Uniques and Gatekeeping Playstyles - Blizzard, why?

PC General Discussion
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This may just be screaming into the void, because I doubt it’s ever going to get any kind of traction, but I’d really like to know what other people think about this.

Specifically for context, I’m a Druid player who has been, for the past 3-4 days, been running helltides, nightmare dungeons and loot caves almost non-stop in search of the unique, Tempest Roar. The unique in question is a helmet piece that gives the user the ability to use storm skills while remaining a werewolf. This is important because of how some of the other aspects interact with the werewolf form. Essentially, this can make you a werewolf caster which seems really cool and a playstyle I’d like to explore.

Sadly, that’s just not happened for me. Over the past few days, I’ve gotten 5 Mad Wolf’s Glees, 2 Insatiable Furies, 2-3 Vasily’s Prayers, 1 greatstaff of the Crone, 3 Storm’s Companions, a Waxing Gibbious, 2-3 Hunter’s Zeniths, 3 Frostburns, 2 fists of fate, and a few Barbarian Uniques. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the druid, this is almost, if not all, of the uniques in the game a druid can get.

I’ve been playing pulverize up until this point and now I’ve gotten to the point where I really enjoy my character, but would like to try a different playstyle that I can’t because there’s no way to target farm the singular unique that I need.

My friends are also playing Druids and I know at least one of them has gotten this as a drop. I’d like to be able to trade uniques, but since I’m unable to, I feel like it’d be nice if I could trade in the ones that I don’t want for the singular one that would allow me to play in a new, interesting way that I can’t experience outside of what feels like an impossible drop. All of my searching has left me around halfway through level 85 while never seeing the drop, and at this rate, I think I may max out before I get one.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this?

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Pure bad luck! But this has always been how Diablo games worked.

You farm for ages to get the item you want and don’t get it. Then when you finally get it the stats are utter trash haha

3 Likes
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?? we are talking about an build enabling unique which has fixed stats… so dunno what u are talking about

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Sorry, maybe I can do a better job explaining the second time around. The unique I’m talking about allows you to use storm spells while remaining a werewolf. Without that unique, you’re unable to use your ultimate and cast spells at the same time. This is because using your ultimate locks you into your werewolf form for the duration. With the unique, they remain the entire time. Hope that helps.

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I have been looking for days too. It’s so frustrating finding the same unique 6 times. Or finding uniques from other classes.

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I’m in a similar situation farming the ring for minions on necro.

I just learned that you cannot get uniques by gambling, after spending multiple thousand obols trying to target farm it. The obols I farmed while doing helltides opening every Jewelery (RIng) chest I could find. When there was no helltide, I farmed dungeons.

I now own 5 Deathless Visage, 3 of each scythe and 4 Howl from Below and at least one of all the other necro uniques. Except the ring…

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I was thinking, considering how awful leveling is, the least they could do is put a vendor at level 100 that has all uniques. If you suffered through all the crap to get to 100 you deserve some reward. Just give us a vendor and let us have fun.

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Sorry to hear it. I’d personally like to see a way to allow for us to maybe give up uniques in order to get a different unique that we need, somewhat similar to the way that legendaries work in the game. I understand that Diablo has been a really grindy, RNG based game and I’m cool with that. To my knowledge, though, I believe the other Diablo games allowed for trading (I’m new to Diablo so I could be wrong here), and I feel that’d help mitigate some of the bad luck that you’re bound to experience by losing it.

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I’m not really sure what to say on this topic. Yes, it is an item that would allow you to experience a different playstyle, so I can see how you would consider that “gatekeeping”. But… isn’t half the reason that playstyle is exciting because it’s locked behind a unique that changes the game up?

That’s the whole appeal of the item - it’s something that can drastically change your playstyle. It gives you a reason to go after it, a reason to be excited when you finally get it.

The major alternative to this would be just throwing it somewhere in the skill tree - which is fine - but then that takes away the entire draw of the item. Would you want this done to every other unique that affects a playstyle too?

You’ve been playing for 3-4 days and have found every druid unique except for one? According to your post at least, I didn’t actually go compare your list to the full list, I’m just taking your word on that. That sounds pretty damn good to me, if anything I would argue you’ve found too many of them

The game is mostly balanced around the concept of seasons, that means you would have 3 full months to find the uniques that you’re after and make your build. You’ve found all of them, bar 1, in less than a single working week

Maybe our opinions just differ but… yeah that seems like a high drop rate to me

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Pretty sure druid loot box is bugged. I have two barbarian uniques sitting in my stash and I’ve never seen tempest roar.

1 Like
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While I understand your point about how uniques should be exciting, I also believe that the class should function to a playable degree without it. This could be something that’s not applicable to the class that you’re playing, but I’m simply unable to use my abilities without uniques on the druid if I want to use an ultimate at all.

You can, of course, continue to swap between forms. That is one method of play, but it’s also going to lock you out of the ability to use some of your legendary aspects if you choose to attempt the build without the unique, including the one that is likely the strongest aspect.

May I ask what class you play if you’re still around? I’d like to understand your perspective a little more.

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I didnt find ramient chest for sorc until i was 91 and it sucked. But when i finally found it i was super pumped. I then found another at 92, and another at 94 and several more at 100.

If anything it’s too common. There should be more tiers of rarity, and the better the gear is, the more rare it should be, with sprinkeling of good gear in each lower tier.

I like the idea of finding a rare item and just being taken aback that i even found it. Because there is no trading of uniques, they shouldn’t have too many ultra rare items like shako though.

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I think the point where our opinion differs is that you consider it “unplayable”, whereas I just consider it… a different build.

So for example, if you need this unique in order to make storm werewolf work, then I agree, that specific build is unplayable to you. But then, why are you already building towards it? Why not run a slightly different werewolf build until you acquire that unique, and then switch to it?

I can understand the… disappointment(? not sure if this is the most fitting word) in not being able to just go straight for a storm werewolf build, but it’s not like it’s the only possible build on a druid. There’s werebear, werewolf… I assume there’s also regular earth and storm builds? Not sure how viable all of these things are, but they certainly exist to see extent

I haven’t really settled on a main yet. I’m trying to get some play time on everything before season 1 launches so I can find what I actually enjoy the most and then go hard on that during the season. I started druid, though admittedly I barely put any time into that at all, then sorc, and now I’m going to be starting a pure summoner necro because so many people have given weird opinions on a summoner necro that I want to see how it really is

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The main issue with the storm/werewolf combo that I’m trying to convey is that half of your kit actually disappears from your hotbar upon using the other half of your kit, whereas you don’t lose any of your abilities with the unique.

There are a few builds that do allow you to play just storm or earth without being a werewolf/werebear, however towards the end game when you’re putting together some of the stronger builds to tackle the harder challenges, it’s not really as viable to take a massive hit to your survivability, damage and resource control. Which, I definitely would be were I to attempt the build without it.

There are some pure werewolf builds that I could try playing, they’re just currently not something that I’m interested in running. I haven’t been pushing towards the build, as I’m currently still hopeful that the unique will drop one day. I’m currently playing Werebear and have been for around 40 levels or so.

I do hope that the necro build goes well, though. It was my second pick for a class after druid, so it’d be nice to see it working well. I did see earlier in the thread someone was having a similar issue with that particular specialization though.

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I guess the reason it doesn’t feel like an issue to me is that I would just view storm/werewolf as a build that’s unlocked by the unique. Which might be a dealbreaker for you, for me though I see it as something you would just transition into. Sure, you might not find that unique for a very long time, and it isn’t great having to run a different build until then

However… I think that’s true for a lot of things. Some builds don’t really open up until level ~50 or so (I realize the druid one is likely much later than level 50 on average), some builds are only good in the early game, some classes in general are more item dependent than others, etc

I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I think it just adds some variety. But that’s my view anyway

As for playing storm or earth without the forms… I feel like that should be viable? It might not be, but that sounds like more of a balance issue really. I don’t think every druid build should be forced into a form of some sort

Yeah I’m really not sure. I’ve seen posts saying it’s awful early game, posts saying it’s godly but only earlygame, posts saying it performs well even at endgame, etc. Seems like no one can agree on where it stands, that’s what makes me want to play it, see what’s actually going on with it

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Tell me about it. It’s lazy development pure and simple. T

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I just do not and can not drop uniques.

My friends are all getting them all the time multiple uniques a day.

I have found 5 or 6 since early access… They just do not drop for me.
At this point It feels like my game is bugged or something.

Very poopy feeling.

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Hahahaha I feel the same. Only 2 so far and I have farmed countless Nightmare dungeons.

1 was a werewolf chest that I am actually using.

The other one is a weird one leaving a cold trail behind me and mobs take like 7% more damage in it.

Still waiting for the helm, or even the staff. I’d be happy with either.

I feel like the first one you get (the guaranteed one) should be an item you bring to a vendor and it lets you craft a unique of your choice. That way you are level 50(ish) and you can start using a build you want to play.

But i’ll keep grinding, surely I won’t hit 100 before I get that helm, right… RIGHT?

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Tempest roar in particular has some bug with drop chance, devs have mentioned it.

Calm down princess.

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It gives a whole new meaning to the word “unique”. :grin: