Feedback ☂ Single resistances on equipment feel almost worthless - Lets improve this a bit

PC General Discussion
1
TLDR: follow green text
Updated: August 4, 2025

+[36.5 - 50.0]% Fire Resistance
+[36.5 - 50.0]% Lightning Resistance
+[36.5 - 50.0]% Cold Resistance
+[36.5 - 50.0]% Poison Resistance
+[36.5 - 50.0]% Shadow Resistance

Unpopular single resistances

Whether these resistance stats appear on a drop, as an enchant, or as an tempering option or gem, the appeal of single resistance affixes in this game is low. To me, they feel like wasted stats in equipment slots, not even nice to have, taking away from what could have been something better.

Why is that?
Juggling with resistances doesnt make sense in Diablo 4's current state click to expand

Everywhere in Sanctuary players encounter a wide range of enemy types with all kinds of colorful elemental attacks, particularly due to the high frequency of elite affixes. Content activities also tend to shuffle enemy types for variety, leaving few places where you just have to deal with one or two elements.

So, while playing like every normal player, incoming elemental types change regularly and randomly. Therefore, players do not really have the choice to pick one resistance over another. And in order to survive the game’s (strong) attacks, a player is well advised to have each resistance at a certain level at all times.

The resistance cap is quite high at 75%. I mean it isnt difficult to reach, but it serves as a benchmark for assessing damage because the game’s difficulties relate to that value. The issue here is that a slightly lower resistance of 50% for any element accounts for double incoming damage in comparison, and some regular effects on my screen begin to deal death sentences instead of just damage.

All in all, it makes sense to have no resistance fall behind. This works much smoother with the All Resist affix.

Managing gear is superior with the All Resist affix click to expand

Since the much more modular and comfortable All Resist exists, there is hardly any reason to opt for the patchwork of single resistances. In fact, organizing a high level of general resistance with cold/fire/shadow/etc. being scattered across different gear pieces, paragon, and gems can be quite a task:

Naturally, if I swap one item with another, some stats need to be compensated in one way or another. This is easier with All Resist as the value is usually on the lower side and there always are many options in the 5 paragon boards I have equipped to make up for a missing ~10% resistance. Single resistances with ~50% on the other hand is big and would expose a major weakpoint for one element if not replaced right away. This can happen if a player has many static unique items or seasonal gem setups for example, making gear changes annoying.

It also makes sense not to overshoot the resistance cap by much, but the usually high single resistance values easily do that. Irregularities caused by Masterworking upgrades or Greater Affixes can exacerbate this problem and hinder fine-tuning.

In comparison to All Resist, Single resistances lack a reason to be considered as the better option.

As argued above, the disadvantage of single resistances is because in most situations Diablo 4 wants you to add an even amount of resistances to have reliable defense in Sanctuary.

There are five resistances, and All Resist’s standard value is approximately one-fifth of a single resistance affix. In the end, Single vs. All balances out, but All Resist is much easier to manage, while single resistances are reserved for very few edge cases, despite being present in all the systems of Diablo 4. I dont like this.


Suggestion

Note: I had to edit/rewrite this section due to a mistake. The suggested contribution of 1/4 is so big, that using All Resist is always inferior. This would create the same problem in inverse. D'oh! To make up for that I also added 2 new suggestions.

To turn the disadvantage around, I came up with possible changes to single resistance affixes:

Suggestion 1:Similar to All Resist, Single Resistances contribute to all other elements, but on a smaller scale. click to expand

All Resist rolls 8-10% as standard. Single rolls 40-50%. So a 1/5 contribution factor is too much as it would make All Resist worthless. Lets look on other contribution factors:

+50 to any resistance
Contribution factor 1/5 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10
Bonus to other resistances 10.00 8.33 7.14 6.25 5.56 5.00

1/6 is close to All Resist’s +8% standard minimum, but only if a perfect 50% single resistance is the base. Since it is more effort to go with single resistances, I feel like it could be fair though. The min-maxers may be interested eventually. So lets try 1/6:

+40 +50 +60 +120 +175 Fire Resistance
Fire 40 50 60 120 175
Lightning 6.66 8.33 10 20 29
Cold 6.66 8.33 10 20 29
Poison 6.66 8.33 10 20 29
Shadow 6.66 8.33 10 20 29

This would mean that 60% Cold resistance on Penitent Greaves essentially grants 10% All Resist! Thats not so bad anymore, right?

Suggestion 2:Single Resistances also grant additional max resistance click to expand

Raising max resistances is arguably the more interesting part in the system. I think if a 50% to Fire Resistance affix would look like this:

  • +[36.5 - 50.0]% Fire Resistance, +[3.7 - 5.0]% Max Fire Resistance

then players would consider at least one source of Single Res for each element. It would also encourage players / min-maxers to go the tedious route with single resistances, as you will be rewarded with the maximum cap as well by doing that.

Suggestion 3:Single Resistances are replaced by thematically fitting new affixes click to expand

A few examples (these arent thought through):

  1. Elemental Endurance:
    Stackable: 0-100%. Direct damage from elements will instead tick as damage over time (for ~3 seconds). This gives more breathing room against potential one-hits. It would work similar to Endurant Faith, without the 40% requirement.
  2. Elemental Reflect:
    Stackable: 0-100%. Chance to reflect elemental damage. Basically, projectiles will repeat the animation back to the sender. I imagine this to be a very fun option.
  3. Elemental Absorb:
    Stackable: 0-?%. Enemy elemental attacks also give players resource or cooldown reduction. I would like to add Healing as well, because this is a super cool fantasy aspect, but that requires more thought.

While these affixes could be introduced for each element separately, it wouldnt do the replacement any favor.


Previous suggestion click to expand

Note: I missed a problem with this suggestion.

For example, lets assume that any single resistance affix contributes 1/4 to all other resistances. This would mean that 60% Cold resistance on Penitent Greaves essentially grants 15% All Resist! Thats not so bad anymore, right?

Some Numbers and Details click to expand
+60 +120 +175 Fire Resistance
Fire 60 120 175
Lightning 15 30 43.75
Cold 15 30 43.75
Poison 15 30 43.75
Shadow 15 30 43.75

Normally, a character has to accumulate 175 Fire, 175, Lightning, 175 Cold, 175 Poison, and 175 Shadow resistance for Torment 4 and its cap, totaling in 875 resistance from various sources.

Here, in theory, stacking Fire resistance to 175*4 (700) would automatically lead every other resistance to reach the Torment 4 cap as well, if there is no limitation. Of course, this 700 value can also be a mix of other single resistances (then we would only need an affix value of 87.5 on each Fire/Lightning/Cold/Poison/Shadow to be fully capped with resistances).

In any case, 700 is a lower requirement than 875. I think this is fair. This would account for the higher effort and problems (see above) when deciding for the single resistance route (min-maxing stats).

New resistance distribution modifier click to expand

A potentially interesting side effect of going with this suggestion is that it introduces a new attribute (the suggested 1/4 as base value) that could be modified through items. A 50% better (Cold) resistance distribution for example would reward stacking (Cold) single resistance or (Cold) themed gear, as the 1/4 turns into ~1/3, which is a lot.


Debatable
Should Single Resistances be removed entirely? click to expand

This isnt the point of my thread, but it was the reason I started it. Because I noticed that I treat single resistances like they dont exist at all.

The resistance system in Diablo 4 is simplified and feels rather cosmetic than meaningful for decision-making. Increasing max resistances is arguably the more interesting aspect. Sure, to imagine having only one resistance for everything is boring. On the other hand, it is also not exciting to see single resistances appear on loot and during enchanting.

I wouldnt mind seeing some improvements, as it is a loot-relevant aspect of the game that I expect to receive special care in ARPGs.

7 Likes
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They’re only ever useful to me in the very early game. Later on,they always just serve to massively overcap a single res. If I ever do have a weak res in mid-late game, I fix it with a single element gem in my jewelry, until I can phase that out. The advantage of using a gem is that you can replace it without replacing the entire item.

Nothing is more useless than a single elemental res GA. Even health per 5 seconds is better. Is there actually a way to benefit from an overcapped res? LE has powers that scale on uncapped res values, never noticed it on 504, but it might be something I never ran into with the builds I’m playing.

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Half my GA drops are one of these. Seriously, they just need to go away. PERIOD!

3 Likes
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Automatic rolloff of single resistances for me. And if it’s the only GA on the item, it’s automatic scrap.

1 Like
5

I hate single res to the core, i see them as dead stats

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They’re fine, the problem is Cap is too high (should’ve kept it at 70, should’ve lowered it in fact) and reduce AllRes % (then nerf monster non-physical damage)

I warned about this before S2 even (don’t make Res with too high cap), looks like it worked (temporarily :P)

The problem with high-Res design is that the “sway” is too drastic

If having 80% Res to something means you’re taking only 20% damage, if you’re having 70% Res. to something means you’re taking 30% (that’s 50% MORE than at 80%)

If having 65% (which is still reasonable) you take 75% MORE

Yep, looks like someone figured it out too :slight_smile:

The solution would’ve/should’ve been simply to have another affix which says “non-physical damage reduced by X” (or some other defensive stat)

This was always the danger of relying too much on resistances for defense (it’s not just D4 problem it’s an all-game problem)

OR here’s another solution:

Cap Resists to 65% and every point ABOVE serves a different purpose (less burning/poisoned/frozen/e.t.c. potency/duration). That way going even above required res. wouldn’t be in vain and waste rather :slight_smile:

One more thing: there’s yet ANOTHER problem regarding D4 (that’s HP)

People can play T4 in HP varying anywhere between 7k and 50k (that’s just way too much)

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While I agree with your topic, and everything therein, I do have a formatting question. How do you make the letters bigger and smaller in your details titles. I can never seem to add in the code to get it right.

Should Single Resistances be removed entirely? click to expand

That for example is easy to do, outside of the ‘Hide Details’ list. Inside the hide details code is where I get lost.

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I believe they’re useless in the game. Since we have it in the temper, it’s not necessary to have it as an affix. Just increase the number of useless affixes in the pools. -The game should have more locations with resistance penalties. That’s why I think the passive tree for activities is necessary. Maybe a point where you get -10% cold resistance on the ice beast and gain 5% more chance of finding an Uber. This adds dynamics to several items, which are important, even Tirael’s armor. -They know about this problem and have already developed it a bit, since we have this option of -10% of all resistance in the Horadric Rooms. So we should have something like that in the Infernal Hordes.

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100% total waste of a slot in the current game.

Part of the problem is that you can easily cap armor and all resists and do ridiculous damage. there is not thought or consequence of choice involved.

another part of the problem (for me) is that i want a game that challenges me and this game is more and more designed for people who want to run through maps pressing one button and collect loot

2 Likes
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Please do keep in mind that when players complained that “Resists were useless” way back in S2 - Blizz devs changed the formula and nerfed Armor substantially thus increasing Resist contribution to mitigation.

You may indeed get exactly what you wish; a nerf to Resist All such that Single Resists become the only way to cap them via a gear jigsaw puzzle.

Just something to ponder!

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It is big and small in brackets, quite literally:

<details>
<summary><big><b>SUMMARY</b></big><small><small> click to expand</small></small></summary>
DETAILS
</details>

I wouldnt worry about this. I believe our devs arent lost on what works in favor of casual players, as long as there are enough iterations to analyze. Resistances arent new to the game so I trust them in this case, haha.

Pre Season 2 armor was too powerful because it reduced both physical and elemental damage, and I believe there was no cap. In addition, resistance affixes became less effective the more a player stacked them.

Season 2 removed the elemental component from armor, and resistances can now be stacked additively without loss. These are very reasonable nerfs and buffs.

Add armor to the list.

In comparison to resistances, its cap is even more unforgiving at 85%. To make that worth it, it has a non-linear calculation, where ~500 armor means only 25% damage reduction instead of 42.5%. If you fall down to 800 armor (60% damage reduction), enemies deal almost triple the amount of damage.

I wonder what the reason for those extreme values is, because it seems this design leaves a lot of inflexible options for players and devs.

2 Likes
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No wonder, I kept using the default option given to you by Blizzard, which uses the [ ] brackets, instead of the < >. Shoulda known better, thank you very much.

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I had to rewrite the suggestion slightly because a 1/4 contribution would render All Resist useless. I updated it to 1/6, which is still good. While doing that I put 2 additional ideas in that could be worth to consider:

  1. Single Resistances also give 1/10 of their value to Max Resistance.
  2. Replacement affixes that are still about Resistance but work different.

More details are in the original post above.

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If they want single resistances to be good they could add some overcap mechanic. For instance every 10% or so overcapped you are gives you 1% max res to that element.

There could also be items that increase your damage by overcapped resists.

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Single resists are terrible. Or do like others have done and make items for overcapped resist. Single resists are so hard to use and are dead in the water for any int based character.

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Or the single resists on the items (in the top should be higher values or at least be able to be MW)