The morning of June 18th, 2023 marked the release of the patch notes for Diablo IV’s Season One Update. The patch notes topped out at 6600 words of bug fixes, difficulty adjustments, item adjustments and class balance changes. It was big, but it seemed to be lacking in what the Diablo IV community wanted to see. There was no mention of any Quality of Life improvements, the nerfs were overwhelming for almost every class, and many players screamed “The sky is falling! The game is dead. Blizzard can’t do anything right! Another epic screw up by Blizzard!”
For the last 24 hours, Reddit posts filled with dislikes and anger flooded the Diablo IV boards without an end in sight. In fact, it is still going with demands that players not log in for the new season and Diablo IV is getting review bombed on Meta-critic with current user rating of 4.0. This feels close to home, even within my own gaming community. I have been flooded with messages on all of my socials; my people are angry. Anybody that knows me well, knows I am not afraid to be critical of Blizzard, yet I still felt optimistic after reading these patch notes. On YouTube there are dozens of videos of top tier streamers destroying Uber Lilith in minutes and claiming their builds are only going to get stronger with the addition of the new seasonal mechanic: Malignant Hearts. Oh wait, Blizzard broke the game remember? No class will ever be able to do anything. The fun is over, and all classes are now horrible to play in the endgame, or whatever nonsense is getting posted over on Reddit.
So, Is This The End Of Diablo IV? You Already Know The Answer.
The Season One Update patch had some positives; there was a lot of work put in to crush bugs, implement class fixes and do their best to refine the game. Let’s keep a fresh perspective on how young the game is, and how many more iterations we are going to see. So for a 6600 word patch right after a launch, I think the state of the game is doing fine. It certainly isn’t sitting at a 4.0 user score. I mean even Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem has a higher score on Metacritic and that game was basically abandoned after launch for almost two years. So, let’s step back and take a ‘glass is half full’ position. This patch is a positive push to make the game balanced for Season One.
So, Let’s Talk About The Positives:
Bug Fixes
So many bug fixes. These fixes are not only for the small broken objects around the open world, but they fix broken builds. Builds that weren’t operating properly and were way out of line due to a calculation bug. These needed to be fixed, not to take away your fun or enjoyment, but because they were broken.
New Uniques and Legendary Aspects
Great, something new to tinker with and shift up the meta. I love joining a new season with fresh ideas for a build that no one has made. Or a new variation to make a build more fun or smoother to play. These new unique items and Aspects are a critical component to adding another layer to the meta. Add the new seasonal mechanic, Malignant Hearts, on top of that and we will get to see not only new builds, but your favorite builds being improved. For anyone saying my build got gutted, well, maybe you were playing a build based on a bug – looking at you Barbarians, but there’s a whole lot more builds out there and I’m sure some genius is going to find a way to make them amazing.
Improving Whispers and Other Endgame Activities
These activities all need help in my opinion, and any work towards making them more rewarding and enjoyable to do. That’s a step in the right direction.
Renown Increases
Thank goodness. I can’t stand the Renown grind, and any increase in rewards that makes the Renown grind easier gets my stamp of approval.
Nightmare Dungeon Reward Increases
More drops upon completion, higher experience rewards, buffed drop rates inside the dungeons. All of these are great, but don’t get me wrong, a lot more can be done. If Nightmare dungeons are the bread and butter of the endgame, they need to constantly be meeting players expectations and be rewarding to play.
Buffs To 36 Damage Types
Yes, we had nerfs and they felt rough, but we also saw a positive buff to over 36 different damage types. Whether you believe the damage bucket theory or not, this disrupts the huge focus on select stats. It widens the playing field on what is now a desirable affix, and there were a lot of affixes no one even looked at.
Malignant Hearts
Last, but not least, a new seasonal mechanic to enjoy.
With All These Positives, Why So Mad?
Players are upset because the patch was a shock, especially on the surface when you see a nerf to everything we have been taught was valuable for our characters. It sucks. When you have invested a hundred hours customizing your character to a spot where they feel amazing to play, and in one patch it’s all out the window. It hurts. You feel like you have wasted your time. No one wants to feel their chosen playstyle and class is now broken. Every class should stand equal to one another, and I think Blizzard isn’t great at balancing.
So, Let’s Talk About The Negatives:
Nerfs
Blizzard tends to always nerf instead of buff. It seems to go against the philosophy I think so many players would agree needs to be upheld: Buff the weaker elements and make them better; stop nerfing the things that are strong and working well. Time and time again, we see this rule get lost in patch notes, and despite a developer saying, “We considered that, but…” it doesn’t change the fact that Blizzard tends to ignore this philosophy.
Quality of Life, What’s That?
No updates, and still no concrete plans. All we’ve heard is Season Two. There wasn’t even the classic Soon™ from Blizzard. The player base for Diablo IV has been calling out since launch for some Quality of Life issues to be addressed. I mean, this is 2023 and we are making Mules because of the lack of stash space. That is pure craziness. How Blizzard didn’t have the foresight to see the problems they have created within their game by their own design decisions, is truly baffling.
Playing with Friends and Power-leveling
Why are you making it so painful to have Alts? Isn’t it supposed to be easier once you have completed the campaign and have a friend who can help crush that grind? This decision is borderline stupid; it attacks replayability, playing multiple classes, and simply puts a demand on the player’s time that is not necessary. Who cares if I can get Power-leveled? I still have to find my gear, level my Glyphs, and put in the time to get to where I am having fun and playing a build. The early game in Diablo IV is not a fun experience, but Blizzard seems to keep wanting to push this on us simply for the sake of not respecting the player’s time. All the experience nerfs are going to do is hurt the casual player base, and if this is Blizzard’s way of extending their current content because they don’t have anything else ready well, then, get your crap together.
Damage and Survivability
Overall damage and survivability is going to be lower, but one day after the patch multiple creators are still wrecking Uber Lilith at close to the same speeds as before. There is always going to be nerfs and playing with the dials, but Blizzard needs to do a better job of managing those swings. Throwing players into a state of shock as you wield the nerf-bat and knock everything around for the sake of balance isn’t going to net you any community points. I would have much preferred a reduction to what everyone is using for defensives, but then put a focus on resistances and explaining how that fills the gap. More options is always better instead of working with just one. I mean, does anyone know what we are supposed to do with resistances yet?
That’s My Opinion. So, How Do We Fix This?
Moving forward, I have no problem with Blizzard making large balance changes to the game, especially pre-season. As I said earlier, this game is young. Whether we are in season 2 or 48, changes make the game feel fresh, new and, ultimately, bring players back to the game. I love seasonal gameplay.
Ultimately, Blizzard needs to communicate better. This has always been one of their biggest flaws. These emergency Fireside chats after every major patch proves how disconnected they are from their player base. If a major correction needs to take place, then talk about it! Make a post, give players a heads up as to why a change is being made and justify it with something from the players perspective, not just “Well, you’re too strong” or “We didn’t plan for that”. Sometimes players discover something the developers never expected, and it turns out to be great. Sometimes it needs to be re-tuned. The point is: communication can make all the difference when the dials need to be adjusted, and Blizzard still hasn’t learned that lesson.
We need to find the ‘Happy medium’, the sweet spot that will allow changes to occur for good reasons and the community will back up those decisions. Blizzard needs to discuss the future. What’s coming down the pipeline? Where’s the discussion around how to fix the problems, how to make the game better? And for crying out loud, where’s our Quality of Life? It’s 2023, not 1996 when Diablo first came out. I should not need to use Mules for storage!
So we talked about it, and that’s where I stand.
If you want to hear more about my thoughts on the Season One Update Patch check out my video below.