Side quests in Diablo 4 are not exactly broken, but at this point, they are just ignored by most players.
When you first level a character, they can feel like nice bits of world-building. Some of them even offer surprisingly important lore information. But once players reach endgame, especially in higher Torment tiers, side quests quickly become something to skip rather than seek out. They are nice when you first start the game, but after a few seasons, you are doing everything you can to evade anything related to side quests.
The issue is not the writing or the content of the side quests, but it is the rewards.
“Why Am I Even Doing This?”
Over time, a lot of discussions on social media are going over the same problem. In Diablo 4, side quests do not feel worth the time investment.
Experience gains are minimal compared to other activities. Gold rewards are negligible at higher levels. And even if some quests can now drop Ancestral items, it is really not enough to justify going out of your way.
For many players, picking up a side quest by accident, especially from a dropped item, feels more like clutter than opportunity.
So instead of asking for redesigned quests or entirely new content, players are proposing something much simpler! Blizzard needs to give side quests long-term value.
A Milestone System Instead of Individual Rewards
In a video, MRGRUGER and his community suggested something really interesting. They proposed a tiered milestone reward system linked to overall side quest completion in Diablo 4.
The idea is straightforward:
- Add a visible progress tracker for total side quest completion
- Reward players at major milestones rather than per quest
- Focus on cosmetics and long-term incentives instead of small gold or XP rewards
For example:
- 100 completed quests could grant a cosmetic or mount item
- 25% or 50% total completion might unlock larger rewards
- Full completion could award a premium-tier cosmetic set, potentially even something comparable to shop-exclusive items
This solution would not even require redesigning the quests themselves. The content stays the same, but the value perception changes. If completing a certain number of side quests per season could reward you with an exclusive mount or shop cosmetic, something that would maybe change each season as well, players would have an actual reason to seek out side quests.
It would also add more value to the open-world. Players would have to go around the map to complete side quests. This would be a nice change of pace between two boss fights or War Plans runs.
The appeal of a milestone system is that it creates a background goal. Players who enjoy side content would feel rewarded. Completionists would finally have something meaningful to hunt. And endgame-focused players might have a reason to engage with existing content rather than ignoring it entirely.
Not Just Rewards
Some players also added that tracking is just as important as better loot. Currently, there is no clean global overview showing how close a character is to finishing all side quests. For completionists, that lack of visibility can be more frustrating than the rewards themselves.
Others suggest integrating side quests into the Whisper system more consistently, to make sure they always contribute toward Grim Favors rather than feeling like isolated side activities.
A Low-Cost Fix to an Old Problem?
Side quests in Diablo 4 are not universally disliked. Many are well-written and add lore to Sanctuary’s world. The problem is that, in a game built around efficiency and optimization, they struggle to compete with Nightmare Dungeons, Helltides, and seasonal systems.
A milestone reward structure would not reinvent the whole thing. But it might finally give players a reason to stop skipping content that is already there.
And judging by the current discussion, that is all many players are really asking for.
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