Like a lot of other Diablo 4 fans, I knew as soon as Lord of Hatred was announced alongside the shadow drop of the Paladin class for Season 11 that I’d be running it as my first character of the season. I don’t usually like flying into a new Diablo 4 season blind, and tend to meticulously plan out my build in the weeks leading up to the season start date. However, that all went out the window when the Paladin was announced, but I would have liked some forewarning about one disadvantage building a Paladin would have ahead of time.
Jumping into Diablo 4 Season 11 day one with a Paladin felt almost like experiencing the launch of a brand-new game, since the nature of the class’s shadow drop meant no one really knew how it would play and what builds would look like. After spending some time with the skill tree and plotting out which skills I wanted to invest in for the early game, I realized that a lot of my build would depend on the Uniques and Legendaries available and how they each synergize with the Paladin’s different Oaths. Achieving my ideal build would prove more difficult than I thought, since it’s not possible to target the Paladin’s specific Legendary Aspects from dungeons in Diablo 4.
Diablo 4’s Paladin Doesn’t Have Any Guaranteed Legendary Aspect Drops
While there are plenty of new Legendary Aspects tailored specifically for the Paladin that were added in Diablo 4 Season 11, none of them can be obtained by completing an in-game dungeon. These new Legendary Aspects include:
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Paladin Offensive Aspects
- Aspect of Acension
- Aspect of Celestial Strife
- Aspect of Chastisement
- Aspect of Excellence
- Aspect of Exorcism
- Aspect of Holy Punishment
- Aspect of Jaques’ Fervor
- Aspect of Lagera’s Sovereignty
- Aspect of Lapa’s Scripture
- Aspect of Proselytizing
- Aspect of the Golden Hour
- Aspect of the Judicator
- Aspect of the Juggernaut’s Covenant
- Aspect of the Zealot’s Covenant
- Aspect of Tyrael’s Jurisdiction
- Aspect of Utmost Glory
- Aspect of Watkins’ Law
- Revelator’s Aspect
- Squire’s Aspect
- The Penitent’s Aspect
- Virtuous Aspect
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Paladin Defensive Aspects
- Apostle’s Aspect
- Aspect of Angelic Masterwork
- Aspect of Firm Decree
- Aspect of Glynn’s Anvil
- Aspect of Hale’s Salve
- Aspect of Heavenly Strength
- Aspect of Loyalty
- Aspect of Militance
- Aspect of the Disciple
- Aspect of the Indomitable
- Aspect of the Light’s Mending
- Aspect of Verdant Restoration
- Lord of Blood’s Aspect
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Paladin Utility Aspects
- Aspect of Dazzling Light
- Aspect of the Northern Guard
- Aspect of Valiance
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Paladin Resource Aspects
- Aspect of Akarat’s Blessing
- Aspect of Contemplation
- Aspect of Dedication
- Aspect of Dominance
- Aspect of Pilgrim’s Progress
- Aspect of Salvation
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Paladin Mobility Aspects
- Aspect of Swift Spirit
- Aspect of the Arbiter’s Zephyr
- Aspect of Unstoppable Force
Most Diablo 4 Classes Have Specific Legendary Aspects Tied to Particular Dungeons
With a total of 46 Legendary Aspects, it would have been nice if Diablo 4 would allow players to earn some as guaranteed drops from completing certain dungeons. As it stands, all the other Diablo 4 classes have a handful of their Legendary Aspects gated behind completing specific dungeons, allowing players a straightforward method of adding them to their Codex. However, Paladins aren’t so lucky and instead have to rely on the random chance of finding a Legendary with their desired Aspect in order to fill out their Codex.
Paladins can still access the general Legendary Aspects that drop from dungeons and are available to all classes. Only Paladin-exclusive Legendary Aspects are unavailable from dungeons.
Paladins Can Only Fill their Codex of Power By Salvaging Other Legendaries
In my search for the Legendary Aspects I need for my Diablo 4 Paladin build—which includes the Aspect of the Golden Hour, Aspect of the Judicator, and Aspect of Holy Punishment—the only one I’ve found so far in my Season 11 leveling grind is the Aspect of the Golden Hour. This is because I am at the mercy of the RNG of Legendary drops from Helltide chests and the Whisper Caches, hoping that I can find a piece of gear with one of these Aspects that I can salvage to add it to my Codex. With 46 Paladin Legendary Aspects plus the ones that are in the general pool, finding the two specific Aspects I need to complete my build is an exercise in frustration.
Salvaging Legendaries Makes Finding the Right Aspect a Gamble for Diablo 4 Players
In general, I enjoy the process of adding Legendary Aspects to my Codex and then applying them to a piece of gear at Diablo 4‘s Occultist. However, I wish the system was more like Diablo 4‘s new Tempering mechanic, where finding a Temper Manual yields multiple affixes that can be tempered onto a piece of gear. If Diablo 4 had an item that allowed multiple Legendary Aspects to be unlocked in the Codex at once, it would remove some of the hassle of grinding for a random Legendary gear drop with the desired affix.
Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred Will Likely Solve the Paladin’s Legendary Aspect Problem
To save me some sanity, I’m hopeful that the Lord of Hatred expansion will address this problem. I assume part of the reason the Paladin doesn’t have any Legendary Aspects earnable from a dungeon is that all the existing dungeons in Sanctuary already have an associated Legendary Aspect or are designated for another mechanic. Rather than adding new dungeons for the Paladin’s Legendary Aspects in Diablo 4 Season 11, I’d imagine this will happen when the expansion launches. Lord of Hatred is adding Skovos as a new region for players to explore, and it’s likely that this area will feature dungeons with Legendary Aspects for both Paladin and the second unannounced class, much like Nahantu did for Spiritborn in Vessel of Hatred.
- Released
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June 5, 2023
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
