With the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion, Diablo 4 is introducing a system inspired by the iconic Horadric Cube from Diablo 2. The idea sounds promising! You can recycle unwanted items into new ones, upgrade lower-tier gear, and give duplicates real value.
A few other outlets went over the good parts of this system and how it will finally allow players to make proper use of the massive amount of loot we are getting. But it seems like not all players agree. A big part of the community thinks that this may not be enough to fix Diablo 4’s biggest long-term issue: loot fatigue.
The Promise of the Cube
From Blizzard’s Diablo anniversary showcase, we have seen that players will be able to combine items into new gear, reroll or upgrade uniques, potentially turn lower-quality drops into legendaries, and more. The Diablo 4 Cube really seems adapted to fit inside Diablo 4’s itemization and crafting systems.
On paper, this means fewer “trash” items and more meaningful crafting opportunities. Instead of salvaging a ton of gear, players can now gamble for better outcomes.
That sounds like a direct response to complaints about endgame loot feeling overwhelming and meaningless. You combine this with the Loot Filters being added with the expansion as well, and suddenly, it sounds like all your loot problems disappeared!
But Players Say That Is Missing the Point
Many commenters argue that loot fatigue is not caused by too much trash, but it is caused by constant incremental upgrades. In Diablo 4’s endgame:
- You are often hunting the same item
- With the same affixes
- Just slightly higher numbers
That creates what players describe as the cause of the fatigue. In contrast, Diablo 2 often allowed players to find an item that would last for dozens of hours. A rare drop felt like a leap in power, not a 2% buff. As one commenter put it:
“In D4, you’re constantly forced to get stronger. In D2, you decide when you want more power.“
That difference in philosophy, scaling difficulty vs. fixed progression, is at the heart of the debate.
The Legendary Problem
Another common criticism is the fact that legendary items no longer feel legendary. When orange beams are everywhere, rarity loses impact.
Several players argue that Diablo 4’s high drop rates were designed to make sure you have constant engagement, but the side effect is that powerful items do not feel special. Even Unique items do not really feel special anymore. They are necessary for most builds to work, but at the same time, you get so many so easily that they do not feel Unique anymore. And regarding Mythics, they sure are rare, but most players do not even bother chasing after them because you could farm 20h per day and never even see one. Either way, it is not really exciting anymore.
Adding cube crafting may give trash a second life, but it does not automatically make drops more exciting.
The Class-Locked Loot Debate
A side discussion also resurfaced around class-based drops. Some players miss the feeling of finding gear for other classes, something that encouraged rerolling in Diablo 2.
In Diablo 4, most drops are tailored to your current class, and that reduces surprise and cross-build experimentation. Even when you play with friends, unless you all play the same class, you can never find an item for them and trade it, for example.
For these players, the problem is not crafting depth, but it is reduced loot diversity.
Can the Cube Fix It?
The most cautious voices argue that the Horadric Cube could simply add extra work. Instead of salvaging trash, you now process it through recipes, hoping for a better roll.
If crafting is not powerful enough, it feels pointless. If it is too strong, it invalidates traditional loot farming.
That balance will likely determine if the new Horadric Cube changes the endgame loop or just complicates it.
Another issue that can arise is the fact that you will have to go manually through unecessary amount of “trash” loot to see what is worth throwing into the cube or not. That brings players back to hours of stash management, and the rewards might not match the efforts.
The Bigger Question
This debate is not really about one system. It is about whether Diablo 4 wants to feel like a steady treadmill of micro-upgrades, or a game where big, meaningful power spikes define progression.
The Horadric Cube may help.
But if the underlying philosophy does not change, players argue the fatigue could remain, just with a new interface.
However, it is important to remember that we have only seen a small part of how Diablo 4’s Horadric Cube will actually function. The spotlight presentation barely scratched the surface of the system. We still do not know all of the recipes, how powerful those will be, or how accessible they all are.
The Cube could add important changes, or it could end up feeling just like another system added on top for not much in return.
For now, it is simply too early to draw conclusions. We will need more detailed system breakdowns and some testing through a PTR before players can truly judge if the Horadric Cube changes Diablo 4’s endgame.
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