Diablo 4's recent update 1.0.4 appears to have massively increased the drop rate for the Harlequin Crest helmet from Helltide Chests, to the point where Blizzard had to jump back in to disable the drop entirely. Being a live-service hack 'n' slash, the new Diablo game emphasizes its living economy and rare loot drops, and getting hugely important loot easily could mean big problems in the long run.
With Season 1 of Diablo 4 ready to begin on July 20, the game is about to leave its rose-colored launch-window goggles behind and officially move into its live-service component, which could be what makes or breaks the game for many players. For one of its rarest items to drop willy-nilly is a pretty big deal, especially when it's an item as coveted as the infamous Shako helmet.
It didn't take long after Diablo 4's update 1.0.4 dropped for players to realize that they could quickly and easily farm the Shako by hunting down Helltide Chests. These specific loot sources received a few changes with the update, inadvertently massively increasing the drop rate of the Harlequin Crest helm. Predictably, those who knew about this unintended behavior jumped at the opportunity to finally get the Shako, which was otherwise quite a rare drop, being that it is of the rarest quality available in the game, an Ultra-Rare Unique item. Blizzard was also quick to react and disabled Uber Unique items from dropping in-game for the time being.
Getting the Shako in Diablo 4 is now tricky once again, but Blizzard only disabled the egregious farming method after many players had already received their Harlequin Crest drops. It's unclear whether the players will be allowed to keep these items or if the developer may wish to purge them off the server instead. As the Harlequin Crest is a fairly powerful item, Blizzard may also choose to nerf it for the remainder of the pre-season progression so that it doesn't massively affect the game's economy.
Of course, it is worth highlighting that Diablo 4's economy is quite punishing by default, with Blizzard seemingly taking particular care not to allow players to become too rich too quickly. One of the problems with live-service titles is that small mistakes can have massive consequences down the line, especially in regard to how player resources are managed, and Blizzard is clearly playing it safe for the time being.
Diablo 4 is still missing key features ahead of the release of Season of the Malignant, and it's currently unclear whether Blizzard even has some of them on the production docket. Whatever the case may be, July 20 isn't far out, and if the latest Shako farming event is anything to go by, some players are sure to expect a new Diablo 4 loot cave to pop up alongside the seasonal update.
Diablo 4 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
