It's time to admit that Diablo 4 Season 11 knocked it out of the park with this feature, and it needs to make a comeback next season

I'll admit I was skeptical about how Diablo 4 Season 11 would follow up on the amazing experience that was Season 10. After Chaos Armor completely changed the way buildings were approached, Diablo 4 had big shoes to fill, and the season preview on the PTR leading up to release didn't do the game any favors. But the shadow drop of the Paladin class with the launch of Diablo 4 Season 11 catapulted the season beyond my expectations, but it's Sanctification that has surprised me the most with how much of a difference it has made in the game.

That's what keeps me coming back Diablo 4 season after season, the innovative ways the game approaches builds with each seasonal mechanic. Buildcrafting is one of my favorite things to do in RPGs, and ARPGs like Diablo 4 is a particular treat to try to optimize for the most efficient way to kill enemies in the Pit or tackle Lair Bosses. The permanent rework to Diablo 4s equipment upgrade system in Season 11 is already a huge improvement on this front, but Sanctification is really the icing on the cake, and I'll be sad to see it go when the season ends.

Diablo 4 Season 11's Sanctification Mechanic is everything I wanted, but not what I expected

diablo-4-season-11-saint-mechanic-permanent

Going into Season 11, my highest hopes Diablo 4s equipment upgrade system was:

Remove so much reliance on RNG
Make upgrades feel meaningful
Limit the chance of an item being bricked

Overall, I think the changes made in Tempering and Masterworking with Diablo 4The Season 11 update meets most of these criteria. I like being able to pick a Temper with unlimited rerolls via Scrolls of Restoration, especially since it makes for a good roll in Diablo 4 easier than ever. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the Masterworking changes at first, but I ended up realizing how quick and easy it is to fully Masterwork an item, with the ability to reroll the final upgrade for little cost.

I was initially skeptical of Sanctification going into Diablo 4 Season 11

Sanctification was the big question mark I had before the start Diablo 4 Season 11. Reports from the PTR were not kind to the mechanic before the start of the season, as there was a potential for an item to be bricked during Sanctification if an Affix on an Ancestral Unique or Mythic was replaced in the process. This would have made Sanctification a gamble hardly worth taking, and when the majority of Diablo 4 players wanted Tempering and Masterworking to cut down on the RNG elements, it felt counterintuitive.

Now that I've experienced it, I don't want sanctification to go chaos armor

Thankfully, the changes made to Sanctification following the PTR feedback greatly improved the mechanic. There is no longer a possibility for Sanctification to replace an existing Ancestral Unique or Mythic Affix, the value ranges of Sanctified Affix have been expanded, and more potential Legendary and even Mythic Affixes have been added to the potential results. These elements combine to create a feature that adds a fun gamble to preparing for the playoffs, instead of more RNG headaches. There's no better feeling than getting very lucky and rolling a Mythic Affix when consecrating an item, but not hitting this roll doesn't feel like a penalty since any consecration result can be useful.

Just when I've come to love the build variety Sanctification provides, Diablo 4 will lose the season mechanic when season 11 ends. This feeling is all too familiar to me and many others Diablo 4 players, as it was the same situation last season when the Chaos Armor was removed at the end of the season. There is still hope that Sanctification will return or be made a permanent mechanic, which Diablo 4 the team seems to be constantly looking for what features click with players. But with no confirmation that Sanctification will ever be made permanent, it's likely that fans will have to hope that Season 12's new mechanic will be just as impactful.