Diablo 4's first "Rune Word" has been uncovered - and it's a Diablo 2 reference

One of Diablo 4's Barbarians stands in front of the camp fire
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4 is hiding a neat little reference to Diablo 2.

No, a game referencing another game in the same series is hardly Earth-shattering, but in this case it's certainly a neat little detail. As the post below notes, the Hellumfal Barbarian body armor in Diablo 4 is actually a reference to another body armor item from Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction.

First D4 Runeword found!!!! from r/diablo4

In this case, the "Hellumfal" armor is a reference to the Lionheart Rune Word for Diablo 2's body armor. The Lionheart Rune Word was used to unlock three-socket options in Diablo 2's body armor, and could seriously help out low-level characters in need of a cheap enhance damage or stat-boosting armor.

"Rune Words" themselves aren't really a thing in Diablo 4, and in this case for example, it's just a little throwback reference to Diablo 2. We can probably expect to uncover other similarly-hidden references to Diablo games in years past in Diablo 4, provided anyone's willing to put in the time and effort to find them.

And yes, as someone else on the Diablo-dedicated subreddit pointed out, this new armor set in Diablo 4 really does look like that atrocious lion dress Kendall Jenner wore to Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. That lion drape might be an important part of this easter egg, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a great look.

Elsewhere for Blizzard's new game though, the Diablo 4 level 100 pinnacle challenge encounter has been disabled while the dev team resolved some issues behind the scenes, in what will surely slow down the race for the title.

Check out our guide on how to level up fast in Diablo 4 if you want to access that sweet endgame content as soon as humanly possible.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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