A major change is being made to Sacred and Ancestral level requirements for gear inDiablo 4that could dramatically impact progression in Season 1. AsDiablo 4players are likely well aware, level requirements for gear in the ARPG are a little ill-conceived. They often feel arbitrary and only seem to be noteworthy when they prevent players from using them in a way that doesn’t make sense. Blizzard has taken note and is changing gear level requirements in a way that could changeDiablo 4for the better.
Currently,level requirements for gear inDiablo 4are completely detached from power. In other words, a piece of gear with a level requirement of 60 may be just as powerful or weaker than a piece of gear from level 100. That’s because level requirements only increase as players gain levels. Players at lower levels get lower level requirements on their gear than players at higher levels. This also prevents players from giving their alts gear or trading gear to lower-level friends. It isn’t clear if this is Blizzard’s intention.
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As confirmed byDiablo 4associate game director Joseph Piepiora in an interview with GameStar.de, Blizzard will make a sweeping change to level requirements on gear starting in Season 1 on July 20. The change will make it so all Sacred Gear will have a level requirement of 60, while all Ancestral Gear will have a level requirement of 80. Level requirements will no longer scale, at least forSacred and Ancestral gear inDiablo 4.
The ramifications of this change are significant. The most immediate impact will be thatDiablo 4players will need to reach higher levels to gain more power. For example,Diablo 4Ancestral gear currently drops as soon asplayers unlock Torment difficultyand has a minimum level cap of 60. While Ancestral gear will still start dropping in Torment difficulty, players will need to reach level 80 before they can equip it. That means players will be weaker for longer in Season 1, but that level 60 and 80 will be two additional big goals for increased power.
Individual character progression is just one way these changes will impactDiablo 4, though. With static level requirements,Diablo 4players will now be able to trade items more consistently. Currently, as players gain levels, the loot they earn has higher and higher level requirements, which makes it impossible to trade gear to alts or lower-level friends and clanmates. In Season 1, high-level players can trade to lower-level alts and friends with relative ease.
As is always the case with such significant changes,Diablo 4players won’t truly know whether it’s going to work out for better or worse until they can play it. On paper, however, it’s an intriguing change. Blizzard’s making the change in response to player feedback, so if players don’t ultimately like it, then they’ll at least have to share responsibility.Season 1 ofDiablo 4and its level requirement changes arrive on July 20.
Diablo 4is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
