I have been thinking about the various threads and videos, and here are my thoughts on itemization.
Right now D4 itemization is in a very early state and is likely to go through lots of changes,so I urge the community to pitch their ideas to the Devs.
What I LOVE
Legenadaries change how skills work and create new playstyles.
As a Witch Doctor in Diablo 3, watching how Jade transformed WD’s skills into a completely brand new style of play was like watching a work of art.
Jade build for WD completely change show Haunt, Locust Swarm and Soul Harvest interacted with each other and the type of play they opened up for the hero… it was f***ing brilliant!
This is some excellent Dev work right here. The Jade build highlights where Legendaries can really shine -
At opening up completely brand new playstyles.
What I HATE
Legenadaries force the Player to play that playstyle only.
Jade was the top build (when RoS came out)and that meant that I could no longer run the Vanilla Zombie Bears build.
This type of itemization is really bad for the game.
Even though Jade was awesome and I thought this set was genius, I don’t want to be stuck in that playstyle due to being stuck with Legendaries and Sets in the endgame.
I want to be able to play vanilla skill-based builds that the game originally has.
This is where Rares come in.
Devs, use Rares as a way to numerically buff your vanilla Skills and the playstyles that come from building your character through Skill Trees
Those +1 to Volcano, +1 to All skills, type of items in Diablo 2 are awesome for this.
Rares Empower the Player’s choices
If the Player has investing points into the Zombie Tree, then their selection and investment into Skills is further rewarded by Rare items.
Another example -
Vanilla Skill - Fireball
Fireball shoots 1 Fireball. (A skill shot)
If the Players enjoys casting a Single Strong Fireball. Then Rares buff that Single Strong Fireball and allows it to do better.
Rares buff it numerically only without changing the core skill so it can compete with this -
Legendary Item - Multi-ball - Fireball now shots 3 fireballs. Super easy to hit.
This Legendary gives the player an Option. It SHOULD give an option, rather than forcing the player to use it over the original skill.
If this was D3, this would be BiS item. It opens a new skill but removes a style of play in the process. This is a terrible way to design Legendaries.
Rares and Legendaries are BOTH necessary. They should both be on equal grounds so that the Player can make their own choice as to how they want to play the game.
Rares for those who want to use a single Fireball. Legendaries for those who want multi-ball.
The dumb thing to do would be to design Legndaries around every nook and cranny of the skill system.
Instead, let +1 modifiers on Rares like in D2, do that for you, and offer “vanilla skill power” - buffing what the Player invested into, in their Skill Tree, to a higher level.
Let game-changing affixes from D3, enable awesome, wildly new or specifically spicy styles of play.
Here’s my character.
Here are my levelled up skills.
Here are my Rare items.
I am the Werewolf druid as ordained by my skillpoint investments but wearing these dope a** Rare items.
I am not wearing any Legendaries with skill changes or any silly procs.
With Rares, I am now stronger at exactly the same thing I already did while levelling, no changes, no extra proc Lightning Trap, effing bulls**t Hydra nonsense that we saw in the Demo.
I am just vanilla Werewolf, a Pure Werewolf, that’s it.
Let me be that guy!
He’s a cool guy!
He is sooo f***ing necessary to a Diablo game.
Because that spicy “Assassin Werewolf of the Lightning Traps Legion, HAIL HYDRA!” build, the “look at me I am doing crazy stuff spawning hydras and lightning everywhere” Werewolf Build 
… that sh*t is fun but should not be the only Werewolf build.
Rares and Legendaries are Both Important
Heck in Diablo 2 even your Whites and Blues are important not just for teaching the player on how to play your game but for giving Players more options on how they want to play the game and what kind of Sacrifices they want to make.
In Diablo 4, affixes and the modifiers on items should be copy pasted from Diablo 2 and then they should be built upon and improved where lacking.
Alongside + to skills, cast speed, attack rating, reduced chance to be interrupted, even ethereal, durability, etc all these crazy little Diablo 2 affixes should return to Diablo 4.
When you take these affixes, when you remove main stat from Items and instead move it to Level-up process and Stat Sheet, then it opens up a lot of depth in itemization.
It also improves the levelling process, as items can often go into late game.
Sacrifice should be a theme in every area of Diablo.
Stat Sheet - I am going to Sacrifice Vitality points this Level, so that I can equip this Armour which needs 5 more Strength from me.
Skill Tree - I am going to Sacrifice Elemental and Summoning Skills of the Druid to level up my Werebear.
Item Game - I am going to Sacrifice the extra affixes on Rares, to specialize more into this one skill that (Blue) Magic item offers my character.
I am going to sacrifice game-changing builds like “Assassin Werewolf of the Lightning Traps Legion, HAIL HYDRA!”, and even works of art like Jade Build, I am going to sacrifice those playstyles and be a Vanilla Werewolf or a Vanilla Zombie Bear WD.
Hey maybe I am a Player who sacrifices the Vanilla flavour to experience the Spicy, the Strawberry, the Chocolate and the Sundae, etc.
It’s up to me the Player. The game gives me to tools to empower myself to play the way I want to play, to play the fantasy I want to play.
Sacrifice is the key to promoting Player Empowerment
Players must make Sacrifices in order to level up, in order to gear up, in order to experience everything the game has to offer.
D2’s Skill Trees with points is a Sacrifice that players must make to experience Character Building.
This type of itemization described above is a Sacrifice players must make to experience True Build Diversity.
Sacrifice is what a Diablo game is all about. Not just cultists sacrificing in the game but the Player himself sacrificing some things for others and living with the sacrifice.
If sacrifice can be undone with swapping skills and builds around with the press of a button in an armoury… then it is not Sacrifice.
If everyone needs Multiball legendary to make a Fireball Sorceress Build, then that removes Sacrifice from the equation and does not empower the Player to make their own style of Fireball build.
So on that note this thread could easily be called -
What I HATE about Diablo IV Itemization - A Case for Human Sacrifice
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Empowering the Player’s Choice should be the Goal for the Devs, and it can only be achieved through Sacrifice.
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On one hand the Player wants his items to support his skills, whatever they are. And the best way to do that is numerical buffs.
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On the other hand the Player wants his items to have cool game-changing affixes like the Jade set that change up how he plays the game.
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The best way is to allow for both by allowing Rares (numerical buffs) and Legendaries/Sets (game-changing affixes) to compete with each other.
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This empowers the Players to play their own way, using the Skills and skill variations that they like to use.
Thanks for reading everyone!