Why Diablo 4’s Latest Event Won’t Move the Needle Much

With Diablo 4 Season 9 in the latter half of its life cycle, Season 10 is starting to come into focus thanks to the recent PTR update. Players checking out the PTR from now until August 26 can try some of Season 10’s new mechanics like Chaos Perks and Chaos Armor. Additionally, Diablo 4 has announced the start of a new event for Season 9 players to enjoy starting the same day that the PTR period for Season 10 ends, but it may not be the win that other Season 9 events have been.

The Seasonal Splendor event for Diablo 4 starts on August 26 and features an increased drop rate for Horadric Phials, the primary resource for Season 9’s content. Already, Diablo 4 Season 9 has featured Gift of the Tree, March of the Goblins, and Mother’s Blessing events to help players along their seasonal journey. However, the timing of this Seasonal Splendor event seems to be too little, too late, especially with just over a month until the start of Diablo 4 Season 10.

Diablo 4’s Seasonal Splendor Event Focuses on Season 9’s Most Unnecessary Resource

Increased Drop Rates for Horadric Phials Will Have Little Impact at This Point in the Season

In Diablo 4 Season 9, Horadric Phials serve a few different purposes. They are the primary resource players will need for completing their seasonal journey, and can be used for things like:

• Upgrading Horadric Spells
• Crafting Horadric Jewels
• Earning Seasonal Reputation

The most common use for Horadric Phials is to enhance Horadric Spells via each Catalyst, Infusion, and Arcana’s individual upgrade path. Once players start obtaining Horadric Tomes, these Phials are necessary for crafting Horadric Jewels to be socketed into pieces of gear. Players can also trade Horadric Phials in for Horadric Knowledge, which increases their seasonal reputation and allows them to unlock rewards on the reputation board.

However, after nearly two months of Diablo 4 Season 9, most players have likely already completed all the tiers of the reputation board and have more than enough Horadric Phials to fully max out their Horadric Spell upgrades and craft any remaining Horadric Jewels. To make matters worse, Horadric Phials can’t be shared between seasonal characters via the player’s Stash, so earning more won’t help players looking to level their seasonal alts. While there may still be some players who will find this event useful for completing everything Diablo 4 Season 9 has to offer before the start of Season 10, its utility is a far cry from the other events this season.

Diablo 4 Has More Important Resources That Could Use a Dedicated Event

Horadric Phials are already fairly abundant in Diablo 4, and players can find them regularly by defeating Elite enemies in places like Helltides and Escalating Nightmares. Rather than a Seasonal Splendor event that focuses on a common resource with limited utility, increasing the drop rate for resources that players will constantly burn through in the endgame would make a lot more sense at this point in the season. This way, more players could benefit from the event instead of just the few who still need to complete their season journey.

Obducite is a great candidate for an increased drop rate event, as it could make the best Obducite farms in Diablo 4 even better. With how much Obducite players will need to fully Masterwork their gear, having an event dedicated to the resource would be far more useful in the long run. Another potential event could focus on increased drop rates for Murmuring Obols, since they can be quite helpful for trying to find Unique gear from Diablo 4‘s Purveyor of Curiosities. Both of these permanent resources are more broadly useful to Diablo 4 players, and events tied to them could be repeated seasonally.

Diablo 4

9/10

Released

June 6, 2023

ESRB

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

Engine

Proprietary Engine