Diablo 4 will be departing from the series in a major way with the removal of the gear set system which was featured prominently in Diablo 2, Diablo 3, and Diablo Immortal. Although gear sets have been a key element of character-building for the past two decades, this divergence from the formula doesn't seem to limit build possibilities.
In a group interview, Game ZXC asked Diablo 4 Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson about how important specific gear will be in accessing certain playstyles or builds. Jackson talked about how players will have more agency in devising their builds since they are mostly achieved through player decision-making within the game's systems, rather than through specific item sets. However, that doesn't mean that loot is unimportant. This is, after all, a Diablo game.
Gear Will Enhance Diablo 4 Builds, But Typically Won't Make or Break Them
Certain builds in Diablo 3, such as the Demon Hunter's Marauder Sentry build, require players to gather at least four and ideally six pieces of a set that only drops in Torment difficulty. Prior to collecting that gear, that build's playstyle isn't even close to as feasible. This means that players have to spend a lot of time hoping for a chance to "unlock" that playstyle, rather than spending time enjoying it and making it more powerful. In Diablo 4, players won't need to rely so much on luck to appreciate a particular playstyle.
There aren't "sets" in Diablo 4. We don't have the idea that you get a bunch of pieces of gear and unlock a set bonus, and you need all the pieces to do that. Generally, every legendary and unique power gives some effect that's standalone and really good. They can be synergistic with each other, but we don't have that "gear set" concept.
Certain builds are more or less dependent on getting certain stats than other builds. This is done on purpose to give builds different textures and different progression systems and how you're going to interact with them. As an example, if I have a build focused on critically striking enemies, I'm obviously going to want crit chance on every piece of gear because I want to get that effect more often and get the benefits of whatever that build is giving me. Whereas other builds like the Barbarian, with Berserk, he has to get into this "berserk" state, which is a buff on the character and there are various ways and skills to do that, but there's not really an item that gives you berserking. It's done through skills, Legendary Powers, and effects.
This doesn't eliminate the luck factor entirely, however, though the chase for a coveted drop that can take a build to new heights is arguably the most satisfying moment of a given Diablo session. Players will still need to run through Diablo 4's over 120 dungeons to collect various Legendary Items and Powers, but a run that doesn't result in finding the targeted loot can still unlock other possibilities that previously might have called for the player to scrounge up six whole pieces of a specific set.
Diablo 4's Systems Enable Build Experimentation
Players also have multiple avenues to approach a desired playstyle thanks to Diablo 4's various progression systems. A player seeking a damage-over-time build, for example, could probably find a way to achieve it either through Paragon choices, skills, Legendary Powers, or a combination of those. This is in contrast to previous Diablo games, where certain playstyles could only be achieved with one highly specific set of gear.
As far as how your build comes online, that depends build to build and fantasy to fantasy. For pretty much every build in the game, there are going to be certain legendary powers and unique effects you are going to chase that are obviously going to make your build way cooler and more powerful over time. But how much of that lies in very specific legendary powers and how much lies in different item affixes or item stats you're chasing? That's going to vary from build to build. There are also going to be ways to get it through Paragon, your class mechanic, and all those other systems.
The whole point of all these is that you have a lot of different ways to chase that fantasy down, and we give you the end point of what you're wanting to chase, but how you get there is up to you.
A meta will inevitably be established where certain to-be-discovered builds call for particular synergies between Diablo 4's Legendary Powers, skills, and Paragon choices, but the new system seems to be more approachable and opens up more possibilities for experimentation. Players can even search for a term like "burning" in the Paragon screen to highlight nodes that affect the "burning" status, so discovering synergies should be an even smoother process this time around.
Diablo 4 launches June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
