Diablo Immortal’s pay-to-win mechanics have been controversial since the game launched in June. Now it seems they’ve also broken the game for at least one YouTuber who reportedly spent over $US100,000 ($138,820) beefing up his barbarian persona. The player’s win rate looks so good that the game won’t even pit him against other players, torpedoing his prospects of competing in the game’s final Rite of Exile final event.
Over the weekend, Diablo Immortal YouTuber jtisallbusiness asked viewers if he should try to refund his $US100,000 ($138,820) account as a result of the issue. He claimed that he spent so much money immediately after the game’s release that he was able to easily beat almost every opponent in the game’s PVP Battlegrounds mode. As a result, he had hundreds of wins and only a few losses, increasing his MMR (Match Ranking) so high that it became impossible to queue with anyone else.
“I’d say it’s probably around, 48 to 72 hours, somewhere in between, just trying to get in line for a battleground and never being able to get one,” he said.
Jtisallbusiness contacted Blizzard about the issue almost a month ago and said that he was finally told that the issue would be resolved in a couple of weeks. Now, however, his OneTimes clan competes in the Rite of Exile to defend their Immortals title against other players as part of Diablo Immortals elaborate endgame. The only problem is that Jtisallbusiness can’t join it. Part of the questline requires participating in a standard Battlegrounds PVP match, but due to its matchmaking limbo it failed to qualify.
“So I’m basically stuck as the clan leader of the Immortals clan without being able to queue up for the Rite of Exile,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.” Adding to his frustration is the fact that he’s trying to monetize Diablo Immortal as a streamer and content creator, an effort that now seems hampered by his early expenses (other videos are dedicated to showing off his collection).
For many other players in the community, however, it’s time to kiss the chef for everything they hate about the game’s monetization. “Congratulations, you’ll only ‘win’ in a p2w game,” reads one of the top comments on his YouTube video discussing the issue. “Can’t complain about that, you got what you paid for.” Others shared similar sentiments, and the video itself was rejected thousands of times.
Players on Reddit, where links were passed around, were similarly unmoved. “I know it’s their money and people can do whatever they want with their money, but screw it. 100k?! In Diablo Immortal?!” wrote one person. “When someone’s Diablo character is worth close to my entire mortgage,” wrote another.
Blizzard and jtisallbusiness did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s not yet clear how the situation will affect the rest of his clan, which includes players he said have invested thousands of dollars into the game. After completing the Rite of Exile, the top 30 challengers face off against a single Immortal who transforms into a raid boss. One thing seems certain: it won’t be Jtisallbusiness.