Diablo 4’s 6 Uber Unique Items Return as Blizzard Warns It May Take Further Action to ‘Maintain Fairness’

Diablo 4’s six super rare unique items have returned via a new hotfix after Blizzard temporarily disabled them to address an issue with Helltide Chest drops. However, Blizzard is warning it may not be done.

In a note confirming that the issue had been addressed, Blizzard revealed that just 142 accounts were able to obtain Uber Unique drops between patch 1.0.4 and July 6. Still, that was enough to spur Diablo 4’s developers into action and disable the drops. Blizzard also warned of further action to “maintain fairness” in its popular dungeon-crawler.

Developer Note: With the above change, we have re-enabled Uber Unique drops in Diablo IV. In total we have discovered that only 142 accounts obtained an Uber Unique between the launch of 1.0.4 and when we disabled Uber Unique items from the game on the evening of July 6th. We do not plan on removing these items from the accounts. In the future, we may need to take action to maintain fairness within the game when a bug or exploit impacts the gameplay of others.

The July 6 release of update 1.0.4 added unique items to the Helltide Chest loot pool. Helltide Mystery Chests are special chests available from taking part in Helltide events. (For a more detailed look at the Mystery Chest locations check out our Interactive Map. You can filter Mystery Chest Locations at the bottom to clear some of the clutter.)

The change was welcomed by players on the hunt for Diablo 4’s rarest items, such as the six super rare uniques currently in the game. Fans had complained about the miniscule chance to obtain them, with some comparing the drop rate to winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning. So the chance to obtain one super rare unique, however small, from a Helltide Chest gave players a clear, singular farming objective.

However, Blizzard abruptly disabled the super rare uniques from dropping in-game entirely to address an unnamed issue with Helltide Chest drops.

“Players will not be able to obtain the six uber unique items until a hotfix which we expect to be implemented on Friday afternoon Pacific Time,” Blizzard said. “Other unique items will still be available from these chests.”

Following the announcement, fans speculated that Blizzard noticed the six super rare uniques were dropping too frequently for its liking, and moved quickly to pull them from the game. The Harlequin Crest, aka the Shako, appeared to see a dramatic drop rate improvement in particular.

“Yeah I couldn’t believe my eyes that I actually got one,” said redditor HistoricalDuty3834, who posted a picture of the Harlequin Crest on their character sheet. “I opened up a Helltide Chest with about 10 seconds left in it and was scrambling to take a pic for my friends I was playing with.”

Some Diablo 4 players reacted negatively to the move, accusing Blizzard of ruining their fun. “Fun police on patrol today,” said redditor loadsmoke. “… so they genuinely only want like five of those to exist across the entire world?” asked fkitbaylife.

Please take this response as a sign that people actually want to have a chance to obtain these cool uniques. Even if it’s a 1% chance it’s still better than 0.0000001% chance.

— James (@jbsluggy) July 7, 2023

People actually get the item to drop. NOPE NO MORE TOO MUCH OUT THERE. Were only allowed to have a handful worldwide. 😤 😂

— BigHeroSixy (@BigHeroSixy) July 7, 2023

With Blizzard’s update, Diablo 4’s super rare uniques are once again available, albeit with an adjusted drop rate. However, this may not be the last time this happens, as Blizzard has shown itself to be willing to move aggressively against what it perceives to be major balance issues.

Diablo 4 launched big, becoming Blizzard’s fastest-selling game ever. It is also a hit with critics, and, generally, has gone down well with fans. However, the cost of Diablo 4’s microtransactions has raised eyebrows, and, surprisingly, Whoopi Goldberg called on Blizzard to release Diablo 4 on Mac. Last night, Blizzard announced Diablo 4 Season 1, dubbed Season of the Malignant, starts July 20.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect the return of Diablo 4’s Uber Unique items following its July 7 hotfix.

Additional reporting by Kate Bailey

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].