Diablo IV Undergoing Changes Based on Player Feedback

What would Blizzard be without the community that plays their games? After the launch of both the Diablo IV open and closed beta, Blizzard announced that they would be making some changes to the game based on the feedback that was received. They wrote about this on their website and detailed exactly what was going to be changed:

Dungeon Layouts, Events, and Gameplay Chances in Diablo IV

One of the biggest issues that players faced during the betas was the mount of backtracking that they had to do throughout dungeons. As a result, the following dungeons in the Fractured Peaks received layout updates:

• Caldera Gate
• Defiled Catacombs
• Derelict Lodge
• Forbidden City
• Hoarfrost Demise
• Immortal Emanation
• Kor Dragan Barracks
• Maulwood
• Rimescar Caverns

Event spawns have also been increased from 10% to 60% giving you a higher chance of actually experiencing one. The gameplay within the dungeons themselves has also been revamped with the following updates:

• You won't have to backtrack as much anymore thanks to a group of stray monsters that will actively seek you out and help complete the Kill All Monsters objective.
• Whenever you or your allies collect Animus, you'll feel the immediate benefit of gaining 10 Resource, reducing all active Cooldowns by 1 second, and eliminating the Animus deposit channel time (from 3 to 0 seconds). Additionally, the Rescue time will be cut in half (from 3 to 1.5 seconds), and Health Potions will drop upon completing any Rescue objective.
• Carrying any of the Portable Objects, such as the Ancient's Statue, Bloodstone, Mechanical Box, or Stone Carving, will give you and nearby allies a real sense of momentum as you gain a 25% move speed increase.
• No more waiting around! Pedestals are now lightning-fast since their channel time has been reduced from 2 to 0 seconds.
• Bringing any Portable Object back to its Pedestal will now give you and your allies a full restoration of Health, Resource, Potions, and cooldown resets.
• You'll never have to wonder if a door has been opened again! Every time a door is opened, a minimap ping will alert you and your allies.
• Be prepared for a tougher challenge! All Structure Objectives in dungeons now feature additional combat mechanics that will test your skills and strategy.

Class Changes in Diablo IV

The development team has been working hard to improve the overall gaming experience, and we're here to break down the changes for you by class.

For Barbarians, a new passive damage reduction of 10% has been added, providing some much-needed survivability. However, some of the skill tree passives have been reduced to balance the change. The Whirlwind skill has been buffed to deal more damage and consume more Fury, while the Double Swing skill enhancement now refunds its full Fury cost when used on Stunned or Knocked Down enemies.

Druids will now see a significant increase in damage output from their Companion Skills, along with reduced cooldowns for all Ultimate Skills. Maul and Pulverize have also undergone usability improvements, and using a non-Shapeshifting Skill will transform a Druid back into their human form.

Necromancers will need to rely on Corpses more frequently, as Summoned Minions will die more often. The Book of the Dead bonuses have had their stats increased, but the damage dealt by the Corpse Explosion skill has been reduced. Additionally, the brightness of the Skeletal Warriors and Mages has been reduced.

Rogues have received upgrades to their Subterfuge Skills, with multiple passive Skills having their bonuses increased. However, the cooldowns for all Imbuement Skills have been increased.

Lastly, Sorcerers will see some changes to their skills. Charged Bolt's damage has been increased, while the mana cost to cast it has decreased. Chain Lightning's damage has been decreased, and its effectiveness against Bosses has been reduced. The Incinerate Skill's Enchantment bonus cooldown has been decreased, and Firewalls will now spawn underneath enemies more frequently when using its Enchantment bonus. Additionally, the Lucky Hit chance for the Meteor Skill's Enchantment bonus has been increased.

Everything Else Changing in Diablo IV

The developers have rolled out a patch to address various issues that have been hampering the player experience. The update features fixes and changes that will make the game smoother and more enjoyable for everyone.

One of the key updates involves the built-in Screen Reader, which was previously not reading key prompts, game options details, and other UI text. Players can now use the feature without any issues. Additionally, the update has resolved a problem that prevented actions from being bound to the mouse wheel and an issue that prevented Evade from being bound to the right Analog Stick on a controller.

Another significant update involves the game's chat feature, which will now be displayed on the left side of the screen when using the centered action bar configuration. This change will make it easier for players to communicate with each other during gameplay.

To help players keep track of their progress, the Materials & Stats button within the Inventory now displays character stats by default when clicked. The update also allows players to map the Move and Interact inputs to one button while mapping the Primary Attack input to a secondary button. Additionally, the sans serif font used in-game has been replaced with a new serif font.

The update has also addressed various issues with encounters, including problems that caused bosses such as the Butcher to become unresponsive. The Butcher has been re-evaluated for difficulty and will now present a greater challenge in World Tiers III and IV. Bosses such as T’chort, Malnok, Vhenard, and others have also been re-evaluated for melee character difficulty, resulting in changes to attacks and fight mechanics. Furthermore, an issue where Vampire Brutes using the Shadow Enchant affix would chain-cast Impale has been fixed.

Players can now look forward to a more rewarding experience when exploring Cellars. The update has increased the chance for a dungeon Event to occur in Cellars and ensured that the area will consistently reward a chest upon completion. The guaranteed elite monster will also no longer be absent from Cellars. The update has also addressed issues with Cellars being marked as complete prematurely.

Finally, the update has fixed an issue where players could increase attack speed by move-cancelling attacks early. Characters are now immune and untargetable after loading into an area, and the Reset Dungeon button has been disabled. Gale Valley and Serac Rapture will no longer have fewer monsters than intended until the campaign quests in those territories are completed. These changes and fixes are expected to improve the overall quality of life for players.

Up Next: Diablo IV Endgame Content