Blizzard continues its war on Sorcerers with another nerf in latest Diablo 4 patch
Shift of the magi
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The Sorcerer, arguablyDiablo 4’s weakest class, has received a significant nerf courtesy ofBlizzard’s latest patch for the game.
Diablo 4’s patch 1.10a has launched in preparation for the game’s upcomingSeason of the Malignant. However, it looks like Sorcerers have to deal with a malignancy of their own, now that one of their staple abilities has been nerfed.
Devouring Blaze was a cornerstone of many powerful late-game and endgame builds, allowing Sorcerers to deal additional critical strike damage against burning and immobilized enemies. Making enemies more vulnerable to critical strikes in this fashion is crucial to a wide range of endgame builds, even builds where you primarily use cold spells (via PCGamer).
According to thepatch notes, Devouring Blaze’s bonus critical strike damage has been “reduced from 10/20/30% to 7/14/21%”, while the bonus critical strike damage to immobilized targets has been “reduced from 25/50/75% to 10/20/30%.”
Diablo 4’s Sorcerer may rank highly in ourbest classes list, but only because its impressive damage output made up for the magic user’s fragility. It would appear that this nerf has madeDiablo 4’sresident glass cannon all the more brittle.
This nerf compounds nastily with Blizzard’s nerf to defensive Affixes. Being the squishiest ofDiablo 4’s classes, Sorcerer builds often rely on defensive items to help improve their survivability, since they lack access to the protective abilities and self-healing often used by other classes.
Citing concerns that “skillful players are frequently slaughtering monsters many levels above their own”, Blizzard has opted to begin “shifting power to many offensive Affixes from defensive Affixes.” Though the developer acknowledged that this will “make our end game content more deadly”, it’s fair to say that Sorcerers are disproportionately affected by this balance change.
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Sorcerors have often been on the receiving end of Blizzard’s nerfs, having their skills toned down in almost every patch. Though Sorcerors have received some minor buffs along the way, too, these have never been sweeping enough to make up for the nerfs. However you slice it, Sorcerer players are stuck with the short end of the stick, at least for now.
Diablo 4 ranks among one of thebest RPGsof recent years, but we at TRG also rate the game’s slick multiplayer, rating it among thebest co-op gamesout there. If you’re a sorcerer main, you’ll likely need a buddy or two, anyway.
An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.
A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.
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