General Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where a Pool of Reflection that was used would still appear unused at a distance.
- Your character will no longer automatically pick up Health Potions if you have a Legendary Potion equipped.
- Fixed a cosmetic issue where mantras would sometimes flicker on and off.
- Followers and persistent summons, such as Companion and Mystic Ally, now spawn at the same time that you do after a resurrection from death, rather than a few seconds before.
- Fixed a bug where the Khazra Den quest could be repeatedly handed in for another player in your party.
- Fixed an issue with the Skeleton King, causing him to not spawn if you enter his throne room in a certain manner.
Healing
Given the current state of vitality and the size of a character's Health pool, many players find Life on Hit, Life per Second and Life per Resource Spent to be a tad underwhelming. In fact, most players seem to get more out of simple Health Potions than if they stacked a Healing attribute on their gear, which is not what we intended.
We've tweaked with some numbers to bring them in line for what we have in mind.
- Increased the property range on gear, and skills, for Life on Hit, Life per Second, Life per Fury Spent, Life per Spirit Spent and Life per Wrath Spent by 20%.
- Healing from normal Health Potions is reduced to 50% of Maximum Life.
Gems and Sockets
There are several important Gem updates that we will be addressing this patch.
Gem socketing has been black and white in terms of what you put in your weapon. While we are quite happy with socket choices for Helms, we would like to broaden the choices players have when putting a Gem into a socket, specifically with weapons and offhands.
- Sockets no longer take up a Primary property on an item, and are randomly generated independently of that system.
- Weapon and Helm socket benefits have been updated.
Weapons Socket:
All gem values have been adjusted, and only the Maximum level Gem value is listed below.
Flawless Royal Emerald changed to "Critical Hit Damage Increased by 100%".
Flawless Royal Topaz changed to "Increase the damage of resource generators by 75%".
Flawless Royal Ruby changed to "Increases Area Damage chance to 40%".
Flawless Royal Amethyst changed to "Gain an additional 100% Life on Hit".
Flawless Royal Diamond changed to "Increase the damage done against Elites by 25%".
- Sockets for offhands, including Sources, Shields and Mojos, are now treated as a "Weapon" type.
Helm Socket:
Flawless Royal Emerald changed to "500% Extra Gold from Monsters".
Flawless Royal Topaz changed to "Increases Resource Cost Reduction by 15%".
Flawless Royal Ruby changed to "Increases Area Damage by 50%".
Flawless Royal Amethyst changed to "Gain an additional 100% Life per Second".
Flawless Royal Diamond changed to "Reduces cooldown of all skills by 15%".
We heard so much feedback about bringing Sapphires, and also Runes, back into the Genre. While this is unfeasible with the current Gem system, we have added some new stuff to compensate, much like legendary potions. Also, Haedrig brushed up on some ancient knowledge - for a price.
We added several legendary Gems into the game, which are only dropped on Torment or higher difficulties. They have a base 10% drop chance from the final Boss fight for each Act on each reset of the Campaign.
They provide the same benefit regardless of the socket they are in, but these powerful Gems are dangerous. Each of these Gems increases the damage you take by 10%.
Cain's Destiny, found anywhere in Act 1 from the Campaign.
Effect: "All healing, and shields, that affect you are increased by 100%"
Skull of Duriel, found anywhere in Act 2 from the Campaign.
Effect: "Increases the damage you deal by 25%"
Azmodan's Prize, found anywhere in Act 3 from the Campaign.
Effect: "Whenever you take damage, your next skill has its cost reduced by 25%"
Leah's Sacrifice, found anywhere in Act 4 from the Campaign.
Effect: "Increases your primary stat by 600"
Baal's Touch, found anywhere in Act 5 from the Campaign.
Effect: "Chance on hit: Reduces all Cooldowns by 1 second."
Fanciful Hoof, found anywhere in Whimsyshire. This Gem has a small chance to drop from enemies found in this zone, and the Pinata has a 1% base chance to drop it.
Effect: "Whenever an enemy dies near you, it drops a Nephalim Glory globe."
- Added the ability for level 12 Blacksmith to Socket an item for 250 Reusable Parts, 200 Arcane Dust, 100 Veiled Crystals, 20 Death's Breath.
- If the item you are attempting to socket is a Legendary item, it also requires 5 Forgotten Souls.
- If the item can have a range of sockets (1, 1-2, 1-3), the Blacksmith forges the maximum number of sockets into the item.
- Because of these changes, we have reduced the chance for an item to drop with sockets.
- All wearable gear now has the ability to have a socket.
Chest slot items can have up to 3 sockets.
Pants, Gloves, Shoulders, and 2 Handed weapons can have 2 sockets.
Helms, Bracers, Belts, Boots, Rings, Amulets, 1 Handed weapons, and offhands, can have 1 socket.
2 Handed Weapons
We noticed that in most cases 2 Handed weapons are underperforming, for classes besides Crusader.
- Increased the property roll range for 2 Handed Weapons by 20%.
- Increased the base damage of all 2 Handed Weapons by 25%. This is ultimately a minor tweak.
- Increased the number of sockets from 1 to 2.
Class Changes
Crusader
We like the changes we did for the Crusader class last patch, but we have a few ideas in mind still.
Crusader Weapon Changes
Strangely enough, Crusaders had the opposite problem that other classes did. Many felt underpowered unless they used a 2 Handed weapon. We also made a quality of life change to Heavenly Strength.
- Increased the base attack speed of 1 Handed Flails by 15%.
- Heavenly Strength no longer reduces movement speed, instead reducing total damage output by 15%.
Barbarian
We really love the Barbarian, despite what you might think; many of us actually play them! We feel like they could definitely use some changes.
Fury Spender Changes
Hammer of the Ancients is one of the more balanced spenders, but we wanted to slightly tweak the impact radius.
- Increased the impact radius of Hammer of the Ancients by 2 yards.
Rend is a really fun spell, but we found that in a group setting it's underperforming, mainly due to the fact that most enemies die before it can deal much damage. We didn't want to reduce the duration, because then you would have to "spam" it on Elite packs more often to keep the damage going.
We had a few options to tackle this, but ultimately we decided to increase the duration and the damage.
- Damage increased to 1350% weapon damage over 6 seconds (1600% for Lacerate Rune).
- Each tick of damage now will roll for a critical strike, including the initial tick.
Seismic Slam is one of the least used spenders, and it's not hard to see why; it has performance issues.
- Added a small impact zone around the Barbarian to address "Blind Spot" issues with this skill.
- Increased the width of the cone to better hit large packs of enemies.
- Increased the damage of Seismic Slam to 650% weapon damage (800% for Shattered Ground skill).
Whirlwind was previously toned down to bring it more in line with the other Fury spender skills that Barbarian has. We now realize that we have toned it down a little too much.
- While Whirlwinding, you now move at 80% movement speed.
- Whirlwind damage increased to 290% (340% for Volcanic Eruption rune).
- Hurricane rune now pulls in more enemies per second. Damage type is changed to Cold, with matching Cold particle effects.
We like Ancient Spear's damage, but we find it's a little too expensive for those Barbarians who use it for the utility and range.
- Fury cost of Ancient Spear reduced to 20.
Weapon Changes
We want to spice up the damage options that Barbarian has. After all, they are the masters of battle and weaponry.
- Barbarians can now dual wield 2 Handed weapons with a 30% total damage penalty, or use a 2 Handed weapon and a shield, with a 15% total damage penalty.
While 30% might seem like a drastic number, realize that two 2 Handed weapons allow the Barbarian to gain benefit from 4 Weapon sockets.
Wizard
We noticed that Wizards have many skills that are underperforming, and we want to change that.
- Energy Twister's damage has been increased, as well as the built in casting speed. Its cost has been reduced to 30 Arcane Power (20 for Mistral Breeze rune). In addition, they now slowly seek out targets, rather than travelling at complete random.
- Increased the damage for the Scorch rune of Arcane Orb to 300% weapon damage (Fire trail damage remains unchanged, but duration lowered to 3 seconds).
- Shock Pulse, and Spectral Blades, are underperforming compared to other signature spells. Shock Pulse now summons 4 bolts that have greater range, and seek out targets. Piercing Orb rune now has slightly larger area of effect.
- Spectral Blades damage has been increased to 200%, and the range and area of effect have been increased as well.
- Disintegrate's damage has been increased to 550% (700% for Entropy rune).
- Ray of Frost's damage has been increased to 540% (390% for Sleet Storm rune).
Monk
Monks have a few skills and passives that we would like to see adjusted, and this should make them more in line with other classes, from a DPS standpoint. Also Dodge, in its current state, is a poor source of damage mitigation, so we intend to address that system with Monks in the form of some passive changes.
Spirit Spender Changes
- Fists of Thunder's damage has been increased to 140%.
- Fists of Thunder's built in Attack speed has been returned to its previous state.
- Fists of Thunder's Bounding Light rune has its damage type changed to Holy.
- Deadly Reach's damage has been increased to 130%.
- Deadly Reach's Strike from Beyond rune has its damage type changed to Cold.
- Crippling Wave's damage has been increased to 150% (250% for Mangle rune).
- Crippling Wave's Rising Tide rune has its damage type changed to Holy.
- Way of the Hundred Fists' Hands of Lightning rune has its damage type changed to Lightning.
- Way of the Hundred Fists' Blazing Fists rune has its damage type changed to Fire.
- Way of the Hundred Fists' Windforce Flurry rune has the damage increased for the wave of wind that is summoned, to 250%.
Passives
- Combination Strike now lasts 5 seconds.
- Mythic Rhythm now has an indicator on your bar when it is active, along with an audible cue.
- The Guardians Path has been changed to "While dual wielding, you have a 15% chance to Block Attacks, with the Block value being equal to your Dexterity. While using a 2 Handed weapon, attack speed is increased by 25%."
- Exalted Soul changed to "Increase Maximum Spirit by 100, and increase all Spirit Generation by 25%."
- Fleet Footed changed to "Your Dodge Chance will now apply to all damage sources".
- One with Everything changed to "You take 20% reduced non-physical damage."
Skills
- Sweeping Wind's damage has been increased to 50% per stack (70% for Blade Storm rune).
- Sweeping Wind's Inner Storm rune has its damage type changed to Holy.
- Seven Sided Strike's Pandemonium rune has its damage type changed to Lightning.
- Seven Sided Strike's Sustained Attack rune has its damage type changed to Fire.
- Wave of Light's damage has its total damage increased by about 25%.
- Lashing Tail Kick now has increased area of effect.
- Mantra of Evasion has been reworked for all runes, in order to be more competitive with other Mantras.
- Breath of Heaven will now heal all allies in the zone that you are in, regardless of distance. Heal amount has been increased to 100% your health globe bonus.
Demon Hunter
We are aware that many Demon Hunter skills are underperforming, when compared to the popular Cluster Arrow. Rather than "nerf" Cluster Arrow into oblivion, we want to bring the other skills more in line with it.
- Cluster Arrow's cost increased to 45 hatred.
- Multishot's damage increased to 410% (500% for full broadside rune).
- Strafe's damage increased to 440%.
- Impale's damage increased to 700%.
- Rapid Fire's damage increased to 560%.
- Chakrams damage increased on all runes by about 20%.
- Shadow Power now increases your damage by 10% while active, and the life on hit amount it provides has been increased by about 20%.
- Marked for Death now has no cast time, and no casting animation.
Witch Doctor
Damage over Time Mechanics are in a pretty bad place, so we have changes in place for this patch. Also, a few other skills have been tweaked as well - the range is too short on some, making them undesirable to use in most situations.
- Damage over Time has been updated. Each tick of damage now will have a chance for a critical strike, including the initial tick. Base damage for these skills has been increased as well.
- Fire Bats area of effect and range has been increased on all runes.
- Zombie Charger's area of effect and range has been increased on all runes.
- There is now an indicator for the number of Fetish's you have summoned.
Shrines
Back by popular demand, Gem and Monster shrines have been added to the game. They have a much smaller chance to spawn than other shrine types, but with greater rewards. We want players to feel like these are a treat when they happen upon them.
- Gem shrines upgrade a gem at random on your character (both in your inventory, or one socketed in your gear). If you do not have any upgradeable gems, it will drop a random Royal Gem.
- Monster shrines spawn an elite pack and a champion pack when used. Legendary drop rates for these packs are increased by 200%, and Gold drop amount is increased by 500%.
Economy
Gold and Blood Shards have a few issues we would like to change, as well as the problem some players have of hoarding enchanting and blacksmith materials, with nothing to spend them on.
Also, vendors have now realized the worth of a Legendary item, and will pay accordingly for power.
- Removed the 500 maximum cap for Blood Shards.
- Legendary weapons, gear, and items now sell to a vendor for 1000% more gold.
- Level 12 Jeweller can now create Blood Shards from Gems and Materials.
- Wandering Vendors now sell materials, such as Veiled Crystals, in a limited amount (up to 100). Prep your wallet - they aren't cheap!
Legendary Items
While we are happy with the current state of Loot 2.0, there are some problems we have found, especially with certain Legendary items. In general, Legendaries have "cool" affixes and are usually an upgrade when compared to a Rare item, but a few Legendaries have been underperforming, especially compared to some famous items (Shard of Hate anyone?).
Part of what makes a Legendary desirable is the fact that it can greatly benefit your character. With that in mind, we feel that the 4/2 gear system simply limits these items too much.
Legendaries can now roll more properties than the current 4 Primary, 2 Secondary system. In fact, we have tuned some legendaries to be able to roll up to 8 Primary properties, and some can roll up to 6 Secondary properties. We have also added new legendary affixes to "bland" items that fell short of our expectations (such as the sword Exarian, or the ring Eternal Union).
Many Legendary items have undergone changes, some of them significant, so we can't list them all here, but we can tell you about some notable updates.
- Level 70 Hellfire ring has been updated, with a significant boost in power.
- Legendary Potions have an increased affix, and also restore 75% of life when used.
- Craftable Legendaries have received significant adjustments.
- Added several new Craftable legendaries.
Set Items
We want set items to have more impact on your character than their current state, which to most players gather just a few pieces and then use a Ring of Royal Grandeur to attain the set bonus'. While this was the intended purpose of it, we see that many players aren't wearing full class sets, even when they have the gear to do so, which is not intended!
- Set Items have been adjusted to have more powerful set bonus'.
- Set items now salvage into 2 Forgotten souls.
- Added 3 new non-class sets to the game.
Scaling Property Ranges
Now increases based on the Torment level they are dropped in.
Normal through Master: No change to property range.
Torment 1: 10% increased base range.
Torment 2: 15% increased base range.
Torment 3: 20% increased base range.
Torment 4: 30% increased base range.
Torment 5: 40% increased base range.
Torment 6: 50% increased base range.
Elemental Damage Affixes
Some Elemental types have access to more % Damage modifiers than others. We intend to change some legendaries, and also add a few more, to make each damage type more competitive. Stay tuned for the full list of changes!
Nephalim Rifts
We are rolling out some changes to Nephalim Rifts, let us know what you think!
- Rift Guardians always show their icon on the minimap now, regardless of distance.
- Only the player who created a Nephalim Rift can turn in the quest to close it. If no one is active within a rift for 5 minutes, it can be closed by any party member (after the Guardian is defeated).
- Increased the monster density in Neplalim Rifts by 50%, as a result we slightly increased the amount of enemies you have to kill to summon the Rift Guardian.
- Nephalim rifts now always spawn 1 Resplendent chest.
- Several Rift Guardians have been updated with new mechanics and stats, and battling these foes should now prove more challenging.
- Rift Guardians have a 100% increased chance of dropping a legendary item.
- Added several new rift zones and combinations for players to explore.
Bounties
We want to reinforce the idea of Bounties as the best way to gain experience in the game, contrasted to Nephalim Rifts, which should be the best way to get loot.
Also, we wanted to look at a few issues surrounding our Bounty system, as well as add some new content!
- Added several more Bounties to complete in each Act.
- Increased the base experience reward for completing Bounties by 50%.
- Added an Achievement for completing all of the Bounties in Reaper of Souls.
- Added a system in Public games that checks for players who did not help with any Bounties for the Act. If a Player does not help complete at least 2 Bounties, they are not eligible to receive a Horadric Cache, nor the Bonus experience and gold for handing in the quest.
Achievements
Attaining a high Achievement rating should be a glorious thing! We have added several in game pets, and cosmetic "Transmogs" that players can earn based upon the Achievement points they've collected.
Clans
We wanted to add some big, new features to reward players for forming Clans. We like seeing Clan based play, and have added new incentive to encourage just that.
- Added a Meeting Hall for each Clan, which serves as a place for clan members to meet face to face, compare gear, chat, play mini games, and also duel.
- Duels held on the Clan duelling grounds will have all data officially recorded for later review.
- Duels last until a Clan member is brought to 1 HP, at which point the duel ends. Duelling will still inflict durability damage upon gear.
- Other Clan members can place bets upon, and also spectate, duels between players.
- Clans can now gain experience" and level up from the collective efforts of their players.
- Each level that the Clan progresses will add Clan-wide benefits, and to the Meeting Hall.
- Clans can now tax gold, and take a small percentage from its players as they collect gold. This percentage (1% to 10%) is determined by the Clan leader. This only applies to gold piles collected from fallen enemies, not to vendored items.
- Blood shards can be donated to the Clan from players, and can be used along with gold to purchase upgrades to the Meeting Hall.
- Added several new craftable legendaries, and a set, that can boost the experience, gold, and Blood Shards you transfer to your Clan.
- Added a "Defend the Keep" skirmish mode, allowing members from other Clans to storm an enemy Meeting Hall. Essentially two teams of 2-4 players will battle to defend, or attack, a Meeting Hall. The mode is based upon capturing and holding different points, so strategy is definitely involved!
- In "Defend the Keep" mode, you can utilize infantry, Siege support, even Angelic (or Demonic) assistance.
- Added new legendary items that drop only from "Defend the Keep" mode.
- Added several new Achievements for many of these Clan changes.
With our PvP system is still in its infancy, we expect some imbalance issues to surface. We are anticipating this, so be prepared for our team to release several patches in quick succession over the next few weeks.
