Blizzard has addressed the backlash of Diablo 4’s controversial nerf patch, promising a new patch to undo many of the changes it made.
In a live stream, Associate Game Director Joe Piepiora, Game Director Joe Shely, and Community Leader Adam Fletcher discussed the thinking behind patch 1.1.0 which sparked an outcry within the Diablo 4 community for significantly reducing player power.
“It’s not the best gaming experience for gamers,” Fletcher said. “We never plan to do a patch like this again. We hear you loud and clear. »
“We know that limiting a player’s power is never a good experience,” added Joe Bibora. “Sometimes we don’t succeed. »
Patch 1.1.1 should be updated within the next two weeks, possibly just two days after another livestream on Friday July 28th. This patch focuses on improving the strength of the Mage and Barbarian classes especially after both have suffered violent fluctuations. Specifically on the Wizard, players can expect an increase in survivability, Blizzard said.
The patch will also increase monster density in Nightmare Dungeons and Helltides, two major end-game activities. To address inventory issues, 1.1.1 will add an additional stash tab where players can store items. The size of the elixir pool will be increased to 99. Version 1.1.1 also reduces character replay costs by around 40%, so players feel more inclined to try new builds.
Crucially, the next patch will adjust the XP gain from level 50 to 100 after players complained about hitting a wall from around level 70. “We’re not trying to slow down the game,” insisted Shely. “We want level 100 to feel like an achievement, not a job,” Piepiora added.
In the shorter term, a hotfix is planned for release later today on July 21 that will lower the difficulty of Nightmare Dungeons. According to Blizzard, level 100 Nightmare dungeons are “too difficult” for most classes and require players to rely on certain builds for a chance of defeating them. This difficulty change should make level 100 nightmare dungeons more like level 70 nightmare dungeons currently.
We never plan to make a patch like this again. We hear you loud and clear.
During the live stream, Blizzard said they’ve created new processes that will prevent a patch that drastically lowers players’ power similar to version 1.1.0 from happening again. Going forward, Blizzard will let certain builds get beaten up until they offer compelling alternatives. “We can’t deny those builds that are overpowered without providing compelling alternatives to players,” Shelley said.
Additionally, these large meta-variable fixes will still occur at predictable times, such as the start of a new season. Blizzard will of course react quickly to bugs that cause damage or crashes in the game.
“At the end of the day, ARPGs are about the fantasy of power, and we invite players to break the game a bit, find fun games that we’ve made and do crazy things with them, and we have to make sure we don’t penalize players for that,” Shelley said.
Fletcher announced changes in communication that mean Blizzard will always provide patch notes via streams or a blog post at least a week before an actual update arrives “no matter what.” Blizzard’s next Campfire chat is scheduled for Friday, July 28, where it will dive deeper into the changes coming in patch 1.1.1.
Despite the various problems, Diablo 4 had a massive launch which saw over 10 million people play in June. Diablo 4 is Blizzard’s fastest-selling game of all time, and it has boosted the company’s revenue and profits. If you’re still playing, watch it Diablo 4 interactive map To start tracking your progress as you play.
Wesley is IGN’s UK news editor. You can find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
