Blizzard has revealed a list of changes coming to Diablo 4 ahead of launch, following feedback from its two recent beta weekends.
The Diablo 4 devs have been clear that the two betas were primarily designed to gather feedback from players about what could be changed to make for a better experience overall. And, well, it sounds like players had plenty to say, as Blizzard's list of changes is fairly extensive and includes major updates to each of the classes, a bunch of dungeons, encounters, the UI, and more.
"After the Early Access and Open Beta weekends concluded, the development team read through all your feedback and reviewed gameplay data," reads an update on Blizzard's website. "Using this information, we have made a variety of fixes and updates to various systems in Diablo 4, all of which will be present in the version of the game that launches on June 6."
Blizzard says a lot of feedback around the dungeons suggested there was too much backtracking required, and so the following dungeons have been tweaked to reduce this burden:
- Caldera Gate
- Defiled Catacombs
- Derelict Lodge
- Forbidden City
- Hoarfrost Demise
- Immortal Emanation
- Kor Dragan Barracks
- Maulwood
- Rimescar Caverns
Dungeons have also been adjusted so that events are more common – the odds of one have been boosted from 10% to 60% – and there are a number of gameplay updates designed to "streamline and vary the experience of completing objectives."
Classes are getting balanced ahead of launch, too. "Many" Legendary powers have been made more effective, all classes are confirmed to "have access to sufficient skills that remove control impairing effects," and it'll take twice as long for effects like Stun and Freeze to make Elite Monsters Unstoppable.
Barbarians are decidedly less barbaric, with a 10% nerf to passive damage and another nerf to some damage reduction effects. The Whirlwind skill now deals more damage and takes more Fury, and the Double Swing skill enhancement refunds its full Fury cost when used on stunned or knocked down enemies.
Druids have had their companions' skill damage "heavily increased," and "all Ultimate skills" are getting reduced cooldowns. Furthermore, "usability improvements have been made to Maul and Pulverize," while "using a non-shapeshifting skill will now transform a Druid back into their human form."
The Necromancer class has been largely nerfed, as summoned minions will now die more easily and Corpse Explosion has had its damage reduced. However, "many" Book of the Dead bonuses have been buffed, and for the sake of your eyeballs, the brightness of the Skeletal Warriors and Mages has been reduced.
Rogues rejoice, as the post-beta update spells largely good news for you sneaky stabbers. Upgrades for Subterfuge Skills have had their bonuses increased, as have several passives. The single Rogue nerf is to Imbuement Skills, all of which now have bigger cooldowns.
Updates to the Sorcerer class are a bit of a mixed bag. Charged Bolt deals more damage and takes less mana, but Chain Lightning's damage has been reduced, as has its effectiveness against bosses. Incinerate's Enchantment bonus has had its cooldown reduced, while Firewalls have been tweaked to spawn underneath enemies more frequently. Meanwhile, Meteor's Enchantment bonus is more likely to score a Lucky Hit.
This pre-launch update is wide-ranging and impactful, with a laundry list of additional changes to UI, encounters, and quality of life. However, most of these changes are bug fixes and have less to do with actual gameplay feedback. Some exceptions include changes to Cellars to increase the chance to earn a chest upon completion.
Interestingly, the Butcher boss "has been re-evaluated for difficulty" and will be even harder to beat in World Tiers 3 and 4. Likewise, bosses including T'chort, Malnok, and Vhenard have had changes to attacks and fight mechanics, although it's not clear if those changes will lead to easier or tougher battles.
Blizzard also announced a new developer livestream that'll "uncover details about Diablo IV’s endgame offerings and elaborate on the post-Open-Beta changes made to Classes and dungeons." That's coming on Thursday, April 20 at 11am PDT / 2pm EDT on Twitch and YouTube.
One thing we know won't change before launch are Diablo 4's "expensive" respec costs.
