Season 11’s PTR has brought in a new system called Sanctification, and it’s already got a lot of players talking — not always in a good way. Think of it as the last stop for your gear upgrades: after you’ve tempered, masterworked, and fitted the perfect aspect, you get one single shot to add a final bonus through Sanctification. The bonus is random, and that’s where it gets dicey.

You could land a huge damage boost and feel like you’ve struck gold, or you might end up with something trivial, like “Indestructible” which only stops durability loss. And here’s the kicker — once you’ve sanctified an item, it’s locked down forever. No more tweaks, no more fine-tuning. It’s a high-risk move that makes some folks nervous about using it at all, especially on hard-earned Diablo 4 gold gear.

What makes this sting even more is how it clashes with the game's recent direction. Blizzard’s been trimming down the frustration in other upgrade systems, giving players more control and fewer pure RNG moments. Sanctification feels like a throwback to the worst kind of loot gambling: full success or total flop, nothing in between. The gap between a great roll and a junk roll isn’t small — it’s massive. One lucky hit can turn your weapon into something you’ll use until the end of the season, but a bad one can make even your best-crafted piece feel wasted.

Mythic Uniques are where this risk really gets dangerous. These items are incredibly rare and often define your entire build. Imagine finally getting a Shako, after weeks or months of grinding, and then rolling a low-impact bonus. Worse yet, someone else’s Shako gets a premium effect, making theirs flat-out better just by chance. That’s not just unlucky; it’s the kind of thing that can make the whole endgame grind feel pointless. Players are worried that this mechanic will turn epic loot moments into fear of “bricking” your prize forever.

Feedback from the PTR crowd has been pretty blunt: something’s got to change. Some folks suggest letting you reroll Sanctification using crazy-rare materials. Others think the weak bonuses shouldn’t even be in the loot pool for late-game items. A clever compromise might be to create different tiers of possible outcomes so a Mythic Unique can only roll from the top tier. Right now, the system almost dares you to gamble your best gear, and that’s making people think twice.

If it does make it to the live game as is, you’ll want to be very careful about what you put through the process — it could be the difference between an item you treasure and one you regret every time you see it. For those chasing that perfect build, knowing when to hold back could be as important as knowing when to diablo 4 buy items.