Diablo 4 Season 14 has boldly targeted the game’s Mythic items in a move that has already drawn the ire of fans. Following a PTR test with players, Blizzard is doubling down on its plans, which allows any Unique to be converted into a Mythic.

This is all part of Blizzard’s constant ebb and flow of Diablo 4 updates, which rapidly jump from well-received changes to annoying alterations. Just recently, Blizzard changed Uniques so that their affixes were random instead of set, and this change did not go down well. Oftentimes, for fans, major changes have started to feel like experimentation for experimentation’s sake. 

In a discussion with GameSpot, design director Dan Tanguay explained that these changes are to ensure Diablo 4’s “long-term health”. The design director explained that the negative feedback to the prior changes for Uniques were worrying as the plan is to keep “building on top of that”, although the negativity is pushing Blizzard to “split the difference” with players.

Tanguay explained that the team is now dealing with “issues compounding issues” as the team rushes to address fan concerns while also trying to push Diablo 4 forward. While it seems that the studio is still going forward with its own plans, the sheer amount of negative feedback requires the team to find a solid middle ground.

“We really need to address both of those things right now while still making sure long term we have fewer best-in-slot problems and we’ve got a lot more build diversity at the end of it,” the design director said.

Tanguay added that Blizzard will “keep iterating” at its ideas for Uniques, Mythics and their relationship with each other while also providing much higher build diversity. The developer stated that this ebb and flow will continue “until we arrive at something that we think is good for the long-term health of the game and that players really like”.

It’s worth noting that all of these controversial changes come after the brilliant release of Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion. After years of fan issues, dud seasons, and even leadership changes, it felt like D4 was on track to greatness. Of course, even with these late-game changes, D4 is still a great game, but it often feels that its live-service element demands change instead of resting with the positives.

In fact, earlier this year, game director Zaven Haroutunian explained that the major changes Diablo 4 sees makes it harder for casual players “to keep up”. However, they claimed that major changes are necessary for the genre nowadays.

“It’s almost like a meme at this point about action RPGs in general [that] go through this transformative arc,” the game director said. “And, well, we can’t escape it any more than any other action RPG can for the same reasons.”

Well, Diablo 4 is going through another “transformative arc” yet again, and we don’t know exactly what the game is going to look like at the end of it. Rest assured, though, as soon as this arc finishes, we’re more than likely going to go through another one.