Players were able to test the new Season 6 of Diablo 4 on the PTR, but the criticism was overwhelming. Blizzard has taken the feedback seriously and tweaked the itemization.
At the beginning of September, many players were able to test the new features and numerous changes coming with Season 6 and Vessel of Hatred in Diablo 4. The new season and the DLC are linked, as both will start on October 8 at 01:00 AM.
Among the content tested on the PTR were:
- the new rune words
- the revised level system
- the new difficulty levels
- new class skills and items
- changes to the crafting systems
During the announcement of Season 6, the developers stated that holy items and ancestral items (“bequeathed” items) have lost their uniqueness because they have become “too common”. They are meant to become powerful again. Bequeathed items always drop with the highest item power of 800, and they always have greater affixes – and at least one. Holy items no longer drop at all.
What was criticized? Some experts criticized the new difficulty levels, finding them simply too easy. The rune words also did not receive a particularly warm reception. Another major point of criticism was the loot system, which had been changed for the worse. The community expressed dissatisfaction and felt that: Diablo 4 is too exhausting with Season 6.
In a livestream on October 2, the developers explained that they evaluated the feedback regarding the itemization after the PTR. They plan adjustments to the loot and crafting before the new season and the DLC go live.
Non-bequeathed items will be improved
What will change? Systems Designer Aislyn Hall states in a YouTube livestream that the team has received feedback regarding the items. It was criticized that players get stuck with regular items for too long while grinding for “bequeathed” items. People want the journey for “non-bequeathed” items to be more intense, says Hall.
Accordingly, the following points will be adjusted:
- Items that are not bequeathed can be completed up to 8 times. On the PTR, only 4 completions were possible.
- Non-bequeathed items can also be tempered twice again instead of once.
- The chance for a unique to drop as “bequeathed” will be tripled.
- “Scrolls of Restoration” will be added to the last two stages of the season journey. With the scroll, you can reset the tiers of tempering.
What changes in the crafting of Mythics? In addition to the aforementioned adjustments regarding tempering and completing non-bequeathed items, the crafting of Mythics will also receive an update:
- Previously, you needed four “Magnificent Sparks” to craft a Mythic Unique.
- Starting from Season 6, you can craft a random Mythic with two sparks.
- A specific Mythic will then also require two sparks plus a set of runes.
- Previously, you crafted Mythics at the Alchemist, starting from Season 6 at the Blacksmith.
Loot drops should improve, especially in the endgame
Additionally, in Season 6, the loot drops in the Hell Hordes will change. Until now, it was difficult to farm uniques there specifically. That should become easier, as the “Council Boss” always drops one of the uniques that you can farm specifically in the Hell Hordes.
Lead Live Game Designer Colin Finer explains in the stream that the rewards in other endgame content will also be adjusted. The drop rates of bequeathed items in Nightmare Dungeons and from chests of the Tree of Whispers will be significantly increased. Additionally, Hellborne, world bosses, treasure goblins, and the Butcher will drop better loot, scaling with the difficulty level.
“Useless” loot will be automatically disassembled
What happens to the yellow items? It was also often criticized that even at higher world levels, rare – and even normal and magical – items still dropped. However, since rare items now only have two instead of three affixes, they actually serve as a source of materials at higher levels.
This will also change in Season 6, as: from Qual Level 1, only legendary items and uniques will drop (via Blizzard). Normal, magical, or rare items that drop randomly will instead be automatically converted into corresponding materials.
The new season starts on October 8 and will bring not only changes to loot in Diablo 4, but also to the classes and their skills: Diablo 4 makes all classes better with Season 6 – Here are the changes
