In the wake of the ever-divisive Diablo Immortal, Blizzard promised that the Diablo 4 store wouldn’t drain your bank balance. If you do choose to pick up some of the RPG game‘s stunning new armor sets, though, it’s worth noting that they don’t actually provide you with any extra benefits in Diablo 4 – they just make you look really, really cool.
One of the main issues with Diablo Immortal was that gems were locked behind a paywall, restricting how often you could partake in different instances and, in turn, earn new gear. Diablo 4, by contrast, lets you buy some sweet looking armor for all of the Diablo 4 classes, but they don’t provide any actual benefits.
The most expensive Diablo 4 cosmetic on launch is the Wraith Lord armor set for the Necromancer, coming in at a pretty hefty 2,800 platinum coins, or $24.99 / £20.99. The Rogue’s Raised By Wolves set (seen below) is 2,500 platinum (effectively the same as the Necromancer’s, as the 2,800 platinum bundle is technically 2,500 plus a bonus 300), and the Lion of Arreat set for the Barbarian comes in third at 2,200 platinum, or $21.97 /£18.57.
I must admit, I’m glad I chose Sorcerer on this playthrough, as their armor only costs 1,800 platinum by comparison but, I won’t lie, looks pretty ‘meh’ compared with the other sets.
What I like about this is that the Diablo 4 store isn’t pay-to-win. Picking up new armor doesn’t massively accelerate your progress – it’s effectively just a cool transmog that you can splash the cash on if you fancy.
Those prices, however, are pretty high, and come out as costing a similar amount to Immortal’s premium gear. Sure, you get a full armor kit, but it does feel relatively hefty given there’s no real benefit to it.
That feeling is only amplified because, in my opinion, the in-game armor is pretty damn cool and actually affects gameplay. By the end of my Diablo 4 review playthrough, my Rogue was looking amazing – and I was only just cresting level 50. The incentive isn’t there for me to pick up store items – unless they do what they did with Immortal and bring back the Diablo 2 Resurrected skins, then we can talk.
With the Diablo 4 release date within striking distance, make sure you check out our list of the best Diablo 4 builds – named and proclaimed by Blizzard itself.