The launch of Diablo 4 is exciting for a number of reasons as the game takes the series to places it has never been before. As players are checking out all the new features in this entry and working on building their Diablo 4 characters with the best skills and equipment they can find, there is sure to be a lot of content to uncover. However, while many fans are jumping into the game wanting to explore everything Sanctuary has to offer, there are two major things players need to do early in the game in order to boost their chances of survival against the onslaught of demons.
While these elements of the game might otherwise be overlooked, the betas for Diablo 4 demonstrated just how useful finding Altars of Lilith and obtaining Legendary Aspects can be for optimizing builds and the overall gameplay experience. The buffs and bonuses these mechanics provide can be invaluable to players in surviving into Diablo 4's late game but are best obtained as soon as possible in order to maximize their benefits. As such, players should prioritize seeking out Altars of Lilith and clearing dungeons for their Legendary Aspects at launch.
Find Altars of Lilith Dotted Around Sanctuary
A new mechanic introduced in this entry is Diablo 4's Altars of Lilith, statues devoted to the Mother of Demons that can be found scattered throughout the game's map. Finding and activating one of these altars gives the player a permanent increase to stats like Murmuring Obol Capacity, Dexterity, Intelligence, Willpower, or Strength. Starting off strong and building up a character's stats through bonuses like this can help make leveling in the early hours of the game much more manageable and could make a huge difference when entering the endgame.
With 160 total Altars of Lilith to find within Diablo 4, activating each one can grant a significant stat boost that players will definitely want to take advantage of. Not only does each Altar of Lilith grant a permanent stat increase to the player's current character, but that increase applies to all characters created on their account. Additionally, activating an Altar of Lilith grants the player some Renown which can help increase their reputation in each of Sanctuary's regions and yield additional rewards like gold, skill points, and even Paragon points in Diablo 4's endgame.
Clear Dungeons to Gain Legendary Aspects
Another way to greatly increase the chances of survival in Diablo 4 is to optimize a character's gear using Legendary Aspects. Typically, legendary items come with their own Aspects already affixed to the equipment, but Diablo 4 allows players to craft their own legendary gear by imprinting Legendary Aspects on rare-quality items to customize their build to meet their specific needs. In order to do so, players will need to acquire Legendary Aspects by either clearing a dungeon containing one and adding it to their Codex of Power or by extracting an Aspect from an existing legendary item they own.
Once a Diablo 4 player has their desired Legendary Aspect and has reached level 25, they can take them to the Occultist who can imprint the desired piece of gear with the Legendary Aspect. While players won't be able to utilize this service right away, it's in their best interest to fill up their Codex of Power with as many Aspects as they can by clearing specific dungeons in the early game so that they can get to work optimizing their equipment once they hit level 25. This service also comes with a high price tag, so it's best to start saving gold early on and have a plan for mapping which Aspect should be imprinted onto which piece of gear to maximize cost efficiency.
Diablo 4 is available now in early access with its full launch coming June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
