In a world where angels and demons throttle each other on the regular, things don’t age in quite the same way. In Sanctuary, ancient items don’t pale and wane or dissolve on exposure to sunlight: they benefit from stats up to 30% better than their legendary equivalents.
Ancient rarity items are just one pillar of a characteristically far-reaching Diablo III patch announced at BlizzCon 2014 – and now taking shape in the public test realm.
Diablo III is designed to be played and replayed, and ancient items are for the players who’ve done a lot of the latter. If you’ve been lucky enough to have picked up well-rolled legendaries, ancient items will allow you another tier to reach for.
Greater rifts in general are benefitting from a balance update. Rather than remove the powerful conduit pylon that’s bothered Diablo players of late, Blizzard have buffed the rest – allowing shield pylons to reflect damage and explode on expiration, and speed pylons to boost players’ knock-back abilities.
You can see the patch notes as they currently stand on the next page – and try out their changes for yourself by creating a PTR account.
In a future patch, Blizzard have plans to plonk a new zone into Rifts that might spark memories of Diablo II. Sesheron is the homeland of the barbarians (who’ve forgotten to put their teeth in, if that name’s anything to go by). Expect new monsters, including a rat king. Oo-err.
Did you know? It took just one 20-minute meeting for Blizzard to decide to close the Diablo III auction house. If only they’d had it earlier, eh?
GENERAL
A message will now display in chat when a Treasure Goblin has been killed or escaped
Players can no longer go Brawling while a Greater Rift they paid to enter is open
Healing
The “Healing” stat on the character sheet has been replaced with “Recovery”
- Recovery is an estimate of how much Toughness you are expected to be able to recover in combat and is calculated using a combination of your Healing, Life, and Toughness
- The Healing number will still be viewable in the character sheet if you mouse over the Recovery stat
Life per Vitality has been increased from level 67 to 70
Base Life at level 70 has been increased
Healing from Health Globes has been reduced
Social
The total number of players in a Community and in Community chat will now be displayed on the roster page
The presence information displayed in Clan and Community rosters, and the Friends List is now more detailed
The Clan Roster will now display the duration that a member has been offline
The Clan Roster can now be sorted by offline duration
CLASSES
General
Improvements have been made to the prioritization of abilities that utilize damage shields (e.g. cheat deaths, absorb shields, and % Damage Reduction)
Pets
- Several monster attacks that are intended to be avoided by players that weren’t already dealing reduced damage to pets now deal significantly less damage to pets
Barbarian
Active Skills
- Frenzy
Skill Rune – Vanguard
Movement speed increased from 15% to 25%
Demon Hunter
Active Skills
- Chakram
Skill Rune – Serpentine
Damage type changed from Poison to Cold
- Evasive Fire
Skill Rune – Parting Gift
Damage type changed from Poison to Physical
- Grenade
Skill Rune – Gas Grenades
Has been removed
Replaced with “Cold Grenade”
Leaves behind a puddle of cold on the ground that Chills enemies for 3 seconds
Deals Cold damage
- Multishot
Skill Rune – Suppression Fire
Has been redesigned
Now causes Multishot to knockback the first 2 enemies hit
- Sentry
Has been redesigned
Cooldown has been removed
Now has 2 charges, with a recharge time of 8 seconds
Recharge time is affected by cooldown reduction
Hatred cost reduced from 30 to 20
- Smoke Screen
Cooldown increased from 2 to 3 seconds
Skill Rune – Choking Gas
Has been removed
Replaced with “Vanishing Powder”
Removes the Discipline cost
Increases the cooldown to 8 seconds
- Spike Trap
Skill Rune – Echoing Blast
Damage type changed from Poison to Cold
Passive Skills
- Custom Engineering
Has been redesigned
Now increases the maximum number of charges and active Sentries from 2 to 3
- Night Stalker
Has been redesigned
Now causes your primary skills to generate an additional 4 Hatred
Monk
Active Skills
- Epiphany
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause players to get stuck on a wall when teleporting with Epiphany
Witch Doctor
Active Skills
- Haunt
Skill Rune – Grasping Spirit
Has been removed
Replaced with “Poisoned Spirit”
Haunted enemies take 20% increased damage from all sources
Damage type changed from Cold to Poison
Wizard
Active Skills
- Hydra
Greatly increased the amount of Hydra attacks per cast
Attack Speed now affects how fast each Hydra head attacks
Weapon damage reduced from 195% to 105%
Skill Rune – Arcane Hydra
Weapon damage reduced from 245% to 130%
Skill Rune – Blazing Hydra
Damage dealt over time no longer scales with Attack Speed
Weapon damage reduced from 185% to 100%
Skill Rune – Frost Hydra
Weapon damage reduced from 275% to 135%
Skill Rune – Lightning Hydra
Weapon damage reduced from 305% to 135%
Skill Rune – Mammoth Hydra
Weapon damage reduced from 400% to 295%
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that prevented players from being healed by Life per Kill when an enemy was killed by a pet
ITEMS
Life on Hit and Life Regeneration have been increased by 25% at all levels
Ancient items have been added to the game
- Ancient items are more powerful versions of Legendary items
- Ancient items roll from increased value ranges for certain affixes
- Ancient items can now drop at Torment I or higher
The drop chance will increase with each Torment level
- Any Legendary or Set item has a chance to be dropped or crafted as an Ancient item
- Legendary or Set items purchased from Kadala have a chance to be an Ancient item
Bottomless Potion of Fear
- New Legendary potion
- Fears enemies within 12 yards for 3-4 seconds on use
Several existing Legendary items have been updated to include a unique Legendary power
- Note: Existing items will not be affected by the following changes. Only new versions of the items will roll with the added Legendary power.
Broken Crown
- Legendary power added
- Whenever a gem drops, a gem of the type socketed into this item also drops
- The additional gem that is dropped will be of the same quality level as the original gem that was dropped
Class-Specific Items
Demon Hunter
- Embodiment of the Maruader
Philosophy note: The following changes are not intended to be a nerf to Demon Hunters or the Embodiment of the Marauder set and additional tuning may be necessary
Has been redesigned
(2) Set Bonus
Now increases the damage of your Hatred generators by 40% for every Sentry you have active
(6) Set Bonus
Sentries now cast your Hatred spenders every time you do and deal 100% increased damage
- Helltrapper
The Caltrops, Sentries, and Spike Traps summoned by this item can no longer exceed the normal cap of those skills
Monk
- Monkey King’s Garb
Philosophy note: With only some minor adjustments to supporting gear, build, and playstyle, Monks with four pieces of the updated Monkey King’s Garb should be able to match or even exceed their previous best Greater Rift time and level. With a complete optimization of the new Set bonuses, Monks should easily (or at least reliably) exceed their previous best Greater Rift time and level.
Has been redesigned
(2) Set Bonus
Casting Cyclone Strike, Exploding Palm, Lashing Tail Kick, Tempest Rush, or Wave of Light causes a decoy to spawn that taunts nearby enemies and then explodes for 1000% weapon damage
Decoy explosion now deals the damage type of your highest +% Elemental Damage
(4) Set Bonus
Enemies hit by the decoy explosion take 500% more damage from your Cyclone Strike, Exploding Palm, Lashing Tail Kick, Tempest Rush, and Wave of Light abilities for 3 seconds
Wizard
- Firebird’s Finery
(6) Set Bonus
The infinite DoT no longer deals damage to Rift Guardians if the player gets too far away
Going back within the allowed range should resume the DoT damage
New Seasonal Legendary Items
Note: Seasonal items will be available exclusively to Seasonal characters until the conclusion of Season 2
New Legendary Gems have been added
- Esoteric Alteration
Gain 10% non-Physical damage reduction
Upgrade rank grants: +0.5% non-Physical damage reduction
Rank 25 unlocks: While below half Life, your resistances to Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, and Arcane are increased by 75%
- Gem of Ease
Monster kills grant +1,000 experience
This is multiplied by the difficulty multiplier
This is intended to be an exorbitant amount of experience for a low level character
For example:
A level 1 monster grants 40 experience
A level 55 monster grants 8,700 experience
A level 60 monster grants 18,700 experience
Upgrade rank grants: +1 experience per kill
Rank 25 unlocks: Level requirement reduced to 1
- Molten Wildebeest’s Gizzard
Regenerates 10,000 Life per Second
Upgrade rank grants: +1000 Life per Second
Rank 25 unlocks: After not taking damage for 4 seconds, gain an absorb shield for 200% of your total Life per Second
Class-Specific Items
- Crusader
Belt of the Trove
New Legendary Belt
Every 6-8 seconds, Bombardment is cast on a random nearby enemy
- Demon Hunter
Odyssey’s End
New Legendary Bow
Enemies snared by Entangling Shot take 20-25% more damage from all sources
- Wizard
Ranslor’s Folly
New Legendary Bracers
Energy Twister periodically pulls in an enemy within 30 yards
An enemy can only be pulled in this way once every 5 seconds
Note: These are currently still using the place holder name “Energy Twister Bracers”
Several existing class-specific Legendary items have been updated to include a unique Legendary power
Note: Existing items will not be affected by the following changes. Only new versions of the items will roll with the added Legendary power.
- Barbarian
The Undisputed Champion
Legendary power added
Frenzy gains the effect of every rune
- Monk
Gungdo Gear
Legendary power added
Exploding Palm’s on-death explosion applies Exploding Palm
- Witch Doctor
Wormwood
Legendary power added
Locust Swarm is cast on a nearby enemy every second
Now rolls with +20-25% Poison skill damage as one of its four primary affixes
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that allowed damage from Gem of Efficacious Toxin to be reflected back onto the player
Fixed an issue that prevented the damage bonus from Bane of the Trapped from being applied to enemies that are Blinded or Charmed
Fixed an issue that prevented Invigorating Gemstone from correctly reducing your damage taken while Frozen or Blind
Fixed an issue that prevented Invigorating Gemstone from correctly healing you when you are hit by a Blind effect
ACHIEVEMENTS
Season 2 Conquests have been added
The Lord of Bells is no longer required to complete “You’re Not The Boss Of Me”
ADVENTURE MODE
The New Tristram town hub now has an improved layout
Note: The changes apply to Adventure Mode only
Whimsydale is now more rewarding
Bounties & Events
Bounties that were disabled after Patch 2.1.0 have been re-enabled
The following events have received several changes, including changes to their completion requirements
- A Miner’s Gold
- The Jar of Souls
- The Matriarch’s Bones
- The Miser’s Will
- The Scavenged Scabbard
Clear the Barracks
- Changes have been made to the first floor of The Barracks to make it easier to locate the second floor
Nephalem Rifts
Players can no longer resurrect at checkpoint
Players now resurrect at corpse after a delay
- The respawn timer will increase with every death
The amount of Gold and Experience awarded upon completion of a Greater Rift has been increased
- Known Issue: Greater Rifts from level 26 on are currently more rewarding than intended and will be adjusted
Many maps have received changes to the way their layouts can be generated for Nephalem and Greater Rifts
Monsters
- Monster density has been increased in several Greater and Nephalem Rifts
- Monster damage in Greater Rifts level 26 and higher has been reduced
- The following Rift Guardians have received several changes; they should less be frustrating, but still dangerous
Bloodmaw
Bloodmaw presented an unchallenging and unfair fight due to a combination of one-shot damaging abilities, stuns, and AoE damage. His Leap attack has been modified to address these concerns, but will trigger more often to make the fight feel more dynamic.
Erethon
Erethon has received minor changes to his dash attack. The AoE element has been replaced with a ranged attack to give more challenge to ranged characters.
Rime
Rime was an unfair opponent for melee players. The fight has been restructured so that his AoE can no longer overlap and the duration of each has been reduced. In addition, his ranged attack should be more threatening to ranged characters.
Pylons
- Shield Pylon
Now reflects damage back to attackers
- Speed Pylon
Duration has been increased from 30 seconds to 1 minute
Now knocks enemies into the air and deals damage to them
Now breaks Waller for the full duration
Realm of Trials
- The time between waves has been shortened
- Minor changes have been made to the types of monsters that can spawn
- Rewards now scale based upon the rank of the Keystone you receive
- Keystone of Trials no longer plays the Legendary item sound, or displays the Legendary item minimap icon when dropped
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that allowed Follower skills to be changed while in a Greater Rift
FOLLOWERS
Templar
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that caused Inspire to grant an incorrect amount of Wrath regeneration
MONSTERS
The Extra Health and Vampiric monster affixes have been removed from the game
Anarch
- Maximum dash range has been reduced
- Now has a short dash that will be used at close range
Corrupted Angel
- Maximum dash range has been reduced
- Unholy Shield has been removed
Inferno Zombie
- Reduced this monsters XP, damage and survivability to bring it in line with other zombies
Punisher
- Maximum leap range has been reduced
- Stun duration has been reduced
Treasure Goblins
- New Treasure Goblins have been added to the game
Be on the lookout for the Jewel Hoarder, the Blood Thief, the Odious Collector, and another Malevolent little bugger
The new Treasure Goblins can only be found in Adventure Mode
- Now always appear in front of a portal
- Now have a special minimap icon
- Now only drop their best loot on Torment I difficulty or above
- Some changes have been made to the way Treasure Goblins try to escape