This time, it is Last Epoch.
Not because Diablo 4 should copy everything, wear someone else’s pants, and pretend nobody noticed. But because one player thinks Last Epoch solved a very specific ARPG problem in a clever way: letting players choose how they want to chase power.
A new Diablo 4 forum thread argues that Blizzard could learn from Last Epoch’s faction-style approach, not for trade versus loot, but for crafting versus loot.
And honestly, that is a spicy little idea.
Last Epoch Gave Players A Choice
Last Epoch’s Item Factions system introduced two different endgame paths: Merchant’s Guild and Circle of Fortune.
Merchant’s Guild is for trading. Circle of Fortune is for finding better loot yourself through stronger loot-focused benefits and Prophecies.
The clever part is not simply “trade exists” or “solo loot exists.”
The clever part is that the game asks players what kind of item hunt they actually enjoy.
Do you want markets and targeted buying?
Do you want more self-found drops and loot prophecy nonsense?
Pick your poison. At least the poison has a label.
Diablo 4’s Problem Is Crafting Versus Loot
The Diablo 4 version of this debate is different.
Trade is not the main battlefield. Crafting is.
Season 14 has pushed the loot conversation even harder into crafting, rerolls, materials, Cube outcomes, Mythic changes, and long chains of “almost good” items waiting for expensive surgery.
Some players enjoy that. They like manipulating gear, chasing materials, squeezing power out of systems, and turning a decent item into something disgusting.
Other players just want to kill monsters and find the damn upgrade.
Both groups are valid.
Both groups also keep being shoved through the same cursed machine.
A Loot Path And A Crafting Path Could Make Sense
The forum suggestion imagines something like a persistent progression choice.
One path could lean into crafting: better crafting materials, reduced costs, better salvage returns, chances to preserve materials, or stronger control over item improvement.
Another path could lean into loot: better Greater Affix chances, improved drops, stronger targeted farming, or more reliable item rewards from activities.
The key idea is not to make one objectively better.
The key idea is to let players say: “This is how I want to suffer.”
And in Diablo, that counts as player freedom.
Diablo 4 Keeps Turning Loot Into Admin
This is why the idea has bite.
Diablo 4 is at its best when killing monsters creates immediate excitement. A drop hits the floor. You check it. Your goblin brain wakes up. Maybe this is the one.
But too often, the excitement gets delayed.
The item is not good yet. It needs tempering. It needs rerolling. It needs socketing. It needs Cube gambling. It needs materials. It needs a priest, a lawyer, and a second mortgage in Forgotten Souls.
That can be deep.
It can also become demon-flavored paperwork.
A loot-focused path could help players who want the game to put more value back into drops themselves. A crafting-focused path could help players who enjoy building an item piece by piece without feeling like they are fighting the economy harder than the demons.
The Risk Is Another System On The Pile
Of course, there is a giant, horned problem.
Diablo 4 already has a lot of systems.
Add the wrong kind of loot-versus-crafting progression, and suddenly the solution becomes another menu, another grind, another bar to fill, another seasonal board with candles around it.
That would be very Diablo 4 in the worst possible way.
If Blizzard ever tried something like this, it would need to be simple, clear, and deeply tied to how players actually play.
Not another side activity.
Not another town chore.
Not another place where fun goes to be converted into icons.
Player Choice Is The Real Lesson
The real Last Epoch lesson is not “copy factions.”
It is “respect different item-hunting styles.”
Some players want to find gear. Some want to craft gear. Some want to trade. Some want to play Solo Self Found and pretend they are noble while secretly crying over drop rates.
Diablo 4 does not need to become Last Epoch.
But it could absolutely learn from the idea that players should have more agency over how their progression feels.
Because right now, too many Diablo 4 systems feel like everyone is pushed through the same grinder, then asked to be grateful for the sausage.
Let loot goblins be loot goblins.
Let crafting goblins become whatever cursed spreadsheet creature they were always meant to be.
Just stop pretending one path fits everyone.
For more Diablo 4 coverage, check our latest posts on Diablo 4 and Lord of Hatred.
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