The crafting in Diablo 4 has long faced criticism as it relies purely on luck, yet is almost necessary to progress through the endgame. With Season 11, Blizzard introduces a new system with a random factor into the ARPG – and fans say: This can stay.
What is criticized about crafting in Diablo 4?
- In Diablo 4, there are various crafting systems. With the hardening, you imprint new affixes onto items – but this has been done randomly and faced criticism. Since Season 11, you can now specifically choose a hardening affix.
- With the completion, you improve individual affixes. However, if you do not hit the desired affix and reset the process, you lose all previous upgrades – even those that were already quite strong. Additionally, this process consumes a lot of gold and materials.
- You can also change aspects on legendary items and enchant affixes. Here too, gold and materials are required. Overall, this means a lot of grind in the endgame for relatively predictable results with little variance.
With Season 11, Blizzard has introduced sanctification into the game. It represents the final step in the crafting process and grants an item a random effect. This is currently generating excitement because many players are showing off their loot, which turns it into absolute monsters. It is therefore hardly surprising that the community wishes to keep this system in the game permanently.
With sanctification, loot drops remain relevant and exciting
This is what the community says about sanctification: In a post on Reddit, players praise the new season, especially the seasonal sanctification. The crafting system provides exciting results and opens up new, individual build possibilities.
For example, Formal_One6729 writes on Reddit that he finally has a real reason to grind again:
I have been chasing a sanctification with the “Grandfather” affix for days now – so far without luck – but it is incredibly fun. In earlier seasons, the journey basically ended with Mythic Uniques, now they are just the beginning.
I just can’t stop grinding for more mythic uniques, just to then “gamble” them, hoping for that one “Grandfather” affix. I really hope this system stays in the game permanently.
It would be extremely unfortunate if they removed it, as the sanctification is fun, well-balanced, and by no means game-breaking like Chaos Armors were.
- The Chaos Uniques were the seasonal feature in Season 10 and allowed for crazy build possibilities and play styles.
Other voices in the thread also report that they suddenly have additional grind because of the sanctification, even when the character is already “finished”. After all, there is still a chance for a sanctification that changes or further enhances one’s build.
Some players even note that their season feels almost restarted because they received a strong sanctification and now want to try a new build.
And the user EntityZero further emphasizes that loot drops become overall more exciting through the system: “This makes loot important again, and loot remains relevant even when a slot is technically already ‘finished’. Any mechanics that ensure that dropped loot remains exciting and that you take a closer look at it should stay.”
Horadric Cube as an evolution of sanctification?
Blizzard had already clarified at the announcement of Season 11 that sanctification is a seasonal crafting system. However, some players speculate that the new Horadric Cube, which comes with the “Lord of Hatred” expansion, could represent a permanent solution in the long run, perhaps as an evolution of sanctification or as a combination of sanctification and Chaos Uniques (Source: Reddit).
In the announcement of “Lord of Hatred”, Blizzard specifically writes about the Horadric Cube: “With Lord of Hatred, you can unlock additional skill variants for all classes, explore a new version of the crafting systems like the distinctive Horadric Cube, and equip bonuses from the new Talisman set.”
How is the new season received otherwise? Overall, Blizzard is currently receiving a lot of praise for Season 11. New mechanics and revised systems are well-received, as is the new “secret” boss fight that was not announced beforehand and was discovered by players only after the start of the season.
The Paladin, who surprisingly entered the game at the start of the season, as well as changes to activities – including encounters with lesser evils, the Capstone dungeons, and the seasonal ranks – are being well received. You can read more about that here: Season 11 changes a ton of features in Diablo 4, players say: The game has never been this good!
