Item rarity in Diablo 4

Item rarity tiers

Diablo 4 features 5 item rarities. As an item's rarity increases, so does its number of affixes, type of affixes, and stat ranges:

Slot bonuses vs. affixes

Slot bonuses

In Diablo 4, items of most slot types have a chance to roll specific slot bonuses (e.g., all Swords in the game, regardless of rarity, can roll a "+X% Critical Strike Damage" bonus). Obviously, eligible items that include these slot bonuses are better than those without them. An easy method to tell whether an item rolled a slot bonus is to see if it has 2 long, horizontal lines:

Affixes

Affixes are randomly-rolled bonuses (unless the item is Unique rarity) and appear between the 2, long horizontal lines if the item has a slot bonus, or directly underneath the Armor or Damage Per Second figures if there's no slot bonus:

Normal items

Normal items are the least powerful in the game and have:

• Color: White
• Max affixes: 0
• Tradable: Yes

Normal item examples

#1: Hide Boots

#2: Strider's Leggings

#3: Two-Handed Hammer

Magic items

Magic items are useful in the early game (i.e., under Level 15), but will quickly be replaced by Rares.

• Color: Blue
• Max affixes: 1
• Tradable: Yes

Magic item examples

#1: Sanctified Helm

#2: Evasive Strider's Leggings

#3: Powerful Hand Axe

Rare items

Rare items with desirable affix and stat rolls can be upgraded to turn them into long-term items.

• Color: Yellow
• Max affixes: 3
• Tradable: Yes

Rare item examples

#1: Viper Guards

#2: Visceral Stompers

#3: Imp Bane

Legendary items

Legendaries include a Legendary affix, which are multiple times more powerful than a regular affix.

• Color: Orange
• Max affixes: 5 (4 regular + 1 Legendary)
• Tradable: No

Examples

#1: Boneweave Guantlets of Berserk Ripping

#2: Relentless Berserker's Adventurer's Helm

#3: Bullova of the Dire Whirlwind

Unique items

Uniques are by far the most powerful and rare items in the game. Players may find only a few during a whole Season. They include a Unique affix, which are even more powerful than Legendary ones.

• Color: Tan
• Max affixes: 5 (4 regular + 1 Unique)
• Tradable: No

Examples

#1: Word of Hakan

#2: Harlequin Crest

#3: Overkill

Removed item rarities

Set items

Early on in Diablo 4's development (i.e., 2019-2020), Blizzard said multiple times that Set items were in the game. Set items fell slightly beneath Legendary items in terms of power because Blizzard didn't want them to be the main chase items, like in past Diablo games.

However, in 2022, Blizzard changed its tune and said Set items weren't in the game anymore, but could return in an expansion or Season. So, no Set items for Diablo 4's launch.

Mythic items

Also, back in 2019, Blizzard told players that Mythic items were the most powerful in the game. Only 1 Mythic item was ever publicly shown, an Amulet, called "The Obsidian Heart":

At some point, Blizzard made the decision to replace Mythic items with Unique items, and we haven't heard anything else about them since.