Diablo 4 Faces Big Changes; Item Acquisition as 'Beginning of the Journey'

Developers of Diablo 4 are preparing big changes to the item system, but we'll have to wait a while for major improvements. That's according to information provided by Blizzard in a recent campfire chat, during which they discussed the game's development plans, including those for the near future.

Items to be overhauled

The video featured Blizzard's deputy community director Adam Fletcher, game director Joe Shely and deputy game director Joe Piepiora, among others. Halfway through the video, all three showed off identical T-shirts with the words "Damage on Tuesdays." This is a reference to a meme circulating among fans regarding item affixes, which are often too specific to be useful in combat, or amount to an increase in damage dealt.

As you can easily guess from this, the developers want to solve this problem. In their view items should be, as it were, the "beginning of the journey" with Diablo IV and one of the two pillars of the game, next to taking down enemies. However, while the state of the latter element already satisfies the developers, the "itemization" needs big changes. So much so that a major overhaul of the item system is planned only for Season 4 in 2024. For the time being, nothing concrete has been revealed about this.

Christmas items will not bring major changes to the inventory. Source: Blizzard Entertainment.

This doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be some changes in the meantime. Blizzard is already testing some fixes with the support of fans creating content related to Diablo IV. In addition, the next season will already make it easier to get better items, which you'll read about in the next section.

At the same time, the developers confirmed that Diablo 4 will not feature pay-to-win items (or "pay-for-power," as the developers put it). They assured about this earlier, nevertheless it confirms that the developers will keep their word for now.

Christmas carnage

As mentioned, we won't have to wait until the fourth season for all the novelties. Already in this next one, Blizzard will introduce an important change: Helltides will take place every hour, with only a 5-minute break. Players have been hoping for such a change basically since the premiere, especially after the warmly received Blood Harvest event from Season 2 (via Reddit).

The developer is also preparing other changes, including fixing gold trade on consoles and introducing max level items (925th) as possible loot from mobs (and not just from world bosses and Uber Durial as before) after reaching world level 4.

Besides, still in the current season, new events await players in December:

1. On December 5 will see the launch of Abattoir of Zir. - a 10-minute challenge that will become increasingly difficult with each successfully completed session. Players will receive a unique glyph for their first victory. The event will be available until the end of Season 2, which is January 23, 2024.
2. December 12 will see the arrival of Midwinter Blight. - the first Christmas event in Diablo 4. Until January 2, the Shattered Peaks will offer unique attractions, including a series of quests and original cosmetic items, as long as you defeat the red-clad boss.

Diablo IV

June 6, 2023

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