In the upcoming PTR (Public Test Realm) of Diablo IV players have a chance to test updates planned for season 5 of the game. Some of these new features are aimed directly at improving accessibility in Diablo IV. Of course there are new quests, activities, and items as well. The full list is available in the official news article about the season 5 PTR.
New accessibility features
The PTR brings three new features that are specifically aimed at making navigating the world more accessible to different players. Players can find and enable these navigation assists in the accessibility menu of Diablo IV. By the descriptions we think the features should be helpful to sighted and blind players alike.
Auto-Pin
Auto-Pin allows players to automatically drop a pin on the selected quest’s or task’s destination on the map. Like when dropping a pin on the map, the mini-map shows the route players can follow to get to it. This becomes the default behavior when selecting quests and enables additional navigation features.
Compass
When enabled, the compass feature adds an element around the player character, pointing towards the player’s in-world pin. Combined with auto-pin this provides consistent guidance to the player. Of course players are able to change the color of the compass arrow, making sure they can adjust it to their needs.
Audio Navigation Assistance
Perhaps the most interesting addition is audio navigation assistance. When players enable this assist, they receive spatial audio pings to direct them towards their pin on the map. Like the compass this works together with the auto-pin feature to automatically guide players through quests. As with any audio navigation assist, use of headphones is recommended for the most effective and immersive experience. To adjust this feature to the needs and preference, both the volume and frequency of pings are adjustable by the player.
The PTR runs from tomorrow (June 25) until July 2, and is available for those playing on a PC Battle.net account. As the PTR gives the developers a chance to test and adjust features before a public release this may be a great opportunity to help make Diablo IV more accessible to you and others. Be sure to read the official news article about the season 5 PTR as it explains how to participate and give feedback.
