Should Diablo 4’s best items have such low drop rates? It depends who you ask

Diablo 4 is a game that is all about collecting rare loot, outfitting your character in as many shiny weapons and armor as possible, and jumping headlong into increasingly challenging combat encounters. Recently, players have found the six unique drops incredibly elusive in the game. These items are so difficult to obtain that they are virtually impossible for the average player to drop.. But do they compensate? They are unmatched in terms of power.

But is this good for Diablo 4? Does the inclusion of these six super rare items add some mystique to the game or steal the realistic chance of getting the best gear from the best players? In this article, Connor and Sherif discuss it, fighting for their respective points of view in a vicious war of words.

Are super rare unique drops good for Diablo 4?

Sheriff: I hate to be the ‘this is good, actually’ guy here, but I’m going to have to be a bit today. I’m not entirely behind those six specific items being as rare as they are, more of a fan of the idea that loot games have aspirational goals.

Part of that is the ultra rare loot drops, which shouldn’t take away from all the other unique drops that players can guarantee to get after finishing certain activities. Obviously, the rarest items will be unlocked by the most dedicated players in the game, who also have incredible luck. Which is right. I know it’s never going to be me, and I’m happy for whoever gets one (or more) of them.

I don’t feel left out simply because Diablo 4 has so many other rewards to chase, so much stuff to grind, that these items are never going to make or break my build.

Connor: I hear you, but I feel like the problem in this case is that because the drop rates are so low, dedicated players No be able to get these items reliably. There is aspiration, but based on absurd luck rather than player skill or clear levels of time investment.

The fact that these items are so fantastic means that a dedicated Diablo 4 player must sit down and wade through untold amounts of miscellaneous content to stand a near zero chance of getting best-for-class gear. You don’t have to be good to get them, nor do you have to achieve a goal like ‘make it through these incredibly tough dungeons without getting hit’, you just have to roll the dice non-stop until the game decides you’re worthy of its best rewards.

It also means that some random player, someone who hasn’t worked towards these aspirational goals, may just stumble upon these items. The inclusion of these items as wildcards lessens the other teams players can work on, because all the rewards pale in comparison to them and those who put in the effort aren’t necessarily the ones who will get them.

Sheriff: Yeah, I totally feel like the current odds are silly… but I can’t say that improving them would make things better. Imagine if they went up to 5%, meaning you’d potentially have to run just one dungeon 100 times to get one (and Diablo 4 has a lot). That still wouldn’t make a difference for the vast majority of players.

Likewise, if you tie them to certain endgame activities (which require a lot of skill to beat) and grant them, they would lose all of their current appeal. Diablo 4 is full of build-altering Uniques, some of which players are already aiming for (and earning) to improve their existing builds.

Adding six more to the stack won’t significantly change, well, nothing. Hardcores will just have a few other things to look forward to, and casual players won’t really appreciate the difference between those six and the existing Uniques (which they have a much better chance of getting), if they care about that side of hunting gear at all.

I think a good compromise is for Blizzard to share the drop rates for those items and anything that falls into the ultra rare category. Sort of like how publishers have to share loot box odds breakdowns now.

Connor: They would lose much of their current appeal, but would gain prestige as indicators of excellence in the game. At the moment, it’s rare to see one of these in the world, but there’s no way to tell if the player using it is good or just plain stupid lucky.

Consider World of Warcraft’s humble mount ecosystem – it’s a perfect example in my opinion that you can compare to pretty much any game when it comes to rarity and virtual influence. The mounts that stand out and really matter are those that have some sort of serious graft behind them (PvP gladiator mounts) or those that required some great feat long gone (classic WoW Scarab Lord mount).

These items are prestigious because you really had to work hard and play nice for them. Compare them to the loads of drop-rate porn, the 0.1% weekly reset frames that look cool, but have no real value in the eyes of collectors. It is a matter of time, not merit. Officially revealing the drop rates would simply shed light on the absurdity of the situation.

Sheriff: Given Diablo 4’s isometric perspective, I don’t think most of the gear and weapons stand out in the same way that WoW mounts do. Diablo 4 mounts might actually be the only thing you can see other players riding, and they’re completely cosmetic! Even armor can get lost in the noise, and you would have to In fact know your stuff if you can identify a named piece on a random player.

The real appeal of the super rare items in the game is that they are incredibly powerful and nearly impossible to come by. They’re not groundbreaking to be worth their while to most, which leaves that job up to the very dedicated hardcore, who’s already more inclined to pursue such things anyway, regardless of the odds.

Blizzard needs to offer guaranteed drops for certain endgame activities, which will solve the problem for players who want certainty, and leaves some other weird stuff that maybe 1% of players see.

Hunting down these super rare items isn’t the only thing on Diablo 4 players’ minds, as Season 1 is set to launch very soon, bringing with it a variety of new content for the masses to enjoy.