Inventory management is an unfortunate staple of the hack-and-slash genre, but there’s a neat trick to ease that burden inDiablo 4. Though games have slowly transitioned from the Tetris-style backpacks of old, titles such asPath of ExileandDiabloturn even the most thoughtful and deliberate player into a loot hoarder. Stash tabs become an endless list of items that sound good on paper, but in likelihood will never be used. Though concepts such as dedicated material tabs inDiablo 3have managed to alleviate part of the problem, the inventory system inDiablo 4seems to be running into the same issues as its predecessor.
Arguably, themost demanded quality-of-life feature inDiablo 4is a gem tab, as not only has the sequel brought back Sapphires and Skulls after their absence inDiablo 3, but each of them comes in five tiers much likeDiablo 2. In their current iteration, and given the frequency of their drops, they can take up a significant part of a player’s inventory, making regular trips to Kyovashad or Cerigar a necessity.
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Given that salvage refunds any socketed gems with no penalties, aDiablo 4player came up with a rather brilliant suggestion. During their adventures in Sanctuary, if a person runs out of inventory space, they can place gems into any items with an available socket. Though the method doesn’t work if people need the gold instead of the materials, it’s a very handy way to save inventory space until Blizzard officially adds a gem tab.
The community seems to have a knack at finding alternate ways to work around sockets, asremoving socketed gems through salvage inDiablo 4saves people from having to pay a price to the town’s jeweler. Though gold is abundant at the start of the game, the cost of enchanting at higher levels adds up, and any money thatDiablo 4players can save along the way is important. Season 1 will likely refrain from introducing new ways of earning gold, meaning that characters will have to spend their basic currency wisely.
As players take their time to figure out unorthodox Barbarian builds, or ideal strategies to take down thePinnacle Boss inDiablo 4, the developers have already started work on two expansion packs. Whereas seasonal content will largely be self-contained, expansions are expected to continue the main story and will likely introduce new character classes to the game. Though there is a chance that Blizzard will make it harder for people to creatively use socketed gems, the better solution may well be to implement the gem bag after all.
Diablo 4is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
