The patch Diablo 4 players hoped would fix its worst endgame grind hasn’t fixed its worst endgame grind
Diablo 4’s newest patch could’ve been Blizzard’s solution to an endgame that mostly consists of grinding a single boss for the best loot, but it doesn’t seem like it went far enough.
Among a list of bug fixes, patch 1.3.2 brings two changes aimed at making it easier to get Diablo 4’s most powerful items, Uber Uniques. A new crafting method allows you to make your own, but requires you to have five of them in the first place. It’s essentially bad luck protection for the lucky few who have so many of them they can afford to turn them into crafting materials.
But the patch also said the Uber Unique drop rate would finally be increased after three seasons where it was effectively impossible to find one out in the wild. Since last season, endgame players were forced to kill Echo of Duriel (supposedly the hardest boss, but in reality can be one-shot by refined builds) hundreds of times for a chance to see the one you want. Duriel has an estimated 2% chance to drop them, but the grind for the materials to summon him left most players behind. Today’s patch looked like a way to break up the grind, but so far, it doesn’t seem to have worked.
There are scattered reports of people finding Uber Uniques in dungeons, but all of it is hearsay. Only one player has video evidence of finding one, which you can see via a clip from Diablo 4 streamer Rob2628. They supposedly found the Uber Unique helmet just minutes after the patch from killing a treasure goblin. Other than that confirmed drop, however, Uber Uniques seem to be almost as rare as they were before.
Since Blizzard released the patch notes early last week, players have been discussing how little the new crafting system impacts normal players. Many would like to see the requirement drop down from five Uber Uniques to three, so more people could actually benefit from it. Reddit user AnhHungDoLuong88 argues that regular Unique items—which drop fairly often in high-level dungeons—should give you the new crafting material, Resplendent Sparks, so that it’s much more reasonable to work up to an Uber over time.
Other players want to see Blizzard remove boss-summoning materials altogether and let everyone fight them as many times as they want. You wouldn’t have to visit hourly Helltides for resources anymore and could summon Duriel over and over until you get the Uber Uniques you want. But I think that kind of misses the point of having super rare items in the first place and could flatten the entire loot chase that is important for an action RPG.
The solution should’ve been what the patch notes suggested: An increased drop rate for Uber Uniques everywhere else. That way, players who like to run dungeons instead of killing the same boss repeatedly would have a reliable method for obtaining them and could ignore summoning materials entirely. But the chance would have to be higher than what Blizzard has made it today.
Season 3 has had plenty of issues that Blizzard has been surprisingly quick to fix. But Uber Uniques continue to be a grind that even the most dedicated players are getting tired of, especially when there’s little else to do but sift through items looking for a minor stat upgrade. Season 4’s overhaul to items will hopefully save you time pouring over your inventory, but Blizzard hasn’t said a word about expanding the amount of things you can do when you’re finished leveling to 100.
Diablo 4 is in desperate need of a more satisfying loot chase and endgame activities that actually challenge your build. The upcoming weekly dungeons with leaderboards are a start, but I’m not sure anyone wants to spend another season beating up the same boss in the same cave for three months.
