How does the legendary gem system in Diablo Immortal make the game completely pay-to-win

Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play game released by Blizzard on mobiles and PCs. The latest addition to the Diablo universe is a relatively new direction that the publisher has taken.

Developed by NetEase games, the game does inherit some of the most well-known mechanics from previous games. When it comes to legendary gems, Diablo 3 players will be well aware of what they do and how important they are. Sadly, obtaining one in Immortal is quite different, and it inherently makes the game pay to win.

Like all games, gears are perhaps the most important element in Diablo Immortal. The endgame is concerned with empowering these gears as much as possible. While the gears have their rarities, the gems that sit on them make them even more potent.

Legendary gems have a significant advantage over others, and the problem starts there. The way these gems can be obtained puts free-to-play players at a significant disadvantage. Moreover, players might have to spend a fortune due to the in-built game mechanics.

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Diablo Immortal's system of obtaining legendary gems is completely unfair to many

When players start playing Diablo Immortal, they will progress quite quickly. After that, they will gradually hit an XP wall which will slow down growth. However, the game remains free-to-play, and players can be misled about what's to come.

Once the campaign is over, the sole objective of the players will be to strengthen their gears. This allows them to better manage their endgame content and farm more rewards. The legendary gems fit into the armor pieces and add many benefits.

The legendary gems range from 1 star to 5 stars. The greater the number of stars, the better the legendary gem is in Diablo Immortal. These gems are available via crests, and there are two types - rare and legendary.

Rare crests are handed out daily to players, but there's a major issue. There's no guarantee that rare crests will drop legendary gems, and even when they do, the gems are capped at 2 stars.

A player's only option to find 5-star legendary gems is via legendary crests. Normally, players can obtain one once a month from challenges and two or three more from the battle pass. There's, unfortunately, no guarantee of obtaining a higher quality legendary gem. It's completely based on luck, and the odds are low.

• 1 star capped – 75%
• 2 star capped – 20%
• 2/5 star – 3.75%
• 3/5 star – 1%
• 4/5 star – 0.20%
• 5/5 star – 0.05%

With a pity system, Diablo Immortal players will be guaranteed a 5-star legendary gem. However, it applies at 50 crests, and as things stand, $100 brings about 45 crests. Hence, players can pay a significant amount to get a 5-star legendary gem.

This wouldn't have been a major issue if the gems only had cosmetic effects in Diablo Immortal. But that isn't the case, and ultimately, it boils down to the fact that those who can spend real money will have a major advantage.

One can understand the rationale behind microtransactions in free-to-play games. However, the amount seems quite obscene when spending real money. If a player doesn't turn out to be lucky, they will have to spend over $100 for one 5-star legendary gem. That's nearly as much as the base edition of two AAA games costs and usually provides the complete package.

There's no denying the fact that Diablo Immortal has promise. Unfortunately, however, what happens with so many free-to-play titles seems to be repeated in this case. Whether Blizzard makes any changes in the future will be a matter of time, but the existing system of legendary gems and obtaining them makes the game completely pay-to-win.