you have to do is keep looking to the site for all of that.