MyMMO editor Benedict Grothaus is excited about Diablo 4. Even after 2 months and in the criticized Season 1, he still enjoys it immensely. Only one of the features that should make the game special in the series is starting to get annoying: legendary aspects.
The idea sounded heavenly: No longer needing to find Legendaries, but simply building them myself. When Blizzard announced this feature, I was immediately thrilled. Finally, no longer having to hope for that one drop to complete the build! Or? … Or?
In the first weeks of the game, the aspect thing was quite cool too. It felt more flexible: I could swap items faster because I could take the legendary effect with me. Or even just use it from the Codex.
Then I reached the endgame with my sorceress. Of all things, my beloved and quite strong Blizzard build requires a specific aspect to function. This is where the first doubts arose.
By now, I also keep reading complaints in the community. Instead of reducing the required farming, you now have to grind twice as much. That wasn’t agreed upon…
I have been playing the Blizzard build for ages, and some players even claim that it is the best build in the game:
I deliberately remain weak, hoping to become stronger
The problem with the system is that it is no longer enough to find a good item. You need two – at a minimum. Whenever I find new, strong loot, I face a tough decision:
- Is the item good enough to apply my strong aspect to, or will I soon find a better one?
- Is it worth applying a weak aspect to a stronger item, or will I lose more damage in the end?
Such decisions lead to me storing good items and good aspects in the bank and continuing to grind. With significantly weaker gear and at lower levels than I could actually master.
I forgo becoming more powerful for fear of missing out. Because it is a rule of Diablo that you always find an improvement or a God Roll right when you think to yourself: “Ah, what the hell, I’ll just do it.”
You can even find the perfect item from vendors:
Season 1 makes the problem even bigger
Now Season 1 is here and there are new items that allow for really crazy builds. I’m playing a Necromancer, even though I never really liked the class. Nevertheless, I found with the Reaper build a playstyle that I really enjoy.
However, here again, there’s the problem that I need a very specific “heart” to be able to level up properly. At least with the build I have in mind. The hearts cannot be removed, just like legendary aspects.
The heart needs a specific socket on jewelry. If I don’t find that, I can’t equip even 100 levels of better jewelry. So I’m back in the same dilemma as with my sorceress, just almost 50 levels earlier.
It’s not bad, but it could be better
Despite everything, the complaints are of a very high standard. Because in the end, I only “need” the better loot to master higher Nightmare Dungeons. And those actually bring me nothing, except for the right to show off.
And it is my decision to put myself through this, because I could also play another build. The Ice Shard Sorceress, for example, needs almost no found aspects.
Diablo 4 is still fun. The gameplay itself is what keeps me playing, and that’s why I come back. I will surely want to be stronger, and that might take a bit longer than I would like.
But since I need variety anyway, I’ll just play a new character. Or, as now for the season, a class that I actually don’t like. A great experience that I can only recommend to everyone.
Nevertheless, I would wish that Blizzard would revisit this. One idea would be to allow each aspect to be removed infinitely often, for increasing costs, for example. Like when re-rolling. Then a God Roll would be a God Roll again and not just half a one.
Additionally, it should become easier to try out new builds. But fortunately, Blizzard plans to improve this soon:
