Unless something changes, it becomes better than a legendary, which differentiates them 
Sigh, come on Blizzard.
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Judging from the 2021 December Quarterly update, the rare item becomes a Legendary item, with it’s name even changing to match the legendary essence that was applied to it.
Yes, since it was established in the December 2020 Quarterly Update blog that rare items can roll up to 5 affixes, while legendary items can only have 4 affixes + 1 legendary affix.
So either one of the following applies:
- Rare items no longer roll with 5 affixes and thus become useless outside of upgrading them into legendaries.
- Rare items: 4 affixes
- Legendary items: 5 affixes (4 normal affixes + 1 legendary affix)
- Legendary items that were upgraded from a rare item retains the 5 affixes that the rare item had and thus becomes better than rare items and legendary items acquired via drop.
- Rare items: 5 affixes
- Legendary Items acquired via drop: 5 affixes (4 normal affixes + 1 legendary affix)
- Legendary items upgraded from rare items: 6 affixes (5 normal affixes + 1 legendary affix)
- Upgrading a rare item with 5 affixes requires players to sacrifice one of the existing affixes as a cost to gain the legendary affix.
- Rare items: 5 affixes
- Legendary items (both dropped and upgraded): 5 affixes (4 normal affixes + 1 legendary affix)
Personally I would prefer the last option.
Isnt it 2 affixes difference? Since Blizzard said that a legendary affix was meant to be equal to 2-3 normal affixes.
If not, it definitely should be. Otherwise rares wont be able to compete anyway.
That fully depends on what they do in the upgrades. If it’s the 2nd option where upgrading a rare actually makes a better item then dropped Legendaries, then Rares will actually become the most valuable and Legendaries will just be used to strip powers to put onto rares.
No it was only a one affix difference:
Magic items can now have the most powerful regular affixes, while Rare items get up to five, and Legendary items have four regular affixes and one legendary affix.
That’s pretty much a reason why I hope runewords are not only still in the game, but also more useful for magic and rare items. But that’s simply my own hope.
If upgraded with a legendary affix it is no longer a rare.
The rare itself wont be able to compete.
Magic items can now have the most powerful regular affixes, while Rare items get up to five, and Legendary items have four regular affixes and one legendary affix.
Blizzard 
I understand that it becomes Legendary… However when you are out hunting loot, you are gonna be keeping the best Rare items to upgrade them and not really care what stats any dropped Legendary has as it will just be getting stripped to a power for your best rolled rare items.
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Exactly
So in a way you don’t care for any item type
You just use them for something they have
Yep, with the result that neither Rares or Legendaries will be useful as items.
I cant even begin to describe what I think about that, without risking a ban
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Exactly. It becomes not a game of getting that elusive amazing item to drop, it’s a shopping list of mats that you will combine to create an item out of the best random drops you have collected.
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I like the current idea with trigger and effect runes however,
I would really like if we had some “Runewords” to put into a white item with X amount of sockets creating an item with either Set stats that roll diff values or maybe even completely random stats unlike D2.
It could be have a legendary power built around the trigger and effect runes placed inside, idk just an idea.
I dont want white items to be salvaged and meaningless.
Hihihihohohue