Diablo 4 is an RPG about numbers, which makes it extra funny to see Blizzard get so much basic math wrong in a now-deleted trailer

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Sometimes you just have a brain fart in front of countless players

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard has gone to great lengths explaining how Diablo 4 Season 2 will make the RPG's gajillion numbers more satisfying, and it sounds like a good update, but it seems the studio didn't spend quite enough time double-checking the numbers in a new seasonal trailer which was so amazingly incorrect that it had to be taken down.

Firstly, the improved dungeon layouts coming in Season 2 got mixed up about 12 seconds in. Blizzard accidentally presented the old, more convoluted layout as the new-and-improved version when the whole point of the update is to streamline dungeon pathing. But hey, we've all misplaced a JPEG in our time. 

The other errors are more extreme, and even funnier due to their own internal inconsistencies. Blizzard has promised a new level 1 - 100 roadmap which will see the grind to max level get "40% faster" starting with the Season of Blood. The killer app for the season is a change to the way XP buffs stack, now allowing for greater, multiplicative gains. But you wouldn't know that from the math presented in this trailer. See if you can spot the errors here.

Diablo 4 XP breakdown

(Image credit: Blizzard / YouTube via Raxxanterax)

Like peas in mashed potatoes, Blizzard's got its percentages in its multipliers. Between the inexplicable addition (1,000 + 40?), incorrect multiplication (1,200 * 1.2 is 1,440, you'll find), and bizarre formatting inconsistencies (40% instead of 1.4x versus the correct 1.2x), this XP breakdown probably does more harm than good. Blizzard was quick to remove the trailer after everyone broke out the red pen checking its homework, but has yet to replace it with a corrected version, presumably because the Diablo 4 Season 2 release date is right around the corner. 

Prepare to throw out a lot of your Diablo 4 builds after Season 2's big balance changes.  

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.