‘Diablo 4′ has undergone a large-scale balance patch ahead of season 1. When all jobs were downgraded, users’ public opinion sharply deteriorated. In response, the development team conducted an online broadcast at dawn on the 22nd, Korean time, and declared, “There will be no large-scale downgrading patches like patch 1.1 in the future.”
Blizzard Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as Blizzard)’s ‘Diablo 4’ started Season 1 on the 21st. Right before season 1 started, a large-scale balance patch was carried out, and all jobs were lowered. The power of all elements that make up a character’s combat power, such as attack power, defense power, cooldown, and items, has been weakened. The user response immediately after this patch was applied was very poor. In particular, the elemental magician’s survivability was so weak that it became difficult to hunt.
Regarding this downward patch, the development team said, “Certain elements were too strong. In particular, I don’t want to be able to continuously use class skills without a cooldown. I wanted to give users a variety of options,” he said. “I will never do a downward patch like this again in the future.” Regarding the Elementalist and the Barbarian, which are currently considered weak, it was announced that “we will upgrade the two classes in patch 1.1.1.”
Associate Game Director Joseph Paipiora (left), Joe Shirley (center) Game Director
The keynote for balance adjustment has also been slightly changed. The development team said, “Even if there is a strong build, we will not downgrade right away and leave it alone until another attractive build comes out.”
Season 1’s first patch, 1.1.1, is coming in a few weeks. The development team said they would reveal the specific timing of the 1.1.1 patch through an online broadcast next week. In patch 1.1.1, Barbarian and Magister are buffed. It is said that defense and survivability will be increased. The cost of resetting skills and conqueror boards is also reduced by about 40%. A storage box for the ‘Heart of Evil’ added in Season 1 is also added.
The development team revealed that they are preparing various contents to be added after season 1. Leaderboards, gem stashes, equipment presets, and more. In addition, the resistance system will be reorganized.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere of this online broadcast was rather heavy. It seems that this is because users did not respond well to the balance patch that was implemented right before season 1. Compared to the last online broadcast, the development team who participated in the broadcast was very careful about every word. Attention is focusing on whether ‘Diablo 4′ will be able to turn users’ reactions back to positive in Season 1.
