Blizzard has updated its new Diablo 4 patch notes ahead of the imminent Season 5 launch, and while there’s a lot to be excited for there might be a little sad news for some players. In its August 1 developer update, Blizzard showcased a lot of bold upgrades coming in the next season, proving it’s not resting on its laurels ahead of the Vessel of Hatred DLC. Its latest update, however, does rein in some of the strongest items we saw during the recent Season 5 PTR, and there’s disappointing, if perhaps expected, news for Necromancers.
The Diablo 4 Season 5 patch notes have proven to be more exciting than we might have expected, especially given the shorter season length ahead of the incoming expansion. Blizzard revealed a huge swathe of pretty dramatic upgrades across the entire RPG, with every single unique receiving an update to “better align” them with the team’s current philosophy on the rarest tiers of items. It’s proven to be rather exciting news; it even got me to boot up Diablo 4 again in preparation, despite the current season being close to done.
That also meant we were delivered with perhaps the longest changelog we’ve seen yet in the Diablo 4 1.5.0 patch notes. At the very tail end of Friday August 2, however, community director Adam Fletcher explains that the notes have been updated “to include the new Season 5 legendary aspects and unique items in their own section with specifics. Sorry for not including these originally,” he remarks. He then adds that some additional tweaks have been made “to get the most up-to-date numbers on these.”
If you previously browsed through the expansive breakdown and were wondering where the new items were, you’re now in luck, then. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news – the powerful Crown of Lucion unique, for example, has seen a slight nerf and has lost its boost to core skills and maximum resource in favor of cooldown reduction and shadow resistance. That might benefit some Diablo 4 builds, but it’s likely to feel a lot less potent than during the PTR.
Necromancers are also expressing some disappointment to see that the Great Feast legendary aspect has been brought back in line from its previously devastating form. One of the strongest Malignant Hearts during the game’s first season, there was hope it might be similarly potent in its reincarnation as a legendary aspect, but its bonus has been dramatically reduced. That’s perhaps to be expected given the way other similar reintroductions of past seasonal favorites have gone, but it still stings a little.
There’s still plenty to look forward to, however. Mythic uniques – the rebranded, recolored styling for what we previously knew as ‘uber uniques’ – have all seen some incredible boosts across the board, making them definitive, exciting upgrades in almost every case. It’ll be easier than ever to get them, too, with faster farming of endgame bosses that no longer require you to reset dungeons and the return of Season 4’s reputation system with the ability to now earn multiple Resplendent Sparks if you level several characters.
Speaking of leveling, Fletcher has one final addendum that also wasn’t mentioned during the livestream. “We forgot to mention this… Last season we had a thing where when you progressed through the Season Journey you would begin receiving class-specific legendary items to formulate a build. This is still in Season 5.” It’s a very nice bonus to help you get started, giving you access to some powerful early gear to help you fly through the early levels.
Fletcher notes that the Season 5 themes are weapon swapping and knockback for Barbarians, the Cataclysm skill and companions for Druids, Bons Spirit, Prison, and Golem for Necromancers, Chain Lightning and mana for Sorcerers, and Flurry, Dark Shroud, and mobility for Rogues. That means the gear you get will line up with these particular aspects, so if you’re planning which Diablo 4 class you want to start as in Season 5 you’ll want to keep that in mind.
Alternatively, get up to speed on everything we know about the Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred release date and everything we can expect from the expansion, including the new Diablo 4 Spiritborn class and everything it’s capable of.
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