Blizzard Entertainment plans to address the negative player feedback it has been receiving since the Diablo 4 Season 1 update that introduced class nerfs for the Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorceror. Players have also been unhappy about changes to the endgame, item drops, and level requirements, although today’s update has updated one aspect of the latter.
Blizzard will have a Campfire Chat about the Diablo 4 changes
Diablo 4 global community development director Adam Fletcher revealed the developer will be holding a Campfire Chat tomorrow, July 21, to “talk more” about the player feedback surrounding the class nerfs and other changes that were made in the Season 1 update. The chat will be held at 11 a.m. PT and will feature Fletcher, associate game director Joseph Piepiora, and designer Joe Shely.
The Diablo 4 Season 1 update, which was released on July 18, made a swath of changes in preparation for the start of Season of the Malignant. Of the class nerfs in the patch, the Barbarian Hammer of the Ancients, Druid Werewolf Shred, Necromancer Bone Spear, and Sorcerer Ice Shard were the skills that were hit the hardest. The reduction to the Barbarian skill in particular was felt to make a lot of the class’ endgame builds redundant.
Another of the controversial changes made was to introduce level requirements for World Tier III (level 40) and IV (level 60). A small update made today has now removed that requirement. The patch notes for update 1.1.0b also made it so Malignant Hearts always grant armor that directly maps with their item power.
In the meantime, the start of Season of the Malignant has come with its own issues. Blizzard has reported that players in the Americas have been facing “unusually long queue times” and has been working to get all players into the game as quickly as possible. Of course, long queues aren’t a new problem for the game and are something that should be expected at the launch of a new season.
