[GameSpot] - Diablo 4 Beginner's Guide: Tips And Tricks For When You Go To Hell

[343iBot]

It's been a decade since the last entry in the series, but Diablo 4 is shaping up to be a massive hit. If this is your first foray into Diablo or an action dungeon crawler, you might feel overwhelmed by the number of systems and the frenetic combat. Luckily, Diablo 4 looks more complicated than it is and with a few tips, you should be more than prepared to take down Lilith. Here are 15 tips to bring with you when you go to Hell.

Balance between selling items and salvaging early on

Once you hit the endgame you likely won't be thinking too much about how much gold you have, but early on you might find yourself strapped for cash. Once you make it to the main hub city in Act I, you will unlock the ability to salvage unwanted loot for materials, which are used to upgrade the gear you do like. Upgrading requires both gold and materials, so you will want to try and make sure you have plenty of both. A good strategy is selling all of your unwanted junk, instead of salvaging, roughly every third trip to the armorer.

Stash gems

Inventory management has always been an important part of Diablo, and Diablo 4 is no exception. While every item takes up only a single slot, one item type might fill your inventory very quickly; gems. Gems come in a variety of different colors and quality, with each different kind taking up its own inventory slot. You won't want to sell these, but you certainly don't want to have them taking up inventory space. Once you start collecting gems, you will want to regularly drop them off at your stash until you need them.

Read items closer than just the big numbers

Diablo 4 does an excellent job of quickly informing you of whether an item has higher damage/armor than what you have currently equipped, but you might want to take a closer look at the specific bonuses each item provides. This is especially true with higher tier loot, since these will have several bonuses that go beyond just damage. It's also important to remember if you have upgraded an item. If you pick up a weapon that's only a few points lower than what you have currently equipped but your current gear was upgraded multiple tiers, it means that the new item is better, as long as you upgrade it right away.

Try and hit region level 2 in each region

Each new region has its own reward track.

There are five total regions that you will explore in Diablo 4, each of which has its own series of dungeons, strongholds, and other side activities to complete. In the map menu you can find Region Rewards, which gives rewards at different tiers based on how much of that region's content you've completed. While you likely won't want to complete each region before moving on, you will want to reach Tier 2. Tier 2 of each region awards another potion charge, increasing how many you can hold. This is important early on, especially if you are playing solo.

Don't be afraid to respec your build early on

One of the most important aspects of Diablo is how you build your character, but for new players, it can be quite daunting. The skill tree is massive, with multiple options at each tier, as well as smaller bonuses and differences. Luckily, early on your build isn't too impactful and you can refund all of your skill points at any time for a fee of gold. While this fee gets pretty big late in the game, early on you can do it for a few thousand gold, so feel free to experiment and make changes. You can also refund individual skill points by going to that skill in the tree, so you can make small changes too.

Get passives for abilities early

On the topic of the skill tree, one of the more important skills to invest in early on are the smaller bonuses and passives for the abilities you choose. You are limited to only one passive bonus for each skill, separated into different upgrades. These can drastically impact how your abilities work, giving you an early advantage of the battlefield if you invest your points in.

Visit the potion upgrade vendor/craft elixirs for XP bonus

Early into Act I after arriving at the Kyovashad, you will receive a quest to visit the potion vendor, which prompts you to upgrade your health potions for the first time. You might notice that at certain level milestones you can upgrade your potions to do more healing, which is essential to do whenever possible. In addition to upgrading your potions, you can also craft elixirs here. Elixirs can provide a wide variety of bonuses, but all of them also award a 5% XP bonus, so early on in the game you want to have one of these buffs running pretty much at all times.

Clearing dungeons is worth a detour

As you explore Diablo 4's open world, you will frequently run into dungeons, which are marked on the maps but small gates, with dungeons you haven't completed having a small gold stack icon. Each dungeon in the game awards a unique Aspect, some of which are only usable by specific classes. While you might not get an Aspect you can actually use, dungeons almost always award a decent haul of XP and at least one treasure chest, which can provide valuable loot early on. Even if it becomes a side activity to what your focus was, it's worth it to tackle these as often as you can.

Use the Leave Dungeon Emote/map option

An important tool that Diablo 4 doesn't surface very well is the ability to quickly leave a dungeon once you have completed it. If you don't know about the option, you might think you have to walk back to the entrance of a dungeon once it's finished. Instead, you have two ways to quickly return to the entrance. The first option is the Leave Dungeon Emote, which can be found in the emote wheel. The second option is to open the map in the dungeon and use the cursor to select the entrance, which will also teleport you out of the dungeon.

Explore the map

There are surprises and loot to be found in every corner of Sanctuary.

Diablo 4 takes the series a step forward with its fully open world, which you are free to explore in its entirety. While you can always navigate straight from one quest marker to the next, there are benefits to fully exploring the map. There are important things to find, like Altars of Lilith which provides Region Renown and a permanent boost to your character. You can also find crafting materials, dungeons, strongholds, and side quests scattered throughout the world.

Pick up side quests whenever possible

Something you should get into the habit of early is picking up side quests whenever you see them. Side quests are marked by a blue exclamation mark on the map. The majority of side quests in Diablo 4 won't force you into anything when you pick them up and there's always a good chance that you happen to end up in the necessary area as you explore the world. Completing side quests award gold, loot, and Region Renown.

Always do public events

Marked by an orange icon or circle, you will occasionally come across public events in Diablo 4. These typically require you to fight large groups of enemies and usually last a few waves, but they always reward a chest which typically has high quality loot in it. You also get Murmuring Obols, which can be used at the Purveyor of Curiosities shop to roll loot or to purchase Whispering Keys, which unlock chests found throughout Sanctuary. These events usually aren't too tough for one person to take on and there will usually be other people around anyway.

Focus your Murmuring Obols rolls

Once you have a bunch of Murmuring Obols, you will want to visit the vendor to try and get some gear with your currency. The loot varies pretty wildly in quality, with many rolls resulting in low rarity gear that you won't want to use. The best strategy for getting decent gear is to focus on a single item type, like a weapon or chest armor, and only roll that item repeatedly. This won't impact the odds of getting a better item, but if you have a particular piece of gear you need, it's a good strategy.

Bump up the World Tier if you are finding the game easy

Upon starting Diablo 4 you will have the option to play on either World Tier 1 or Tier 2, with the higher tiers locked behind a level requirement. These function as a difficulty setting in Diablo and new players will likely want to start on World Tier 1. Once you reach the first hub city, you will have the option to change the World Tier and if you feel like the game has been a bit easy, you should consider bumping it up. The higher tiers offer more XP, Gold, and better loot, so there are benefits to tackling the harder difficulties.

To answer riddles for small buffs use Emotes at the altars

Throughout the world are small altars that provide special, temporary buffs, if you can solve their riddles. There is a side quest in the early part of the game that teaches you this mechanic, but the basic version is that you need to use a specific emote to get the buff, with that emote being different at each altar. There are a limited number of these altars throughout Sanctuary, but the buffs can be pretty powerful, so if you see an altar, stop by.

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