With Path of Exile 2 coming, it is once again time to talk about Diablo 4's stash system
While I love Diablo 4 and am quite excited for Path of Exile 2, the game’s stash systems couldn’t be more different. Action RPGs, especially these loot-farming style games, need plenty of space for stuff — equipment, reagents, transmutation items, and a vast array of scrolls, summoning materials, and other nonsense you accrue over the course of your years in a game.
Since your real-money purchases will carry over in Path of Exile 2 (unless it’s a hyper-specific thing), it’s easy to assume that your stash tabs will carry over. If you bought them on sale, for example, in PoE 1, you can keep them, it’s safe to say. Diablo 4, unfortunately, has had nothing but troubles with its stash.
Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4 have wildly different stash systems
Path of Exile 2 critics could say that Diablo 4 has a better stash system since you don’t have to spend real money on them in D4. That is sort of a fair critique, but it’s also really not — PoE 2 is a free-to-play game, and the default stash is pretty generous.
For about $10 USD, you get a lot back in terms of stash space in Path of Exile 2 and PoE 1. Conversely, you have to grind gold for more stash tabs in Blizzard’s Action RPG, and the base inventory is miserable.
I will say that Diablo 4 has made some improvements since last year. Putting all crafting reagents and gem crafting reagents in a separate space that doesn’t clutter your inventory is really quite lovely. However, even with a separate tab for key items, equipment, summoning materials, and potions, it still never quite feels like enough.
Even as a player who only occasionally hops in for a few hours at a time, it doesn’t take long for me to completely run out of space for summoning materials. The same goes for my Nightmare Dungeon keys and Infernal Horde compasses. My current character’s inventory is almost completely full in all aspects, except equipment. I am however glad that the prices for more stash tabs are lower now, in Diablo 4.
That’s only because I am quick to break down gear to improve my Aspects for future upgrades. Path of Exile 1’s inventory was just as awful, though. However, that game more than makes up for it with a huge stash system that will likely carry over to Path of Exile 2.
While yes, you do have to spend real money for more tabs in Path of Exile 2, it's typically not very much, and it's in a free-to-play game. It's in no way predatory, either. If you say, spend $20 USD on the Premium Bundle, that's six large stash tabs that you can rename, color, and use as you will for your Shared Stash.
What could Blizzard do to fix Diablo 4’s stash system? While it was nice to get a separate tab for socketables (Eg: Runes), and then a separate one for Consumables and Dungeon Keys, it still doesn’t quite feel like it’s enough.
One problem came to light back in the early days of the Blizzard-created MMORPG — it comes down to performance. Joseph Piepiora, one of the game’s developers highlighted it as a performance issue.
For some reason, when you see another player in the game, you also load their items and stash. This is a truly bizarre design choice and not one that I completely understand. If there were any way to move beyond this and redesign the inventory system, that could lead to an overall improved stash in Diablo 4.
Somehow, Path of Exile 2 simply doesn’t have this problem. You can have a series of absolutely titanic tabs all connected together, and easily go through them to find exactly what you’re looking for.
While I don’t have the answer, I do feel that, for the time being, D4 players are going to remain frustrated at the lack of inventory and stash space for their characters. To Blizzard's credit, they have made some upgrades and changes that make players' lives easier in that regard; that said, the nature of the stash remains a vexing one.