Gear, Gems and Loot

Where the good gear actually comes from

There is one direct answer in the community AMA, and it points at PvE rather than at PvP:

The most common way to obtain top-tier gear is by defeating Mist Lords on Cataclysm difficulty, which inherently requires strong PvE capabilities.

The developers named a specific location for this too. Brandrgarde on Cataclysm difficulty was described as the place where “top-tier rare loot drops everywhere,” where every landmark holds something, and which they called a prime farming spot. It is high-risk, high-reward by design.

That connects directly to the ranked ladder. Once you hit Fateweaver I, Normal difficulty stops giving Rank Points — see Path of Glory — so the difficulty that gates your rank is the same difficulty that gates your gear.

They also said loot drops will “gradually become more diverse as the season progresses,” so an early-season drop table is not the final one.

Holy weapons

Holy weapons are a distinct tier the developers deliberately kept secret until two weeks before launch. Two facts are confirmed, and one is explicitly not:

• They carry exclusive gameplay affixes, which the developers say will massively expand build variety and theorycrafting
• They drop from map bosses, with each boss offering its own unique Holy weapon
• The exact stat bonuses have not been published — the developers said they were keeping those a surprise, and only released concept art

If you see a site listing specific Holy weapon stats, that number did not come from Bellring Games.

Gems replaced random affixes

This is the structural change that matters most for how you build a character. The previous playtest used a random affix system; that was replaced with gem socketing, which the developers describe as making “the entire affix build more controllable and progression more stable.”

In practice, that moves the game away from re-rolling for a good item and toward acquiring the right gems and placing them. The developers’ own Warehouse screenshot shows how granular this is: an Excellent-rarity ring with two base stats, a named affix at level 1, and a “Tier 1 Blue Gem Slot — Empty”. Sockets are both tiered and colour-typed.

A dedicated gem warehouse — with stacking, filtering and affix display — was confirmed for Season 1. Expanding personal warehouse space is “under consideration”. Raising stack limits for building and upgrading materials is not planned.

The Loadout System and Share Codes

The Loadout Station lets you assemble a complete set of equipment and gems and buy and equip the lot in one click. Configurations save as named profiles, so you can keep separate combat and exploration setups and swap between them instantly.

The part worth knowing about if you read guides: builds have Share Codes. You can generate a code from your own completed build, and anyone who pastes it imports the entire equipment and gem configuration in one action. Whether loadouts will also save beverage buffs and carried consumables is a “may” — the developers said it might roll out during the season.

The economy, and two things that are not coming

The Auction House got more slots at launch, and the automatic restocking mechanic was removed. Season 1’s stated focus is on One-Click Buy and Quick Purchase at the Loadout Station, aimed at reducing purchase failures caused by rapid price movement. Item tooltips surface the market directly — the developers’ screenshot shows an average transaction price listed next to the item’s raw value, so you can see what something actually trades for before deciding whether to sell it.

Two systems players asked for and did not get:

• Salvaging. Asked whether equipment and gems could be broken down for materials, the developers said they are not considering it at this time.
• A forging rework. Forging times will be optimised, but the system is not being rebuilt.

Both were left in the “may be added to our pipeline in the future” category rather than refused outright — but neither is planned.

Loot in the world

Two changes from the pre-launch work shape what you find while exploring. Loot drop rules and item drop rates were adjusted, new interactable containers were added, and loose loot now spawns directly throughout the wilderness maps rather than only in containers.

Separately, the Key system was expanded: there are locked treasure chambers and chests matching new keys, plus several new types of rare, high-tier keys. The developers noted this deliberately enriches the trading gameplay around keys — a key you cannot use is still worth something to someone who can.