Diablo IV’s next patch, Update 1.1.1, will arrive on August 8th and will bring major improvements for Barbarians and Wizards, as well as changes to the number of monsters in endgame activities and a number of little monsters of quality of life. changes.
In a developer “campfire” chat, Blizzard explained how the game’s first major patch after its controversial Season 1 update will look to make life easier for Barbarian and Wizarding players. For Barbarian, Blizzard is looking to improve the feel of playing the class in the early game by increasing Fury generation for its base abilities and increasing damage from abilities like Rupture and Charge. In the late game, Blizzard is revamping some unique items and legendary Barbarian aspects to make them more effective and appealing. For unique changes, Blizzard is simply buffing the base damage and stats of items like Hellhammer and Fields of Crimson, while replacing less desirable affixes with ones that are more in demand.
On the Wizarding side, Blizzard is looking to improve their late-game survivability, where many in the community currently believe in class struggle. Many wizard mechanics currently revolve around giving players a major buff, but with a negative side effect. Blizzard is looking to remove many of these negative effects and ensure that wizarding players can revel in their power without too many repercussions.
Even some of the classes that most in the community think are in great shape, like Rogue and Druid, are seeing positive changes. Upcoming buffs in Update 1.1.1 will improve Rogue’s Arrow Rain, increase Caltrops and Poison Trap damage, and cause every third Forceful Arrow cast to pierce enemies. Druids will see a buff to their Ravens and Rabies skills, as well as buffs to certain Legendaries and the Overload class mechanic. Necromancers, too, are getting a handful of changes, with Bone Spirit buffs, Paragon Board changes, and buffs to Empowering Reaper and Exposed Flesh Legendary Aspects.
Besides classes, there will also be a handful of general Diablo IV changes. Druid and Necromancer companions and minions will take less damage from certain monster abilities, such as fire enchanted elites. The Caged Heart of Spellbreaking Malignant Heart will be updated to grant general damage reduction after taking elemental damage instead of just granting damage reduction to the specific type of elemental damage that activated the effect, which should in making it a much more attractive option for those participating in Season of Evil.
The Temerity unique item will receive a major buff, something lead class designer Adam Jackson said on-air “terrifies” it. The item’s “All Stats” affix will be changed to Max Life, and the item’s barrier effect will scale based on a player’s max life. The item will also work with other conditions that check if players have a barrier, which should allow for better synergy with other builds. Jackson said before launch that Blizzard thought Temerity was one of the best items in the game, but due to the stats, players were choosing not to use it. These changes are meant to make the item much more desirable.
A number of other game-wide changes will come with the 1.1.1 update, including increased monster density in Nightmare Dungeons and Helltide Zones. Blizzard said the goal was to fulfill the ARPG fantasy of slaying tons of creatures, but doing it in a way that game performance doesn’t suffer. Defeating Treasure Goblins in Patch 1.1.1 will still reward a Legendary item after level 15, and World Tier III and IV bosses (which will be upgraded to have more health) will still drop a Legendary item. Some of the most annoying Nightmare dungeon affixes in the game – Resource Drain, Cold Enchanted, and Backstabber – will be removed while Blizzard works to adjust them.
Blizzard also reiterated some previously announced quality of life changes that players can expect alongside the update. The size of elixir stacks will increase to 99, and players will be able to purchase an additional reserve tab for gold (although adding additional reserve tabs is apparently a performance issue). Respec costs will also be reduced by 40%.
While these are the changes players can expect soon, Blizzard outlined the longer-term changes the team is considering. As previously discussed by the team, Vulnerable and Critical Strike damage are currently kings in Diablo IV, but Blizzard wants to make other damage types, like Overpower, much more comparable. Many ultimate abilities in the game work very well in the early game, but fall out in the late game in favor of ultimate abilities that directly buff a player rather than dealing damage on their own. This is something Blizzard is looking to change in the future, while also making many unique items in the game more appealing and viable. Blizzard is aware that the resistance stat is not very appealing and will look to make it more effective. Mounts will also see some improvements, with Blizzard specifically calling out how annoying it is to ride around Sanctuary only to run into a barrier that requires players to drop down and destroy it to keep moving forward.
Blizzard has confirmed that they will release the full Diablo IV update 1.1.1 patch notes on August 2 in an effort to give players more time to process all the changes before the update arrives. up to date.
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