Why Make Systemic Changes?
Developer’s Note: Our original vision for character progression was that you would have a grand journey, traversing through World Tiers, swapping out gear, gaining incremental strength through the Paragon system. We felt that was fun the first time, but on repeated play throughs, World Tier III and Sacred items felt artificial and added a lot of stat bloat that didn’t make the game more fun.
Since launch we’ve added endgame features, like Infernal Hordes and The Pit of the Artificer. Vessel of Hatred will expand the endgame line up even further, adding Dark Citadel and Undercity to the mix. Our hope is that these new systemic changes allow for new characters to reach the endgame faster.
Item Quality Rework
Developer’s Note: We felt Sacred and Ancestral Items lost their specialness and flair due to how common they became. These changes transform Ancestral items into mighty endgame items worth the chase.
Ancestral Items
- Ancestral items start dropping in Torment 1.
- Ancestral items always drop at Item Power 800, the highest possible.
- Greater Affixes only appear on Ancestral items.
- Ancestral items always contain at least 1 Greater Affix.
General
- Sacred Items will no longer drop. Any Sacred Items you have on your character will be marked as ‘Legacy.’ They can continue to be used but cannot be upgraded.
- Non-Ancestral items are capped at Item Power 750. Legendary items dropped when you’re Level 60 will always be Item Power 750.
- Item Power 750 items can now be Masterworked up to 4 times.
- Because Character Levels are being re-adjusted in the new Realm-wide Paragon system, items with Item Power over 540 are being adjusted to 540. Affixes on these adjusted items will be rerolled at the highest values in their respective ranges.
