Added to the series in Diablo 3, we quickly came to love Diablo’s treasure goblins. Essentially living treasure chests, whether outside in the open world or deep in a dank dungeon, knowing that we could run into one at a moment’s notice always keeps us on our toes. And the rush to kill it before it manages to open up a portal and escape is always a thrill; almost as much as seeing what valuable loot it dropped for us. For that reason, we’re very glad they make a return in Diablo 4. Although at the moment, they’re a little disappointing.
Like most things in Diablo 4, treasure goblins have been toned down a little compared to Diablo 3. Actually, that may be an understatement – they’ve been toned down a lot. Diablo 3 has a small army of treasure goblins you can encounter, each offering some unique loot for you to quickly clamour over. There are treasure goblins that drop gems, treasure goblins that drop plans, and even treasure goblins that split into more treasure goblins until there are many of them running around the screen, creating a mad dash to try and get them all.
Our favourite treasure goblins in Diablo 3, however, are those that leave open portals when defeated, providing even more looting opportunities. A journey to a bright and colourful Whimsyshire allows for a brief respite from the doom and gloom typically associated with the series, for example, and loot is much sweeter when it comes courtesy of a cute cloud or a vibrant pony mercilessly cut down. A portal to the Vault is even better, though, granting you with enough gold that you feel like you’ve won the lottery.
At the moment, treasure goblins in Diablo 4 are comparably dull. There’s only type, and like in Diablo 3 they do their best to escape from you once alerted to your presence. The open world nature makes it harder for you to chase them here, too, and once you do cut them down, they rarely impress you with what they were carrying in their oversized sacks. You might get a legendary, which is always nice, but it’s not guaranteed. And if you’re playing on World Tier 3 or 4, it might not even be Sacred or Ancestral in quality.
It’s still fun coming across a treasure goblin in Diablo 4 – we always perk up a little when we see one on the minimap and then devise an approach to efficiently relieve it of its wares – but given how rare they are we just wish they were a little more fruitful. It would also be nice if, over time, more varieties of them could be added, like they were in Diablo 3. We imagine it will happen – after all, Diablo 4 is merely weeks old and it’s probably going to be around for at least 10 years. We just need to be patient. And hey, at least we can still play Diablo 3 if we need a quick treason demon fix.
