The itemization inDiablo 4has been the subject of much confusion from the community, as players have broken down the data behind Item Power and realized it makes no sense. Character progression inDiablo 4revolves around World Tiers, and completing the campaign opens the way to the endgame levels of difficulty, which are further gated by a Capstone Dungeon. The items that start to drop forDiablo 4characters fresh into endgame have the same potential for god rolls as the items that drop for seasoned veterans.
Item Power dictates the range of an item’s base damage or armor, as well as the range of its stat rolls, and is separated into seven tiers of power, with the final tier solely increasing the base attributes. On paper, it allowsDiablo 4to employ item scaling dependent on the player’s level to generate loot that’s appropriate to their power. In practice, however, manyDiablo 4fans have found it to be a system of many flaws and holes to exploit.
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A Redditor who goes by internetpillows submitted a detailed breakdown ofItem Power inDiablo 4, explaining why the players felt like something was off. Namely, items that drop forDiablo 4characters have level requirements solely dictated by a player’s current level. They are independent of their Item Power. This means that players as low as Level 45, who have just started to clear dungeons in World Tier 3, can effectively obtain some of the best items that the game can offer. In fact, the higher a character’s level, the less valuable their loot will get for the purposes of trading or kickstarting an alt.
The solution proposed by internetpillows is multi-pronged and targets the current system’s most egregious shortcomings. By tying level requirements to Item Power tiers, players can maintain a satisfying linear progression throughout the higher World Tiers. Adding more granularity to the system will smooth out a character’sjourney toDiablo 4’s endgame. Capping the Item Power to the level of the monster that dropped it will prevent players from being able to skip equipment tiers. Lastly, Aspects should be able to rescale to the imprinted item in either direction, finally closing the gap between flat number and percentage-based Legendary Aspects inDiablo 4.
Considering that manyDiablo 4players have anecdotally obtained some amazing pieces of gear early into their endgame grind, it’s certainly an issue worth looking into. World scaling overall doesn’t make a lot of sense, as fans have previously noted that it felt punishing togain levels inDiablo 4. Though Blizzard is determined to roll out some priority fixes by the launch of Season 2, the community is hoping that better scaling becomes a part ofDiablo 4in the near future.
Diablo 4is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
