Diablo 4 is cooking up plenty of upgrades for the Vessel of Hatred expansion, and one of the biggest improvements is sending players all the way back to Diablo 2. Back when the Diablo franchise was still in its infancy and players were learning the ins and outs of building the most powerful characters possible, experimentation was the key to unlocking some wickedly powerful items. Runewords, a mechanic that allowed users to craft specific rune effects for items, was a beloved mechanic so it's great to see it make a triumphant return.
During an official blog post, Blizzard confirmed that one of the major changes coming to Diablo 4 alongside Vessel of Hatred is the introduction of Runewords. The mechanic will largely function as it did in Diablo 2, allowing players to slot a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation into an item with two open slots, activating the effects. The Rune of Ritual specifies a condition, such as moving forward five meters, while the Rune of Invocation triggers when the aforementioned task is completed, granting the character a new ability or temporary stat bonus.
