Champions not dropping Champion items

Player.log (340.0 KB)

Update 10/28/25: It seems that the way Champ drops currently work throughout the campaign is that the first champion of each zone will drop a champion item but then any future champion that spawns in that zone will not drop a champion item. Also, Champions that spawn in zones that share the same level as another zone will also count towards this effect. For example, The Shattered Valley and the Ancient Forest both have a zone level of 20, therefore, if the first Champion is encountered in The Shattered Valley, that champion will drop a champion item but any subsequent Champion in the Shattered Valley, the Ancient Forest, or the Abandoned Tunnel will not drop a champion item. In this instance, you will not find another Champion drop until you kill a Champion in a level 21 zone. I’ve observed this effect in all zones starting from Last Refuge Outskirts up until The Courtyard (as I have not played past the Courtyard on this character).

I’m playing Hardcore Legacy with no loot filter and have encountered 6 champions in the Last Refuge Outskirts Level 10 Zone and only the first one I encountered dropped an item with a champion affix. The Game Guide states that Champions always drop items with a Champion affix. I’ve already submitted an in-game bug report, but this time I made a video of it that you can see here: