Blizzard are holding Diablo 3’s next patch in a box in front of our collective noses, gently wafting its odour towards our nostrils and tempting us to have a sniff. Just a sniff. They’ll open the box soon, they tease, but for now we may have three clues as to what patch 1.0.5 will bring. What are they? What’s in the smelly box, Blizzard?
Straight from the blog post, the three major changes coming to Diablo 3 in the near future are:
“Defensive Skill Changes –In our eternal quest to promote build diversity; we’ll be making changes to defensive skills across the board while simultaneously reducing incoming damage. The net result is a survivability buff for players, and an increase in build options as defensive abilities become less “mandatory.”
New Event: Infernal Machine –The Infernal Machine is a device that will allow level-60 players to battle “uber” versions of some of Sanctuary’s most nefarious bosses. While the rewards for defeating these bosses will be great, some assembly is required.
New System: Monster Power –Similar to the “Players 8” command in Diablo II, the Monster Power system is designed to give players more control over how challenging enemies are in each difficulty.”
Ace. The decision to keep buffing weaker characters and skills rather than nerfing others is a positive one, while the new event and system comprise actual new features to be excited about. Diablo 2 featured “uber” versions of its bosses, suggesting that the Infernal Machine will unlock a similar challenge, though “some assembly required” perhaps hints at a prerequisite item hunt similar to that needed to find the Staff of Herding.
“Players 8” in Diablo 2 was a mode that allowed you to increase the difficulty to what it would be if eight players were playing together, increasing the amount and quality of the loot and XPbeing dropped. Coupled with Infernal Machine, there’s seemingly scope for some absurdly upscaled challenges in patch 1.0.5
The blog postpromises more updates in the coming days.