Diablo IV’s stun-lock loving monsters are being brought down a notch in the next patch for Blizzard’s ARPG, which primarily makes changes to monster abilities and affixes that have frustrated players since the game’s launch.
Patch 1.1.3, scheduled to release on August 29, should make the game’s various crowd-controlling effects, like Cold and stuns, more manageable. Cold-enchanted enemies that attack rapidly, for example, will no longer apply Cold on every hit, Goatmen will use Cold pillars less often, and Cold enchanted spiders will apply less chill. One of the game’s most frustrating enemies, the Nangari Snake Eyes, are having the duration of their stun ability reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1.25 seconds. The stun ability used by Cannibal Gorgers will also be easier to dodge.
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Now Playing: Diablo IV | Season of Blood | Announce Trailer
Blizzard said all the changes above are to make it so players overall spend less time being crowd-controlled and have more recovery time after being hit by crowd-control effects. Some of the game’s most prominent content creators have long complained about how it feels overly punishing to become stun-locked for long periods of time, which at higher world tiers is essentially a guaranteed death. This should help to remedy those complaints.
Other changes coming in Diablo IV patch 1.1.3 include reducing the explosion damage from Fire-enchanted monsters and reducing the damage done by the Bloated Corpsefiend’s charge ability. Blizzard in the next update will additionally “lay the foundation” for how item affixes are displayed on items, something that will be changing when the game’s recently announced Season of Blood arrives in October. This update will make it so affixes on items can be more easily sorted.
One additional change that players who play on multiple platforms will appreciate is that achievements, trophies, and challenges with “shared unlock criteria” across platforms now transfer via cross-platform progression. That certainly makes it sound like those who have played on one platform and then play on another won’t be required to replay things like the campaign or accomplish certain milestones in order to unlock associated achievements or trophies, something that wasn’t possible before this update.
Season 1 may still be in full swing, but Blizzard recently announced players will be embracing vampiric powers for Diablo IV Season 2. Numerous quality-of-life updates Blizzard had previously vowed to bring to Diablo IV, like changes to Renown, gems, and more, will launch alongside Season of Blood in October. You can find the full list of patch 1.1.3 changes below.
Diablo IV Update 1.1.3 Patch Notes
GAMEPLAY UPDATES
Monsters
Crowd Control Sources
We have made various changes to Monster Abilities and Elite Affixes that apply Crowd Control effects, including
- Cold Enchanted Elites that attack in quick succession (Ex: Ghost Archers and Snake Brutes) will no longer proc the Cold Enchanted on every hit.
- Chilling Wind will spawn overlapping walls less often.
- The Stun ability from the Cannibal Gorger can now be more easily avoided.
- Increased the cooldown on the Cold Goatman Ice Pillars.
- Reduced the amount of Chill applied from the Cold Spider attack.
- Reduced the Stun duration from the Nangari Snake Eyes from 1.5 to 1.25 seconds.
- Other changes that reduce how often the player can be targeted by Crowd Control
Developer’s Note: These changes are aimed at the player having less time being Crowd Controlled and receiving more recovery time after being Crowd Controlled, especially at higher World Tiers.
General
- The death explosion from Fire Enchanted monsters releases 1 less wave and deals 20% less damage.
- The damage from the Bloated Corpsefiend’s charge attack has been reduced by 14%.
Miscellaneous
- Affixes on items will now sort consistently.
Developer’s Note: We’re adjusting how Affixes are displayed on item tooltips in Season of Blood. This change will lay the foundation for our ongoing work of making random Affixes easier to compare.
- The Seasonal and My Class filters in the Codex of Power menu now remember the setting previously selected by the player.
- Navigating the Glyph Upgrade menu on controller will now feel more natural.
- Achievements, Trophies, and Challenges with shared unlock criteria across platforms now transfer via cross-platform progression.
BUG FIXES
Season of the Malignant
- Fixed an issue where the Shadow Clone provided by the Caged Heart of Trickery displayed an improper tooltip in Fields of Hatred.
- Fixed an issue where Crowd Control effects could be applied to the Shadow Clone from the Caged Heart of Trickery and then carried over to the player.
- Fixed an issue where the Caged Heart of the Calculated would not trigger its stun effect if the cast skill was Imbued.
- Fixed an issue where monsters could open the door to the chamber where Varshan is encountered in the Ravening Pit.
- Fixed an issue where the Echo of Varshan quest would not be completed after defeating Varshan if the player previously died to him.
- Fixed an issue where completed Season Journey objectives displayed in the Recently Completed section of the Challenges menu.
- Fixed an issue where the rewards for defeating Varshan the first time wouldn’t go to the player’s Stash if they were missed.
- Fixed an issue where Echo of Varshan did not have a guaranteed Legendary drop chance after Level 35.
- Fixed an issue where Cormond would not appear after defeating Varshan during the Cold Hard Truth quest if the party leader was killed during the fight.
Gameplay
- When the following Skills and Powers were applied by a player on a monster, other players were unexpectedly able to benefit from that effect. This issue has been fixed.
- Skills and Passives
- Decrepify
- Shadowblight
- Twisting Blades
- Shatter
- Paragon Nodes and Glyphs
- Hemorrhage
- Exploit Weakness
- Revenge
- Dominate
- Fang and Claw
- Deadraiser
- Amplify
- Skills and Passives
- Fixed an issue where a Druid player’s inventory could fill up with Spirit Blessings, blocking progression for Quests that had items associated with them.
Developer’s Note: Druidic Spirit Offerings can now be dropped from the Quest Inventory, allowing other Quest items to be picked up.
- Fixed an issue where players could lose Aberrant Cinders upon entering a Cellar.
- Fixed an issue where players could become temporarily stationary when trying to evade immediately after casting a channeled spell (Ex: Incinerate or Lightning Storm).
- Fixed an issue where Treasure Goblins did not drop a guaranteed Legendary item when defeated between Levels 15 and 40.
- Fixed an issue where multiple bosses were not guaranteed to drop legendary items at level 35 and beyond.
User Interface
- Fixed an issue where the disbanding of a clan prompt directed the player to enter the clan’s name instead of using the provided code.
- Fixed an issue where the quest marker for searching the Records Room during the Answers in the Ashes quest wouldn’t disappear after advancing past the objective.
- Fixed an issue where the Blessed Mother Departed objective referenced the wrong name for the Echo of Hatred dungeon.
- Fixed an issue where two overlapping icons would display for Cormond’s Workbench in the Dry Steppes.
- Fixed an issue where progress notifications for untracked Whispers could repeatedly display the same update.
Miscellaneous
- Fixed an issue where mounted NPCs could appear to be riding an invisible horse. (GHOST HORSES?!?)
- Fixed an issue where Classes that can’t equip daggers could equip the Skeleton Key, the dagger rewarded for completing the Dead to Rights quest.
- Fixed an issue where progression could be blocked during the Jewel of the East quest in Co-Op Play.
- Fixed an issue where the Spirt of the Lost Grove Druid class quest could have its progression blocked if the player joined a Party after activating the last stone.
- Fixed an issue where Rogues could use Concealment to skip a phase of the Echo of Lilith encounter.
- Various performance and stability improvements across all platforms.
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