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Everything We Know About Diablo IV So Far

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Did you know that Diablo IV was supposedly in development for only two years and rebooted in 2016?

Kotaku's Jason Schreier, a reputable source of insider leaks from the video gaming industry, posted a lengthy article back in November last year about the past, present, and future of Diablo. Schreier spoke to 11 current and former Blizzard employees and we learned that the second Diablo III expansion that got scrapped and that Diablo IV has been in development since 2014, but got rebooted in 2016.

Click here to read the full article

Titan

To understand why Blizzard hasn't announced Diablo IV yet, we need to dive deeper into the past of the company. Titan, a MMO project in development since 2007, was canceled by Blizzard in 2013. Blizzard later used assets to craft a new game which then became Overwatch. (Source)

The shadow of Titan still looms over many decisions at Blizzard to this day, according to Schreier, and the company is careful about announcing Diablo IV before there is a playable demo or a trailer, despite claiming multiple projects are in the works.

Scrapped Diablo Expansion

In late 2013 or early 2014, Blizzard made an internal announcement that shocked the Diablo dev team, as they learned from the higher-ups that the second Diablo III expansion was canceled. The executives considered Diablo III a massive failure and wanted the Diablo team to focus on a new project rather than an expansion, even though many problems that the game was facing were fixed in Reaper of Souls. Blizzard then released Patch 2.3 with Kanai's Cube, Ruins of Sescheron, and Season Journey, which were likely intended for the scrapped expansion.

Project Hades

After the launch of Diablo III's first expansion, many Diablo developers were moved to other teams or left the company. The remaining developers on the Diablo team, under the leadership of Josh Mosquiera, began working on Diablo IV under the code name "Hades". The project was in development for two years, only to be canceled later in 2016 when Mosquiera left the company. According people familar with Hades, the development wasn't shaping up well, so now, people on the Diablo dev team had nothing to work on and decided to come up with Rise of the Necromancer DLC in the meantime to make up for the canceled project.

Project Fenris

In 2016, the Diablo team began developing a project with the code name "Fenris", which is supposed to be Diablo IV, with Luis Barriga as Game Director, who worked on World of Warcraft in the past. The goal of the project is to eliminate the cartoony elements of Diablo III, and quite literally, embrace the darkness. Another goal is to make Fenris more social by introducing light MMO elements to the game, so instead of having hubs full of NPCs, you'd see other players there, similar to how it works in Path of Exile. The development team is discussing, whether the game should have a new over-the-shoulder 3rd person view or an isometric camera like the game is using now.

Diablo: Immortal

According to Schreier, there are two separate teams working on Diablo IV and Diablo: Immortal. Some developers within the company are tired of working on a single title for 10+ years, so they moved to different teams to work on smaller projects. Diablo: Immortal was primarily developed for China, because the quality standards for games there are super low. Blizzard later decided to wait for a global launch.

TL;DR

To sum up, Diablo IV has been in development for only two years, so don't expect it go live anytime soon. The Diablo dev team worked on a project that didn't live up to their expectations from 2014-2016, so they completely decided to reboot it and begin anew.

Obviously, we didn't mention everything and advise you to read the full article at Kotaku.

Are you looking forward to Diablo IV? Do you think there's going to be a playable demo at BlizzCon 2019? Let us know in the comments!

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23 minutes ago, Stan said:

The goal of the project is to eliminate the cartoony elements of Diablo III, and quite literally, embrace the darkness. The development team is discussing, whether the game should have a new over-the-shoulder 3rd person view or an isometric camera like the game is using now.

This is what I want. There were even some rumors that the game would have a gameplay and vibe of the likes of Dark Souls, and I think this is perfectly fitting for the Diablo franchise.

The original Diablo had a dark and deep atmosphere that was due to graphic limitations, which played in its favor. The game was SCARY and unsettling, with that uncertainty of danger at every corner inside the tight corridors, specially combined with that fantastic soundtrack. The subsquent sequels failed to capture this vibe, this essence (Diablo II kinda had it, but not as much as the first game), with the third game becoming indeed something more like "Diablo with WoW Aesthetics".

Sure, changing the entire gameplay system from the classic isometric view to over-the-shoulder might seem like a drastic change for Diablo, but this would allow the game to focus entirely on the player and story-telling, specially if combined with aesthetics of the likes of Dark Souls (which has one of the best game atmospheres I've ever seen, almost claustrophobic).

I don't think that changing the view would hurt the experience at all, but would definitely change the way you approach enemies. The thing about Dark Souls is that you should treat every enemy as a potential threat; any enemy in the game can kill you if you're careless, and that encourages you to take it slow and engage in duels rather than wiping hordes with a single blow. In my opinion, this carries much more weight to the gameplay, as each enemy slain feels like a victory, rather than mindlessly right clicking and killing 10 scrubs at once, which gets boring really fast. I always revisit the Dark Souls series because even after playing it countless of times, I still get that unsettling feeling of facing enemies.

I really really want the development team of Diablo IV to really "embrace the darkness" and go back to the roots of what made Diablo special, and I think that a gameplay overhaul would help a lot into putting Diablo back to the radar. Bring back light radius, add more and more darkness, and revive the franchise as a Horror Action RPG.

I think this is the time for the devs to take their time and craft the game to perfection; I don't want a rushed product that will be deemed incomplete just for the sake of it. The Diablo franchised has its name tainted at the moment; it will require care and passion to bring it back to its former glory.

TL;DR #MakeDiabloScaryAgain

Edited by Valhalen
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Honestly I loved Diablo 1, Diablo 2 and Diablo 3.
Agreed Diablo 3 is "childish" compared to D2 or D1.
But ... Nowadays with all the easy-scandals when someone farts too loud and all the "Omg I feel offended, let me yell it to the world via social media and start a crisis !", having a D3 really dark and gloom and scary (a bit like Path of Exile or Dark Souls) is a challenge.
We have to admit that Rise of the Necromancer and the first born ruins do have a good gory/creepy vibe and honestly had me have high hopes for a second extension filled with darkness and such.

D3 right now has a second life for me on the switch (gamepad playstyle really is great with this game).

I really hope a D4 comes by and makes Path of Exile look like a walk in Disneyland and Deadspace feel like a sitcom !

As engine/gameplay overhaul goes, not sure changing the isometric cam might be a good thing ...
We all say "diablo-like" for a reason ...
Say they revamp the gameplay and give it a Dark Souls or a Dante Inferno style, would that still be the heart and soul of Diablo ?

But to be honest .... Even if such a game exists, even if a Diablo 4 comes out with all the doom, the gore, the angst, the terror and ultimately needs to be sold with diapers in order for all of us to not ruin our seats; would that game be a success ?
Would that game pass all the "this is not for kids !", "this is too violent !", "this is satanism incarnated !"; "oh god how can we allow such display of horror ?", etc etc etc ....

I dream of a Diablo 4 embracing true darkness and deep rpg (god I'd love to have real talent trees with points and plethora of paths and options and not that over simplistic "tier one , choose between 3 talents" bulls*it ....), but ... Would Blizzard want to sell to a 18+ only audience ?

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I am quite sure it will take MANY years until we see D4 - if ever.

My guess is, that at the moment, Blizzard has absolutly nothing about D4. No gameplay they can show, no ingame graphic at all, probably not even a idea what D4 should or could be.

If they had anything at all, I am quite sure they would have shown it after the disaster of Blizzcon. But they took the shitstorm, they stood by and watched how stocks crashed drastically. For weeks and weeks.

Maybe 2025 or later there will be a D4, but I wouldn't count on it.

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If the game turn out to be another over the shoulder bloodborn/darksouls/mh... RIP series.

Its like over the shoulder Baldurs. It makes no sense. It is worse than mobile diablo lol

Guess Path of Exile is winning again :/

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To this day I fail to comprehend how people perceive Diablo III as "cartoony." As far as total playtime goes, Diablo II and Diablo III occupy my top two spots without question, and the only substantial difference in style I've noticed is... Diablo III is rendered in 3D. Compared to the decrepit dungeons and gothic atmosphere of Diablo 1, D2 had an abundance of colors! D2, like D3, had the occasional tongue-in-cheek moment or goofy reference! The hate is completely lost on me. They obviously took the "cartoony" critique to heart with Reaper of Souls, and honestly, I think Act V is mostly boring as hell. (But the expansion release definitely redeemed the game otherwise.)

Now, if you were to say "Diablo III's story is as bad as a Saturday morning cartoon's," I might be inclined to agree with that.

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4 hours ago, Loi said:

If the game turn out to be another over the shoulder bloodborn/darksouls/mh... RIP series.

Its like over the shoulder Baldurs. It makes no sense. It is worse than mobile diablo lol

Guess Path of Exile is winning again :/

Before the big hit WoW there was Runescape.
Before the big hit Overwatch, there was Team Fortress.

Whenever Blizzard goes into a new genre and form their own game, they usually make the best out of it. That is, if they have full commitment as usual.

One thing was sure. They want to step away from the top down ARPG. I also heard they thought about a first person experience like Elder Scrolls. Just in form of dark Dungeon Crawling.

Edited by Alkasar
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All they really needed to do was take D2 and update it. Reinvention was not required.

The skill system, the stat points, the classes, the game play, the feel of the game etc. It was all perfect. The only thing that really needed modifying were the graphics and additions to the quests and item system. D2s issues were items and how item based classes generally are. All that needed is some decent fixed quest items, to ensure all classes can fight effectively and then a new crafting system.

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And lets not forget the sounds and conversations, which also adds up to the atmosphere. It's not only the graphics. Remember Warrior saying "The smell of death surrounds me" while a gloomy music plays in the background? It creates darker and tenser feel to the game way more than the Templar does with his "I tried to count how many we've killed, but I lost count". It seems like Warrior was entering hell to fight demons (well, he was...), while a Templar is walking through a park fighting tiny ants. Atmosphere is the key.

I would like less unneccesary NPC's (Karyna, Mira Eamon....) and less funny and relaxed NPC comments while fighting a world threat. Sometimes in D3 I have a feeling I'm playing a soap opera.

Classes do not need to be all new to be interesting and fun to play. Wizard is a renamed Sorceress. He's good, fun to play, nicely designed. Why not name him Sorcerer? WD is a failed Necro. Crusader is a renamed Paladin. DH is sort of Amazon, Monk is Assassin.... Or they're some sort of hybrids between two D2 classes... My point is, innovation was not needed here, or at least not in that amount. Barb and Sorc(Wiz) are almost the same, and they're still great.

I would also like less HP and more DMG for monsters on higher difficulties. Now on some difficulties I have too long battles with almost immortal monsters that are, on the other hand, incapable of hurting me at all. Remember Rot Walkers charge-stun-kill?

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On 4/3/2019 at 8:27 AM, Valhalen said:

This is what I want. There were even some rumors that the game would have a gameplay and vibe of the likes of Dark Souls, and I think this is perfectly fitting for the Diablo franchise.

The original Diablo had a dark and deep atmosphere that was due to graphic limitations, which played in its favor. The game was SCARY and unsettling, with that uncertainty of danger at every corner inside the tight corridors, specially combined with that fantastic soundtrack. The subsquent sequels failed to capture this vibe, this essence (Diablo II kinda had it, but not as much as the first game), with the third game becoming indeed something more like "Diablo with WoW Aesthetics".

Sure, changing the entire gameplay system from the classic isometric view to over-the-shoulder might seem like a drastic change for Diablo, but this would allow the game to focus entirely on the player and story-telling, specially if combined with aesthetics of the likes of Dark Souls (which has one of the best game atmospheres I've ever seen, almost claustrophobic).

I don't think that changing the view would hurt the experience at all, but would definitely change the way you approach enemies. The thing about Dark Souls is that you should treat every enemy as a potential threat; any enemy in the game can kill you if you're careless, and that encourages you to take it slow and engage in duels rather than wiping hordes with a single blow. In my opinion, this carries much more weight to the gameplay, as each enemy slain feels like a victory, rather than mindlessly right clicking and killing 10 scrubs at once, which gets boring really fast. I always revisit the Dark Souls series because even after playing it countless of times, I still get that unsettling feeling of facing enemies.

I really really want the development team of Diablo IV to really "embrace the darkness" and go back to the roots of what made Diablo special, and I think that a gameplay overhaul would help a lot into putting Diablo back to the radar. Bring back light radius, add more and more darkness, and revive the franchise as a Horror Action RPG.

I think this is the time for the devs to take their time and craft the game to perfection; I don't want a rushed product that will be deemed incomplete just for the sake of it. The Diablo franchised has its name tainted at the moment; it will require care and passion to bring it back to its former glory.

TL;DR #MakeDiabloScaryAgain

10000000000000%

RPG IMO need that darkness the Aura of death/life all that stuff around you, distant enough that it feels like life in the real world tends to be with "strangers" here there and everywhere but also with places to get comfortable in, shop and such.

I still do not know why Blizzard did not use more filters and such to give more "dreamy" vibe and less blasty brightness everywhere, I love all 3 Diablo games very much (I likely to never bother with consolized versions etc, I got my PC that good enough for me)

D3 for sure should have striven for darkness as much possible, make sure to not destroy ears when bosses come out of rifts and such things LOL.. the wispy essence some games use ( Skyrim, Fallout 4, Dragon Age 3 to name a few that did excellent job of doing such, I believe is a few extra additions to base line code and they could add the aura to dark or light objects to give the "essence" of that energy "bleeding" to all around them.

PoE I had nothing but problems stability wise, so did everyone I played with (world wide) no matter the system they were running it on, probably one of worst RnG for stability/ able to play games I have ever known... that being said .. if they toned down the metric @#[email protected] ton of effects it would play very well, but they just had to prioritize layering one effect on another on another ... I LOVE the Atlas and Labyrinth as well as their currency system < as a baseline, not as they use it.... 

It can be done, and D3 with the way the maps are, Legend gems such type things is already a very very solid starting point to go well beyond Sanctuary. 
(I myself have mentally worked on a game for decades, jotted down hierarchy for how coding would work for the game engine, enchantments, security, and even making sure auction house WILL BE present real $ as well as game only $ or comparable hybridized

it can be done, I believe however it HAS TO BE from a core smaller team laser focused on always striving for perfection so that excellence more than often becomes the result ^.,^

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On 4/3/2019 at 3:43 PM, Willeen said:



D3 right now has a second life for me on the switch (gamepad playstyle really is great with this game).
 

I feel the same but instead of Switch i've playing on Xbox for 3 seasons now. Playing with pad, while chilling on the couch is great

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      Bug Fixes
      Altar of Rites
      The power description for Seal N has been updated for increased clarity. Pets will no longer pick up and salvage other players’ common, magic, and rare items because of the power from Seal X. Fixed an issue where Seal V caused more progress orbs to drop than intended. Return to Top
      Monk Skill Changes
      Combination Strike Passive Skill: Each Spirit Generator you use increases the damage of your other Spirit Generators by 100% for 10 seconds. Crippling Wave Skill: Every third hit also dazes enemies within 11 yards, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds. Concussion Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds. Breaking Wave Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave take 10% additional damage from all attacks for 10 seconds. Deadly Reach Skill: Foresight Rune: Every third hit also increases the damage of all your attacks by 15% for 10 seconds. Way of the Hundred Fists: Assimilation Rune: Each enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 5% for 10 seconds. Return to Top
      Item Changes
      Barbarian
      Horde of the Ninety Savages (6-piece bonus): Frenzy deals 2,000% increased damage per stack. Demon Hunter
      Chanon Bolter: Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them and deal 150-200% increased damage. Enemies may be taunted once every 10 seconds. The Demon’s Demise: Each blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after 1 second and deals 150-200% increased damage. Natalya’s Slayer: Increases Spike Trap Damage by 10 -15%. Natalya’s Vengeance (2-piece bonus): Hitting an enemy summons a Spike Trap if it is on your action bar. Each Spike Trap detonation restores 1 Discipline. Spike Trap deals 100% increased damage to enemies affected by Caltrops. Spike Trap now instantly refreshes charges on use, no longer cost resources, and each detonation restores 2 Discipline. Natalya’s Vengeance (4-piece bonus): Laying a Spike Trap grants 60% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds. Spike Trap explosions will blast affected enemies towards the nearest set Caltrops. Laying a Spike Trap grants 75% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds. Natalya’s Vengeance (6-piece bonus): Spike Traps deal 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive blast from the detonation chain reaction will deal 10% more damage than the previous blast. Spike Trap deals 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive explosion from the detonated chain reaction will deal 25% more damage than the previous blast. Gears of Dreadlands: Your primary skills deal 15,000% increased damage. Your primary skills deal 27,500% increased damage. The Shadow’s Mantle (2-piece bonus): While equipped with a melee weapon, the damage of your Bolas, Chakram, Fan of Knives, and Impale is increased by 6,000%. The Shadow’s Mantle 2-piece bonus no longer benefits Spike Trap. Trag’oul Coils: Spike Traps gain the Scatter Rune, are deployed twice as fast, and deal 150-200% increased damage. Unhallowed Essence (6-piece bonus): Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 1700% increased damage per point of discipline the Demon Hunter currently has. Monk
      Patterns of Justice (6-piece bonus): Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage dealt by 20,000. Raiment of Thousand Storms (4-piece bonus): Dashing Strike spends 25 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does. Necromancer
      Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (6-piece bonus): Bone Spear deals 9,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus. Witch Doctor
      Spirit Barrage: Manitou Rune: Summon a specter that hovers over you, unleashing spirit bolts at nearby enemies for 6,000% 14,000% weapon damage as Cold over 20 seconds. Wizard
      The Typhon’s Veil (6-piece-bonus): Hydras deal 4,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive. Return to Top
    • By Staff
      Season 28 will start in Diablo 3 on February 24 with the patch hitting live servers on February 21. Here are the updated patch notes with more information about the Season theme, cosmetics, Haedrig's Gift sets, and more.
      (Source)
      Power from the days of yore rests silently across Sanctuary, waiting to be uncovered once more. To what ends is for you to decide, Nephalem. Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary, goes live on February 24 at 5 p.m. PST/CET/KST. For an in-depth look at the seasonal theme, rewards, and the balance changes made between the end of the Patch 2.7.5 PTR and now, take a gander below.

      Seasonal Journey
      Season 28 Theme
      Season Cosmetic Rewards
      Season Journey Rewards
      Seasonal Conquest
      Haedrig’s Gift
      Patch Notes
      Primordial Ashes Feature
      Bug Fixes
      Monk Skill Change
      Item Changes
      Season 28 Theme
      “Oh, the pursuit of coin makes you do the most foolish things, but mining is profitable. Our search for ancient Nephalem artifacts forces us to enter a mangled mass of corroding foliage and decaying flora. We chipped away at stone after stone until my tool made a hardy thunk into the rock and the foulest stream of gas spewed out. The other miners helped me dig out the biggest artifact I've ever seen—an ominous-looking altar. As we began to investigate this curious find, a faint whisper infiltrated my thoughts. It was not one voice, but a collective. Who they are I'm unsure of, but I can be certain that we must share our discovery with others. We began the long haul back to New Tristram with our prized discovery. A few days passed, many townsfolk came to view the Altar and left. Then, the Nephalem marched into town and requested to see the Altar. . .”
      -New Tristram Miner
      Season 28 introduces Rites of Sanctuary, our new seasonal theme. Using the ancient Altar of Rites, curious Nephalem can follow the instructions, sacrificing various materials for unspeakable power that lasts the entire season.
      Return to Top
      Season Cosmetic Rewards
      Beginning with Season 17, we began reintroducing previous rewards to make them available to players who may have missed them the first time around. For Season 28, this means rewards originally available from Season 16 are returning. In addition to the Helm and Shoulder slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, players can earn a brand-new series of portrait frames themed around the clarion call of adventure. For the most devoted cosmetic collectors, we have a pair of wings fit for a monarch. The Wings of Lempo draw inspiration from some of the noblest creatures in Sanctuary, and aside from a cosmically rare drop, few other wings are quite as lovely.

      As in past seasons, two new End of Journey cosmetic rewards will be obtainable during Season 28. Gaze upon the Taennin the Tiny pet as she shimmers among the stars, leaving ripples of the purest light behind, and tap into your wild side with the Primal Hunter portrait.
      Return to Top
      Season Journey Rewards
      If you’ve been diligently slaying demons to reach Conquerer in the Season Journey previously, you’ve surely accrued extra stash tabs. You’ll earn one additional tab each Season by finishing the Conquerer tier, up to a maximum of five:
      Guardian of Sanctuary: Finish a level 70 Nephalem Rift on Torment XIII difficulty within five minutes. Gem of My Life: Level three Legendary Gems to level 55. All I Do is Win: Complete two Conquests this Season. In For the Kill: Kill Azmodan at level 70 in under 30 seconds on Torment X difficulty. Money Ain’t a Thang: Slay Greed on Torment X difficulty. Treasure Goblins outside of Nephalem Rifts will sometimes open portals to Greed’s domain, The Vault. Take U There: Reach Greater Rift Level 60 Solo. Greater Rift keystones can be obtained from any Nephalem Rift guardian. Power Amplification: Use Kanai’s Cube to augment an Ancient Legendary item with a level 50+ gem. Cubic Reconfiguration: Use Kanai’s Cube to reforge a Legendary item. Return to Top
      Seasonal Conquest
      Speaking of Conquests, we’re rotating those, too! Here’s all the conquests returning for Season 28:
      Speed Demon and Need for Speed (Hardcore) - Complete a Nephalem Rift at max level on Torment X within 2 minutes. On a Good Day and I Can't Stop (Hardcore) - Level three Legendary Gems to level 65. Boss Mode and Worlds Apart (Hardcore) - Kill the following bosses at max level on Torment X within 20 minutes of the start of the game. Curses! and Stars Align (Hardcore) - Kill 350 or more monsters in a Cursed Chest event at level 70 on Torment X difficulty. Years of War and Dynasty (Hardcore) - Reach Greater Rift Level 55 Solo without the bonuses of six of the following Class sets. Return to Top
      Haedrig’s Gift

      Finally, the Class Sets rewarded for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey courtesy of Haedrig’s Gift have rotated once more. We’ve listed the available Sets below. For those new to Seasons, here’s how it works:
      Completing Chapters II, III, and IV of the Season Journey will reward you with three of Haedrig’s Gifts. These contain a few pieces from one of your Class Sets. Players can only unlock one Class Set in this manner per Season across Hardcore and Non-Hardcore, so choose wisely!
      The set you receive depends on the class of the character you’re playing when you open each Haedrig’s Gift. To collect a full Class Set, you’ll need to open all three on the same character.
      Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 28:
      Barbarian – Horde of the Ninety Savages Crusader – Aegis of Valor Demon Hunter – Gears of Dreadlands Monk – Patterns of Justice Witch Doctor – Mundunugu’s Regalia Wizard – Typhon’s Veil Necromancer – Masquerade of the Burning Carnival Return to Top
      Patch Notes
      Below you’ll find the patch notes for the upcoming update to Diablo III: Patch 2.7.5. This patch goes live on February 21 at 11:30 a.m. PST.
      Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.
      Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary

      For Season 28, Rites of Sanctuary, we’re travelling deep into the mysterious ruins of the Festering Woods. Amid a mining expedition, citizens hailing from New Tristram stumbled across an ominous Altar carved from an archaic material bearing cryptic markings. Shaken to their core by the eldritch aroma of the monolith, they’ve enlisted the assistance of brave Nephalem willing to investigate this sinister discovery that was once left to time—the Altar of Rites.
      Home to power thought to be extinct from Sanctuary, the Altar of Rites will bestow these mystic forces upon worthy Nephalem. . .after a sacrifice is offered. You can begin interacting with the Altar of Rites at Level one.
      Upon arrival at the Altar of Rites, players will see 26 icons called Seals and three Legendary Potion Powers. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the elements below.

      Seal and Legendary Potion Powers
      Seal Power A Your Kill Streak timer duration and reward bonus are doubled. B Pools of Reflection last for the entire Season and are not removed by death. C Items have no level requirement. D +200 Damage E +25% Missile Damage Reduction F +25% Movement Speed (Uncapped) G Increase damage against elites by 15%. H Picking up Health Globes grants a shield for 5% of your maximum health for 7 seconds. Max stacks 5. I +25% Melee Damage Reduction. J Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%. K Increase damage against elites by 20%. L +10% Damage +20% Damage M Double the amount of Death's Breaths that drop. N Critical hits grant resource: Mana: 15, Hatred: 5, Wrath: 5, Arcane Power: 3, Fury: 3, Spirit: 5, Essence: 5. O Double the amount of Bounty Caches that drop from completing bounties. P Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up.
      Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up within 60 yards. Q Reduces the damage taken from elites by 25%. R 15% Damage +30% Damage S Gain immunity to crowd-controlling effects. T Gain passability. U Pets pick up Death's Breath. V Elite packs drop one additional progress orb. W Increase damage done to Bosses by 25%. X Pets pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items. Y Increase your chance to Dodge by 15%. Z Double the chance to find a legendary item purchased from Kadala. Potion AA When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction. Potion AB When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage. Potion AC When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or pylon effect.
      When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or the Dimensional Power pylon effect. AD When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well. How Seals and Potions Work
      As you can see, after unlocking the first Seal, the order in which you unlock additional Seals and obtain their powers is entirely up to you and which powers align with your character’s build the most. Once a Seal or Legendary Potion Power is unlocked, you’ll immediately receive that Seal or Potion’s power and will have the ability to unlock connected Seals or Potions once you have the required materials. All Seals and Potions can be unlocked by players and the powers apply to all your characters—these powers last for the entirety of Season 28.

      How to Unlock Seals and Potions
      Unlocking Seals and Potions will be no easy feat, especially after multiple sacrifices—you’ll find yourself rummaging across Sanctuary slaying scores of demons hellbent on preventing you from acquiring the Altar of Rites’ full power.
      Players must gather materials listed in the Altar of Rites menu and sacrifice them in order to gain a Seal or Potion’s power. In addition to receiving the power after unlocking, you’ll notice the generic text previously displayed has been swapped with a small story scrap about Sanctuary’s tumultuous past.
      To unlock a Seal, the one preceding it must be unlocked first (this does not apply to Seals R, S, and T because of how they’re positioned within the Altar). For example, if you want to unlock Seal B or C, Seal A must already be unlocked. There is no limit to how many Seals or Potions can be unlocked within a given time period, if you have the required materials to sacrifice to the Altar. Regardless of the order in which you unlock Seals and Potions, the cost will increase as shown below.
      Study the cost of each sacrifice and theorize where within Sanctuary you can find some of these rare materials.
      Costs to Unlock a Seal or Legendary Potion Power
      # Cost 1 10 Reusable Parts 2 1 Flawless Diamond (or greater), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Resuable Parts 3 1 Greater Rift Key, 10 Death's Breaths 4 Any Class Specific Set Helm 5 20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Khanduran Runes, 10 Caldeum Nightshade, 10 Arreat War Tapestry, 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Westmarch Holy Water 6 1 Leoric's Regret, 1 Vial of Putridness, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Fright 7 Reaper's Wraps 8 30 Forgotten Souls 9 1,100 Bloodshards 10 1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Death's Breaths, Ring of Royal Grandeur 11 1 Flawless Royal Emerald, 30 Khanduran Runes, 30 Caldeum Nightshade, 30 Arreat War Tapestry, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Westmarch Holy Water 12 20 Greater Rift Keys, 1 Ramaladni's Gift 13 1,300 Bloodshards 14 Petrified Scream 15 Challenge Rift Cache 16 250 Forgotten Souls 17 1,400 Bloodshards 18 Ancient Hellfire Amulet 19 One Never Ending Questions
      Four Tome of Set Dungeon Pages from your class. See the chart below for more information. 20 Ancient Puzzle Ring, 50 Khanduran Runes, 50 Caldeum Nightshade, 50 Arreat War Tapestry, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Westmarch Holy Water 21 500 Death's Breaths, 300 Forgotten Souls 22 1,500 Bloodshards 23 Whisper of Atonement Rank 125 24 Any Augmented Weapon 25 Staff of Herding 26 1,600 Bloodshards Potion 1 55 Primordial Ashes Potion 2 110 Primordial Ashes Potion 3 165 Primordial Ashes Completing this sacrifice does so for all other character classes on your account.
      Barbarian: 12, 14, 18, 22 Crusader: 31, 35, 37, 40 Demon Hunter: 52, 56, 60, 63 Monk: 71, 74, 78, 83 Necromancer: 85, 86, 90, 92 Witch Doctor: 93, 97, 101, 106 Wizard: 112, 121, 126, 130 Uncover an Ancient Legend—Unlock All Seals

      After you’ve conquered the armies of Hell and acquired the needed materials to unlock all 26 Seals and three Potions, you’ll receive a reward truly fitting of an unstoppable force—the Wings of Terror Cosmetic, Seal AD. We recommend you unlock all Seals and Potions within the Altar of Rites, not only to inspire terror within your foes, but also to piece together the fragments of Sanctuary’s past.
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      Primordial Ashes Feature

      Acquiring Primal Items is no small task. That’s why we are adding a new Primordial Ashes feature with this patch to aid in your quest. At the Blacksmith, you can now salvage a Primal Item for 55 Primordial Ashes.
      We have also added a Primal Item recipe to Kanai’s Cube, allowing you to upgrade any non-crafted legendary item to a Primal Item for 100 Primordial Ashes. Only one upgraded Primal Item may be worn at a time and upgraded Primal Items do not retain the properties of the Legendary Item that was used. New affixes are rolled for all upgraded Primal Items.
      Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      Altar of Rites
      The power description for Seal N has been updated for increased clarity. Pets will no longer pick up and salvage other players’ common, magic, and rare items because of the power from Seal X. Fixed an issue where Seal V caused more progress orbs to drop than intended. Return to Top
      Monk Skill Changes
      Combination Strike Passive Skill: Each Spirit Generator you use increases the damage of your other Spirit Generators by 100% for 10 seconds. Crippling Wave Skill: Every third hit also dazes enemies within 11 yards, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds. Concussion Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds. Breaking Wave Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave take 10% additional damage from all attacks for 10 seconds. Deadly Reach Skill: Foresight Rune: Every third hit also increases the damage of all your attacks by 15% for 10 seconds. Way of the Hundred Fists: Assimilation Rune: Each enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 5% for 10 seconds. Return to Top
      Item Changes
      Barbarian
      Horde of the Ninety Savages (6-piece bonus): Frenzy deals 2,000% increased damage per stack. Demon Hunter
      Chanon Bolter: Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them and deal 150-200% increased damage. Enemies may be taunted once every 10 seconds. The Demon’s Demise: Each blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after 1 second and deals 150-200% increased damage. Natalya’s Slayer: Increases Spike Trap Damage by 10 -15%. Natalya’s Vengeance (2-piece bonus): Hitting an enemy summons a Spike Trap if it is on your action bar. Each Spike Trap detonation restores 1 Discipline. Spike Trap deals 100% increased damage to enemies affected by Caltrops. Spike Trap now instantly refreshes charges on use, no longer cost resources, and each detonation restores 2 Discipline. Natalya’s Vengeance (4-piece bonus): Laying a Spike Trap grants 60% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds. Spike Trap explosions will blast affected enemies towards the nearest set Caltrops. Laying a Spike Trap grants 75% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds. Natalya’s Vengeance (6-piece bonus): Spike Traps deal 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive blast from the detonation chain reaction will deal 10% more damage than the previous blast. Spike Trap deals 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive explosion from the detonated chain reaction will deal 25% more damage than the previous blast. Gears of Dreadlands: Your primary skills deal 15,000% increased damage. Your primary skills deal 27,500% increased damage. The Shadow’s Mantle (2-piece bonus): While equipped with a melee weapon, the damage of your Bolas, Chakram, Fan of Knives, and Impale is increased by 6,000%. The Shadow’s Mantle 2-piece bonus no longer benefits Spike Trap. Trag’oul Coils: Spike Traps gain the Scatter Rune, are deployed twice as fast, and deal 150-200% increased damage. Unhallowed Essence (6-piece bonus): Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 1700% increased damage per point of discipline the Demon Hunter currently has. Monk
      Patterns of Justice (6-piece bonus): Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage dealt by 20,000. Raiment of Thousand Storms (4-piece bonus): Dashing Strike spends 25 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does. Necromancer
      Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (6-piece bonus): Bone Spear deals 9,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus. Witch Doctor
      Spirit Barrage: Manitou Rune: Summon a specter that hovers over you, unleashing spirit bolts at nearby enemies for 6,000% 14,000% weapon damage as Cold over 20 seconds. Wizard
      The Typhon’s Veil (6-piece-bonus): Hydras deal 4,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive. Return to Top
    • By Staff
      Season 27 in Diablo 3 is coming to an end on February 19 at 5:00 PM PST.
      Blizzard will reveal the Season 28 start date in an upcoming Season preview blog post.
      (Source)
      Hello all -
      Season 27 is coming to a close. Below are the times when Season 27 will end for each region.
      We will be providing a Season 28 preview soon which will include the start time for the next season. Stay Tuned!
    • By Staff
      The Diablo 3 Patch 2.7.5 PTR begins on January 31st and will last 1 week. Find out more about the Rites of Sanctuary seasonal theme, Primordial Ashes feature, and class/item changes in the official PTR notes!
      Season 28, dubbed the Season of Rites, will bring a monolith to the Festering Woods called the Altar of Rites. Upon arrival, players will see 26 icons called Seals and 3 Legendary Potion Powers.

      Seal and Legendary Potion Powers
      Seal
      Power
      A Your Kill Streak timer duration and reward bonus are doubled. B Pools of Reflection last for the entire Season and are not removed by death. C Items have no level requirement. D +200 Damage E +25% Missile Damage Reduction F +25% Movement Speed (Uncapped) G Increase damage against elites by 15%. H Picking up Health Globes grants a shield for 5% of your maximum health for 7 seconds. Max stacks 5. I +25% Melee Damage Reduction. J Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%. K Increase damage against elites by 20%. L +10% Damage M Double the amount of Death's Breaths that drop. N Critical hits grant resource: Mana: 15, Hatred: 5, Wrath: 5, Arcane Power: 3, Fury: 3, Spirit: 5, Essence: 5. O Double the amount of Bounty Caches that drop from completing bounties. P Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are picked up automatically. Q Reduces the damage taken from elites by 25%. R +15% Damage S Gain immunity to crowd-controlling effects. T Gain passability. U Pets pick up Death's Breath. V Elite packs drop one additional progress orb. W Increase damage done to Bosses by 25%. X Pets pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items. Y Increase your chance to Dodge by 15%. Z Double the chance to find a legendary item purchased from Kadala. Potion AA When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction. Potion AB When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage. Potion AC When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or pylon effect. AD When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well. As you can see above, Seals provide players with various powers for the whole duration of Season 28. The goal is to unlock all the powers, which according to Blizzard, "is no easy task". You'll have to gather materials and sacrifice them to gain a Seal or Potion's Power. The order in which you unlock Seals and Potions increases as shown in the image. 
      Costs to Unlock a Seal or Legendary Potion Power
      #
      Cost
      1 10 Reusable Parts 2 1 Flawless Diamond (or greater), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Resuable Parts 3 1 Greater Rift Key, 10 Death's Breaths 4 Any Class Specific Set Helm 5 20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Khanduran Runes, 10 Caldeum Nightshade, 10 Arreat War Tapestry, 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Westmarch Holy Water 6 1 Leoric's Regret, 1 Vial of Putridness, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Fright 7 Reaper's Wraps 8 30 Forgotten Souls 9 1,100 Bloodshards 10 1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Death's Breaths, Ring of Royal Grandeur 11 1 Flawless Royal Emerald, 30 Khanduran Runes, 30 Caldeum Nightshade, 30 Arreat War Tapestry, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Westmarch Holy Water 12 20 Greater Rift Keys, 1 Ramaladni's Gift 13 1,300 Bloodshards 14 Petrified Scream 15 Challenge Rift Cache 16 250 Forgotten Souls 17 1,400 Bloodshards 18 Ancient Hellfire Amulet 19 Never Ending Questions 20 Ancient Puzzle Ring, 50 Khanduran Runes, 50 Caldeum Nightshade, 50 Arreat War Tapestry, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Westmarch Holy Water 21 500 Death's Breaths, 300 Forgotten Souls 22 1,500 Bloodshards 23 Whisper of Atonement Rank 125 24 Any Augmented Weapon 25 Staff of Herding 26 1,600 Bloodshards Potion 1 55 Primordial Ashes Potion 2 110 Primordial Ashes Potion 3 165 Primordial Ashes When you unlock all Seals and Potions, you will receive the Wings of Terror Cosmetic.

      Primordial Ashes Feature
      Blacksmiths can salvage Primal items for 55 Primordial Ashes. A Primal Item recipe was added to Kanai's Cube. It costs 100 Primordial Ashes and any non-crafted Legendary.
      Class Changes
      The patch brings a ton of class changes that you will find in the official PTR notes below.
      (Source)
      Nephalem, we welcome you to our seven-day PTR for the 2.7.5 update. Beginning on January 31st, we’ll need your help in testing the Rites of Sanctuary seasonal theme, Primordial Ashes feature, and changes to both Class Skills and items. Take time to acquaint yourself with these patch notes—we have some substantial new features in store.
      Seasonal Journey
      PTR Focus and Details PTR Testing Tips Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary Primordial Ashes Feature Monk Skill Change Item Changes Bug Fixes How to Participate in PTR PTR Character Copy Please note that this is a preview for PTR content, which is subject to change.
      PTR Focus and Details
      We’ll be conducting the Patch 2.7.5 PTR starting Tuesday, January 31st. During this time there may be periodic maintenances, outages, hotfixes, or minor patches.
      There will be PTR-unique buffs active to help you on your journey: increased experience gains, and double Blood Shard drops. You can also buy new gear for testing from the special PTR vendor, Djank Mi'em, who will exchange Blood Shards for class-specific bags full of Legendary Items that we'd love for you to test! Read down below to learn more on the new vendor updates that have been implemented to assist in the PTR experience starting with PTR 2.7.5. Class Balance and Item Changes: To ensure that the most significant class changes receive an ample amount of attention, we'd love for you to focus testing and feedback on the skill changes to the Monk class and item changes for the Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard classes. New Season Theme Testing: We're looking to gather feedback on the seasonal content around Rites of Sanctuary. So that we can efficiently review your posts, feedback should be provided in the PTR Feedback forum while bug reports should be provided in the PTR Bug Report forum.
      Return to Top
      PTR Testing Tips
      As with our previous PTRs, this testing period is short, so it's best to hit the ground running. Whether you’re a PTR veteran or newcomer, we thought we’d pass along a few tips to get you started.
      Because of the limited duration of this PTR, we ask that participants pick a particular portion of this update to focus on testing. For example, if you’re primarily a Wizard player, consider what changes impact the Wizard specifically. What you like best, what you think may still need adjustment, and what you’d want to see in the future (even if that may be beyond the scope of this patch) are all good questions to ask yourself. Try to break things! Just tell us when you do so we can make sure that the patch’s launch is as smooth as possible. When providing feedback, focus less on a solution and more on your experience. How did the changes make you feel? Was there something “off” that you noticed? Did something seem wrong or insufficient? Suggestions are always welcome but identifying the issues themselves is most important. Return to Top
      Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary

      For Season 28, Rites of Sanctuary, we’re travelling deep into the mysterious ruins of the Festering Woods. Amid a hunting expedition, citizens hailing from New Tristram stumbled across an ominous Altar carved from an archaic material bearing cryptic markings. Shaken to their core by the eldritch aroma of the monolith, they’ve enlisted the assistance of brave Nephalem willing to investigate this sinister discovery that was once left to time—the Altar of Rites.
      Home to power thought to be extinct from Sanctuary, the Altar of Rites will bestow these mystic forces upon worthy Nephalem. . .after a sacrifice is offered.
      Upon arrival at the Altar of Rites, players will see 26 icons called Seals and three Legendary Potion Powers. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the elements below.

      Seal and Legendary Potion Powers
      Seal
      Power
      A Your Kill Streak timer duration and reward bonus are doubled. B Pools of Reflection last for the entire Season and are not removed by death. C Items have no level requirement. D +200 Damage E +25% Missile Damage Reduction F +25% Movement Speed (Uncapped) G Increase damage against elites by 15%. H Picking up Health Globes grants a shield for 5% of your maximum health for 7 seconds. Max stacks 5. I +25% Melee Damage Reduction. J Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%. K Increase damage against elites by 20%. L +10% Damage M Double the amount of Death's Breaths that drop. N Critical hits grant resource: Mana: 15, Hatred: 5, Wrath: 5, Arcane Power: 3, Fury: 3, Spirit: 5, Essence: 5. O Double the amount of Bounty Caches that drop from completing bounties. P Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are picked up automatically. Q Reduces the damage taken from elites by 25%. R +15% Damage S Gain immunity to crowd-controlling effects. T Gain passability. U Pets pick up Death's Breath. V Elite packs drop one additional progress orb. W Increase damage done to Bosses by 25%. X Pets pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items. Y Increase your chance to Dodge by 15%. Z Double the chance to find a legendary item purchased from Kadala. Potion AA When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction. Potion AB When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage. Potion AC When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or pylon effect. AD When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well. How Seals and Potions Work
      As you can see, after unlocking the first Seal, the order in which you unlock additional Seals and obtain their powers is entirely up to you and which powers align with your character’s build the most. Once a Seal or Legendary Potion Power is unlocked, you’ll immediately receive that Seal or Potion’s power and will have the ability to unlock connected Seals or Potions once you have the required materials—unlocked powers apply to all your characters and last for the entirety of Season 28.

      How to Unlock Seals and Potions
      Unlocking Seals and Potions will be no easy feat, especially after multiple sacrifices—you’ll find yourself rummaging across Sanctuary slaying scores of demons hellbent on preventing you from acquiring the Altar of Rites’ full power.
      Players must gather materials listed in the Altar of Rites menu and sacrifice them in order to gain a Seal or Potion’s power. In addition to receiving the power after unlocking, you’ll notice the generic text previously displayed has been swapped with a small story scrap about Sanctuary’s tumultuous past.
      Regardless of the order in which you unlock Seals and Potions, the cost will increase as shown below. Study the cost of each sacrifice and theorize where within Sanctuary you can find some of these rare materials.
      Costs to Unlock a Seal or Legendary Potion Power
      #
      Cost
      1 10 Reusable Parts 2 1 Flawless Diamond (or greater), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Resuable Parts 3 1 Greater Rift Key, 10 Death's Breaths 4 Any Class Specific Set Helm 5 20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Khanduran Runes, 10 Caldeum Nightshade, 10 Arreat War Tapestry, 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Westmarch Holy Water 6 1 Leoric's Regret, 1 Vial of Putridness, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Fright 7 Reaper's Wraps 8 30 Forgotten Souls 9 1,100 Bloodshards 10 1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Death's Breaths, Ring of Royal Grandeur 11 1 Flawless Royal Emerald, 30 Khanduran Runes, 30 Caldeum Nightshade, 30 Arreat War Tapestry, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Westmarch Holy Water 12 20 Greater Rift Keys, 1 Ramaladni's Gift 13 1,300 Bloodshards 14 Petrified Scream 15 Challenge Rift Cache 16 250 Forgotten Souls 17 1,400 Bloodshards 18 Ancient Hellfire Amulet 19 Never Ending Questions 20 Ancient Puzzle Ring, 50 Khanduran Runes, 50 Caldeum Nightshade, 50 Arreat War Tapestry, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Westmarch Holy Water 21 500 Death's Breaths, 300 Forgotten Souls 22 1,500 Bloodshards 23 Whisper of Atonement Rank 125 24 Any Augmented Weapon 25 Staff of Herding 26 1,600 Bloodshards Potion 1 55 Primordial Ashes Potion 2 110 Primordial Ashes Potion 3 165 Primordial Ashes Uncover an Ancient Legend—Unlock All Seals

      After you’ve conquered the armies of Hell and acquired the needed materials to unlock all Seals and Potions, you’ll receive a reward truly fitting of an unstoppable force—the Wings of Terror Cosmetic. We recommend you unlock all Seals and Potions within the Altar of Rites, not only to inspire terror within your foes, but also to piece together the fragments of Sanctuary’s past.
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      Primordial Ashes Feature
      Acquiring enough Primordial Ashes to offer to the Altar of Rites is no small task. That’s why we are adding a new Primordial Ashes feature with this patch to aid in your quest.
      At the Blacksmith, you can now salvage a Primal Item for 55 Primordial Ashes. We have also added a Primal Item recipe to Kanai’s Cube—it will cost 100 Primordial Ashes and any non-crafted Legendary Item.
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      Monk Skill Changes
      Monk
      Combination Strike Passive Skill: Each different Spirit Generator you use increases your damage by 10% for three seconds. Each Spirit Generator you use increases the damage of your other Spirit Generators by 100% for 10 seconds. Crippling Wave Skill: Every third hit also dazes enemies within 11 yards, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for three seconds. Every third hit also dazes enemies within 11 yards, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds. Concussion Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave deal 20% less damage for three 10 seconds. Breaking Wave Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave take 10% additional damage from all attacks for three 10 seconds. Deadly Reach Skill: Foresight Rune: Every third hit also increases the damage of all your stacks by 15% for five seconds. Foresight Rune: Every enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 15% for 10 seconds. Way of the Hundred Fists: Assimilation Rune: Each enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 5% for five seconds. Assimilation Rune: Each enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 5% for 10 seconds. Return to Top
      Item Changes
      Barbarian
      Horde of the Ninety Savages (6-piece bonus): Frenzy deals 1,000% increased damage per stack. Frenzy deals 2,000% increased damage per stack. Demon Hunter
      Chanon Bolter: Spike Traps lure enemies to them. Enemies may be taunted once every 12-16 seconds. Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them and deal 150-200% increased damage. Enemies may be taunted once every 10 seconds. The Demon’s Demise: The blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after one second. Each blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after 1 second and deals 150-200% increased damage. Natalya’s Slayer: Increases Rain of Vengeance Damage by 20-25%. Increases Spike Trap Damage by 10 -15%. Natalya’s Vengeance (2-piece bonus): Reduce the cooldown of Rain of Vengeance by 4 seconds when you hit with a Hatred-generating attack or Hatred-spending attack. Hitting an enemy summons a Spike Trap if it is on your action bar. Each Spike Trap detonation restores 1 Discipline. Natalya’s Vengeance (4-piece bonus): Rain of Vengeance deals 100% increased damage. Laying a Spike Trap grants 60% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds. Natalya’s Vengeance (6-piece bonus): After casting Rain of Vengeance, deal 14,000% increased damage and take 60% reduced damage for 10 seconds. Spike Traps deal 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive blast from the detonation chain reaction will deal 10% more damage than the previous blast. Trag’oul Coils: Spike Traps gain the Impaling Spines Rune and are deployed twice as fast. Spike Traps gain the Scatter Rune, are deployed twice as fast, and deal 150-200% increased damage. Unhallowed Essence (6-piece bonus): Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 350% increased damage per point of Discipline the Demon Hunter currently has. Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 1700% increased damage per point of discipline the Demon Hunter currently has. Monk
      Patterns of Justice (6-piece bonus): Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage delt by 15,000%. Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage dealt by 20,000. Raiment of Thousand Storms (4-piece bonus): Dashing Strike spends 75 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does. Dashing Strike spends 25 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does. Necromancer
      Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (6-piece bonus): Bone Spear deals 6,000% increased damage Bone Spear deals 9,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus. Wizard
      The Typhon’s Veil (6-piece-bonus): Hydras deal 2,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive. Hydras deal 4,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive. Return to Top
      How to Participate in the PTR
      To participate in the public test, you must have a Diablo III game license attached to a Battle.net account in good standing (i.e. one that hasn't been suspended or banned). In addition, you will also need to download and install the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app if you have not already done so.
      Step 1: Restart the Battle.net desktop app.
      Step 2: Navigate to the Diablo III tab on the left-hand menu.
      Step 3: On the Diablo III screen, there is a drop-down menu right above the "Play" button (note that this may say "Install" if you do not have Diablo III currently installed). Select "PTR: Diablo III" from this drop-down menu before proceeding.
      Step 4: Click Install to begin the installation process.
      Your PTR account will be created automatically if you do not already have one. The PTR is available in all supported languages, and accounts from all regions are eligible to participate. For additional assistance with installing and launching the PTR, click here.
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      PTR Character Copy
      The option to copy your existing Diablo III characters from your live account to the PTR will be available and can be done directly through the PTR client. However, only one region per account can be copied at a time. So, if you choose to copy characters from your account in a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost.
      Step 1: Log into the live game and then log out.
      Step 2: Log into PTR client and create a level 1 character. After you're done, return to the main character screen.
      Step 3: Click on the "PTR Copy" button located in the upper right-hand corner. (The PTR Copy button will not appear in-game until you have created a new level 1 character.)
      Step 4: Select your region.
      Step 5: Click "Copy." This will copy all characters on your account from the selected region.
      Step 6: You will be disconnected from the PTR client.
      Step 7: Log back in. Your copied characters will be available for play.
      Please note that you can only copy characters from one gameplay region at a time. If you choose to copy characters from a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost. In addition, you can only copy characters over to your PTR account once every 24 hours. Attempting to copy characters before this cooldown is up will result in an error.
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      As this is a test server, please anticipate uneven game performance, and note that restarts and downtime may occur without warning. Thank you, and we look forward to your feedback!
    • By Staff
      The Darkening of Tristram Anniversary Event returns to Diablo 3 on January 3.
      (Source)
      Diablo’s anniversary is right around the corner, along with the Darkening of Tristram event! Whether you’re a series veteran craving nostalgia, or a newcomer hungry for your first taste of the franchise’s past, this annual loving homage to the earliest days of Diablo is for you.
      Read on for more, including a closer look at the anniversary dungeon and its unique rewards.

      Stop the Cultists
      Your journey begins on the trail of a group of mysterious cultists causing trouble in Sanctuary. As you hunt them down in Adventure Mode, you’ll uncover clues leading to a portal into Tristram’s past, and the terrifying darkness that took hold of the town so many years ago. . . .

      Explore the Cathedral
      Follow the clues and you’ll soon find yourself in a realm of glorious RetroVision™, where an all-too-familiar cathedral looms. Explore the depths and you’ll discover familiar enemies and iconic items, all brought to life in the Diablo III engine. Meanwhile, deep beneath the catacombs, the Dark Lord himself awaits any intrepid adventurer who dares to challenge him. . . .

      Discover Precious Loot
      What is a Diablo game without shiny new loot to call your own? Completing activities in the anniversary event yields unique transmogrification effects, achievements, portraits, pets, and more.
      While some rewards are easy to find, others may have you scouring every nook or unlocking every achievement before you can get your hands on them. Can you earn them all? There’s only one way to find out!

      Your Journey Begins…
      Exclusive rewards and challenging enemies await you, but they won’t last forever! The cultists will appear on December 31 at 4 p.m. PST, and the portal opens January 3 at the same hour. Both parts of the event end January 31 at 4 p.m. PST.
      Enter the dungeon, reap your rewards, and survive the evils within—or die in the process, never to be heard from again. . . .
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