Diablo 4 Season 5 changes all Uniques, but is it for the better?

Diablo 4 Season 5 introduced a wide assortment of Unique changes that many players have been talking about. While not everyone is thrilled to see buffs and changes, others look at it as a greater reason to hunt down these items as the next season, Season of the Infernal Hordes, kicks off. However, I’m very excited, but not without a reservation or two. The last thing I want is to see more Uniques as required, must-have items for more builds.

That said, I’m still quite excited about the Unique updates in Diablo 4 Season 5’s patch 1.5.0. I think it’s a good idea to shake these kinds of items up every once in a while, to make them either better or perhaps less required for certain builds.

Note: Parts of the article are based on the author's opinion.

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Updating the Uniques was a great idea for Diablo 4 Season 5

Fists of Fate are less chaotic, but still quite strong (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

A mountain of Uniques and Mythic Uniques were updated in Diablo 4 Season 5. However, we won't go over every single Unique that’s changed as nearly 100 Uniques have been changed! If you want to see everything that's changed, find them in the official patch notes. Some of these items will be potentially less desirable due to the loss of certain minor stats, but I don’t think that will be a major case.

Virtually every Unique worth using has been adjusted to some degree or another. Let’s look at one of the Uniques we’ve talked about recently: Fists of Fate. It’s useful in quite a few builds, such as that for Andariels Rogue. One of the drawbacks to this item is it had several Lucky Hit triggers. A Lucky Hit chance to gain increased damage, restore Primary Resource, chance to Immobilize, and chance to Daze. That’s a lot of Lucky Hit effects.

Uniques like Word of Hakan were already great, but are now so much better for Rogues. It has greater CDR for Rain of Arrows and more Ultimate Damage; it now also has +Movement Speed and a chance for more Imbuement Skills. Moreover, it still makes your Rain of Arrows trigger all Imbuements, but it also now receives your Arrow Storm benefits.

The Word of Hakan is arguably in a much better position right now (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Instead, it gives a flat +% to Lucky Hit Chance, alongside more Critical Strike Chance, and Attack Speed. It does have a Lucky Hit effect thanks to the Diablo 4 Season 5 Unique changes, but it’s a solid one. It now has a chance to apply a Random Crowd Control Effect for 2s. That’s a good change if you ask me. It did also lose some of its +extra damage effect that occurred randomly, but not a major nerf.

That doesn’t even account for the Mythic Uniques like Harlequin Crest! Virtually every Mythic Unique was adjusted as well. Some of these items had some minor nerfs, too. For example, Ring of Starless Skies lost its +Core Damage. However, it received something much better potentially: +Ranks to Core Skills.

Then, you have The Grandfather, which is arguably one of the best Mythic Uniques in Diablo 4 Season 5. In addition to the color change, it adds +150% Damage and Ignores Damage Loss as guaranteed stats. You also gain +150 stats (instead of 72), +Maximum Resource, and even more +Damage. Another great feature is now it has Sockets! An amazing weapon is even more must-have.

Make the Grandfather more powerful, you say? No problem! (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

I do, however, have one big fear as I look at all these amazing changes. Even though Diablo 4 made it easier to farm Uniques/Mythic Uniques back in Season 4, I still fear that more Mythics will be required to make builds “viable”. I don’t think it’s going to become too widespread, but it’s something worth considering. That’s really one of the most frustrating things about builds in Diablo 4.

Some builds simply do not function without specific items to make them function. While I think these Uniques will definitely enhance a wide assortment of builds, hopefully, it doesn’t make them must-have too frequently. Uniques and Mythic Uniques are supposed to be awesome items—and these are—that increase your power exponentially.

I’m delighted to see so many of them get adjusted and buffed, don’t get me wrong. But if it leads to more items being the only reason a build is viable, then that’s not the way to go. We’ll just have to see how things shake out, not just in Season 5, but beyond. Overall, I’m elated to see these gear buffs.

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As the game evolves, the items within it should as well. We could reach a point where these Uniques are useless, due to the existence of power creep. If Blizzard periodically updates the strongest items in this manner, it should hopefully keep them from becoming pointless.