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Unless Season 1 turns it around, Diablo 4 just became an even bigger slogWelcome to Hell
Welcome to Hell
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo 4’sbig Season 1 patchhit yesterday and the response has been rough. Unsure whether it was justified feedback or just general internet outrage, I’ve combed through the patch notes, absorbed the forum chat, and hopped back into the game itself to get a feel for things as we head into Season 1. The result? Yes, the feedback is very negative, but for understandable reasons, I reckon.
Diablo 4 - Which Class Is Best?What is the best class in Diablo 4? Watch this video to find out.Watch on YouTube
Diablo 4 - Which Class Is Best?
Perhaps one of the most significant changes that will impact everyone in Season 1 is thatthe grind is getting worse. With the changes introduced in this patch, levelling and gear farming will feel slower, and we are yet again being pushed towards Nightmare Dungeons over everything else, meaning it will also feel less varied.
Previously, fighting monsters that were one level higher than your character would grant 15% extra XP, with the bonus jumping up to 20% and 25% for monsters 2 and 3 levels higher, where it would then cap. Now, that XP bonus has been reduced to just 1.5% extra XP per level, up to a max of 15% when fighting monsters 10+ levels above you. In short, it’s going to take longer to level up, as playing content three levels higher than your character will now offer roughly 20% less extra XP.
The new boss coming in Diablo 4 Season 1. At least we get a new boss. |Image credit:Blizzard Entertainment
On the upside, level scaling has also changed, making enemies in the overworld and regular dungeons roughly five levels lower than your character in World Tiers 3 and 4. This is a change that the community have generally been pushing for, but I worry that it means we’re going to be funnelled even more towards exclusively farmingHelltidesand Nightmare Dungeons. For a Diablo game in which theopen worldwas meant to matter, it feels odd to have an endgame that feels almost identical to farming Rifts inDiablo 3.
Image credit:Blizzard Entertainment
All of this comes amid other changes not included in the patch notes that will slow down farming further. For example, handing Grim Favors into the Tree of Whispers no longer grants an extra XP reward, and World Tiers 3 and 4 are reportedly locked to levels 50 and 70 respectively, which means we won’t be able to jump up to higher level content for extra XP.
Generally, though, the buffs in Patch 1.1.0 are much smaller tweaks to various skills and offensive Affixes, which means they’re less impactful changes than the harsh nerfs mentioned above. Many of these buffs also target lesser-used skills, such as Blood abilities for the Necromancer or Storm abilities for the Druid, meaning they are naturally drawing less attention from the community.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment
TheSorcerer, the most-played (and arguably worst) class inDiablo 4, has also been hit hard. The powerful Devouring Blaze passive, which offered a max of 30% bonus Critical Strike Damage against Burning enemies and a further 75% Critical Strike Damage against Immobilized enemies, has had its bonuses reduced to a max of 21% and 30% respectively.
These passives were key parts of many builds in their respective classes, so these nerfs will prove detrimental to a range of popular options for the Barbarian and Sorcerer. It’s understandable, then, that people are naturally focusing on these over the range of buffs, because the things getting buffed just aren’t popular. I’m sure part of Blizzard’s intention is to probably makeotherthings popular in their place and to potentially keep the meta moving forward, but for now players are understandably annoyed that the builds they’ve worked on for the past month are now far less powerful than before.
Of course, there’s one big thing I haven’t acknowledged here: seasonal content! Vulnerable and Critical Strike damage stats might have been nerfed, but it’s possible that Season 1’s Malignant Hearts will offer their own damage buffs that balance things out. For now, though, the initial response to Patch 1.1.0 has been rough, and in a lot of cases, I can see why. We’ll see how things shake out whenSeason 1 fully drops on Thursday, and how Blizzard will address these concerns in their plannedlivestream on Friday.
