One thing is always guaranteed after any patch arrives to Diablo 4. There will be many, MANY forum and reddit posts with players asking “did the patch increase/decrease the drop/spawn rate of x?”, where x is basically any item, mob, Butcher, legendary or Unique. 1.1.1 is no exception, but the posts are getting pretty convincing! So, are there more Uniques dropping since the patch dropped?
The significant things the patch did (that were mentioned in the notes) that could be affecting general Unique drop rates are the Nightmare Dungeon and Helltide density increases, as well as the boss and goblin 100% legendary rates. More mobs means more items, which by default means more Uniques. However, the sheer amount of these reports is such that it really has us wondering if something else may have been changed as well, in particular related to the end of dungeon rewards (that is, if you even get the rewards with the famous bug having returned).
The Great Unique Drop Bonanza?
We’re seeing reports of 4 Uniques per 2 dungeons, Tempest Roars dropping like candy, 8 Uniques in 2 hours of play, and even 4 in a single NMD!
Here are some examples of players getting some insane RNG loot luck.
First off we have two generic comments on the loot and density, with the comments ranging from players not getting anything more than before to 8 in 2 hours, 4 in 30 minutes and similar.
There’s also this player with 3 from one dungeon!
Then there’s the Tempest Roar story. This player waited 75 levels, finally got it… and then proceeded to get two more in the next 3 dungeons!
And finally, the pinnacle itself, FOUR Uniques in one dungeon run!
Update: you can find many, many more reports of tons of post-patch uniques (as well as players reporting not getting many/any) in our twitter thread below.
Is There Really a Buff to Unique Drop Rates?
It’s very difficult to say with 100% certainty. I feel if there was an intentional, specific buff regarding Uniques, Blizzard would have mentioned it in the notes. The most likely answer here is that it’s simply all the other changes to the game in 1.1.1. They have contributed to (lucky) players getting many more Uniques, while less lucky ones not noticing a difference. Even my Barbarian felt like there’s been a lot more of them dropping sine the patch, with 2 new Ramaladni’s to choose from!
What’s most likely happening is that the Helltide and NMD density increases, the guaranteed legendary from bosses, goblins and (mastered) Legion events, and, well RNG on the extremely lucky end are causing players to think the rates have been increased. Then again, you never really can know! All that matters is that generally players seem to feel the changes are positive (well, most of them anyway).
How have you been doing with Uniques since the patch?