Good loot is increasingly difficult to come by inDiablo 4’s endgame, and some players believe that Blizzard has overturned it so items worth keeping aren’t dropping enough.Diablo 4is perhaps the first game in the franchise to have been designed with endgame in mind. However,Diablo 4is also based on seasonal play, where players make new characters every three months. As such, endgame may not necessarily be optimized for long-term play. That’s a barrier someDiablo 4players may already be encountering.
TheDiablo 4campaign is designed so players will be around level 50 when they finish. Past this point, players will primarily be focusing on itemizing for their build and continuing to level. There are more concrete goals, too, like unlocking both World Tier 3 andWorld Tier 4 by completing Capstone Dungeonsand earning Renown in the open world. Looting and leveling lie at the heart of progression, though, undeniably.
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What players are finding when they reachDiablo 4’s highest levels of endgame, however, is frustrating tedium with little reward. Reddit user Subspace13 posted a popular thread titled “At level 99, still using items from 70-75. No upgrades for 20+ level.” The body of the post mentions that while they agree grinding gear should be difficult, finding no upgrades for so many levels is “absurd.” They also mention that they’re grinding level 50 and higher Nightmare Dungeons for loot.
Other endgame-mindedDiablo 4players agree with this sentiment in the Reddit post’s comments. One player describes level 70 and World Tier 4 as the “Soft Cap” for endgame, with only marginal differences in loot beyond. Other players say they stop playing characters around level 75 and try out other classes. Another theory is that there’s an unreleasedWorld Tier 5 for levels 90-100 that Blizzard is holding backfor release later.
Just because gear can be difficult to grind past level 70 or 80 doesn’t mean that there aren’t other opportunities for progression. Leveling up for Paragon Points andcompleting Nightmare Dungeons to power up Glyphsare both necessary paths for scaling up a character’s strength. Those are both relatively grindy systems themselves, though.
It should be recognized that even dedicatedDiablo 4players may struggle with ever reaching Level 100, let alone defeating the “final” boss of the ARPG’s endgame. Those close to 100 right now, and even those who have climbed into World Tier 4, are a minority of players. Blizzard has to balance providing a juicy endgame for this minority of players with creating content that a majority of players will be able to enjoy. It may take some time, and several seasons, for Blizzard to find a comfortable balance.
Diablo 4is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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