Gold is a resource in Diablo 4 that players will be slowly collecting for the entire game. Because of this, gamers may mistakenly believe that it should be considered a trivial currency that automatically farms itself. But spending gold often happens in large chunks; chunks that may deplete a gamer's wallet if they haven't been managing their money correctly.
Small wastes of money aren't necessarily a big deal. Some items on this list may add a bit of joy in a player's life and that's what video games are all about. But players who value coins above unnecessary expenditures will find themselves a bit wealthier by avoiding some negative transactions in Diablo 4.
8 Buying Anything Other Than Rare Ancestral Gear
Because players can rip aspects off of Legendary items, Rare gear becomes the best in the game. Some veterans will be hunting down Rare gear from vendors with perfect stat rolls. However, unless it's also Ancestral, it's best to leave it alone.
In the end, the best gear is either Unique or Ancestral Rare (with a legendary aspect attached). Buying anything else may be an upgrade at the time but it will be a temporary upgrade. Unless players have the worst luck on the planet and are replacing severely low-level items, avoid these purchases. Use vendors to sell specific items, not to buy from.
7 Horses
At 20,000 gold a pop, the various horses available are not worth the asking price. Players get one for free and should stick with that unless cosmetics are the most important part of the game for them. Collection-seekers may want to buy out the whole stable but there isn't a monetary reason to do so.
Gamers that enjoy cosmetics will find that cross-class Battle Pass options will give them what they need. If players don't want to spend real money, maybe buy a couple of horses for different scenarios. But buying horses that never see use isn't a frugal move.
6 Refining Resources
This entry is a double whammy. Not only do players lose gold, but they're also not getting a great return on resources. Refining resources requires stacks of five of another resource plus a gold deposit. But all of these resources can be easily farmed for free. If players simply look for mining and plant nodes while completing the game, they'll end up with more than enough of each resource.
Farming iron is important for more than just the early game. Players that get into crafting will want to have a good amount on hand. This also goes for leather and herbs. Spending gold to get different resources will ultimately be an expensive and highly inefficient practice.
5 Upgrading Imperfect Gear
When players have exactly the rolls and gear they want, upgrading is critical; it ensures the perfect piece of gear won't be outdated after leveling up. But keeping anything less-than-perfect upgraded is pricey, especially if players upgrade all their gear after each level.
Unless players want to end up in a huge in-game line waiting for soup, the best course of action is the keep replacing gear until finding the perfect piece. Better gear will fall with each level. Keeping it updated is a senseless burden to endure.
4 Extracting Unwanted Aspects
Extracting an aspect is a six-figure gold expenditure. Some gamers may be inclined to keep an aspect around for another character or a change in builds but don't do this. It's best to keep the piece the aspect is on instead since ripping out the aspect costs so much gold.
The extracted aspect still takes up an inventory slot so it's not like gamers are saving space when they do this. It's just a waste of gold. If a change happens and players end up wanting the aspect, then wait for that moment to come. Don't get a "head start" by having the extraction ready for a day that may never come.
3 Enchanting Gear With More Than One Imperfect Roll
Enchanting can take one bad roll on a piece of gear and make it better. But players can only do this with one slot. So a piece with two or more imperfect rolls should not be enchanted. Yes, it will temporarily improve the piece. But the piece is destined for replacement.
Save the money for pieces of gear that deserve it. Farming Nightmare dungeons for experience will yield a lot of gear; wait to find a piece that is nearly perfect before getting into the weeds and enchanting each problematic piece. Even if not to save gold, doing this repeatedly slows the down the ever-important grind.
2 Level Up All Gems
Classes require different gems. Popular and unpopular classes will vary in their needs. But no class needs every gem. So leveling up gems that have stats unrelated to the build shouldn't be leveled up. Leveling them up in bulk gets expensive, especially if players do it all at once.
The costs can easily get into the millions and the result will be gems that are completely worthless to the character. Even if the gems are meaningful, there is also a point where players will have every gem they'll ever have the slots for. When this happens, don't bother forking over the cash to make more. Let the gems hang out in the stash and wait for a patch to make them relevant.
1 Adding Sockets To Imperfect Items
While gem bonuses are great, they aren't critical enough to force onto a temporary piece of gear. The theme of this article may very well be "avoid spending money on gear that will be replaced" and this entry has that exact spirit. Making a socket is another six-digit venture with not nearly enough return.
Again, if the piece is perfect, socket away, that's a great use of gold. But popping sockets and gems into these come-and-go weapons and armor is a recipe for going broke. And there is little worse than going broke right when the perfect piece comes along that actually deserves a socket.
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.