Blizzard pulled back the curtain on some early in-development Diablo 5 content at BlizzCon, and for longtime fans, it looks like a tribute to Diablo 2. From items taking up varying amounts of inventory space to a very familiar paper doll, including a return of belts, there is a lot to unpack. Keep in mind, all information comes with the heavy caveat that it is stamped “In Development Content – Not Final.”
Here is everything we spotted.
The Inventory Is Going Back To Diablo 2
The biggest structural change is that the inventory is returning to a Diablo 2-style grid, where different items take up different amounts of space. Instead of the uniform one-slot-per-item approach, you will once again be playing inventory Tetris and juggling large two-handed weapons, chunky armor pieces, and smaller trinkets across a limited grid. It rewards planning and adds a real cost to what you carry.
The paper doll, that is, your equipped-gear layout, should also be very familiar to D2 fans. With this layout, belts also make a return as an equipment slot. However, in this early in-development preview, there is no pants slot.
Blizzard also emphasized a philosophy shift here, noting that “items will go on the journey with you”, hinting that gear is meant to feel more like a companion across your playthrough rather than something you cycle through and discard constantly.
Stat Requirements are Back (Maybe)
Items in the concept art carry stat requirements, another classic Diablo staple. The War Spear shown requires 60 Dexterity, while the Ancient Shield demands 119 Strength and 68 Intelligence to wield.
Game Director Joe Shelly quickly clarified that the team is “experimenting, not sure if that is finalized.” So attribute-gated gear is on the table, but far from confirmed.
Runes and New Stat Lines
Runes are also visible in the demo, and some of the stat lines shown have intriguing implications. A few standouts are:
- “Restores 15% Damage Taken as Mana” – Utilizing damage taken as a resource generator would massively shift the current survivability meta in Diablo 4, where Barrier tends to be the best method of ignoring damage. This comes with the caveat that your health pool is not taking direct damage, meaning effects relying on health damage do not function while Barrier is active.
- “Requirements Reduced by 15%” – This would allow you to equip gear you might otherwise be locked out of, allowing you to redistribute your points in other ways rather than using gear with lower requirements or making other sacrifices in your build elsewhere.
These kinds of effects suggest an itemization layer where runes meaningfully change how a piece of gear performs rather than tacking on a separate mechanic to a finished piece of gear.
New Mechanics: Penetration and Flexible Thorns Damage
Two other mechanics caught our eye:
- Penetration. The Ancient Shield lists “+14% Penetration.” This looks like a mechanic for ignoring a portion of an enemy’s toughness or defensive stats, similar to armor penetration seen in other ARPGs. This opens the door for enemies to be more than a simple health pool, and allows for different builds to interact with them in unique ways. Some builds may opt for Penetration over a pure Damage increase due to mechanical differences such as attack speed, range, and whether they are more single-target or AoE focused.
- “Thorns as Shadow”. The shield also grants “+112 Thorns as Shadow,” which strongly implies you will be able to change the damage type of your Thorns. Being able to convert Thorns into Shadow (or presumably other elements) would be a huge deal for build flexibility, letting Thorns scale with elemental bonuses and synergize with damage-type-specific gear. The shield even pairs it with “Shadow Damage has a 36% Chance to Corrupt Enemies,” pointing to new ways Elemental Thorns could interact with mechanics such as Corruption.
Looking to the Future
What we are looking at is clearly early, and Blizzard is going out of their way to remind us. Every screen carries the “Not Final” watermark, and Shelly himself clarified that systems like stat requirements are still being experimented with. That said, there are still some fairly concrete takeaways. Based on what we know, Diablo 5 is shaping up to have a deeper, more Diablo 2-flavored itemization system.
Nothing here is set in stone, but it is an exciting early glimpse. We will be watching closely as these early Diablo 5 updates progress and will post more as information becomes available.
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