PoE Sanity

I'm pleasantly surprised by the current state of Diablo 4

By EmpyriangamingWatch videoDuration: PT29M2S

Summary

  • Class & Campaign Experience: Introduction of new classes like Warlock and Paladin with a streamlined campaign that only needs to be completed once.
  • The Horadric Cube: A centralized crafting hub for gear modification, unique upgrades, and deterministic crafting (e.g., adding specific offensive/defensive affixes).
  • Endgame Progression: Introduction of the Skovos region and the “War Plan” system for customizable endgame activities.
  • Complex Itemization: Expansion of the gear system through Talismans, Seals, Set Charms, Masterworking, and “Valling” (Transfiguration).
  • Endgame Activities: A variety of loops including Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, Infernal Hordes, The Pit (infinitely scalable), and the Undercity.

New Classes and Campaign Progression

The current state of the game offers a significantly expanded roster of classes. For this playthrough, we are duoing the two newest classes: Warlock and Paladin. The plan is a casual run through the campaign to experience the cinematics and soundtrack—both of which are high quality—followed by the endgame content.

  • Difficulty: Starting on “Hard” (the highest available initially) as recommended by the community.
  • Warlock Mechanics: Features complex combo gameplay involving Shadowform stacks, summoning demons, and conjuring claws during teleports.
  • Campaign Skip: Once the campaign is completed on a regular character, it can be skipped in future seasons, allowing immediate access to endgame content.

The Horadric Cube and Centralized Crafting

The Horadric Cube serves as the foundation for transmutation and gear modification, consolidating many functions that previously required multiple NPCs.

Available Cube Recipes:

  1. Gear Modification: Add an affix, chaotic reroll, focused reroll, remove affix (annul slam).
  2. Transfigure Item: Grants random modifications (similar to a “Val” mechanic).
  3. Unique Item Management: Unique power reroll, three-to-one unique transmute, recycle uniques, and upgrading common items into legendary/unique status.
  4. Set & Rune Crafting: Rerolling set items, crafting unique charms, and rune crafting.
  5. Amalgamation: Transmuting multiple copies of the same item to upgrade it.

Endgame Systems: War Plans and Skovos

Upon reaching the endgame, the map expands to include the Skovos region.

  • War Plan Table: At this table, you create a “War Plan” to purge hatred from Sanctuary. This allows for customizable endgame activities where you choose between different mission types (e.g., Helltide Harvest).
  • Customization: You can modify activity rarity for greater rewards or reroll the plan entirely to suit your needs.

Deterministic Crafting and Masterworking

Crafting has become much more deterministic, allowing players to build powerful items with specific stats.

  1. Adding Affixes: Using special materials, you can “exalt slam” specific mod categories (Offensive, Defensive, Utility).
  2. Occultist Rerolling: The fourth stat on an item can be rerolled at the Occultist, though the gold cost increases significantly with each attempt.
  3. Tempering: Add specific mods like Critical Strike chance. This can be rerolled until it hits a “Greater Affix” roll using scrolls to reset tempering durability.
  4. Masterworking: A 25-step upgrade process using Obducite.
    • Each level increases base stats.
    • At max level, a random stat (including tempered mods) receives a massive bonus.
  5. Sockets: Adding sockets remains a final step, requiring specific materials or salvaging old gear.

Talismans, Seals, and Set Charms

The charm system has been reimagined as a separate equipment tab to avoid inventory clutter.

  • Seals: These act as the base item that contains sockets (typically 5 to 6) for Talismans.
  • Set Charms: These provide individual stat rolls and powerful set bonuses. For example, the Nameless Set provides Sigil skill damage.
  • Skill Interaction: Specific uniques can add tags to skills (e.g., making Apocalypse a Sigil skill) to ensure they benefit from set bonuses.

High-Tier Combat and Movement Speed

The power ceiling has shifted significantly, with builds now capable of hitting damage numbers in the hundreds of billions and reaching toward trillions.

  • Difficulty Tiers: Players can progress through Torment tiers (up to Torment 12).
  • Movement Speed: There is a hard movement speed cap of 200%. While easy to reach with high-tier gear, it remains a limitation for certain builds.
  • Treasure Breaches: Rare Nightmare Dungeon modifiers that cause the area to be overrun with Treasure Goblins, though the density is RNG-dependent.

Transfiguration (“Valling”)

The Transfigure recipe in the Cube acts as a high-risk/high-reward modification.

  • It can grant extra Life or other random modifications.
  • It has the potential to grant “+1 Quality” to Masterworking, slightly boosting every stat on the item.

Final Assessment: D4 is Better

Diablo 4 is in a much better state than it was at launch. While the progression is fast for hardcore players, the variety of endgame loops—The Pit, Infernal Hordes, Undercity, and Boss farming—provides a more robust experience. The game is more “casual-friendly” than competitors like PoE, particularly with the ability to jump straight into the endgame in new seasons.

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