Developer Blizzard Entertainment is back with a new blog post dedicated to the accessibility features in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred. Accessibility is one of the team’s top priorities, having been integrated into the development from the very beginning.
Diablo 4 received its first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, on October 8th. In addition to the new class, new areas, new content, and more, the developers took it as an opportunity to introduce new accessibility and QoL features.
Here are some of the new accessibility features that have been added to the game:
- Auto-Pin: A new feature that automatically drops a map pin on the destination of your selected quest or task from your in-game Journal. When a pin is dropped, your mini-map shows a route to follow to get to the chosen destination.
- Audio Navigation Assistance: With this feature enabled, the player receives spatial audio pings that direct the player towards their placed pin on the overworld map. This feature, in conjunction with auto-pin navigation, allows players to navigate quest content while tracking their destination through audio navigation.
- Compass: The compass feature enables an on-screen HUD element that circles around the player and points towards their placed in-world pin. In combination with auto-pin, this provides even more guidance for the player.
“As developers, we want as many players as possible coming into the game,” says Drew McCrory, lead accessibility designer for Diablo IV. “While we designed this set of features specifically with the blind and low vision community in mind, we’ve found that each release proves the power of accessibility to bring our games to more players. We’re serving people who may be experiencing disabilities alongside new players who might use these features as they learn to navigate the world of Sanctuary.”
