Charms

Charms are an unknown quantity in Diablo III.

The D3 Team had long said that charms would not return to the game, and that they didn't like the inventory space trade off that using Diablo II charms required. They've still not made any commitment to charms returning, but one line in the Artisan FAQ mentions "charms" in a confusing, but curious, way.

Q: What do the artisans offer?

A: Skilling up your artisans will unlock unique recipes, granting your character access to benefits that may not be found anywhere else in the world. The blacksmith crafts weapons and armor, and can add sockets to some items. The mystic creates scrolls, potions, magical weapons, spell runes, and charms, and can also enchant items. The jeweler crafts gems, amulets, and rings. The jeweler can also remove gems from socketed items and can combine gems to improve their quality.

The wording isn't entirely clear; "charms" could be a verb in this usage, and refer to an action the Mystic can perform on your armor. However, it seems more like "charms" is a noun here, and refers to an unknown type of item the mystic can create. The leading guesses thus far are that charms are a small object that can be placed in the Talisman. Simply sticking gems into the Taliman seems a little plain, when Artisans are involved.

This is purely conjecture though, and nothing is certain until the developers release additional information.

D3 Team Charms Comments

Diablo 3 community manager Bashiok commented on charms in a forum post in April 2010. [1]

Charms are cool. Randomized item drops that give passive bonuses while held? That’s a cool way for someone to actively change their character beyond just skills and armor/weapons. Making it an inventory space decision; however, isn’t very cool. You were trading inventory space for character power, which is sort of an interesting trade but also one that is directly and immediately punishing. It’s not like giving up ... say ... health to do more damage. You aren’t deciding that your play style can overcome your decisions on how to balance your character. Everyone needs inventory space regardless of how they want to play, so it becomes a mandate that if you want to do X, you better get ready to throw down a lot of town portals. Fun? Eh.

We don’t have charms at the moment, but it’s a mechanic we like the idea of as long as it doesn’t become an inventory space vs. power decision. They’re one of those things that certainly could come back but that we haven’t fully explored yet.