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Generally speaking, Diablo Immortal throws a ton of ratings, stats, and mechanics at you in an attempt to generate enough confusion to eventually incentivize you to spend a little money to make things easier. However, you’ll reach a point when you realize that most of the game’s stats all bow to the importance of your character’s Combat Rating.
For as important as your Combat Rating can be in Diablo Immortal, the game doesn’t exactly do a good job of letting you know what your current Combat Rating actually is or how to raise it. By the time you need to start answering those questions, you’ll likely start to feel like there’s not much you can do to improve your situation.
Before you start to lose all hope, though, here are a few things you need to know about your character’s Combat Rating and how to eventually improve it.
Diablo Immortal: What is Combat Rating?
Simply put, your Combat Rating in Diablo Immortal is what the game looks at when it’s trying to determine whether or not you’re able to “handle” certain content. So, you might run into a raid or similar piece of late-game content that requires your character to be at or above a certain Combat Rating threshold. If you are below that required rating, you won’t be able to participate in that content until you raise it.
Actually, one of the first things you should know about your Combat Rating is that it’s mostly a content gate. So, you might actually be able to deal enough damage to effectively contribute during a certain piece of PvE content, but if the game says your rating isn’t high enough, it will treat your character as if they’re too weak to participate. It’s basically a “you must be this tall to ride” sign. It can be helpful in preventing you from getting overwhelmed, but there are times when the cutoff can feel a bit arbitrary. More on that in a bit.
Diablo Immortal: How to Check Your Combat Rating
For as important as your Combat Rating can be in Diablo Immortal, it can be surprisingly tough to actually check it. That’s because your Combat Rating number is actually buried in your stats.
To find it, head to the “Attributes” section of your “Inventory” screen. There, look for the “More Attributes” option. Select that option, and you should be taken to a secondary stats screen where you’ll see your current Combat Rating.
So, what’s a good Combat Rating? Since that number only really comes into play when you’re trying to complete certain pieces of content, the answer kind of depends on what you’re actually trying to do in the game. Generally speaking, though, a Combat Rating of around 2000 will seemingly allow you to complete nearly all of the content in the game. However, you’re likely going to go through most of your Diablo Immortal journey with a Combat Rating that is substantially lower than that figure. That’s because it turns out that it’s surprisingly difficult to raise your rating past a certain threshold.
Diablo Immortal: How to Raise Your Combat Rating
In its simplest form, your Combat Rating is primarily determined by the following factors:
- The rarity of your gear
- Your current Gear Score
- The quality of your equipped Gems
- Your Helliquary
The rarity of your gear is probably the simplest factor to understand. The more pieces of Magic, Rare, or Legendary gear you have equipped, the higher your Combat Rating. A character with Legendary Gear in every slot will have a better Combat Rating than someone with only a few pieces of Legendary Gear, and even a few pieces of higher-end gear will raise your overall rating.
Gear Score is where things get trickier. On a basic level, your gear score is raised as you equip better items. However, you also have to factor in things like Gear Upgrades and the stats offered by certain items. So, unlike the rarity of your gear, which is pretty cut and dry, your Gear Score can be affected by a number of variables. You not only need increasingly rare gear, but you have to hope you get gear that is especially good for your class/build. You’ll then need to upgrade that gear as you go along. On top of that, you have to factor in how certain Legendary Gear modifiers may positively impact your Gear Score/Combat Rating more than others. That’s why it’s very important to gradually understand the factors that make certain pieces of gear better for your class and build than others. On that note, you can also use the game’s Essence Transfer service to add modifiers to Legendary Gear that will help them raise your Combat Rating even further.
Given how difficult it can be to find truly good gear drops and the resources needed to upgrade those drops, it can obviously take quite some time to upgrade your Combat Rating by increasing your Gear Score.
The quality of your equipped gems can also be a problem. As we’ve previously discussed, it can take a lot of time and a lot of money to find the best gems in Diablo Immortal. While some gems are better than no gems, some of the best Legendary Gems in Diablo Immortal can substantially increase your Combat Rating. If you just can’t seem to find the absolute best Legendary Gems, though, be sure to upgrade the gems you do find in order to keep your Combat Rating high.
Finally, there is your Helliquary. A little later into your Diablo Immortal journey, you’ll gain access to a kind of hub called a Helliquary that offers a variety of objectives and missions. Complete those objectives, and you’ll unlock various modifiers (and new gear) that will eventually enhance your Combat Rating. You can also defeat raid bosses and turn in their trophies for high-value Helliquary unlocks, but that’s kind of a Catch-22. After all, you need a high Combat Rating to access those raids, and those raids can improve your Combat Rating. Once you get your foot into the raiding door, though, it tends to be a little easier to raise your Combat Rating than it was before.
Generally speaking, you will raise your character’s Combat Rating through the natural course of play. However, because that rating is so closely tied to the quality of your gear rather than your character’s overall level, you will likely reach a point where you’ll need to farm for gear upgrades specifically to raise your Combat Rating. Sadly, that’s also the point where you may be tempted to spend a little money in order to make that process a bit easier. In case you don’t want to spend any money on Diablo Immortal, though, just know that it is eventually possible to raise your Combat Rating without having to go too far out of your way. However, it will take you a long time to hit the higher numbers you will eventually need.