What is a legacy item in Diablo 4?

If you switch characters in Diablo 4 between those in the Eternal and Seasonal realms, you may have come across something called a “legacy item”. What is that and how different are they compared to normal items in rotation right now?

What is a legacy item in Diablo 4?

A legacy item in Diablo 4 means that it is an item that has been acquired prior to all the big armory changes that came with The Pit in Season 4. This includes the overhaul of the Blacksmith and how you acquire different and new affixes for your legendary gear.

They will appear in your inventory with a red skull over them. This will only ever appear in the Eternal Realm.

Since the game was on an older system before all this, that means that the gear that you may have stored will not be compatible with Tempering and Masterworking. They can’t benefit from obtaining two additional attributes as well as being masterwork to level 12.

The only things they will benefit from are from all the recent changes in enemy and player balances. Old, outdated builds may still work just as fine in the Eternal Realm while others might be outsourced. 

For example, all the HoTA Barbarian things that may have worked may be less potent because of the introduction of all the new nerfs that happened as the game went on.

What to do with legacy items in Diablo 4

If you have a character with legacy gear from Season 3 or before, you can’t really do much with it. You can try and play the new modes that have come into the game since their creation, but they’re just relics of the past.

While not benefitting from new systems, they will most likely start to struggle with content from The Pit or even Nightmare Dungeons since they can’t be upgraded. You can’t trade this gear either since all of it is account-bound.