An ongoing problem that Diablo 4 has faced since its release over two years ago is the nature of its itemization system as players delve deeper into the game. Earning loot is a core part of an ARPG like Diablo 4, but there comes a point where more loot isn’t necessarily better than higher-quality loot. While Diablo 4 has made strides to improve the frequency of quality loot players are finding in the late and endgame, Season 10 may be taking a big jump toward getting endgame itemization in a spot that is comfortable for longtime players.
Diablo 4 Season 4 already paved the way for improved itemization, as the Loot Reborn season streamlined the quality of gear that would drop based on the player’s World Tier. When Season 6 ditched the World Tier system in favor of Difficulties and Torment Tiers, the distribution of loot quality was left largely untouched. In Season 9, there is still a disconnect between playing on higher Torment Tiers and the frustration of finding worthless gear when grinding for specific Uniques and Mythics, but that seems to be changing with the start of Diablo 4 Season 10.
Diablo 4 Season 10 is Doubling Down on Itemization Improvements
Diablo 4’s Torment Tiers Will Make Finding Good Loot Easier in Season 10
The recent PTR patch notes for Diablo 4 Season 10 detail several ways that earning desirable loot on Torment Tiers will be improved. To start, low-quality items like Magic and Rare gear will no longer be a factor and will not drop from the Tree of Whispers and side quests on Torment Tiers. It’s always disappointing seeing these yellow and blue-colored items drop from a Whispers Cache since they essentially become obsolete after Hard difficulty, so knowing that there isn’t a risk of finding them in Season 10 makes farming for Uniques from Whispers even more appealing.
What’s even better is that Season 10 is improving drop rates for Uniques across the board, with an increased chance to drop across all difficulty levels—not just Torment. Reward quality from Helltides will also be improved, meaning players may prefer to farm Helltide Chests for Uniques over something like Whispers or Infernal Hordes. As Diablo 4 players reach the endgame, having Ancestral Uniques with multiple Greater Affixes is crucial, so the increased drop rate for all Diablo 4 Uniques is great news, as it makes the chances of finding an Ancestral Unique even better.
Lair Boss Loot Pools Are Expanding in Diablo 4 Season 10
In addition to a blanket increase to Unique drop rates, Diablo 4 Season 10 is also expanding loot pools for Lair Bosses to include new potential Unique drops. Previously, Diablo 4‘s Greater Lair Bosses shared a loot pool, meaning that farming Duriel was essentially the same as farming Harbinger of Hatred. In Season 10, each of the three Greater Lair Bosses will have a pool of loot specific to them, with some overlap between the three.
|
Boss |
Uniques Added |
Uniques Removed |
|---|---|---|
|
Andariel |
|
|
|
Duriel |
|
|
|
Harbinger of Hatred |
|
|
The expansion of the loot pools for these Greater Lair Bosses opens the door for players to target farm a wider variety of Uniques. However, it may force players to fight their least favorite boss for a specific Unique now that the pool is not shared between the three. Although there is still a decent amount of overlap between these Lair Bosses, it will be interesting to see how easy target farming will be in Season 10 compared to Season 9.
|
Boss |
Uniques Added |
Uniques Removed |
|---|---|---|
|
Grigoire |
|
None |
|
Lord Zir |
||
|
Varshan |
|
|
|
Beast in the Ice |
|
None |
|
Urivar |
|
In addition to these changes to the Greater Lair Bosses’ loot pools, some minor changes have been made to Initiate Lair Bosses. These changes may not affect players’ decision to target farm these bosses too much, but could help them keep an eye on where Diablo 4 Season 10’s new Unique items will drop.
Diablo 4
9/10
- Released
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June 6, 2023
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Engine
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Proprietary Engine
