Tag: Diablo 4

Blizzard announces Diablo 4 Season 1 date and details

The first Diablo 4 season is coming up soon, and Blizzard finally explained what we can expect in the RPG’s big update

The first Diablo 4 season is coming up soon, and Blizzard finally explained what we can expect in the RPG’s big update in a new livestream. Diablo 4 Season 1, officially called Season of the Malignant, begins July 20, 2023, and promises new loot, challenges, and ways to build your character.

You need a new character to start Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant, but all of your renown and exploration data – including Altars of Lilith – will apply to your seasonal character and other characters on your account. You just need to log in once after July 18, 2023, with the character whose exploration and renown progress you want to carry over, and it’ll apply across your entire account.

Season of the Malignant will drop you in Kyovashad at level one and introduces you to Cormond. Cormond is a former priest with the Cathedral of Light who’s trying to fight a new darkness spreading across Sanctuary, which of course means you’re fighting the darkness that spreads across Sanctuary for him.

Central to the season is the Malignant Heart, a new Gem-like item you slot into jewels and earn from defeating super-powered Elite monsters across the world. These Malignant Hearts come in four varieties – three color-coded hearts that fit into matching colored slots on jewlery and one heart that fits into any slot – and they augment your character’s abilities in highly specific ways that make new builds possible.

The season also brings new bosses, legendary and unique items, and battle pass rewards. The pass has a free and paid tier, though even with the free tier, you get cosmetics equippable by every class and Smouldering Ashes, a currency that lets you unlock buffs for the season.

Your campaign progress won’t be affected when the new season launches, and you can get the benefit of that season’s class buffs and other tweaks in campaign mode when the patch goes live on July 18, 2023.

Head over to the Diablo 4 website for the full details.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01fneweg9c4wk5v2c2c9 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fneweg9c4wk5v2c2c9/01fneweg9c4wk5v2c2c9-a0465eb771466761de4c34fc9ceabc05.jpg]

Fans think rats will lead them to better Diablo 4 gear

Fans always on the hunt for high-level Diablo 4 gear have taken to following rodents around in the hope of finding rare drops

Fans always on the hunt for high-level Diablo 4 gear have taken to following rodents around in the hope of finding rare drops. The method first showed up on the Diablo 4 subreddit after user zerger45 published a post called “FOLLOW THE RATS,” with a preamble about how unhinged the method sounds before reassuring everyone that following rats is a guaranteed way to find Legendary-grade loot (thanks, PC Gamer).

“Okay this is going to sound really bizarre, but you need to follow the rats for good loot,” zerger45 said. “Don’t follow the predetermined path in any dungeon, instead, just follow the rats. The rats smell the cheese! I’m telling you it’s real and I feel like I’m crazy but I found multiple legendaries doing this within a span of maybe 10 minutes.”

FOLLOW THE RATS
by u/zerger45 in diablo4

A few other Redditers said they tried the method and found it actually worked, and several said they wouldn’t be surprised if Blizzard quietly hid some special feature in the humble rodent. Diablo has a history of stashing secrets in unlikely places, hence the fact that, despite Blizzard saying there’s no cow level in Diablo 4, players are still following Sanctuary’s cows around in the hopes of finding it anyway. 

One commenter pointed out it’s likely just a coincidence. The rats seem to lead players to enemy mobs in dungeons, and if you defeat every enemy mob every time, you’re bound to walk away with at least some Legendary gear.

Finding Legendaries becomes a fair bit easier if you’re challenging Nightmare Dungeons on World Tier 3 or higher as well, unlike finding Unique items, which can take hours of play to find, if not days. Zerger didn’t say whether their Unique drop rate improved.

The first Diablo 4 season is coming up later in July 2023, so you might want to hold off investing too much time in your gear hunt anyway. You’ll just have to find more later.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar-5fd567aebf1e13ea394e4522425d1f3f.jpg]

New Diablo 4 patch balances XP farming and Nightmare Dungeons

The latest Diablo 4 patch smooths out some of the RPG’s XP farming issues and made Nightmare Dungeon grinding more useful

The latest Diablo 4 patch smooths out some of the RPG’s XP farming issues and made Nightmare Dungeon grinding more useful. The patch, which went live after two days of lengthy maintenance, also buffs and balances each of the game’s classes in a bid to make their basic skills more useful.

The update comes after Blizzard said it was evening out Elite monster numbers in dungeons so you couldn’t get more XP by repeating certain dungeons anymore. The new patch will “significantly” increase the amount of XP you earn by completing Nightmare Dungeons and also give a substantial bump to the XP you get from defeating enemies in these dungeons.

Whether Blizzard’s definition of “significant” increases matches the Diablo 4 community’s idea remains to be seen, but any increase is a good thing. Running Nightmare Dungeons is the foundation of Diablo 4’s endgame and the fastest way to raise your level and unlock new World Tier difficulties.

You’ll also get more experience from opening Helltide chests and completing Tree of Whispers bounties.

On the class side, every class received a slight bump in basic attack power, with a few damage increases for other core and ultimate skills, and some cooldown reductions for support skills. The Sorcerer even had some of their Aspects buffed, which is handy since many of them were a bit underpowered.

You can check out the full patch notes on the Diablo 4 site.

All these changes come ahead of the first Diablo 4 season, which launches sometime in July – and which you’ll need a new character for.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar-5fd567aebf1e13ea394e4522425d1f3f.jpg]

Blizzard clarifies how rare Diablo 4’s Unique gear really is

Diablo 4’s Unique gear earns its name, as designer Adam Jackson explains that six of the gear pieces are almost impossible to find

Diablo 4’s Unique gear items earn their name, as designer Adam Jackson explains that six of the gear pieces are almost impossible to find in the RPG. Jackson posted a short breakdown on Twitter and said the chances of finding these so-called “super Unique” items are incredibly rare.

Diablo 4 has a small set of Unique-grade items for every class. These are weapons and pieces of equipment with benefits and bonus effects that are even more powerful than the strongest Legendary items, and as you’d expect, they’re pretty difficult to find – but not impossible, especially on higher World Tier levels. The biggest challenge is getting a Unique item with a high power level, since that determines how strong the bonus effects are.

These six super Unique items have a much lower chance of dropping in Nightmare Dungeons or even against World Bosses. Jackson said they only drop from enemies at level 85 or higher and have a minuscule chance of appearing any time you would normally get a regular Unique item. In other words, there’s no specific enemy or area where you have a better chance of getting them.

Diablo 4 has six of these super Uniques as of June 2023 – two swords, a ring, an amulet, and two helms. Jackson didn’t say how many players have actually found them, though. His advice was just to keep replaying activities that have a higher chance of dropping Unique items, which is basically just high-level Nightmare dungeons.  

So if you’re after another challenge before the first Diablo 4 season starts, this might be it – if you have the patience for grinding. Just don’t expect to get as much XP as you used to.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01gmts518ee5cy46hthx playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gmts518ee5cy46hthx/01gmts518ee5cy46hthx-0a58cbae855e0c4a9a690a493b9fb7f1.jpg]

Blizzard says most Diablo 4 players haven’t finished the game yet

Diablo 4 is almost a month old, but Blizzard says most of the people playing the RPG haven’t even finished the campaign yet

Diablo 4 is almost a month old, but Blizzard says most of the people playing the RPG haven’t even finished the campaign yet. Diablo 4 director Joe Shely made the comments during a recent Campfire Chat segment, Blizzard’s video updates on Diablo’s future, while discussing planned changes for Nightmare Dungeons, Diablo 4’s most important endgame challenge (thanks, PC Gamer).

It turns out most players haven’t even unlocked them yet, even with the highly publicized “race to 100” competition.

“The significant majority of our players haven’t finished the game yet,” Shely said. “But many of the people who are watching this stream, and our dedicated players, play through content much more quickly and have been experiencing this situation with the dungeons.”

“This situation with the dungeons” Shely mentions is a balance problem where Nightmare Dungeons – the only reliable way to get plenty of XP in the endgame – aren’t giving enough XP. Shely said players are just grinding the dungeons’ regular variants instead. The lower difficulty level means they can clear regular dungeons more quickly, so the XP gains end up being higher for the time spent.

Whether more people complete the campaign ahead of the first season remains to be seen. Diablo 4 is much bigger than its predecessors, with significantly more to do outside the main story if you’re keen on exploring and questing. Combine that with multiple new releases surrounding Diablo 4 and the fact that people often leave games unfinished, and it’s unsurprising that people haven’t finished the campaign yet.

Those who do reach the endgame will find it rather less of a grind. The dungeon problem and other balance issues are reportedly changing in updates that Blizzard has planned for the near future, which Shely called “the time of buffs,” an indirect nod to the recent patches that made gaining XP more difficult and nerfed classes.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar-5fd567aebf1e13ea394e4522425d1f3f.jpg]

Blizzard just nerfed the best Diablo 4 XP farming method

Blizzard pushed a new patch that ruins the best Diablo 4 XP farming method, and the method wasn’t even a glitch or exploit

Blizzard pushed a new patch that ruins the best Diablo 4 XP farming method, and the method wasn’t even a glitch or exploit (thanks, PC Gamer). The RPG’s ninth hotfix, which Blizzard pushed on June 12, 2023, significantly reduces the number of elite enemies that spawn in dungeons in a bid to make them all equal.

The goal was “standardizing the density of elite monsters that spawn in dungeons [so] no particular dungeon is clearly more efficient to run through than others.”

Since Diablo 4 launched on June 6, 2023, players quickly found a handful of dungeons – roughly one or two in each region of Sanctuary – where stronger elite enemies spawned more frequently. Elite enemies grant the player more experience upon defeat. That’s handy in general, but especially after clearing the main campaign, when the goal becomes doubling your level and unlocking new stat upgrades in the process.

Blizzard even encouraged players to level up quickly after the game launched in a “race to 100” competition. Now the race is more of a power walk at best, and folks aren’t happy about it. The Diablo 4 subreddit is full of angry comments about how much more of a dull grind the level process will be. Some pointed out that, even if Blizzard wanted to even dungeons out, they should at least increase the amount of XP you get from other activities, which remains distressingly low.

Diablo 4 has already gone through a series of balance updates since the first beta in March 2023, including some updates to fix nerfs from previous updates, so it’s possible we’ll see Blizzard increase how much XP you get from world events and other activities in the future.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01fneweg9c4wk5v2c2c9 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fneweg9c4wk5v2c2c9/01fneweg9c4wk5v2c2c9-a0465eb771466761de4c34fc9ceabc05.jpg]

The Diablo 4 cow level isn’t real, but fans are still looking for it

Blizzard said the Diablo 4 cow level doesn’t exist even before the RPG launched, but hopeful fans aren’t giving up hope just yet

Blizzard said the Diablo 4 cow level doesn’t exist even before the RPG launched, but hopeful fans aren’t giving up anyway. Director Rob Fergusson told Kinda Funny during an interview in May 2023 that the team decided against adding the series’ traditional cow level since they believed it didn’t fit with Diablo 4’s darker themes (thanks, Eurogamer).

“We really wanted to ground [Diablo 4] as much as possible,” Fergusson said at the time. “We’ve had some fun, but we wanted to make sure it felt authentic to the gothic, dark themes we had. And because of that, there’s no secret level in Diablo 4 that people might be looking for, as per previous games.”

Meanwhile, some dedicated and hopeful Diablo 4 fans on Reddit and Discord aren’t convinced. There’s at least one player-run cow level server on Discord, and the Blizzard partner community Sanctuary Server on Discord has a cow hunting channel now. 

Reddit user Altnob completed a series of unusual quests that require you to use emotes at statues in certain locations in the expectation that it might lead to a new area. A red portal spawned at the end, similar to the portal that takes you to the cow level in previous Diablo games – but all they got was an achievement.

The search for The Secret Cow level.
by u/Altnob in Diablo

Frogbound, another Reddit user, took the cow hunt even further. They tracked down and marked the location of every cow in Diablo 4 and recorded their behaviors and interactions. Some notable finds include how they don’t respond to emotes as dogs do and don’t give the player any buffs or debuffs as other wildlife occasionally will.

They also drew lines around the eastern portion of Scosglen and said it looks like a cow head. There is an uncanny bovine look about the area, though Frogbound said it could just be them creating a “cowspiracy.”

The Reddit thread is full of similar instances, of players trying to find meaning in odd situations, missing cellars, or even just areas with an unusual concentration of cows. Some said the cow level might appear in future Diablo 4 updates, where Blizzard said they wouldn’t be quite so serious. Others are convinced we’ll get a chicken level instead, after the Diablo 4 KFC collaboration where Blizzard wanted you to eat a sandwich that had giant fried chicken slabs instead of buns.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar/01fqpcc5fy4z69j31mar-5fd567aebf1e13ea394e4522425d1f3f.jpg]

Blizzard is working on two Diablo 4 expansions

Blizzard is already working on two big Diablo 4 expansions, separate from the RPG’s regular seasons to avoid the mistakes of Diablo 3

Blizzard is already working on two big Diablo 4 expansions, separate from the RPG’s regular seasons, in the hopes of avoiding the mistakes of Diablo 3. Series general manager Rob Fergusson teased the expansions on the Kinda Funny Games Show and said the team wants to deliver plenty of new updates to Diablo 4 on a regular basis (thanks, PC Gamer).

“So you have to build your team and your structure around a way you can do that sustainably because you’re always shipping,” Fergusson said. “As I sit here, we’re about to launch the main game, we’re finishing up season one, we’re working on season two, we’re working on expansion one, we’re kicking off expansion two… we’re working on that now, and we haven’t even launched the game.”

Blizzard’s push for regular content updates comes after criticism just not of Diablo 3’s long droughts – Blizzard didn’t even announce the first expansion until a year after the game launched, and it took several more months before release – but also of Overwatch. The decision to bin Overwatch 2’s promised PvE mode came in part after management decided it was more important to push regular updates with new maps, modes, and heroes instead.

Fergusson also reiterated Blizzard’s commitment to seasonal, well, seasons in Diablo 4, quarterly updates with new trials and rewards, and clarified the question of whether there’s a cow level this time. There isn’t, because it would’ve been too silly. 

Pain. 

In other Diablo 4 news, a streamer has already reached level 100 on hardcore mode, a day before the game fully launches for everyone.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01gsx9sm1zaj86re5pzm playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gsx9sm1zaj86re5pzm/01gsx9sm1zaj86re5pzm-6a3de73fa6f21e56ce128b0798a91116.jpg]

Someone reached the Diablo 4 level cap before the RPG even launched

Just a few days after Diablo 4 launched for those who pre-ordered the RPG, one YouTuber already reached the level 100 cap

Just a few days after Diablo 4 soft-launched for those who pre-ordered the RPG, one streamer already reached the level 100 cap (thanks, VGC). They didn’t do it alone, though, and the method they used might not even exist after the full launch.

YouTuber Rob2628 started playing Diablo 4 late on June 2, 2023, and it took 54 hours of play – mostly in a multiplayer party – to hit the level cap. The grind to get from level 90 to level 100 takes quite a long time, as is usual with Diablo games, but Rob found a trick to make it just a bit easier.

Diablo 4 currently has a bug that only pops up in multiplayer play. If a group leader leaves the group during a dungeon run, that dungeon – and all the enemies inside – get reset instantly. You normally have to wait at least three minutes or longer for a dungeon to reset, but the bug meant Rob was able to shave precious time off the process and beat out the competition for hitting level 100 first.

Whether Blizzard eventually patches this quirk out remains to be seen, but the build Rob used probably won’t work anymore either. They ran a Barbarian built around shouts and the whirlwind skill, but Blizzard pushed a patch on June 4, 2023, that nerfed shout efficacy and even reduced whirlwind damage tied to the popular Gohr’s Devastating Grips gear.

Blizzard didn’t acknowledge Rob’s achievement, though, perhaps because of the bug involved. Instead, game director Adam Fletcher seemingly recognized Twitch streamer

Meanwhile, Twitch streamer cArn became the first player to reach level 100 on hardcore, which is where your character dies permanently if your HP reaches zero. They also used a Barbarian build, and their team rapidly rose through the ranks over the weekend, knocking Wudijo and their Rogue build to the bottom of the top five in the race’s leaderboards.

Diablo 4 fully launches on June 6, 2023, for everyone. Whether you’re rushing to hit the level cap or just hanging out with friends, make sure to give a thought to the dogs while you’re at it.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01gmts518ee5cy46hthx playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gmts518ee5cy46hthx/01gmts518ee5cy46hthx-0a58cbae855e0c4a9a690a493b9fb7f1.jpg]

Blizzard is reportedly using AI for art design and character creation

Blizzard may be planning a future where AI plays a critical role in their multiplayer game designs, including character and art creation

Blizzard may be planning a future where AI plays a critical role in designing art and characters for their multiplayer games. The news comes from an internal email which The New York Times received, where chief design officer Allen Adham said the company will use “Blizzard Diffusion” to generate ideas.

The email from Adham was reportedly sent in early 2023. Whether Blizzard’s plans have changed since then is uncertain.

At the time, these plans reportedly ranged from concept art for environments and NPCs to clothing options. Adham also mentioned plans to use AI for voice cloning, game coding and “anti-toxicity,” along with the possibility of creating “autonomous, intelligent, in-game NPCs [and] procedurally assisted level design.”

How robust these AI creations would be and what effect these functions may have on existing staff members, the email apparently didn’t mention. Since 2022, two of Activision Blizzard’s studios have successfully formed unions, though only for QA departments – not design.

Blizzard isn’t the first entity in games to push for more AI involvement in development. Ubisoft announced a scheme to help write dialogue using AI, while Riot and Ubisoft are implementing new AI technology to help combat toxicity and hate in online games.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

[mm-video type=video id=01gsx9sm1zaj86re5pzm playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gsx9sm1zaj86re5pzm/01gsx9sm1zaj86re5pzm-6a3de73fa6f21e56ce128b0798a91116.jpg]