A Diablo 4 Campfire Chat is coming on Friday, July 21 to discuss the controversial changes in Diablo 4 patch 1.1.0. The gargantuan season one update landed just yesterday, and was met with immediate outcry from large parts of the playerbase, including some of the most prominent Diablo 4 streamers and content creators. With its first big season about to start, it promises to be a real make-or-break moment for the otherwise fantastic RPG game.
I’ve been loving Diablo 4 – I managed to reach level 100 on my Rogue just last night, in fact – and I think it’s safe to say that, much like many other players, I raised an eyebrow at some of the decisions made in the latest patch notes. Chief among these is a push towards nerfing defenses and buffing attack skills – with Blizzard stating that they want players to have a more challenging time taking down the game’s toughest content.
The problem there, pointed out by some of the community’s leading voices, is that many of the most powerful Diablo 4 builds we’ve seen are specifically ones that already lean into damage at the expense of survivability, because it’s so difficult to stay alive while fighting the hardest monsters the game has to offer. Pushing even further into ‘glass cannon’ territory feels like it will only exacerbate the issue.
Elsewhere, there has been concern over specific Diablo 4 classes feeling left in the dust. While Rogue and Druid got out of the patch largely unscathed, nerfs to the best Sorcerer builds have left what was already considered one of the weakest classes in an even more fragile position. It should still be great at leveling, but at those highest levels it could feel like you’re playing a glass cannon build, but without the cannon.
Of course, we’ve only currently been able to get hands-on with the balance changes for the base iteration of the game. It’s possible that, once the seasonal features such as Diablo 4 Malignant Hearts and all the new Diablo 4 Uniques have been rolled out, it’ll all slot into place. Maybe the reduction in overall power felt necessary to compensate for the seasonal buffs; although, if that’s the case, where does it leave those players who choose to remain in the eternal realm on their existing characters?
So far, then, the Diablo 4 season 1 start is looking a little rocky. Twitch streamer Zack ‘Asmongold’ calls the patch “the biggest downgrade Diablo 4 has ever seen.” Another, Alex ‘MrLlamaSC’ Sementelli, brands this the “season of nerfs,” while Souaïb ‘cArn’ Hanaf, the first player to hit level 100 in the game’s permadeath hardcore mode, tweets, “Diablo 4 season one is literally the worst patch in videogame history.” Ouch.
Following the fallout, Diablo community manager Adam ‘PezRadar’ Fletcher tweets, “We have been hearing feedback from players regarding some of the changes in 1.1.0 for Diablo 4. We are going to have a Campfire Chat later this week on Friday to talk more about it. Thanks again for the feedback!”
Fletcher doesn’t yet give a time for the broadcast, though previous such chats have taken place at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST, so expect it to fall around then. We’ll update this story once we have official confirmation of the broadcast time.
Of course, this does mean that this response stream falls after the launch of season one, and will likely take place while many of its top players are still actively racing to be the first to reach the Diablo 4 level cap. Regardless of the changes, I’m personally still looking forward to the Season of the Malignant – but it’ll certainly be interesting to hear what the team’s balance philosophy is, and whether they’ll look to address any of the major concerns directly.
For now, make sure to study our Diablo 4 Renown guide to get ahead of the game in season one, and ensure you’re up to speed on how the Diablo 4 battle pass works ahead of its launch alongside the season.