Since patch 1.1.0 has dropped for Diablo 4, the player base has been extremely vocal in regards to it wrecking the game. With nerfs to experience gain, increased timers, and more nerfs to pretty much every good build in the game, most were saying D4 was simply not fun to play any longer.
In response to this, the Diablo 4 team set up a quick Campfire chat to discuss the patch, the motivation behind the changes and things they plan on doing moving forward. Here’s a quick rundown of what was covered.
Diablo 4 Campfire Chat Overview
Associate Game Director, Joseph Piepiora kicked off the stream with a review of why the changes to classes, Legendary Aspects, Vulnerability, and Affixes were made. Stating that certain things were nerfed in order to balance them with all manner of class builds, they plan on buffing each build at the same time. The goal is to keep player choice open and provide a variety of options for everyone to play, instead of just a couple for each class.
However, he noted that if the game isn’t fun to play any longer, that they’ve failed at their job. They’ll be looking at changes, specifically for Barbarian and Sorcerer, to remedy some of the nerfs they did in the next patch. They’re also making a commitment that if the team nerfs something, that a viable alternative will be offered to make up for it instead of leaving players stranded.
One of the largest focuses of the chat was the promise to share patch changes and notes before the patch hits so players can have time to adjust and ask questions before the update is deployed. This is taking effect immediately, with the patch notes for a hotfix dropping today being set to be shared before the fix goes live.
In addition to that, on Friday July 28 the first patch review livestream will occur. The team will be going over the finer details of Patch 1.1.1 before it goes live, which is estimated to happen the following week. No specific time for the stream was announced, but most of these have occurred between 10 or 11 a.m. PST, so it may happen around that time.
From the small hints that were dropped, patch 1.1.1 really focuses on changes to Sorcerer, including survivability and armor, as well as Barbarian updates. Specifically, underutilized class Legendary Aspects are set to buffed.
Changes to CC, Large Scale Changes
Other updates include adding another tab to the stash, and elixirs stacking up to 99 to help alleviate inventory issues. The cost to respec your character will be decreasing by almost 40%. The team is looking into super hard enemies that are killing players more than expected and making changes to them. Updates to crowd control are in the works, including buffing the available tools players can use to end the CC.
Overall, the team plans to implement large scale changes slowly, while informing the player base of the thought process behind it. This is a refreshing change to the recent patch that caused the game to feel more slogged down, with the need for more grinding with less damage and experience across the board.
Stay up to date with all livestream coverage for Diablo 4 with GameSkinny. I’ll be covering the patch 1.1.1 discussion stream and bring you all the incoming changes to the game. For more on D4, check out our various guides in our hub. We’ve got class builds, Stronghold walkthroughs and where to find upgrade materials. We’re also working on Season of the Malignant content, including quest walkthroughs and season specific builds.
Published: Jul 21, 2023 04:21 pm