Fans knew Diablo Immortal would come with microtransactions

The day before release, fans knew Diablo Immortal would come with microtransactions. After all, the game is free-to-play, and no of the story content or main features are restricted by a paywall D2R ladder items. Blizzard requires revenue with Diablo Immortal somehow, but it wasn't clear to what extent the company could make money from what it hailed as the most "ambitious" Diablo game to be released to.

People assumed it would have premium currency, pay cosmetics, and the battle pass, but it does, and more. The only thing that was not clear, and what Blizzard didn't disclose, was how heavy a role money plays when it can be used to help you advance your character in Diablo Immortal's finale and the advantages this gives you over your opponents.

The core of the issue is Legendary Crests and Legendary Gems. You see, Legendary Gems are not all created equal-some are incredibly valuable and rare. They are far superior to 1or 2 Star Legendary Gems that provide stronger effects, but additionally, they have better stats in form of increased Resonance a stat which boosts the lifespan and damage value of objects.

As an player, you'd like to have the most powerful gems, as well as more Resonance as feasible. It is also important to upgrade them as many times as possible to further increase the strength of them. Gems are upgraded by salvaging unneeded Legendary Gems, and higher quality gems do not just require the leftover scraps of unwanted gems, but also require hundreds different gems of the exact kind they can be improved.

The problem is that obtaining these highly coveted and extremely effective gems is only accessible through Legendary Crests. These crests are a premium item that is obtainable with real money and are backed by a guarantee that an Legendary Gem of a certain sort will drop when used in conjunction with Elder Rifts buy d2r items. Legendary Crests come with one chance, roughly 5%, to drop 5 stars Legendary Gems.