Hours of grinding for Diablo 4’s rarest and most powerful items, Uber Uniques, won’t guarantee you’ll get the one you actually want. I’m in this situation right now. I’ve killed the boss who drops them almost 100 times and he refuses to give me the one I need. But next week, my bad luck with Uber Uniques will at least amount to something: Blizzard is going to let you break them down to create one of your choice.
Patch 1.3.2, which will go live on February 13, will let you break down your Uber Uniques and use a new material to craft the one you want. You’ll first have to say goodbye to your precious items and salvage them at the blacksmith for one Resplendent Spark each. Then you can take five Resplendent Sparks to an alchemist and choose which of the seven available Uber Uniques you want them to make.
Now, acquiring five Uber Uniques in the first place is a feat all on its own, so don’t think this will make the grind any easier. Endgame players will still need to spend hours farming materials to summon and kill Echo of Duriel over and over again to get them (at about a 2% chance to drop). But if you’re like me, and have two of those necklaces that grant you near-immortality, you can put the duplicate one toward your Uber Unique fund.
Blizzard says it’s also increasing the drop chance for Uber Uniques outside of Uber Duriel, but didn’t say by how much. Right now, it’s effectively impossible to see one randomly drop in a dungeon or the open world. The drop rate seems to be untouched from when the game launched, when only a few people in the world were able to find one. We’ll see when the patch comes out, but I doubt it’ll be enough of a bump to negate the boss grind.
There are some specifics here I’m curious about, like whether a class that can’t equip The Grandfather two-handed sword will still be able to craft it. If so, this would be a way for players to pick one they want to transfer over to the Eternal Realm when a season ends. I’m also curious how the level requirements will work because having an Uber Unique that only requires a level 60 character (instead of 80) is extremely valuable to have while you’re still leveling up.
The new system won’t solve the malaise players have over farming the same bosses, however. Gathering the boss-summoning materials takes time and to maximize your chances, you need to join a group. “Personally, I find this to be like a Band-Aid solution,” Diablo 4 streamer and Maxroll writer Wudijo said. “And I sincerely hope that in the long term we’re going to get better ways of acquiring Ubers.”
He’s right, and I hope season 4’s overhaul to item stats will include new ways to get your hands on Diablo 4’s most sought after items, but this is a solid start.