Gear Systems and Itemization Overview in Diablo 4
Diablo 4 has promised plenty of changes to the way itemization works from previous entries, with character customization being the priority for the system. Starting with moving away from sets being dominant, to individual legendaries complementing each other and making the build special, significant affix improvements, the removal of ancients and more, the itemization in D4 seems to be moving in a very positive direction and is evolving with each new update.
Below, you can find out all the details on each specific part of the itemization system in Diablo 4, collected from developer interviews, blog posts, and official quarterly updates, as well as specific examples and full item/affix/skill lists from the BlizzCon demo and beyond.
Gear and Rarity
The actual gear we get to wear in Diablo 4 is just a part of the overall itemization system and it is getting some significant changes. In our dedicated article, we take a look at the item rarities in Diablo 4, including the new Mythic rarity added, the consumable that applies a legendary effect to rares, the much diminished role of sets, specific legendary powers and more.
Affixes
Affixes will mostly work the same as in previous installments, with the main stats for each class removed and replaced by attack and defence, and there will be more of them on each item. We also have the addition of 3 new meta-affixes announced, that affect and significantly change how others work. In addition to all that, we'll take a look at all the so far announced affixes from the BlizzCon demo and subsequent updates.
Socketables: Runes, Runewords, and Gems
Runes are returning in Diablo 4, but they will work much differently from Diablo 2, with their own new system, while gems get a special role in the itemization system.
Trading and Crafting
Diablo 4 will have trading between players, but it will not be as open as Diablo 2, as only some items will be tradable. The crafting system is not well defined yet, but it will be a significant part of the endgame itemization and crafting components will be tradable.
Gambling and Transmog
Gambling for gold will return, as will transmogrification.
Changelog
- 09 Mar. 2020: Started splitting the page into several pages and added item rarity.
- 04 Nov. 2019: Page added.
Starym has been playing the Borderlands franchise since the very beginning, with all possible Vault Hunters under his belt. He covers all the BL news and dabbles in some light-guide writing behavior now and then.
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