Summary
It’s clear that a lot of love forDiablo 2has gone into the design ofDiablo 4with characters, items, and mechanics all returning from the series' fan-favorite entry. As a part of this callback toDiablo 2,Diablo 4features several unique quality items that originated inDiablo 2as special, one-of-a-kind in-game drops with powerful affixes that made them some of the most sought-after items in the game. To further add to the rare and powerful uniques already present inDiablo 4, a future season should bring Mara’s Kaleidoscope back fromDiablo 2.
Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignanthas already added a handful of uniques fromDiablo 2such as the Fleshrender, Lidless Wall, and Eaglehorn to bolster the existingDiablo 2uniques in the game like Andariel’s Visage, Doombringer, and the Harelquin Crest or Shako. Unique quality gear can only drop for players on World Tier 3 and above, with some of the rarest uniques only available on World Tier 4. Mara’s Kaleidoscope has the potential to join the ranks of these highly sought-after uber-rare uniques with its universally beneficial utility andDiablo 2notoriety.
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Diablo 2’s Unique Mara’s Kaleidoscope Would Fit Perfectly in Diablo 4
Mara’s Kaleidoscope is often considered the best all-around Amulet inDiablo 2and is the optimal Amulet for many of the game’s builds. It doesn’t have as many affixes as otherDiablo 2uniques, but the ones it does have are near-universally useful and can make quite a big difference in anyDiablo 2build. Amulets tend to have less class-specific utility due to being able to be equipped by any class and tend to be less integral to a build as a result, but Mara’s Kaleidoscope is useful enough to be a crucial part of mostDiablo 2builds and could achieve the same status inDiablo 4.
The affixes that come with Mara’s Kaleidoscope inDiablo 2include +2 to all Skills, +5 to all Attributes, and a +20-30 increase to all Resistances. These affixes can make a huge difference to a character’s survivability, offering significant boosts to their defenses as well as a solid bonus to their skills. The only instance where this Amulet wouldn’t be the ideal option is for caster-type classes likeDiablo 2’s Sorceress, who could potentially see a greater benefit from an Amulet with a faster cast rate affix.
For the most part, Mara’s Kaleidoscope could translate nearly one-to-one fromDiablo 2toDiablo 4since its affixes are so basic and already mesh withDiablo 4’s specific mechanics. The +2 to all Skills and +5 to all Attributes would be able to stay as they are, but the +20-30 increase to all Resistances could potentially change sinceAmulets inDiablo 4have an inherent 15% increased Resistance. This affix could be changed to something like Cooldown Reduction or Dodge Chance to give it a similar utility while still being almost universally useful and helping support the player’s survivability inDiablo 4.
On top of these useful affixes, if Mara’s Kaleidoscope is added toDiablo 4it would also likely come with an additional unique affix specific to it like every other unique in the game.Diablo 4’s uber-rare unique Amulet, theMelted Heart of Selig, increases the wearer’s max resources and also allows damage to drain resources before draining health to aid in the player’s survivability. Mara’s Kaleidoscope could potentially top this mediocre effect by leaning into its focus on improving Skills, and feature a version of the Ring of Starless Skies' ability to reduce the resource cost of a Core Skill after it has been used consecutively.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
