Diablo 4's Sanctification System: Should It Stay, Go, or Live on in Eternal

Diablo 4 players are facing one of the hardest design questions Blizzard has introduced so far: what should happen to Sanctification once the season ends? Should it become a permanent system? Should it exist only in Eternal? Or should it disappear entirely, taking all sanctified gear with it?

This isn't a simple yes-or-no issue. Sanctification is powerful, controversial, exciting, frustrating, and-depending on who you ask-either one of Diablo 4's best experiments or one of its most dangerous design decisions. There are real arguments on all sides, and understanding them requires first stepping back and asking a basic question.

What Is Sanctification, Exactly

Sanctification is a seasonal system that allows players to add a random additional stat to an item. Once an item is sanctified, it becomes completely locked: no further crafting, no additional sockets, no corrections. You get what you roll.

Sometimes, that roll is godly.

A perfect example is a Mythic Unique that rolls another Mythic-tier sanctification effect-such as a Harlequin Crest gaining an additional Harlequin-style bonus. These items push character power into territory that simply doesn't exist anywhere else in the game.

But sanctification isn't always a blessing. It can-and often does-brick items completely.

A Werebear-focused Druid chest that suddenly converts Grizzly Rage into a Werewolf skill? That item is dead. A Harlequin Crest sanctified before adding its second socket? Permanently weaker. A great unique rolled into an awkward or useless stat? Too bad.

That risk is part of the system's identity.

Why Sanctification Feels So Powerful

At its best, sanctification creates builds that would otherwise be impossible.

Take a Grandfather sword with a massive Life on Hit sanctification. Normally, one Life on Hit roll is enough to sustain a build. Sanctification can give you ten times that amount. Suddenly, damage intake becomes irrelevant, defensive affixes become optional, and entire gearing philosophies change overnight.

This power isn't limited to offense. Defensive sanctifications allow players to drop resistances, armor, or max life entirely, reallocating gear toward pure damage. The result is extreme build freedom-something Diablo players have been asking for since launch.

In that sense, sanctification succeeds brilliantly. It breaks the rules, and breaking rules is often where ARPGs shine.

The Problem: RNG, Bricking, and Power Gaps

The flip side is just as obvious.

Sanctification is wildly inconsistent. One player sanctifies a single item and hits a god-tier Mythic roll. Another sanctifies 30 or 40 items and gets nothing meaningful. This disconnect fuels frustration, especially when leaderboard players showcase gear stacked with multiple Mythic sanctifications.

Some top players effectively run nine or more Mythic effects at once, stacking power far beyond what most players will ever touch. That gap can feel demoralizing, even if it isn't technically required to clear content.

And while bricking items adds excitement, it also adds regret. Losing hours of progress to a bad roll feels very different from failing a boss fight-it feels permanent.

The Chaos Armor Precedent

For many players, this debate brings back memories of Chaos Armors, one of Diablo's most beloved seasonal mechanics. 

Chaos Armors added depth, creativity, and long-term goals-and then they vanished.

Logging into Eternal after that season ended felt awful. Gear that required dozens of hours of farming simply disappeared. Even players who rarely touch Eternal still remember that loss.

Sanctification risks repeating that exact mistake.

Option One: Keep Sanctification Fully Permanent

The most straightforward option is to keep sanctification in the game permanently, allowing players to continue sanctifying items in future seasons.

Pros:

 Players keep their hard-earned gear

 Long-term item progression feels meaningful

 Builds continue to evolve beyond a single season

 Encourages experimentation and creativity

Cons:

 Power creep becomes a real threat

 Sanctification could overshadow future seasonal mechanics

 New players may feel permanently behind

 Balance becomes significantly harder

If sanctification stays untouched, it risks becoming the defining system in Diablo 4-possibly at the expense of everything else.

Option Two: Eternal-Only Sanctification

This is where many players land as a compromise.

Under this model:

 Sanctification does not return in future seasons

 Existing sanctified items remain usable in Eternal

 Seasonal characters start fresh without itThis mirrors how many ARPGs handle powerful seasonal mechanics. In Path of Exile, if you earned something in a league, it stayed with you-sometimes forever-even if it could never be obtained again.

Diablo 3 also had legacy items: double-socket weapons, socketed boots, attack-speed belts. You couldn't farm them anymore, but if you had them, you kept them.

Why This Works:

 Eternal finally feels "eternal"

 Seasonal balance stays intact

 Players keep a piece of Diablo history

 No need to nerf sanctification into irrelevance

The downside? Eternal becomes wildly unbalanced-but many argue that's the entire point.

Option Three: Delete Sanctification Entirely

The most brutal option is also the cleanest: remove sanctification from the game completely, including Eternal.

Pros:

 No long-term balance issues

 No power creep

 No permanent disparity

Cons:

 Players lose hours-or weeks-of progress

 Undermines trust in seasonal investment

 Repeats the Chaos Armor mistake

 Feels punishing rather than exciting

This option may be safest from a design standpoint, but it risks alienating players who value persistence.

The 50/50 Problem: Build Dependency

One of the trickiest aspects of sanctification is how build-defining it can be.

Some builds only function because a sanctification replaces an Aspect slot or provides a critical mechanic. Without it, the build collapses. That's exciting-but also restrictive.

If sanctification disappears entirely, those builds disappear with it. If it stays permanently, those builds become mandatory benchmarks.

This is where sanctification feels both brilliant and dangerous.

Power vs. Motivation: Will Seasons Still Matter

Another concern is whether sanctification makes future seasons less appealing. If Eternal characters are permanently stronger than seasonal ones, will players still roll new characters?

Some say yes-because seasons are about the journey, not raw power. Others argue Diablo thrives on resets, and anything that weakens seasonal motivation is risky.

Still, many players love having a "finished" character to return to-something Diablo 4 currently lacks.

The History Argument: Let Players Keep the Broken Stuff

One of the strongest arguments for Eternal-only sanctification is emotional rather than mechanical.

Owning a piece of broken, overpowered history feels special. It's the same reason players reminisce about old League of Legends champions, early Overwatch metas, or Diablo II oddities.

Sanctified gear represents a moment in Diablo's evolution. Deleting it erases that history.

A Possible Middle Ground

If Blizzard revisits sanctification later, there's room for iteration:

 Remove Mythic-tier sanctifications, but keep the system

 Introduce a resource (like Sanctification Powder) to reduce RNG

 Allow limited rerolls instead of one-and-done locking

But many players worry about the worst-case scenario: sanctification returning in a nerfed, watered-down form-10% of its former power, stripped of what made it exciting in the first place.

Final Thoughts: What Should Blizzard Do

Sanctification is flawed-but it's also one of Diablo 4's boldest ideas. It creates unforgettable moments, absurd items, and genuinely new builds. It also creates imbalance, frustration, and envy.

The cleanest solution may be this:

 Let sanctified items live on in Eternal

 Do not reintroduce the system in future seasons

 Preserve it as a powerful, historical mechanic

That way, no one loses their hard work, seasons stay balanced, and Diablo 4 gains something it desperately needs: a sense of permanence.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to follow MMOexp, join the discussion, and we also provide reliable Diablo 4 Gold and Diablo 4 Items services. Whatever Blizzard chooses, one thing is clear-players care deeply about this system. And that alone proves Sanctification did something right.

MMOexp Diablo 4 Team