Blizzard Confirms Diablo 4 Has Six Super Rare Unique Items, Sparks Debate About “Lottery Level Rarity”
Blizzard has stepped in to clear up confusion surrounding the rarest items in Diablo 4, confirming six currently exist in the game. However, players reckon it’s nigh-on impossible to get one.
After nearly a month in which players wondered about the status of Diablo 4's rarest unique items because just a handful were found, Diablo 4 lead class designer Adam Jackson took to Twitter to confirm six super rare uniques are currently in the game:
Doombringer (unique sword slashing)
The Grandfather (unique two-handed sword slashing)
Ring of Starless Skies (unique ring)
Andariel’s Visage (unique helm)
Harlequin Crest (unique helm)
Melted Heart of Selig (unique amulet)
Hello! I wanted to clear up some details on the rarest Unique items in Diablo 4.
1. They can drop from level 85+ enemies
2. You get them anywhere you can get a regular Unique, and they always drop at 820 ipower
3. We currently have 6 of them in the game
4. They're realllly rare! pic.twitter.com/pVVj5DTEaU — Adam Jackson (@AZJackson85) June 24, 2023
According to Jackson, these super rare unique items only drop from level 85 plus enemies, always drop at 820 power, and can be obtained anywhere you can get a regular unique. Jackson also confirmed super rare uniques are “realllly rare”, and it’s this last point that has set the cat among the pigeons within the Diablo community.
Blizzard has yet to confirm the exact drop rate for these super rare uniques, so Diablo 4 players are currently trying to work it out for themselves, which isn’t surprising given how coveted they are. As redditor Sloppy_Donkey points out, not only do you have to grind all the way up to be able to take down at least level 85 enemies (Blizzard itself has said the vast majority of Diablo 4 players are yet to finish the campaign), but based on the handful confirmed super rare unique drops nearly a month into the game’s life, it seems we’re talking hundreds of hours, perhaps even thousands of hours of playtime before one will drop.
Players have called this super rare unique drop rate “lottery level rarity”, and the items themselves “functionally nonexistent” because of it. And while previous Diablo games included super rare items with miniscule drop rates, they had trading systems that let players obtain these items from others. Diablo 4 has no such trading system, leaving players at the mercy of the game’s brutal drop rates.
“I'm not even sure what the point of putting in the effort to design these even was,” redditor Aetiusx wondered. “We're talking many many many times more rare than a Mageblood [Path of Exile] or Mirror [Path of Exile] in a game with no trading. Some of the items aren't even particularly good, so that adds a bit of confusion as well.” “Drop rates like this don't belong in a game without trading,” agreed redditor Yasuchika.
Some players say matters are made worse by the fact these super rare uniques can “roll low”, meaning even if you are lucky enough to get one, it may not carry the best stats. Redditor Ok_Excuse1908 suggested Blizzard adds set stats and bonuses to these super rare uniques to avoid disappointment: “What's wrong with giving the people who are putting in 200+ hours before Season 1 see at least one of these?
"I'm not saying let them drop from trash at WT3 [World Tier 3]. But how about nightmare T40+ WT4? These should be far more common and a reward for completing the hardest content in the game and being the most invested players base.”
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As the debate rages on, Jackson continued on Twitter to offer players advice for hunting rare uniques down. Whenever you get a unique there is a chance for that unique to instead be one of the rare uniques, Jackson said. Because of this, the best way to farm them is to play content that gives you “the most uniques per x period of time”. That will be a familiar tactic to endgame Diablo 4 players who will no doubt already be farming uniques in the most efficient way possible.
Some Diablo 4 players, however, are glad these super rare uniques exist in the game in the way they do, pointing to their rarity as fuelling community excitement when they’re found, and pointing to the fact Diablo 4 has been designed as a “forever game”, that is, one that’s played for years, perhaps even a decade, rather than months.
Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see if Blizzard increases the drop rate of these items as part of Diablo 4’s next significant patch, which is coming soon.
Diablo 4 launched big, becoming Blizzard’s fastest-selling game ever. It is also a hit with critics, and, generally, has gone down well with fans. However, the cost of Diablo 4’s microtransactions has raised eyebrows, and, surprisingly, Whoopi Goldberg called on Blizzard to release Diablo 4 on Mac.
Check out our interactive Diablo 4 map to start tracking your progress as you play.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Source: IGN
