New Diablo 4 patch notes make Barbarians worse at yelling
Keep it down
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The latestDiablo 4patch notes have landed, offering a raft of changes to the game ahead of its full release on June 6.
As with any action RPG, inDiablo 4, the numbers do the talking. As much as the game’sdistinctive art styledraws you in, players tend to stay for the character customization and build options.
This latest update, 1.0.2d released on June 3 and, judging from theDiablo 4patch notes themselves, hasn’t brought about many drastic changes to the makeup of the game’s various classes. Rather, the latest patch seems intent on fine-tuning skills and abilities, rather than offering a radical departure from whatearly-accessplayers are used to.
Barbarians received the least number of changes, seeing the effectiveness of Challenging Shout’s damage reduction reduced as well as several tweaks to the class’ Legendary Aspects (special passive bonuses that can be added to powerful gear).
Necromancers, on the other hand, received more fine-tuning. In addition to buffs to their basic damage abilities, their minions are enjoying stat increases across the board. Golems, in particular, are getting a welcome buff as is the humble Skeleton Warrior.
In ablog post,Blizzardoutlined the thinking behind the changes: “Overall, we’re quite happy with the performance of our Classes, but we know there is always room for improvement. Our goal behind these changes is to create a better balanced and enjoyable experience across the board.”
The newDiablo 4patch also aims at nerfing certain class synergies. The developers made it clear that certain builds were “outside of our bounds for what is reasonable for the health of the game. As an example, we generally want to avoid creating situations where players can survive unreasonably high amounts of damage for long periods of time because it too greatly warps our vision for how combat should be in Diablo 4.”
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These sorts of tweaks go a long way towards improving the game’s pacing and feel, helping players to get the most out ofDiablo 4’s disruptive open-world designas well as the game’smultiplayer synergies.
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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