The newest Diablo IV update talked about items and revealed some rather interesting changes to the rarity system.
A huge change to Item Quality
Item quality in ARPGs is rather simple. You have boring normal items which are white and provide basic stats. Magic items are the next stepping stone, having an extra stat or effect to the player. Then we have Rare items, which have multiple stats or effects. It goes on and on to Legendary items, Uniques, and so on. However, Blizzard decided not to go down this route with Diablo IV. The last time I talked about this game was when we got the Angelic, Demonic, and Ancestral powers stats. Those have been removed thanks to player feedback. The same player feedback now helped improve the system of item quality, among other stuff. They also talked about the difference between items, such as swords versus maces and all that. But it isn’t as important as the item quality part. Let’s get into it.
Firstly, Magic items can have the most powerful individual affix. As is seen in the image above where the Magic Staff has the largest Immobilize Chance on its Hit Effect affix. Secondly, the Rare item besides it has a lesser Immobilize Chance but has 2 other affixes. Thirdly we have Legendary items that have Legendary affixes that roll randomly. This way you can still use a Magic item in your late-game build if you really just need that one affix at its most potent. Rare ones offer a variety of affixes for builds that need multiple stats and effects. Legendary offer powerful effects that give you that big power spike needed for the most challenging enemies. Interesting changes that can provide a lot of build diversity if Blizzard implements it correctly.
We will talk about Unique items that replaced Mythics down below.
Legendary affixes and Unique items
Think of Legendary items as Rare items + a powerful legendary effect. As seen above, these legendary effects provide immense boosts to damage or they alter the effect of a spell greatly. Get your Meteor skill to gain a critical strike damage bonus against vulnerable enemies. Or make your frost spells trigger the Freezing effect faster but deal less Frost damage. An interesting take on Legendary items that has immense potential. Let’s just hope Blizzard gets creative with the Legendary affixes. Boring stats like more damage or longer duration aren’t exciting for such items.
As for Unique items, they got the most interesting makeover. Instead of being Mythic items, the last tier of quality you can find, you get Uniques. As their name suggests, these items provide immensely powerful effects around which you center your entire build. Will all builds use Unique items? I hope not, them being just a way to have an alternate and unique playstyle is fine. No need to make these effects so powerful that all builds want to focus on obtaining the Unique item as soon as possible. Unique items have completely fixed affixes and class-specific powers.
Players are loving the way Blizzard is listening to their feedback
Each new Diablo IV update comes with a lot of hefty changes. The devs are listening to player feedback a lot, which is strange for modern Blizzard. Could it be that Diablo IV will outdo Diablo III with the help of player ideas and suggestions? It’s possible, as the players on the forums are praising these newest changes as the right direction for Diablo IV and its items. Not everyone is happy with everything but slow and steady wins the race. We just need to keep voicing our opinions on stuff we like or don’t like. They will listen to at least some of it.
So, what are your opinions on Diablo IV, its items, and the overall direction of the game? Will it be another generic dark fantasy ARPG, or can it rise above its contemporaries? Let me know your opinions in the comments section down below!
Those that are waiting for Diablo IV can pick up Diablo III and its expansion on HRK Game for an amazing price!
