As with past seasons of Diablo 4, each class has received a new unique piece of gear in the Sins of the Horadrim season. Whenever Diablo 4 adds a new unique, it often ends up shaping that class's position in the seasonal meta, for better or for worse. For one class, its underwhelming new Season 9 unique may have contributed to its decline among Diablo 4's meta builds.
The Sins of the Horadrim season hasn't been kind to Diablo 4's Rogue and Barbarian classes, both of which were affected by the nerf to Overpower Damage. While these classes did receive a few buffs in the recent patch 2.3.1, the Rogue still remains one of the lower-tier classes for tackling Diablo 4 Season 9's endgame. This can likely be attributed to the Barbarian still getting some solid support from its new Hooves of the Mountain God unique, while the Rogue's Deathmask of Nirmitruq unique has done little to move the needle.
Diablo 4 Update 2.3.1 Buffs Hit the Wrong Target
With update 2.3.1, Diablo 4 is addressing some major Season 9 concerns, but leaves one area in need of improvement untouched.
Diablo 4 Season 9's New Uniques Set the Bar High, But the Deathmask of Nirmitruq Falls Short
Other Season 9 Uniques Are Meta-Defining
The six new uniques added in Diablo 4 Season 9 have generally been some of the best the game has seen to date, with each class getting a useful new tool to build a character around. These new Season 9 uniques include:
- Hooves of the Mountain God (Unique Boots) – Barbarian
- Rotting Lightbringer (Unique Two-Handed Mace) – Druid
- The Hand of Naz (Unique Gloves) – Necromancer
- Deathmask of Nirmitruq (Unique Helm) – Rogue
- Ophidian Iris (Unique Amulet) – Sorcerer
- Balazan’s Maxtlatl (Unique Pants) – Spiritborn
Of these new uniques, the Spiritborn's Balazan’s Maxtlatl pants are the clear winner, allowing the class to dominate the Diablo 4 Season 9 meta with its ability to deal massive amounts of Poison Damage. The Sorcerer's Ophidian Iris is also a top-tier unique, and has resulted in the Hydra Sorcerer being another popular meta build. While not as powerful as the top two new uniques, The Hand of Naz has made the Minion Necromancer a very viable endgame build, and the Rotting Lightbringer has pushed Pulverize Druid into the upper echelons of the Season 9 meta. All of these new uniques have become a cornerstone of its class's best Season 9 builds, except for the Deathmask of Nirmitruq, which has made little impact on the Rogue's build options for the Sins of the Horadrim season.
Diablo 4 Rogues Don't Make Full Use of the Deathmask of Nirmitruq in Season 9
Unfortunately for Rogue fans, the Deathmask of Nirmitruq doesn't do enough to warrant use on a Season 9 build over a universally useful mythic helm like the Heir of Perdition. The unique affix of the Deathmask of Nirmitruq allows Rogue players to deal increased Flurry damage by spending a portion of their Life when out of Energy. However, the increase isn't significant enough to risk the Life required for the trade-off. As a result, Flurry doesn't get enough support to be a more viable Core Skill for a Rogue build than the alternatives, leaving it lower down in the meta.
Better Rogue builds for Diablo 4 Season 9 include ones that take advantage of classic uniques like the Azurewrath sword. Penetrating Shot Rogue and Twisting Blades Rogue are both better options that use the Azurewrath as their foundation, opting for the Heir of Perdition as their helm of choice. In a season where Diablo 4's Rogue class needed a win, it seems like the Deathmask of Nirmitruq has been left in the dust, ultimately forcing Rogue players to resort to old hat builds to carry them until the next new wave of uniques hits in Season 10.
Diablo 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
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