Why GGG made Divine Orbs MORE COMMON

Summary

• Grinding Gear Games (GGG) intentionally increased the drop rate of Divine Orbs in a recent update.
• The primary motivation was to obscure direct comparisons of currency-per-hour earnings between different game versions.
• Significant changes to game mechanics, such as the nerf to the Temple of Atzoatl “Snake strategy,” risked creating negative community sentiment regarding loot efficiency.
• By adjusting the Divine Orb drop rate, the developers aimed to make historical comparisons of loot acquisition impossible or inaccurate, thereby mitigating frustration regarding the broader loot rebalance.

The Reasoning Behind the Change

The decision to make Divine Orbs more common was driven by the need to disrupt the community’s ability to benchmark loot efficiency following significant systemic changes. Because the Temple of Atzoatl—specifically the “Snake strategy”—underwent a major nerf that reduced the massive influx of loot, the developers anticipated immediate player backlash. Players would naturally compare their previous Divines-per-hour rates to the new, post-patch rates.

By altering the fundamental drop rate of Divine Orbs, the developers effectively changed the baseline currency used for these comparisons. This makes it impossible for players to easily map old efficiency metrics to the new game state, as the variables for “how much currency is earned” have been intentionally obscured by the shift in drop frequency.

Developer Perspective

The team acknowledged that this strategy might be perceived as unconventional or “dumb” by some players. During the decision-making process, the team even jokingly considered an extreme alternative: removing Divine Orbs from the game entirely to force a complete shift in how the community evaluates wealth. They ultimately chose to increase the drop rate instead, noting that while the items are not “dropping like candy,” they are frequent enough to successfully invalidate direct “before and after” comparisons of loot acquisition across the game’s various reward systems.