Summary
Big changes are coming forDiablo 4in the upcoming Season of Blood that look to hopefully revitalize a player base that has become burnt out after a disappointing first season. Blizzard has revealed the patch notes forDiablo 4update 1.2.0ahead of the start of Season 2, and it seems like many player concerns have been addressed for this new season. The highlights of these patch notes bode well for the Season of Blood, but there are still a few changes that players may take issue with.
Compared to the 1.1.0 update prior to the start of the Season of the Malignant, this update seems to be much more popular amongDiablo 4fans. Many of the unpopular changes from that update have been reversed or reworked to address player complaints with endgame content and certain viability of endgame builds. While there are still some changes players would like to see made such as more substantial buffs to the Sorcerer class, this patch seems to bring a lot more good to the game than it does bad.
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Best Changes in Diablo 4 Season 2 Patch Notes
To give players something to work towards collecting, this Season 2 update forDiablo 4is adding a total of 12 new Unique items primarily focused on filling out the stock ofUnique Armor and Accessories inDiablo 4. Additionally, seven new Legendary Aspects will be available in the Season of Blood along with 10 new Paragon Glyphs, two for each class.Diablo 4is also changing the way loot drops work for higher World Tiers so that now only Legendary, Unique, Uber Unique, and Sacred/Ancestral Rare items drop on World Tier 3 and 4 with additional resource drops padding out the loot for these tiers.
Experience and rewards are also improving the make the endgame grind ofDiablo 4much more enjoyable. Nightmare Sigils will be easier to get andDiablo 4’s World Bosseswill feature notifications and spawn in shorter intervals, now 3.5 hours apart instead of 6 hours apart, and will offer higher-quality rewards for players who defeat them. Experience has also been reworked to grant players more for defeating higher level monsters, opening Helltide Chests, and completing Grim Favors and Whispers on top of now being multiplicative for playing in a party and on higher World Tiers.
One major change many players will be happy to see is the rework to Resistance calculations that now has them stack additively instead of inverse multiplicatively. Previously, stacking Resistances had diminishing returns which discouraged players from utilizing multiple affixes of the same Resistance. However, now Resistances stack additively, meaning players will be able to reap the full benefits of stacking multiple affixes of the same Resistance type up to 70%, bringing the functionality of Resistances inDiablo 4more in line with how they worked inDiablo 2.
SeveralDiablo 4classes have also received buffs with this update, which should help diversify the number of viable builds in Season 2. The bonus damage Barbarians deal while Berserking is now multiplicative instead of additive, meaning they can achieve higher damage output using skills like Wrath of the Berserker, and the Sorcerer’s Hydra skill has received a significant damage increase from 12% to 60%, making Fire Sorcerer builds viable again. The biggest class buff in this update goes to the Necromancer, who receives a variety of buffs to their minions, making aSummoner Necromancer buildpotentially one of the class' best options this season.
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Worst Changes in Diablo 4 Season 2 Patch Notes
It’s a great sign to see that the majority of changes in this update for theSeason of Blood are positive gains forDiablo 4, but there are a few changes that may be controversial as well. The biggest change to note here is the overhaul of Critical Strike, Vulnerable, and Overpower Damage which changes these stats to being additive instead of multiplicative. The result means each of these damage types now only stack additively with one another just with different trigger conditions, which will end up reducing the overall power of Critical Strike and Vulnerable Damage to account for them being too overpowered in the past.
It’s unclear if these changes to bucket damage will lead to more balanced gameplay or will just be a blanket nerf to certain build types. However, one class that is getting a nerf is the Druid through the capping of the damage dealt by the Aspect of Rampaging Werebeast which could be used to do insane amounts of damage toUber Lilith. Another small change is an increase to the level at which players receive the priority quest for unlocking the next World Tier from 40 to 48 for World Tier 3 and 60 to 68 for World Tier 4, though players can still attempt the Capstone Dungeon at any time.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
