Gold


 * For the magic prefix, see .

Gold is the currency in the Diablo series. Prices of items and repairs are expressed in gold generally. However, gold is virtually worthless when trading with other players, where items are valued much higher.

Lore
Gold has long served as the monetary means of trade in Sanctuary. This precious metal is melted into small gold slugs that are flattened and stamped with the heraldry of the kingdom that created it. Regardless of shape and size, the amount of gold per coin is consistent throughout the realms. Before gold coins were accepted as the universal currency, the wealthy fashioned gemstones and precious metals into jewelry in order to display their riches to others.

During the long reign of peace that existed in Khanduras, most towns and cities agreed upon a standard gold coin to use in trade. The Church of Zakarum has tried to have its own currency accepted as the new standard, but so far it has gained little acceptance. Although it would seem that demons have no use for gold coins, many demons hoard all the wealth they can find.

Mages have spent their lives trying to transmutate base metals into gold.

Diablo I
Gold is represented at its most limiting form in Diablo I. Used for buying potions, scrolls, gear, and other items, just like it would be in its sequel and its expansion, gold is something sought out for until a certain amount is achieved. Unlike later installments in the series, however, gold itself takes up inventory at the rate of 5000 gold per 1 box, leading to a frustrating decision for the player to make; should they hoard gold at the expense of having to go to town earlier just to pawn items, or should they only go with the essential amount for repairs. At the end, the second option is more favorable; the player eventually reaches a point where Griswold will not be able to offer up gear that is an upgrade to their own. As such, endgame players only need enough gold to cover the costs of potions and item status.

Hellfire did very little about gold's effects on a hero's inventory. Only one way exists to lessen the burden of gold, and even then, a player must sacrifice a good amulet to utilize that one way. When you use the Rune Bomb on the entrance to the Nest, return to Lester the Farmer, and he will drop the Auric Amulet. This allows you to double gold capacity per 1 box of inventory, at the cost of the Amulet slot.

Diablo II
In Diablo II, characters can carry 10,000 gold per level. For example, a 10th-level character can carry up to 100,000 gold; a level 99 character can carry 990,000 gold. The maximum amount of gold a character can carry with stash is 3,490,000, at level 99. Gold does not share space with items or weapons in the backpack as it did in Diablo I.

If killed, characters lose a percentage of the total gold both carried and stored in the Stash. This percentage is equal to your character's level but will not exceed 20%. After this 'death penalty' is deducted, the remaining gold your character was carrying falls to the ground in a pile. If the penalty exceeds the amount of gold you were carrying, the remainder of the penalty is deducted from your Stash.

In singleplayer, dying will not deplete your entire gold supply. No gold is lost from your stash, and 500 gold per character level is exempt from the death penalty. For example, if a 10th level Single-Player character with 5,000 gold dies, he will lose no gold.

In terms of player-to-player interaction, the value of gold is much lower than items and socketable items. This is because other players are also able to generate gold easily by killing monsters and selling items.

Diablo Immortal
Gold returns in Diablo Immortal.

Diablo III
"This is your gold. Do not spend it all in one place!"

- In-game description Gold returns in Diablo III, with exactly the same functions it had in the earlier installments of the series. Prior to March 18th of 2014, players were able to spend gold in the game's Gold Auction House for weaponry, materials, and other items. However, there are certain items that Bind to Account on Acquire. These items are not allowed trading priviledges, Auction House or otherwise.

Gold (much like stash) is shared among all characters of the same type on account (Hardcore and Seasonal characters having their own reserves, separate from normal characters). There is no limit on the maximum amount of gold an account can have.

As far as the values of items go at in-game vendors, the item's resale value is 1/25th of its buying price; an item that costs 500 in gold to buy from a vendor, if the player were to try to sell it, would refund 20 in gold for the exchange.

As a first for the series, gold can be picked up simply by walking over to the drop. A player can pick up gold from further distances by finding equipment that gives him/her an increase in pickup radius. And much like in Diablo II/Lord of Destruction, players can increase gold quantity by finding items that give a % increase in Gold Find.

Much like in Diablo II, gold is not very valuable in player/player interactions. The costs of repairing one's equipment also seem to have gone down with the 2 decades of time between Lord of Destruction and Diablo III: for one death alone, even at the level cap, it would be considered expensive if the costs broke 6000 gold just from the death, with many ways to reduce that amount or even remove it completely. Most of the player's gold will go to Enchanting services, Transmogrification, Gem upgrades and (least of all) on crafting new items.

As of patch 2.0.5., Gold Find multiplicatively stacks with Gold Find bonus from difficulty.

In Patch 2.1, a special gold counter has been added: it shows the total amount of Gold obtained in a streak, and resets 5 seconds after picking up no gold.

Players in need of vast amounts of gold might want to visit the Treasure Realm, which offers the highest yield of money in game.

Visually, the gold pile appearance changes depending on the amount it contains, larger piles including gold bars and jewelry in addition to coins.

Blood Shards are an alternate currency, displayed next to the gold counter.

As of patch 2.4, cosmetic and non-combat pets pick up the gold for the player. This patch also added an alternate use for gold: it can be spent prior to starting a Greater Rift to grant a fourth attempt to upgrade Legendary Gems upon successful completion.

As of patch 2.6.10, the Gold Pickup radius can be increased by up to 5 yards with Paragon points.

Other items used as money/currency
Players tend to use Perfect Gems as very valuable currency. These items are useful in many ways - most notably for Horadric Cube combinations and socketed weapons and armor.

The Stone of Jordan, considered by many players as the best available ring in Diablo II, was often duplicated and hacked. It lost its former value and was used like money, as players often had many of these "rare" rings in their inventories. Eventually, they became incredibly numerous - and worthless. Blizzard included in a few uses for this ring with the Horadric Cube and "World Event" to encourage players to use their Stones of Jordan to get rid of large amounts of these items from player inventories.

In Diablo III before the expansion, it was a common practice to pay with gems, as those had fixed value in game.