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Diablo 4 1.1.0a Patch Notes – Season of the Malignant Plagues Sanctuary

The initial patch notes for Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant has arrived, and there are hefty balance changes for every class.

Zack Palm

Published: Jul 18, 2023 12:34 pm

The first season for Diablo 4 is on the horizon, with fans eager to finally sink their teeth into this heaping chunk of upcoming content, the Season of the Malignant. The community has been waiting for their chance to check out the full first season, and it will be available to every player on July 20, 2023.

All Diablo 4 1.1.0a Patch Notes for Season of the Malignant

These are hefty patch notes that were posted by Blizzard, and thankfully they were shared well ahead of the official release of Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant. Some of the major highlights include the substantial balance changes to each of the game’s classes, and the upcoming new items players have the chance to earn, with many fans not too keen to try grinding the entire game to find some of the rarer items, such as the incredibly rare United Items.

Even though these are available on July 17, 2023, the Season of the Malignant will not go live until July 20, 2023, for all Diablo 4 players.

New Unique items and Legendary Aspects

New Unique items and Legendary Aspects have been discovered in Sanctuary. Use them to enhance your characters in the Eternal or Seasonal Realm. These Unique items can be obtained from World Tier IV and the Legendary Aspects can be obtained from any World Tier.

6 Unique Items

General

Ahavarion Spear of Lycander (Uber Unique Staff – World Tier 4): Gain a random Shrine effect for 10-20 seconds after killing an Elite enemy. Can only occur once every 30 seconds.

Developer’s Note: Ahavarion Spear of Lycander is an extremely rare drop. We wish you luck in recovering it from the armies of the Burning Hells.

Barbarian

Azurewrath (Unique Sword): Lucky Hit – Your Core Skills have up to a 20% chance to Freeze enemies for 3 seconds and deal 0.75-1.5 Cold damage to them.

Druid

Fleshrender (Unique One-Hand Mace): Debilitating Roar and Blood Howl deal 0.5-1.0 damage to Nearby Poisoned enemies.

Necromancer

Lidless Wall (Unique Shield): Lucky Hit – While you have an active Bone Storm, hitting an enemy outside of a Bone Storm has up to a 5-25% chance to spawn an additional Bone Storm at their location. Each of your active Sacrifice bonuses increases the chance by 25% and the total number of additional Bone Storms you can have by +1.

Rogue

Eaglehorn (Unique Bow): Penetrating Shot has a 30-80% chance to fire an arrow that bounces off walls and scenery. Hitting enemies from behind with Penetrating Shot will make them Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

Sorcerer

The Oculus (Unique Wand): Gain the effect of the Teleport Enchantment for free. When you Evade using Teleport Enchantment, you are taken to a random location.

Developer’s Note: The Azurewrath and Fleshrender Unique Items have flat damage effects, which scale with power. For example, at 820 Item Power, Azurewrath deals between 3359-6718 damage.

7 New Legendary Aspects

General

Audacity (Utility Aspect): When there are at least 5 Close enemies, Stun them for 2-4 seconds. This can only occur once every 20 seconds.
Craven (Mobility Aspect): You gain 20-40% increased Movement Speed when moving away from Slowed or Chilled enemies.

Barbarian

Ancestral Charge (Offensive Aspect): Charge calls forth 4 Ancients who also Charge, dealing 50-100% of normal damage.

Druid

Subterranean (Offensive Aspect): Poison Creeper’s active also casts Landslide in a circle around you. Earth Skills deal 10-20% increased damage to Poisoned enemies.

Necromancer

Gore Quills (Offensive Aspect): Blood Lance will consume Blood Orbs to also conjure lances from them. Each additional Blood Lance deals 20-50% of normal damage and prioritizes targeting un-lanced enemies.

Rogue

Pestilent Points (Offensive Aspect): Every third cast of Puncture is Poison Imbued with 100-150% of normal potency.

Sorcerer

Searing Wards (Offensive Aspect): After spending 200-100 Mana your next Firewall is free to cast and will destroy incoming Small Missiles.

Bug Fixes

Accessibility

Made various improvements from an accessibility perspective—primarily, many fixes to the Screen Reader where it failed to read specific elements.

Challenges

Fixed multiple issues where specific Challenges wouldn’t provide the proper proper rewards or could not be completed.
Fixed multiple issues where certain Challenges could be progressed through unintended means.
Fixed multiple issues where players could gain progress for certain Challenges through the actions of other nearby players.
Fixed multiple instances where activities that should count towards the criteria for some Challenges were not counted.
Fixed an issue where players would not receive notifications for when one of their friends completed a Challenge.
Fixed an issue where Feats of Strength were not accounted for when calculating Challenge completion percentage.
The Feat of Strength, Final Slayer of the First Mother, now requires you to slay the Level 100 Pinnacle boss solo. The Silence is Hellish challenge remains unchanged.
Fixed an issue where The Feats of Strength, One of the First and Earliest Experience, did not display all the titles they rewarded.

Cooperative Play

Fixed an issue where the camera wasn’t functioning properly when players were far apart in Local Co-Op.
Fixed an issue where NPC conversation boxes would overlap if multiple Local Co-Op players talked to the same NPC at the same time.
Fixed an issue where the Rogue’s Inner Sight would only fill up for one of the players in a Co-Op session.
Fixed an issue where the Dark Potential challenge would be granted to both players when either player completed it, regardless of the other player’s progress.
Fixed multiple instances where quest progress would not properly synchronize, or quest progression could be blocked for Local Co-Op players.
Fixed multiple issues that occurred during cutscenes for Co-Op players.

Dungeons

Fixed an issue where the player would not be able to receive enough animus to progress through the Hallowed Ossuary dungeon.
Fixed an issue where the Stone carving in the Fallen Temple capstone dungeon would duplicate.
Fixed an issue where the Monster Regen affix in a Nightmare Dungeon would also affect structures in that dungeon.
Fixed an issue where the Goatman and Shambling Corpse enemies would continuously respawn in the Forsaken Quarry dungeon.
Fixed an issue where the Sentinel enemies would not have weapons in the Bastion of Faith dungeon.
Fixed an issue where the Bastion of Faith dungeon could sometimes not be completed.
Fixed an issue where the player could respawn behind a barrier in the Fallen Temple capstone dungeon.
Fixed an issue where the map for the Crusader’s Cathedral dungeon was incomplete.
Fixed an issue where the Curse of Indolence and the Curse of the Weak would stack even while the player was dead in the Fallen Temple capstone dungeon.
Fixed multiple instances where the Fog Door could not be progressed through in some dungeons.
Fixed an issue where the Monster Thorns affix in Nightmare Dungeons was reflecting Physical damage, it will now properly reflect non-physical damage.
Fixed an issue where Blood Boils would not properly spawn in the Kor Dragan Barracks dungeon.
Fixed an issue where Traps would deal more damage than intended.
Fixed an issue where level scaling in the Level 100 Pinnacle dungeon was inconsistent.
Fixed an issue where the Awakened Glyphstone wouldn’t spawn if the party leader left the dungeon before the dungeon was completed.

Gameplay

Barbarian

Fixed an issue where the number of enemies to defeat for the Barbarian Class quest Masters of Battle was not displayed.
Fixed an issue where Iron Maelstrom could be cast more than 3 times rapidly casting War Cry.
Fixed an issue where stacking the Berserk Ripping, Skullbreaker, and Anemia aspects would allow the player to deal extreme amounts of damage.
Fixed an issue where the outer edge of the quakes granted to Hammer of the Ancients via The Aspect of Ancestral Echoes was dealing far more damage than intended.

Developer’s Note: We recognize this adjustment is a significant decrease to the Hammer of the Ancients Barbarian build, but we do not want its strength to be reliant on an underlying bug.

Druid

Fixed an issue where Earth skills and the Pulverize skill would consume two Overpower buffs simultaneously.
Fixed an issue where the bonus effect on Blood Howl from Nighthowler’s Aspect would apply twice to Wolf companions but not at all for Ravens.
Fixed an issue where Provocation passive stacks wouldn’t update properly after adding more points to it.
Fixed an issue where the automatic transformation from Insatiable Fury would cause the Ursine Strength key passive to not proc consistently.
Fixed an issue where the Enhanced Pulverize buff would not remove itself while in town.
Fixed an issue where seeking Tornados produced by Stormchaser’s Aspect would not deal damage.
Fixed an issue where Ravens’ passive damage did not improve after the skill was upgraded.
Fixed an issue where Rabies would deal no damage while standing very close to an enemy.
Fixed an issue where Stormclaw’s Aspect allowed Shred to do extreme amounts of damage.

Necromancer

Fixed an issue where Necromancers could not obtain daggers from the Purveyor of Curiosities.
Fixed an issue where the Necromancer’s Minions would have their life bonuses deactivated while in town.
Fixed an issue where Bone Spear cast through Chilling Wind from an Elite enemy would increase the number of generated Echoes for that cast.
Fixed an issue where Enhanced Bone Spear could cause erratic movement.
Fixed an issue where cancelling Blood Mist when it’s already off Cooldown would immediately recast it.

Rogue

Fixed an issue where Shadow Step wouldn’t trigger the Aspect of Uncanny Treachery if the target was killed.
Fixed an issue where Advanced Penetrating shot would not knock down other players in PvP play.
Fixed an issue where Twisting Blades would not come back when the ability killed a Bloated Corpsefiend enemy.
Fixed an issue where the Dash skill would not move the full distance if targeting an enemy while using a controller.
Fixed an issue where the Eldritch Bounty Paragon node granted bonus resistances incorrectly.
Fixed an issue where Rapid Fire had an extra arrow VFX that behaved erratically.
Fixed an issue where the Awakened Glyphstone wouldn’t spawn for Rogue players using Improved Barrage.

Sorcerer

Fixed an issue where the Firebolt Enchantment effect did not contribute to the Combustion key passive.
Fixed an issue where the passive stacks generated by Align the Elements could partially reset in an unexpected way.
Fixed an issue where casting Deep Freeze would prevent the Ice Shard Enchantment effect from triggering.
Fixed an issue where Aspect of Control was applying its damage bonus 3 times for Staggered bosses.
Fixed an issue where the Gravitational Aspect was appearing weaker on two-handed weapons or amulets.
Fixed an issue where the Enchantment effect for Chain Lightning had no visual tracking bonus and could also unexpectedly drop off.
Fixed an issue where Incinerate would immediately cost 30 mana when cast in addition to the consistent channeling mana cost. Incinerate now properly only costs mana as it is being channeled.

General

Fixed multiple instances where players could unnaturally teleport during boss encounters.
Fixed an issue where a chest in the Western Ways could be interacted with infinitely.
Fixed an issue where the Eriman NPC couldn’t be interacted with in certain situations.
Fixed an issue where otherwise breakable objects in the world would not be broken when evading through them.
Fixed multiple instances where the player could avoid damage from bosses if they positioned themselves in a specific location.
Fixed an issue where Forged Relics could not be interacted with.
Fixed an issue where monsters with a Cold, Bleeding, Burning, or Corruption affix would freeze players in 1 hit in Nightmare Dungeons with the Cold Enchanted affix.
Fixed an issue where Cold Enchanted monsters froze players more often than intended in higher World Tiers.
Fixed an issue where a chest could spawn that would provide infinite loot.

Helltide and the Fields of Hatred

Fixed an issue where the player could be damaged by the Helltide firestorm while standing in Jirandai.
Fixed an issue where enemies resurrected by Shamans would continuously drop Aberrant Cinders in Helltide.
Fixed an issue where Chain Lightning could bounce infinitely between the caster and other player characters standing in a Fields of Hatred town.
Fixed an issue where Crackling Energy could hit other players in a Fields of Hatred town. (We know, shocking!)
Fixed an issue where players could not see other players that they should when re-entering the Alzuuda Fields of Hatred Zone.
Fixed an issue where certain areas in the Fields of Hatred would be incorrectly flagged as a Town, rendering players unable to cast Skills while still being able to be damaged.

Items and Aspects

Fixed an issue where the Cost reduction bonus from the Ring of Starless Skies could unexpectedly drop off.
Fixed an issue where the Aspect of the Protector would trigger its barrier effect after destroying a breakable object.
Fixed an issue where the Ring of Misfortune had incorrect stats.
Fixed an issue where the Ember Staff weapon didn’t apply the bonus damage to Crowd Controlled enemies, which is inherent for all Stave-type weapons.
Fixed an issue where any character menu interaction would reset the bonus granted by the Inner Calm aspect.
Fixed an issue where the Maximum Life affix on the Mark of the Conclave quest item was scaling improperly.
Fixed an issue where Aspect power would also increase when upgrading an item at the Blacksmith.
The level requirement for Sacred Items will now cap at level 60.
The level requirement for Ancestral Items will now cap at level 80.
Fixed an issue where the Mother’s Embrace Unique Ring did not trigger properly with several abilities.

Monsters

Fixed an issue where items of higher power than intended were dropping from rare monsters.
Fixed an issue where the Warg’s jumping attack dealt no damage when passing through the player.
Fixed an issue where the Pitiless Gur monster would endlessly run around in circles.
Fixed an issue where the lightning-enhanced Champion Goatman would fail to deal damage to the player.
Fixed an issue where monsters with the Suppressor Affix would be immune to damage from abilities that started initially outside the immunity circle (Ex: when a Barbarian started a Whirlwind cast before getting within proper range of the Suppressor monster).
Fixed an issue where clones of a monster with the Suppressor affix could also have the Suppressor affix.
Fixed an issue where Treasure Goblins would behave erratically if initially engaged from a long distance.
Fixed multiple other issues where monster behavior could not perform properly and could be exploited in some cases.

Quests and Events

Fixed an issue where the progress bar could not fill during the Caravan Under Siege event.
Fixed an issue where the Putrid Remains enemies could remain idle during the Defiled Ground event.
Fixed an issue where Champion enemies could not spawn during the Ancient Obelisk event.
Fixed multiple issues where using Traversals could cause Elite and Boss monsters to disappear during multiple events.
Fixed an issue where Radiant and Greater Radiant chests would not spawn when completing the Fearful Bones event.
Fixed an issue where the Cursed Chest event could not be completed.
Fixed an issue where the Defiled Ground even in Hawezar would have a respawn point much further away than intended.
Fixed an issue where unique drowned enemies spawned during events in the Forgotten Coastline could be invulnerable to damage.
Fixed an issue where the Suppressor Monster Affix’s effects would be active on containers and furniture inside the dungeon during the Remnants quest.
Fixed an issue where the player could teleport through the Ancient Gate and block progression during the Storming the Gates quest.

Fixed an issue where progression could be blocked during the Flesh and Blood quest.
Fixed an issue where quest dungeons did not reset if the associated quest was abandoned.
Fixed an issue where the quest tracker would be missing if the player re-entered the game during the Picking Through the Bones quest.
Fixed an issue where not enough monsters would spawn to fulfill the requirements for completing the Hungering Necrolyte’s Cache quest.
Fixed an issue where an enemy was missing when progressing through the Lost Archives dungeon during the Legacy of the Magi quest.
Fixed an issue where the Immemorial Inscription could not be read during the Augury of Bones quest.
Fixed an issue where the player character couldn’t face to speak to an NPC when initiating dialogue for multiple quests.
Fixed an issue where the ghost body of Bakira could remain visible after being defeated during the True Potential Rogue class quest.
Fixed an issue where outside party members could influence the progression of the Bad Blood quest.
Fixed an issue where the player could be blocked from reentering the boss’ area after dying during the fight against Elias in the Piercing the Veil quest.
Fixed various other issues where quest progression could be blocked.

User interface and User Experience

Fixed an issue where the mini-map didn’t accurately depict the game world during the The Blind Eye quest.
Fixed an issue where the map was incomplete for the Loch Raeth region in Scosglen.
Fixed an issue where a portion of the map was invisible in the Exalter Terrace dungeon.
Fixed an issue where the Mad Bomber title would not display for enemies encountered through the Whisper of the same name.
Fixed an issue where articles in the News Feed could not be opened using Mouse & Keyboard.
Fixed an issue where the You have cross network play enabled message was being sent to chat each time a campaign quest objective was completed.
The Cult Leader Paragon passive no longer appears above hostile Minions in PvP.
Fixed an issue where the bonus from the Ballistic Aspect displayed +0 to skills instead of +2 on the bonus bar.
Fixed an issue where Sigil sorting was inconsistent between Inventory and the Stash.
Fixed an issue where the Social tab on the Action Wheel editing window would be skipped when navigating on Controller.
Fixed an issue where the amount of gold would not properly display when trading gold in large quantities.
Fixed an issue where item comparison numbers would be inaccurate if the item in question had a Gem socketed that granted a stat that was also present on the base of the item.
Fixed an issue where images would not properly load in the News Feed on the main menu.
Fixed multiple issues with Map Pin functionality.
Fixed multiple issues where Quest and Whisper markers weren’t displaying properly.
Various improvements to the consistency and clarity of Messaging, Skill description, and Tooltips.
Various other UI and UX Improvements.

Miscellaneous

Fixed an issue where the Completion music for defeating Avarice could start playing before the boss was defeated. (Always confirm your kills before celebrating, wanderers)
Fixed an issue where players couldn’t send Battle.net friend requests to friends playing on console.
Fixed an issue where players could confirm if Hardcore mode was enabled after logging in with a new character.
Fixed an issue where players that haven’t unlocked a higher World Tier could be invited into a higher World Tier party.
Fixed an issue where players couldn’t transfer leadership of a Clan.
Fixed an issue where the sender of the party invite would not be informed that the invite failed due to incompatibility with campaign prologue progress.
Fixed an issue where Nafain’s spear would duplicate in the cutscene where the player picks it up.
Fixed an issue where Meshif’s camel made no noises.
Fixed an issue where there was no sound when Lorath kicks Meshif awake.
Various other Improvements.

Loading Screen Updates

We’ve added more dynamic loading screens with the release of Season of the Malignant. This includes adding more assets to the loading screen, such as your player character.

Gameplay Updates

General

Altar of Lilith Unlocks are now account wide.
Map discovery is now account wide.
Whispers will no longer reward Sigil Dust.
Overall loot quality has been significantly improved for Silent Chests.
The channel time for the Leave Dungeon ability has been increased from 3 to 5 seconds.
We have generally reduced the tendency for many monsters to move around in combat, so that melee characters don’t have to chase down their enemies as much.
Added PS5 Dual Sense Edge Wireless controller support for PC.

World Tier

World Tier II has had the following bonuses added:
- Bonus Gold: Increased from 15% to 20%.
- Monsters now drop 15% more items.

Developer’s Note: We like where World Tier II has landed overall but are increasing its reward pace to better align with its difficulty.

Level scaling inside dungeons and most overworld territories has been adjusted in World Tiers III and IV. Monsters will begin to trail behind the player in Level after a certain point (up to a maximum of 5 Levels behind). This change does not affect World Bosses, Legion Events, Fields of Hatred, Helltide, or Nightmare Dungeons.

Developer’s Note: We want to give players a better sense of their power progression and mastery over the world while still challenging themselves with structured End Game activities.

World Tier III Example:

If the the player’s Level is below 55, the monster’s Level is 55.
If the player’s Level is 56-60, the monster’s Level is 55.
If the player’s Level is 61, the monster’s Level is 56.
If the player’s Level is 62, the monster’s Level is 57, etc. (from this point the monsters will always be -5 until World Tier III’s max monster Level of 70).

World Tier IV Example:

If the player’s Level is below 75, the monster’s Level is 75.
If the player’s Level is 76-80, the monster Level is 75.
If the player’s Level is 81, the monster’s Level is 76.
If the player’s Level is 82, the monster’s Level is 77, etc. (from this point the monsters will always be -5).

Experience

Reward experience for completing Whispers in World Tiers III and IV has been significantly increased.

Developer’s Note: We have observed that the experience bonus rewarded for killing higher level monsters escalates too fast when compared to the relative challenge involved. We still want to reward players for taking on this challenge by encouraging them to participate in powerleveling together instead of one player killing enemies while another member of their Party waits at the dungeon’s entrance.

We are adjusting bonus experience rewards for killing monsters that are a higher Level than the player.
- Pre-Season of the Malignant bonuses:
  - 1 Level higher: +15%.
  - 2 Levels higher: +20%.
  - 3+ Levels higher: +25%.
- Post-Season of the Malignant:
  - 1.5% bonus per Level up to 10 Levels.
    - Ex:
      - +1 level: +1.5%.
      - +2 levels: +3%.
      - +10 levels: +15%.
We are also adjusting experience rewards for monster Level offsets for higher World Tiers.
- Current World Tier Level offsets
  - World Tier II: Up to +3.
  - World Tier III: Up to +10.
  - World Tier IV: Up to +100.
- We are changing this to
  - World Tier II: Up to +3 (Unchanged).
  - World Tier III: Up to +6.
  - World Tier IV: Up to +10.
- For Example:
  - You are Level 1. Your friends bring you to World Tier IV and leave you at the entrance of a dungeon. They start killing Level 100 monsters.
    - Prior to Season of the Malignant, you get:
      - (Level 100 Monster XP) * (1 + 25%)
    - After Season of the Malignant, you get:
      - (Level 11 Monster XP) * (1 + 15%)

Helltide

Developer’s Note: We’re looking to increase the danger in Helltide’s risk-reward gameplay by making the monsters a bit more challenging and the Tortured Gift of Mysteries harder to open.

Helltide monsters are now 3 Levels higher than the player instead of 2.
The Tortured Gift of Mysteries chest has had its cost increased to 250 Aberrant Cinders from 175.
All interactable objects in Helltide zones now have a small chance of dropping Aberrant Cinders.

Balance Updates

Developer’s Note: As our community continues to battle the Burning Hells, the builds emerging from new players have shocked and delighted us. We’ve chosen to focus Season of the Malignant’s balance updates on clear itemization disparities over redesigns of Class features. The Class changes are largely focused on numeric increases to Skill Upgrades and Legendary Aspects that players haven’t yet found compelling. Additionally, we’re changing Critical Strike Damage Paragon Glyphs to empower all damage—instead of only Core Skills—to enable more build strategies.
There are also a few Class stat decreases on sources which grant extreme amounts of damage, healing, or Unstoppable. In general, we prefer build-specific changes to be bonuses instead of decreases, but we feel these changes are necessary for the overall health of the game. Diablo IV is a game that is continually evolving through its Seasons, thus the adjustments we make will evolve with them.

All Barbarian Changes in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant

Skills

Violent Double Swing Vulnerable duration increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
Furious Upheaval damage bonus per stack increased from 3% to 5%.
Power Charge Cooldown reduction is now capped to 3 targets, for a maximum of 9 seconds of Cooldown reduction.
Tactical Ground Stomp Fury gain increased from 25 to 40.
Enhanced Death Blow’s damage bonus to Bosses increased from 100% to 150%.
Enhanced Steel Grasp Vulnerable duration increased from 2.5 to 3 seconds.
Enhanced Rupture damage increased from 30% to 45%.
Warrior’s Rupture Attack Speed bonus increased from 20% to 30%, and duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
Fighter’s Rupture healing increased from 15% to 18% Maximum Life.

Passives

Hamstring now only Slows Healthy enemies, and Slow amount increased from 10/20/30% to 20/40/60%.
Cut to the Bone Bleeding damage bonus to Vulnerable reduced from 6/12/18% to 5/10/15%.

Paragon

Wrath Glyph’s bonus now affects all damage instead of just Core Skills.

Aspects

Relentless Berserker’s Aspect Berserking duration increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
Battle-Mad Aspect Beserking duration increased from 1-2.5 to 2-3.5 seconds.
Brawler’s Aspect damage increased from 1-1.3 to 1.5-1.8.
Aspect of Burning Rage damage increased from .08-.14 to .22-.28.
Aspect of the Iron Warrior Damage Reduction increased from 15-25% to 18-28%.
Slaking Aspect Lucky Hit Chance increased from 30-50% to 40-60%.
Aspect of Ancestral Echoes Lucky Hit Chance increased from 40-50% to 50-60%.
Weapon Master’s Aspect Lucky Hit Chance increased from 32-50% to 37%-55%.

Items

Gohr’s Devastating Grips now explodes every 2 seconds or after it ends, and its hit cap has been removed.
Fields of Crimson Bleeding damage bonus increased from 10% to 15%.

All Druid Changes in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant

Skills

Enhanced Claw Attack Speed bonus increased from 10% to 15%.
Stormstrike Damage Reduction reduced from 25% to 15%.
Boulder damage increase from 33% to 46%.
Savage Trample Spirit gain increased from 20 to 40.
Prime Lacerate healing increased from 3% to 5%.
Cataclysm Lightning damage increased from 64% to 77%, and Tornado damage from 19% to 23%.
Supreme Cataclysm Vulnerable duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
Prime Cataclysm duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds.
Prime Grizzly Rage now grants Unstoppable for 6 seconds instead of while active.

Passives

Provocation threshold required for guaranteed Overpower reduced from 35/30/25 to 24/20/16 seconds.

Spirit Boon

Masochistic now also requires a Lucky Hit chance of 75%.
Prickleskin Thorns increased from .1 to .15.
Iron Feather Maximum Life increased from 10% to 14%.
Bolster Fortify increased from 10% to 15% of Maximum Life.
Overload damage increased from .2 to .25.

Paragon

Spirit Glyph’s bonus now affects all damage instead of just Core Skills.

Aspects

Aspect of the Calm Breeze Lucky Hit chance increased from 5-10% to 7-12%.
Balanced Aspect Maximum Spirit increased from 30-50 to 60-80.
Aspect of the Tempest damage bonus increased from 7-15% to 10-18%.
Skinwalker’s Aspect healing increased from .05-.1 to .07-.12.
Symbiotic Aspect Cooldown reduction reduced from 4-8 to 3-5.
Aspect of the Stampede damage bonus increased from 10-20 to 16-26%.
Shepherd’s damage bonus increased from 6-8% to 6-10%.

Items

Insatiable Fury Werebear Skill Ranks increased from 2 to 3.
Mad Wolf’s Glee Werewolf Skill Ranks increased from 2 to 3.

All Necromancer Changes in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant

Skills

Initiate’s Decompose Slow increased from 30% to 50%.
Paranormal Sever casts required for Vulnerable reduced from 4 to 3.
Enhanced Blood Surge Healing increased from 2.5% to 3% of Maximum Life.
Enhanced Blood Lance damage reduction for piercing reduced from 15% to 10%.
Bone Prison initial Essence gained increased from 15 to 25.
Abhorrent Iron Maiden healing increased from 5% to 7% of Maximum Life.
Golems move faster and unhindered through enemies when their Cooldown is activated.
Supreme Blood Wave leaves behind Blood Orbs earlier in its path.
Raise Skeleton, Corpse Explosion, and Corpse Tendrils range for auto-targeting Corpses on mouse and keyboard increased by 50%.
Raise Skeleton Skeletal Priest bonus damage increased from 20% to 30%.
Raise Skeleton Skeletal Priest healing increased from 10% to 15%.

Passives

Evulsion bonus damage to Vulnerable reduced from 6/12/18% to 5/10/15%.
Transfusion Minion healing increased from 15/30/45% to 20/40/60%.
Drain Vitality Lucky Hit Chance increased from 25% to 30%.
Amplify Damage increased from 3/6/9% to 4/8/12%.

Book of the Dead

Necromancer’s minions will now automatically re-summon after respawning during a World Boss fight.
Skeleton Warrior Defenders Upgrade Thorns inherited increased from 40% to 50%.
Shadow Skeleton Mage Upgrade attacks required for an additional shadow bolt reduced from 5 to 4.
Bone Skeleton Mage Upgrade Fortify amount increased from 11% to 20%.
Iron Golems Upgrade attacks required for Slam attack reduced from 5 to 4.

Paragon

Essence Glyph’s bonus now affects all damage instead of just Core Skills.

Aspects

Splintering Aspect Bone Shard damage bonus reduced from 50-100% to 30-60%.
Aspect of Plunging Darkness bonus damage increased from 50-100% to 75-125%.
Coldbringer’s Aspect blizzard cooldown reduced from 10 to 8 seconds.
Aspect of Hungry Blood chance to fire a Blood Lance increased from 10-20% to 13-23%.
Blood-soaked Aspect damage increased from .15-.2 to .24-.31.
Aspect of Ultimate Shadow damage increased from .16-.22 to .43-.48.
Aspect of Grasping Veins Critical Strike Damage bonus reduced from 30-60% to 20-40%.
Osseous Gale Aspect bonus Bone Storm duration increased from 4-8 to 5-10 seconds.
Aspect of the Damned damage bonus increased from 30-40% to 40-50%.
Blood-bathed Aspect Echo damage reduction reduced from 70-60% to 60-50%.
Aspect of Reanimation Skeletons damage bonus increased from 20-30% to 30-40%.

Items

Bloodless Scream Essence gained increased from 2-5 to 7-10.
Deathless Visage damage increased from .25-.35 to .28-.38.

All Rogue Changes in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant

Skills

Advanced Rapid Fire duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds.
Caltrops cast speed increased by 15%.
Enhanced Cold Imbue Lucky Hit Chance increased from 30% to 40%.
Enhanced Smoke Grenade damage bonus increased from 15% to 20%.
Methodical Dash maximum Cooldown reduction increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
Concealment Stealth duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
Enhanced Dark Shroud’s chance to not be consumed increased from 10% to 14%.
Supreme Death Trap Cooldown reduction increased from 10 to 12 seconds.

Passives

Victimize Lucky Hit Chance increased from 30% to 35%.
Siphoning Strikes now also requires a Lucky Hit chance of 75%.
Rugged Damage Reduction against Damage over Time effects increased from 5/10/15 to 6/12/18.
Mending Obscurity healing per second while Stealthed increased from 3/6/9% to 4/8/12%.
Aftermath Energy restored increased from 25/50/75 to 30/60/90.

Paragon

Combat Glyph’s bonus now affects all damage instead of just Core Skills.
Eldritch Bounty Legendary Node duration increased from 6 to 9 seconds.

Specialization

Preparation’s Ultimate Cooldown reduction increased from 4 to 5 seconds.

Legendary Aspects

Aspect ofAll Rogue Changes in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant Volatile Shadows damage increased from .1075-.193 to .2-.27.
Icy Alchemist’s Aspect Chill increased from 15% to 25%.
Shadowslicer Aspect damage increased from 25-35% to 80-100%.
Toxic Alchemist’s damage increased from 0.080-0.13 to .11-.16.
Vengeful Aspect Lucky Hit Chance increased from 30-50% to 40-60%.
Aspect of Imitated Imbuements duration increased from 5 to 9 seconds.
Aspect of Stolen Vigor healing increased from .02-.06 to .04-.08.
Aspect of Lethal Dusk Life of Kill duration increased from 4 to 6 seconds.
Aspect of Noxious Ice bonus damage increased from 10-25% to 14-29%.
Aspect of Elusive Menace Dodge chance increased from 1-5% to 3-7%.

Items

Skyhunter’s Energy gain increased from 15-25 to 20-30.
Grasp of Shadow Lucky Hit Chance increased from 20-30% to 24-34%.

All Sorcerer Changes in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant

Skills

Enhanced Charged Bolts damage increased from 24% to 30%, and now benefits from Skill Ranks.
Destructive Charged Bolts Damage Reduction increased from 20% to 25%.
Destructive Incinerate Damage Reduction increased from 20% to 25%.
Ice Blades cast clean up has been tightened, allowing players to act after its cast sooner.
Firebolt initial damage increased from 10% to 18%.
Wizard’s Firewall maximum increased Mana Regeneration increased from 25% to 35%.
Wizard’s Blizzard Core Skill Mana cost reduction increased from 10% to 20%.
Supreme Deep Freeze Cooldown Reduction increased from 50% to 100%.

Passives

Elemental Dominance now also affects Mastery Skills instead of just Core Skills.
Potent Warding duration increased from 3 to 9 seconds.
Protection Barrier duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
Align the Elements Damage Reduction per second increased from 1/2/3 to 3/6/9.
Mana Shield Damage Reduction increased from 5/10/15% to 7/14/21%.
Devouring Blaze bonus Critical Strike damage reduced from 10/20/30% to 7/14/21%.
Devouring Blaze bonus Critical Strike damage to Immobilized reduced from 25/50/75% to 10/20/30%.
Fiery Surge Mana Regeneration increased from 10/20/30% to 15/30/45%.

Paragon

Destruction Glyph now affects all damage instead of just Core Skills.

Enchantments

Spark Enchantment chance to form Crackling Energy increased from 10% to 14%.
Frozen Orb Enchantment chance to be cast increased from 20% to 30%.
Incinerate Enchantment cooldown reduced from 18 to 14 seconds.
Hydra Enchantment Mana threshold reduced from 300 to 200.

Legendary Aspects

Aspect of Efficiency Mana cost reduction increased from 10-20% to 15-25%, and now also affects Mastery Skills.
Aspect of Armageddon damage increased from .205-.25 to .35-.4.
Aspect of Shattered Stars damage increased from .15-.2 to .2-.25.
Serpentine Aspect Hydra duration reduction reduced from 30-20% to 20-10%.
Glacial Aspect Ice Spikes bonus damage to Frozen reduced from 25% to 15%.
Glacial Aspect Ice Spikes damage increased from .2-.3 to .25-.35.
Aspect of the Frozen Tundra Ice Spikes damage increased from .25-.35 to .3-.4.
Aspect of the Frozen Wake Ice Spikes damage increased from .2-.3 to .25-.35, and Chill increased from 10% to 15%.
Aspect of Biting Cold chance to apply Vulnerable to Frozen enemies increased from 25-35% to 30-40%.
Encased Aspect Life and Mana restore per second increased from 10-20% to 20-30%.
Stable Aspect chance for a free cast increased from 5-10% to 7-12%.
Aspect of Splintering Energy chance to spawn an additional Lightning Spear increased from 11-20% to 41-50%.
Aspect of the Unbroken Tether chance for additional Chain Lightning chains increased from 25-35% to 30-40%.

Items

Gloves of the Illuminator Fireball damage reduction reduced from 65-75% to 55%-65%.
Esu’s Heirloom Critical Strike Chance from Movespeed increased from 15-25% to 20-30%.
Esadora’s Overflowing Cameo chance to release a lightning nova increased from 10% to 15%.

General

Aspects

Aspect of Disobedience maximum stacks reduced from 100 to 60, reducing maximum Bonus Armor % from 25%-50% to 15%-30%.
Aspect of Retribution bonus damage to Stunned reduced from 20-40% to 10-20%.
Exploiter’s Aspect bonus damage to Unstoppable reduced from 20-50% to 20-40%.
Starlight Aspect Resource restore increased from 10-20 to 20-40.

Items

The Butcher’s Cleaver Slow increased from 40-75% to 61-75%.
Drop Rate Adjustments:
- Increased bonus to drop Ancestral and Sacred items in Nightmare Dungeons from +5% to +10%.
- Removed a 20% chance to drop an extra equipment item from Elite monsters outside of Nightmare Dungeons and Helltide.
- Increased chance to drop an extra equipment item from Elite monsters in Nightmare Dungeons and Helltide by +10%.
- Nightmare Dungeons now have a 50% chance to drop a 2nd Legendary item upon completion.
- Nightmare Dungeons now give 3 rare items upon completion, up from 1.

Monsters

Increased monster HP scaling from 85% to 100% bonus per extra player in a party.

Miscellaneous

Adjusted the scaling of the Greed Shrine to improve its effectiveness throughout the game.
World bosses now drop potions more often.
There is no longer a limit to how many materials you can refine into higher materials at once.

Item Affixes

Developer’s Note: Many Affixes are too efficient and are outshining alternatives. We’re looking to refine the outliers, improve the number of meaningful choices on competitive slots, and increase the overall flexibility of items. We know these changes will reduce the total amount of possible power a character can possess, so we’ll be monitoring how these changes affect players’ ability to conquer expected milestones throughout the Season.

We’re increasing the availability of the Affixes below to make them easier to include in different builds.

Control Impaired Duration Reduction: Can now appear on Pants.
Barrier Generation: Can now appear for all Classes. It will also begin dropping later in the game.
Lucky Hit Chance while You Have a Barrier: Can now appear for all Classes. Reduced by ~12% when on Helm and ~20% when on Amulet or Offhand.
Mastery Skill Damage: Newly added; can appear on Sorcerer Weapons. Scales identically to Core Skill Damage.
Resistance to All Elements: Can now appear on Shields.

Developer’s Note: The Core Stat bonus on Weapons has been overperforming, so we’re pulling back on this bonus.

Strength: 50% Stronger when on Weapons -> 25% Stronger when on Weapons.
Dexterity: 50% Stronger when on Weapons -> 25% Stronger when on Weapons.
Intelligence: 50% Stronger when on Weapons -> 25% Stronger when on Weapons.
Willpower: 50% Stronger when on Weapons -> 25% Stronger when on Weapons.

Developer’s Note: Cooldown Reduction affixes often felt mandatory due to their raw power. We imagine Cooldown Reduction will remain a highly desirable stat, but the penalty for not prioritizing it won’t be as harsh.

Cooldown Reduction: Reduced by ~30%.
Imbuement Skill Cooldown Reduction: Reduced by ~30%.
Trap Skill Cooldown Reduction: Reduced by ~30%.

Developer’s Note: We’re seeing Critical Strike Damage and Vulnerable Damage often viewed as a hard requirement for a build’s success in Diablo IV. We believe this is a step towards allowing more builds to flourish and will continue to make changes in support of this goal.

Critical Strike Damage: Reduced by ~17%.
Lightning Critical Strike Damage: Reduced by ~17%.
Critical Strike Damage with Bone, Earth, Imbued, and Werewolf Skills: Reduced by ~17%.
Vulnerable Damage: Reduced by ~40%.

Developer’s Note: Disparities in inherent affixes can rule some Weapons out before the rest of their stats are even rolled. These are receiving harsher reductions than their normal affix counterparts to increase Weapon flexibility.

Cooldown Reduction (Inherent on Offhands): Reduced by ~35%.
Critical Strike Damage (Inherent on Swords): Reduced by ~50%.
Vulnerable Damage (Inherent on Crossbows): Reduced by ~65%.

Developer’s Note: Damage Bonus to Crowd Controlled Enemies was overperforming relative to the ease of activating it versus stricter, Crowd Control type-specific affixes.

Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies: Decreased by ~30%.
Damage to Frozen Enemies: Increased by ~20%.

Developer’s Note: We have seen that skillful players are frequently slaughtering monsters many levels above their own. We want to support this, but the current situation is beyond what we believe is correct for the long-term health of the game. To chase this goal, we’re shifting power to many offensive Affixes from defensive Affixes. We know this will make our end game content more deadly, particularly for those chasing our pinnacle boss, an encounter not meant for the faint of heart. Overcoming the pinnacle boss will take every ounce of grit you can muster and all tools at your disposal. We will continue to evaluate feedback from the community and make changes to our combat mechanics.

Physical Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Fire Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Cold Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Lightning Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Poison Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Shadow Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Non-Physical Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Physical Damage Over Time: Increased by ~40%.
Fire Damage Over Time: Increased by ~40%.
Shadow Damage Over Time: Increased by ~40%.

Damage with Two-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons: Increased by ~25%.
Damage with Two-Handed Slashing Weapons: Increased by ~25%.
Damage with Dual-Wielded Weapons: Increased by ~25%.
Damage with Ranged Weapons: Increased by ~25%.
Damage with Skills that Swap to New Weapons: Increased by ~25%.
Damage while in Human Form: Increased by ~25%.
Damage while Shapeshifted: Increased by ~25%.
Blood Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Bone Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Brawling Skill Damage: Increased by ~33%.

Companion Skill Damage: Increased by ~33%.
Conjuration Skill Damage: Increased by ~33%.
Cutthroat Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Darkness Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Earth Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Frost Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Imbued Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Imbuement Skill Damage: Increased by ~33%.
Marksman Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Pyromancy Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.

Shock Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Storm Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Summoning Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Trap Skill Damage: Increased by ~33%.
Weapon Mastery Skill Damage: Increased by ~33%.
Werebear Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Werewolf Skill Damage: Increased by ~25%.
Total Armor: Reduced by ~30%.
Attack Speed for 4 Seconds after Dodging an Attack: Increased by ~20%.
Damage for 4 Seconds after Dodging an Attack: Increased by ~20%.

Total Armor while in Werebear Form: Reduced by ~25%.
Total Armor while in Werewolf Form: Reduced by ~25%.
Damage Reduction from Close Enemies: Reduced by ~20%.
Damage Reduction from Distant Enemies: Reduced by ~20%.
Damage Reduction from Enemies that are Bleeding: Reduced by ~25%.
Damage Reduction from Enemies that are Burning: Reduced by ~25%.
Damage Reduction from Enemies that are Poisoned: Reduced by ~25%.
Damage Reduction from Enemies that are affected by Shadow Over Time: Reduced by ~25%.
Damage Reduction while Fortified: Reduced by ~25%.

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Author

Zack Palm

Zack Palm is the Senior Writer of Gamepur and has spent over five years covering video games, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Oregon State University. He spends his free time biking, running tabletop campaigns, and listening to heavy metal. His primary game beats are Pokémon Go, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and any newly released title, and he finds it difficult to pull away from any Star Wars game.