In typical RPG fashion,Diablo 4features numerous NPCs for players to interact with. Each city is filled with NPCs, the open world is dotted with even more, and players will encounter a plethora of them throughout their journey. While many of them are quest-givers, players will constantly have to utilize the various shopkeepers littering the world. These vendors are a core part ofDiablo 4’sprogression, but one of them seems to be missing something important.
Players will spend a lot of timevisitingDiablo 4’s blacksmithsduring their adventure. These blacksmiths are responsible for salvaging gear, upgrading equipment, and repairing whatever the player breaks. However, the game’s map markers also claim that the blacksmith is responsible for crafting new armor and weapon pieces. This is not currently a feature in the game, but maybe it will be someday, or maybe it is simply leftover text from a cut feature.
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Diablo 4’s Blacksmiths Seem to Have Forgotten Something
Diablo 4’s world mapis a very useful tool that helps players navigate the often confusing winding pathways of Sanctuary. It points players in the direction they need to go and provides them with map markers for every useful NPC or location. When players hover over these map markers, it usually gives them a brief description of what they can find there and the services that NPC has to offer. However, the blacksmith’s map marker is a bit misleading.
Diablo 4’s map clearly states thatblacksmiths can craft armor and weaponsfor the player. This sounds like an exciting feature, but players will quickly discover that blacksmiths cannot actually do that. The closest thing they can do is upgrade armor and weapons, but that is a far cry from being able to craft entirely new objects. Unless Blizzard is calling the upgrade feature crafting, it may want to update the text a bit.
Players were able to craft various items in otherDiablotitles using materials and blueprints, but that is not currently a feature inDiablo 4. Even in the endgame, there does not seem to be a way to create any unique pieces of gear, but the blacksmith would have players believe otherwise. There is a small chance that this text is alluding to a future feature that Blizzard intends to add in one of the seasons, but it is potentially leftover text from early in development when crafting was a thing.
In a recent group interview withDiablo 4Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson, Game Rant asked aboutDiablo 4’s crafting mechanics. Jackson said that the team chose to build a system around upgrading gear rather than crafting entirely new pieces. This allows players to fine-tune their perfect item instead of dealing with randomized stats and lets them utilize the gear they like for a really long time. Jackson went on to say that crafting gear actually went against the core ofDiablobecause players would not be getting gear from monsters and that the upgradable gear goes a long way in mitigating the RNG factor.
While things could change, it sounds like Blizzard does not have any plans to add any sort of armor orweapon crafting toDiablo 4. That just makes the blacksmith’s map marker description even stranger because it mentions a feature that the studio may have actively tried to move away from. It seems like this text may have just snuck past the developers, or maybe plans have drastically changed since development and crafting is back on the menu. Blizzard will hopefully make it clear soon because right now it can be a tad bit confusing for players.
Diablo 4is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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