Diablo 4’s 10K-word patch notes bless necromancers and curse barbarians for next week’s season 4 PTR
Diablo 4 is about to become a wildly different game. Starting in season 4 and onwards, every class, item, and progression system will work differently. Blizzard has released the over 10,000-word patch notes for all the changes you’ll be able to test out in next week’s season 4 playtest, or public test realm (PTR).
It’s hard to overstate how dramatic the item rework will be. The core of the game—of any action RPG, really—is the gear you equip and how it interacts with your class. Now that you can add stats onto Legendary items and significantly upgrade them through two new crafting systems, everything will feel different. Keep in mind that we won’t truly know the impact of the balance changes in the patch notes until the new context they live in becomes clear.
At the heart of this patch is a fundamental shift to how items in Diablo 4 work. Basically, you’ll pick fewer of them up, but each one will have the potential to become a key element of your build through two new crafting systems: Tempering and Masterworking. Tempering lets you attach unique stats on your gear, like a chance for a necromancer’s bone splinters to cast twice, and Masterworking—which will only be available at level 100—lets you significantly upgrade those stats to your liking. The idea is that no two items will look the same.
Blizzard also combed through each of the classes and fixed up the most underused skills and the skills that kept some classes unbeatable in the meta. Sorry, barbarians, that means the big bonk that could one-shot bosses won’t be nearly as big anymore.
Here are the most notable class balance changes in the Diablo 4 season 4 patch notes:
- The strongest barbarian skills are getting heavy nerfs: Charge and Hammer of the Ancients have significantly reduced damage
- Druids skills hit harder and flow better: Lacerate does way more damage and a Legendary Aspect makes Shred refund Spirit for more Shreds
- Necromancer minion/summoner builds will be absurdly powerful: Minions inherit 100% of your stats and each type gives powerful bonuses to your damage output
- Rogue grenades aren’t trash anymore: New Uniques and substantial buffs to Legendary aspects make grenade skills extremely potent
- Sorcerers are slower and colder: Infinite Teleporting is gone, but Frozen Orb is significantly stronger and hooks into a new Unique Amulet
Every elixir in the game will have stronger effects and a bigger boost to XP gains.
On top of that, Helltide open world events have been overhauled to have more monsters and a “threat” meter that will send demons to ambush you when it fills up. The Gauntlet, Diablo 4’s weekly dungeon for high-score chasers, will now reward you with at least one guaranteed Unique item if you manage to meet Blizzard’s par time (which is very easy to do). And every elixir in the game will have stronger effects and a bigger boost to XP gains.
There’s still even more changes stuffed into the patch notes, but most of it will only make sense when we can get our hands on the PTR. Diablo 4 PC players who use the Battle.net launcher (not Steam), which includes Game Pass players, will be able to play on the week-long PTR starting on April 2. Blizzard says it will look at the feedback from it as it prepares to launch season 4 on May 14.
News Related
-
Cloud computing experts, builders, customers, partners, and technology enthusiasts descend on Las Vegas to attend AWS re:Invent event that runs through December 1. Photo: AWS Amazon Web Services, the world’s biggest cloud services provider, has expanded its partnership with technology platform Clarity AI to help investors and consumers advance sustainable ...
See Details:
AWS and Clarity AI to use generative AI to boost sustainable investments
-
Manchester City players appeal to the referee after Ruben Dias’ effort is ruled out for a foul on Alisson Former referee Dermot Gallagher dissects the flashpoints from the latest round of the 2023/24 Premier League season including Manchester City’s disallowed goal against Liverpool and Manchester United’s penalty at Everton. Man ...
See Details:
Ref Watch: 'Enough' of a foul to disallow Man City goal vs Liverpool
-
-
All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been traded to his former franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) from Gujarat Titans with Cameron Green moving from Mumbai to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the IPL said yesterday. Five-time winners Mumbai got all-rounder Pandya back on his existing player fee of $1.8mn as teams prepare their wish ...
See Details:
Pandya returns to MI, Green goes to RCB
-
KYIV, 28th November, 2023 (WAM) — A winter storm lashed central and southern Ukraine, killing at least five people in Ukraine and three in neighbouring Moldova, with snow and high winds knocking out power to hundreds of towns and villages and shutting highways, Reuters reported. At least 19 people were ...
See Details:
Snowstorm kills eight in Ukraine and Moldova, hundreds of towns lose power
-
-
Empty jars of cream cheese, bottles of juice, torn clothes and scrap wood. These are just some items that double as eye-catching decor in Dubai resident Siddiqa Akhtar’s Furjan townhouse. A veritable upcycled haven, the Pakistani homemaker’s DIY space pays homage to her zero-waste lifestyle. Her creativity is evident from ...
See Details:
Inside a Dubai home with upcycled furniture and zero waste
-
-
Henry Turner of JESS Blues. Defending school champs JESS play a practice match against Dubai Hurricanes ahead of Emirates Dubai Sevens. The Sevens, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National When Jumeirah English Speaking School claimed the Gulf Under-19s title at the Dubai Sevens for the first time 12 months ago ...
See Details:
No Antoine Dupont but Dubai still set to launch new era for sevens
-
Henry Turner of JESS Blues. Defending school champs JESS play a practice match against Dubai Hurricanes ahead of Emirates Dubai Sevens. The Sevens, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National When Jumeirah English Speaking School claimed the Gulf Under-19s title at the Dubai Sevens for the first time 12 months ago ...
See Details:
Why ESG investors are concerned about AI
-
Henry Turner of JESS Blues. Defending school champs JESS play a practice match against Dubai Hurricanes ahead of Emirates Dubai Sevens. The Sevens, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National When Jumeirah English Speaking School claimed the Gulf Under-19s title at the Dubai Sevens for the first time 12 months ago ...
See Details:
Your campsite can harm the environment
-
Henry Turner of JESS Blues. Defending school champs JESS play a practice match against Dubai Hurricanes ahead of Emirates Dubai Sevens. The Sevens, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National When Jumeirah English Speaking School claimed the Gulf Under-19s title at the Dubai Sevens for the first time 12 months ago ...
See Details:
Mubadala, Saudi Fund deals on US radar for potential China angle
-
Henry Turner of JESS Blues. Defending school champs JESS play a practice match against Dubai Hurricanes ahead of Emirates Dubai Sevens. The Sevens, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National When Jumeirah English Speaking School claimed the Gulf Under-19s title at the Dubai Sevens for the first time 12 months ago ...
See Details:
Abu Dhabi T10 season seven to kick off with thrilling double-header
-
Henry Turner of JESS Blues. Defending school champs JESS play a practice match against Dubai Hurricanes ahead of Emirates Dubai Sevens. The Sevens, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National When Jumeirah English Speaking School claimed the Gulf Under-19s title at the Dubai Sevens for the first time 12 months ago ...
See Details:
Eight climate fiction, or cli-fi, books to consider before Cop28
OTHER NEWS
Fantic Stealth 125 and Imola Concept The Italian manufacturer’s sporty offerings are designed to appeal to the beginner segment. The 125cc segment, pretty much non-existent in the US market, is ...
Read more »
Valencia orange image Perspective from Roseane M Silva Master in Health Sciences, Bachelor in Nutrition · 7 years of experience · Brazil Possible Side Effects People who are allergic to ...
Read more »
Leading grocery delivery company Kibsons says it is already answering the call for greener production processes as food security and sourcing enter the Cop28 spotlight later this month. The UAE ...
Read more »
AMMAN — The government on Wednesday endorsed the draft general budget law for 2024 with estimated public revenues of JD10.3 billion, marking an increase of 8.9 per cent compared with ...
Read more »
AMMAN — The new forecasted capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2024 stands at JD73.317 million, according to the 2024 public budget draft law. The government allocated JD1.729 billion as ...
Read more »
AMMAN — The post World War I period marks the beginning of scholarly research in Jordan. During the British Mandate in Jordan, the Department of Antiquities in Amman was founded ...
Read more »
The Sharjah City Municipality has issued a set of guidelines for the use of cosmetic products in hair salons and beauty centres. The authority urges salons to stick to these ...
Read more »