Diablo IVlatest seasonal update substantially revised a bunch of things to make loot action-RPG more fun and rewarding. One change, however, created some particularly brutal moments for the most dedicated players.
A big part of Loot Reborn is tempering, equipment upgrade system at the blacksmith. You collect tempering recipes as you explore Sanctuary and complete dungeons, and you can then use them to add various bonuses to your best weapons and armor. Although players choose which recipe to temper their gear with, it is completely arbitrary which bonus from the set of possibilities in the recipe will actually be applied. What’s more, tempering can only be rewound five times and no more. If players never get the stat that combines with the rest of their build, the item in question is considered a “brick”.
“Bricked 5 weapons on temper and rage quit only to go back 10 minutes later and brick 5 more,” wrote user friendly-Gain-620 on Diablo 4 subreddit. “I hate this game, but I can’t stop playing it.”
Some players called nonsense, accusing the author of exaggerating their misfortune, but the sentiment perfectly encapsulates the pressure and attraction of many Diablo 4 players are feeling these days. The subreddit and Blizzard Forumare full of people sharing their unhappiest moments and debating whether Tempering needs to be overhauled or if the terrible RNG is just part of the thrill. “I’ve been dialing rings all week,” wrote another player. “If you’re not jamming, you’re not playing.”
While removing any old piece of gear is a pain, it’s especially tragic for rare loot with two or three larger affixes on it. These are the items with particularly strong stats that players spend hours farming for Helltides and the new Pit of the Artificer.
“I managed to get 2 3GA items with all the affixes I need,” wrote Stunning_Friction_6624. “I thought, ‘wow, I’m having a really good day today,’ but I didn’t even know that Blizzard had other plans for me.” I went to temper my items and was very nervous, but I thought “if I can at least get the first temper I need, I’ll take it as a W.” no I covered both items with characters that have 0 effect on my build.”
They are hardly alone. “I farmed for ~20 hours and did two 2GA and two 1GA upgrades, I need hugs man,” wrote _Duality_. “I just need sympathy. I have already saved them from rage. I need some sleep. A hard day. I’ll get back to it tomorrow but lmao.” Third player brick pile of objectsspent a ton of gold to enchant them and then accidentally saved them by mistake.
Naturally, there has been a lot of debate about whether this is an issue that needs fixing, or if the players should relax. One argument is that perfectly synergized rolls Must are incredibly rare and hard to find. No one has to deal with the tempering system if they don’t want to, and the fact that tempering is a gamble is part of what makes players obsessed with it. The counterargument is that gear with multiple larger affixes are once-a-season events and there must be some protection against bad luck or a way to reset the tempering process to be less risky.
As with many things in Diablo 4, the tension is between creating a gear chase for people who want to spend a hundred hours playing each new season, versus those who want to be able to casually dive in and experience the thrill of the entire loot arc in a much more condensed Time frame. This is a challenge that every live game faces, and the goalposts are always moving.
My personal favorite response to the great Diablo 4 bstirring debate are those calling for the phrase itself to be retired in favor of something more technically accurate. Like “Diablo dad” SorbetImportant2440 indicated on the subreddit, bricks were reserved for when a computer or smartphone stopped turning on and turned into expensive paper. “Brick” gear is still just as strong and useful as it was before, it’s just not as strong as could be For a lot Diablo players though, it might as well be rubbish at this point.
