Blizzard swings the class nerf bat in Diablo 4’s first patch
The first Diablo 4 balance patch is now live.
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What you need to know
Diablo 4 launched in early access a few days ago, and people are hitting endgame already. In ourDiablo 4 review, I described how the game represents another big step up for Blizzard, owing to the game’s impeccable cinematic treatment of the genre largely popularized by the Diablo franchise.
The game boasts several class roles, including stealthy archer-meets-assassin rogues, hulking werewolf druids, and skeleton minion-summoning necromancers. Diablo 4’s warrior-like barbarian class has been causing a bit of a stir, however, owing to some viral endgame builds that transform them into whirling storms of death. As a result, Blizzard has issued its first balance patch for Diablo 4, bringing some class synergies to heel.
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“While we want players to both feel and be truly powerful, some Class builds and synergies are outside of our bounds for what is reasonable for the health of the game, so we are reducing their effectiveness. As an example, we generally want to avoid creating situations where players can survive unreasonably high amounts of damage for long periods of time because it too greatly warps our vision for how combat should be in Diablo IV.”
Blizzardelaboratedthat some build synergies are getting buffed, however, but it comes at the cost of nerfing the Paragon system across the board. The endgame class progression Diablo 4 Paragon system lets you allocate a few extra stats after gaining further levels past level 50. Some of the nodes on the Paragon board let you dramatically increase attack speed, at least before this nerf, leading to synergies that utterly trivialize difficulty. A notorious Barbarian whirlwind build that went viral recently for its ability to rapidly sail through hundreds of mobs without taking any damage seems to have prompted some of these balance changes, which are detailed in full down below.
Diablo 4 Patch Notes: 1.0.2d Build #42131 (All Platforms)
Patch 1.0.2d Build #42131 should be live now across Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms. Blizzard has implemented a system for Diablo 4 that generally allows for server-side patches without incurring downloads, but you may need to download some additional data from time to time.
Barbarian
Skill Changes
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Challenging Shout
Legendary Aspect Changes
Bold Chieftain’s Aspect
Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind
Item Changes
Gohr’s Devastating Grips
Druid
Skill Changes
Pulverize
Lightning Storm
Grizzly Rage
Class Specialization
Obsidian Slam
Calm Before the Storm
Passive Changes
Electric Shock
Legendary Aspect Changes
Shockwave Aspect
Crashstone Aspect
Lightning Dancer’s Aspect
Necromancer
Skill Changes
Blood Lance
Army of the Dead
Blood Wave
Passive Changes
Shadowblight
Grim Harvest
Serration
Death’s Defense
Class Specialization
Raise Skeleton
Golem
Blood Golem
Iron Golem
Necromancer Paragon Board Changes
Hulking Monstrosity
Cult Leader
Rogue
Skill Changes
Twisting Blades
Rapid Fire
Dark Shroud
Dash
Caltrops
Passive Changes
Concussive
Legendary Affix Changes
Repeating
Sorcerer
Skill Changes
Arc Lash
Teleport
Legendary Affix Changes
Aspect of Control
General
Miscellaneous Class Changes
Druid Companions and Necromancer Minions
Paragon Board Changes
Rare Nodes
Glyphs
Monster Changes
Bug Fixes
Jez Corden is the Executive Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow onTwitter (X)andThreads, and listen to hisXB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!
