Diablo 4 Season 9 Misses the Best Possible Opportunity to Bring Back a Fan-Favorite Feature

Diablo 4‘s Sins of the Horadrim season puts the franchise’s ancient demon-slaying brotherhood back in the spotlight after their heretical branding by the Church of Light. Following up on the events of Diablo 4‘s second act, which sees Donan sealing Astaroth away in revenge for his slain son, players must reconcile with this decision and fight Astaroth once again. While this seasonal quest gives some resolution to a hanging plot thread from the main campaign, it misses out on fully embracing the mysteries of the Horadrim that past games have delved into.

Although the Horadrim have been a key part of the Diablo franchise’s lore since the beginning and have appeared in each entry since, the popularity of the order didn’t really develop until Diablo 2 used Deckard Cain to introduce players to the Horadric Cube. Despite new figures within the Horadrim cropping up in each title to supplant Cain, such as Lorath in Diablo 4, no mechanic has ever really been able to replace the Horadric Cube in mystique and utility. With Diablo 4 Season 9 pulling back the curtain on the Horadrim once more, it seemed like the conditions were ideal for the return of the Horadric Cube and its transmutative properties.

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Diablo 4 Season 9 Would Have Been the Perfect Time to Reintroduce the Horadric Cube

The Horadric Cube Was a Fan-Favorite Diablo 2 Item

As one of the primary esoteric inventions of the Horadrim, the Horadric Cube played an important role in both the story and gameplay of Diablo 2, as well as the overarching lore of the Horadrim’s hunt for Diablo‘s Prime Evils. The artifact was created by Zoltun Kulle and served as a way to transmute items into entirely new ones. While the original Cube was deemed too dangerous for mortal use, the Horadric Cube that Diablo 2 players are familiar with is a weakened version of Kulle’s original design.

From a gameplay standpoint, the Horadric Cube serves as a portable hub for crafting in Diablo 2, after players obtain it from the Halls of the Dead in Act 2. There exist tons of crafting recipes for the Horadric Cube that allow players to input various combinations of items to create anything from new gear to more powerful Runes, and even access Diablo 2‘s infamous Secret Cow Level. Although most of these functions have made their way to Diablo 4 in one form or another, they lack the cohesion that the one-stop shop of the Horadric Cube offered, as well as the fun of testing potential crafting recipes.

How the Horadric Cube Could Have Fit into Diablo 4 Season 9

Diablo 4 Season 9 doesn’t bring back the Horadric Cube, but the Horadric Spells it does add could have gone hand-in-hand with this classic item. Rather than simply placing the seasonal mechanic in a separate inventory tab, the Horadric Cube could have been added as the location where players can craft Horadric Spells. This system of combining Catalysts, Infusions, and Arcana would be in line with the transmutative properties of the Horadric Cube while adding some fun flavor for fans of Diablo 2.

While the additions to Diablo 4 that Season 9 brought, like Horadric Strongrooms and Escalating Nightmares, are still more than welcome updates to existing features, it feels like a season dedicated to the Horadrim deserved to see arguably the franchise’s most famous item return. However, it’s still possible Blizzard has plans to reintroduce the Horadric Cube in the future. With Diablo 4 missing the opportunity to include it in the Sins of the Horadrim season, the next best time for the Horadric Cube to return would likely be in the next expansion, slated for 2026.

Diablo 4

9/10

Released

June 6, 2023

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

Engine

Proprietary Engine