The long-awaited Diablo 4 is on track for a June release, and today Blizzard has outlined its plans for Diablo III's Season 28 - called Rites of Sanctuary. It introduces a new end-game progression system with new Legendary Powers (triggered via Potions), and a skill tree that will grant powerful Seals.

Seals range from "Items have no level requirement," "+25% Movement Speed (Uncapped)," "Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%," to "Increase damage against elites by 20%." It'll be up to you to choose which path to take and unlocked powers apply to all characters and will last for the entirety of Season 28.

"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," Blizzard writes. "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."

The three Legendary Potion Powers sound awesome too. 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."

It's very detailed, and unlocking all Seals will take quite a bit of materials. Like hundreds of Forgotten Souls and Deaths Breaths and Bounty Rewards. As a new endgame system to play with, one that will augment and power-up existing builds - it sounds awesome. And it sounds like it has been influenced a little by Diablo 4's Paragon Board system.

Season 28 will arrive alongside Patch 2.7.5 which features a number of items and set buffs too. The Demon Hunter's Natalya’s Vengeance set is getting a rework to become a Spike Trap set, and the Wizard's Hydra set is getting a buff too.

Head here for the full patch notes.

Patch 2.7.5 and the Season 28 features will be added to the PTR next week, which means it'll probably be a few weeks at least before it hits the live game.

As part of a deep dive into Diablo 3 at the recent Portland Retro Gaming Expo, the game's lead designer Jay Wilson opened up about the infamous Auction House that was removed prior to the game's Reaper of Souls expansion. He outlined the reasons why it was added, and why it took so long to remove.

The latter was due to the Auction House being listed as a feature on the retail box, and the team was unsure they could remove it without legal ramifications. "The reason we did not get rid of it right away when we saw it was a problem was legally we didn't think we could because it was advertised on the boxes," Jay Wilson says. "We actually took a long time to try and work out all the legal issues before we finally said okay, we think it's worth trying it. If we get a lawsuit, 'Oh well'."



Jay Wilson also explains that the reason for creating the Auction House was purely to control trading, item duplication, and other elements that were uncontrollable with Diablo 2. The Auction House featured a real-world currency component but making money was not the driver, and actual revenue was a drip in the bucket for Blizzard compared to WoW.

"It wasn't money, we didn't think we'd make that much money from it," Wilson says. "The biggest problem with Diablo 2 was item duping and duping hacks and all the gold sellers and all those things. There's almost no way to fix that problem without somehow controlling the trading market. There's lots of good ways to do it, but that was our idea at the time. The trading market's in the game. We control it, so the hackers don't."

The removal of the Auction House and the subsequent Loot 2.0 redesign is now the stuff of design legend, taking an arguably great game and refining it to a pristine sheen.

Diablo III's Season 27 is set to begin on August 26 at 5pm PDT (August 27 10am AEST), with the new Light’s Calling theme introducing a powerful and game-changing new item. Angelic Crucibles, a new consumable item, can be used to Sanctify any Legendary item - infusing it with one of three new class-specific powers. Stuff that adds new layers to the build and demon-slaying potential in the game.

Plus it will give the item perfect Ancient/Primal stats, whilst retaining whatever Legendary power is already present. "We wanted to use Angelic Crucibles to lean into the expertise of each class, further exemplifying its respective prowess, but through a nuanced lens," writes Blizzard. "The High Heavens are home to ethereal splendor, bursting with boundless radiance—we wanted to provide players with a taste of untainted power as doled out from Heaven itself."

As for the powers, yeah they are game-changers.

New Class-Specific Sanctified Powers

---

Barbarian

• Whirlwind pulls in and holds all enemies within 25 yards.
  
• Hammer of the Ancients hits in all directions around the Barbarian. Every tenth cast of Hammer of the Ancients unleashes a powerful shockwave. The shockwave deals 10x damage.
  
• Hitting enemies generates stacks of Tempest Rhythm. Activating Wrath of the Berserker consumes 50 stacks of Tempest Rhythm and startles enemies within 16 yards, causing them to take 2% increased damage per stack for 20 seconds. Max 50 stacks.

Crusader

• Blessed Hammer now crackles with energy, damaging enemies within 15 yards of its path. All runes but Dominion now throw the hammer in a direct path in front of the Crusader.
  
• Every two seconds, call down Fist of the Heavens on a random nearby enemy. After casting Steed Charge, this effect occurs more rapidly for five seconds.
  
• After casting Falling Sword, you descend from the sky with two Archangels that can cast Consecration and Condemn.
  Updated the Archangels abilities to not benefit from bonuses and removed the Heaven's Fury skill. Archangels no longer take damage. Removed the cooldown to spawn Archangels when casting Falling Sword. A maximum of two Archangels can be present at a time.

Demon Hunter

• Strafe now casts the last non-channeled Hatred spending ability cast.
  
• Casting Vengeance unleashes a barrage of rockets that deal damage equal to a percentage of the maximum life enemies possess. The number of rockets fired increases over 30 seconds. Elites and Bosses receive less damage per rocket.
  
• Firing Cluster Arrow no longer drops explosive ordinance. Instead, it concentrates its explosive force into piercing rays of light.

Monk

• Casting Wave of Light now summons a bell at the target location that deals damage when any player attacks the bell. Up to five bells can be active at one time. The Shattering Light rune now respects which way you’re facing when you strike the bell, and your bells can no longer proc your own bells. Bells now despawn if not destroyed within 10 seconds.
  
• All Way of the Hundred Fists combo punches use the second stage combo punch. Consecutive hits from Way of the Hundred Fists increases its damage by 2%. Max 350 stacks.
  
• The target of your Seven-Sided Strike is barraged with spiritual punches for 15 seconds. This can only affect one enemy at a time.

Necromancer

• Your Golem now picks up corpses within 20 yards. Each corpse it stores allows you to cast any corpse spending ability with the max number of corpses consumed per cast. Up to 30 corpses can be stored.
  
• Enemies within 50 yards are constantly assaulted by the Army of the Dead - Unconventional Warfare while this item is equipped.
  
• Hitting enemies with Death Nova five consecutive times adds a spirit that afflicts an enemy every fifth cast of Death Nova. Up to three spirits can be sent at a time.

Witch Doctor

• Enemies affected by Locust Swarm are also Haunted. When you cast Piranhas, all Haunted enemies within 60 yards are pulled into the pool. A lesser enemy stunned by Bogadile is instantly killed. Elites and Bosses stunned by Bogadile take massive damage.
  
• Horrify becomes an aura that causes enemies to receive 100% more damage and deal 15% less damage in addition to its other effects.
  
• You summon two Gargantuans and three Zombie Dogs periodically. Gargantuans gain the effect of the Restless Giant rune. Zombie Dogs gain the effect of all runes. Enemies hit by Sacrifice are Immolated, causing them to take 100% more damage from your Pets.

Wizard

• Your Storm Armor charges over 30 seconds. Casting Storm Armor at full charge releases a powerful thunderbolt, instantly killing a random enemy within 30 yards. Bosses and Elites are not killed but take significant damage.
  
• Arcane Orb now periodically spawns up to four orbiting charges that will generate an additional orb when cast. All charges from the Arcane Orbit rune now detonate at the same time.
  
• Magic Missile fires 10 missiles and gains the effect of the Seeker rune.

The new Season also brings changes to a number of sets, so be sure to check out the full Patch Notes for more info.

Diablo 3's Season 25 theme has been outlined as part of an early look at Patch 2.7.2 by Blizzard and it introduces a pair of new socket-able items -- seven unique Soul Shards based on the Lords of Hell.

"With the upcoming 25th Anniversary of the Diablo Franchise, we wanted players to delve into the darker side of the Nephalem's past," writes Blizzard. "In Season 25, players can embrace evil by infusing themselves with the essences of the Lords of Hell."

And with that there will be one of 3 Prime Evil Soul Shards that can be equipped into Helms (a nice little nod to the ending of the first game) with one of 4 Lesser Evil Soul Shards able to be equipped on Weapons. Soul Shards will also be able to be upgraded with a Hellforge Ember, which is a new seasonal-exclusive consumable.

Blizzard notes that all of the above can drop anywhere but Soul Shards have a greater chance of dropping from Bossess -- which is another very nice old school Diablo touch. No word yet on what stats or buffs or passives the Soul Shards will bring, but Blizzard notes "players will inflict new forms of pain and suffering on the demons of Sanctuary". Adding that their true power might require a few upgrades to unlock.

Season 25 and Patch 2.7.2 also features a few balance changes to items and sets, with the Barbarian's Hammer of the Ancients getting a power boost via items in addition to the Witch Doctor's Spirit of Arachyr set and other legendary Witch Doctor items.

Head here for the full Patch 2.7.2 PTR Patch Notes which is set to go live this weekend for two weeks. Which means Season 25 should be kicking off later this month or in December.

With Diablo II: Resurrected on track for release later this year - and shaping up wonderfully - the next Diablo III update is looking to pay homage to that classic with new powerful items. Although a start date for Season 24 has yet to be announced, the latest PTR patch notes outline the arrival of 'Ethereal Items' - "21 iconic weapons from Diablo II making a return".

Here's the scoop.

Ethereals will roll a powerful set of affixes, a random Class Weapon Legendary Power and a random Class Passive Power. Ethereals will have unique icons, names, item types, and sounds originally found in Diablo II.

Icons, sounds, and names pulled from Diablo II? Very cool. Ethereals are set to be fairly rare too, with a drop rate set between Ancient and Primal items, and can only drop from monsters, chests, and destructibles -- meaning you can't Cube them or get them from Kadala. Adding to the rarity they'll be account bound and will only drop in Seasonal play.

With 21 in total each Class is set to be getting 3 unique Ethereals and they'll drop with fixed affixes in addition to the random powers and passives. Also, you'll only be able to have one equipped at any time. In terms of design they're very different to Legendary Items in that they can't be enchanted (though they will be able to be augmented to boost base stats).

For more on Season 24, including changes to the Monk coming, head here.

Blizzard's Diablo III has been something of a speedrun staple for a while, seeing how quick groups can get through each Act and take down Malthael. As part of Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 (held online for obvious reasons) we get to see the trio of meatr0o, Heckson, and Whisperra not only beat the three-player time but the four-player one too.

As with any speedrun we get to see the group game the game in the sense of bunny-hopping teleports and splitting up to hand-in and reach locations as quickly as possible. Plus, making full use of breaking pots to get a speed boost.

What's awesome here though is the teamwork and the explanation they give for just about each and every move - from sound cues to abilities and dealing with the random loot drops that are part and parcel of Diablo III. The game also has randomised layouts for dungeons, which is another aspect communication and teamwork comes into play.

On that front they do get some timely Legendary drops that no doubt speed up the action and demon melting, but it's the communication and synergy that is truly impressive.



This is definitely one for all speedrun fans out there, this is next-level teamwork and this run will no doubt become as Legendary as the items the trio equip.

Season 20 or the Season of the Forbidden Archives is set to go live in Diablo III next week (across PC and consoles) where in addition to a very Kulle new theme Patch 2.6.8 also sees the arrival of three new class sets - one each for the Barbarian, Witch Doctor, and Wizard.


So what's the new seasonal them all about?

For the duration of Season 20, all slots in Kanai's Cube will be able to select Legendary powers from Weapon, Armor, or Jewelry

This means you could select three Armor powers, three Weapon powers, three Jewelery powers, or any other combination thereof across all categories

Items are not self-additive or multiplicative (meaning, you cannot stack multiples of the same item's power)

This is definitely a very interesting change that should pave the way for some very powerful glass-cannon like builds - because, hey, it'll be hard to resist stacking three Weapon powers for that extra dose of demon melting power.

Once again a new Season will see the arrival of new sets, as outlined below - including updates to Legendary Items to further buff their power.

Barbarian

New Class Set: Horde of the Ninety Savages

• 2-Piece Bonus: Double the effectiveness of all Shouts. Feared, Frozen, or Stunned Enemies take double damage.
  
• 4-Piece Bonus: Each stack of Frenzy reduces damage taken by 6%. Frenzy lasts twice as long.
  
• 6-Piece Bonus: Frenzy deals 1000% increased damage per stack.

Undisputed Champion

• Frenzy gains the effect of every rune and deals 300-400% increased damage.

Bastion's Revered

• Frenzy now stacks up to 10 times and hits an additional time per stack. Each additional hit will chain to any enemies within 15 yards and the damage is split between all affected enemies.

Witch Doctor

New Class Set: Mundunugu's Regalia

• 2-Piece Bonus: Big Bad Voodoo now follows you and lasts twice as long.
  
• 4-Piece Bonus: Gain 60% damage reduction for 30 seconds when you enter the Spirit Realm.
  
• 6-Piece Bonus: Spirit Barrage deals 20000% increased damage plus an additional % equal to 5 times your Mana Regeneration/Second.

The Barber

• Instead of dealing direct damage, your Spirit Barrage now accumulates on the target. When you stop casting, it explodes dealing 400-500% of the accumulated damage to all enemies within 15 yards.
  
• Is now classified as a Ceremonial Knife, with a base 1.4 attack speed

Gazing Demise

• Spirit Barrage gains the Phantasm rune. Each active Phantasm lasts twice as long, increases the damage of Spirit Barrage by 100-150%, and also increases the attack rate from Manitou spectres.

Ring of Emptiness

• You deal 250-300% increased damage to enemies affected by both either your Haunt and or Locust Swarm.

Wizard

New Class Set: The Typhon's Veil

• 2-Piece Bonus: Double the duration of Hydras and increase the number of heads on multi-headed Hydras by two.
  
• 4-Piece Bonus: Damage taken is reduced by 8% for each Hydra head alive as long as there is one available. Each time you take damage, a Hydra heads dies. Heads cannot die more than once every 2 seconds
  
• 6-Piece Bonus: Hydras deal 1300% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.

Serpent's Sparker

• You may have one extra Hydra active at a time and they deal 250-300% increased damage.

The Magistrate

• Your Hydras now periodically cast Frost Nova and deal 250-300% increased damage.

Etched Sigil

• The bonus granted by this item now occurs 1 second after channeling has begun.

Deathwish

• The bonus granted by this item now occurs 1 second after channeling has begun.

And for those looking to get their Season plans in early the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 20 are:

Barbarian – Immortal King’s Call
Crusader – Seeker of the Light
Demon Hunter – Natalya’s Vengeance
Monk – Uliana’s Stratagem
Necromancer – Trag’Oul’s Avatar
Witch Doctor – Spirit of Arachyr
Wizard – Vyr’s Amazing Arcana

Season 20 begins Friday, March 13 at 5:00 p.m. PDT - which is Saturday at 11am in Australia.

With new Season of Eternal Conflict buffs that trigger whenever you and your team rack up a kill-streak in Diablo III. Where each kill provides an incremental increase to movement speed and attack damage - in addition to milestone effects like 'Five massive energy twisters are unleashed' after 15 Kills and 'Dark Geysers form beneath enemies' after 30 Kills.

It sounds insane, and something we cant wait to try out. Here's the breakdown provided via the latest Patch 2.6.7 notes.

Pandemonium

• For the duration of the Season, all players will have a stacking buff that persists as long as you have hit or killed a monster within the last 5 seconds
  
• Each stack gives 0.05% movement speed and 0.1% bonus damage. This bonus caps at 50% movement and 100% damage (1000 stacks).
  
• In addition, after reaching a certain number of kills in a row, a power is unleashed, dealing an amount of scaling damage based on player level and difficulty or Greater Rift level:
  
  • 15 Kills: Five massive energy twisters are unleashed
    
  • 30 Kills: Dark Geysers form beneath enemies
    
  • 50 Kills: Exploding Chickens seek and destroy
    
  • 100 Kills: Corpses rain from the sky
    
  • 150 Kills: A wide Frost Nova freezes enemies
    
  • 200 Kills: Treasure chests fall from the sky
    
  • 300 Kills: A ring of fire engulfs everything
    
  • 400 Kills: Meteors hail from above
    
  • 500 Kills: Angels descend upon the battlefield to fight for your cause
    
  • 1000 Kills: ???
  
  
• Powers are tracked at a group level; this means only one power can be active in play at a time, regardless of the number of players in a group

According to Blizzard this will add "an element of both chaos and power to the battlefield".

And is doesn't stop there as Blizzard are introducing the first batch of new sets - covering both the Crusader and Monk classes.

New Crusader Set: Aegis of Valor

• 2-Piece Bonus: The charged bolts from Fist of the Heavens has a chance to cast another Fist of the Heavens
  
• 4-Piece Bonus: Hitting with Fist of the Heavens reduces damage taken by 1% for 5 seconds. Stacks up to 50 times
  
• 6-Piece Bonus: Increase the damage of Fist of the Heavens by 10,000%

New Monk Set: Patterns of Justice

• 2-Piece Bonus: Sweeping Wind gains the effect of every rune
  
• 4-Piece Bonus: Each enemy within Sweeping Wind increases your movement speed by 5%. Stacks up to 10 times.
  
• 6-Piece Bonus: Attacking with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active will temporarily increase the size of Sweeping Wind after hitting over 30 times within a short period. Sweeping Wind damage is increased by 10,000%

Plus a stack of revamped Legendary Items to accommodate the above, plus a few key updates to some Barbarian gear.

For the full Patch Notes head here. Season 19 is scheduled to kick-off before the end of the year.

The new Themed Seasons we've been getting in Diablo 3 of late have turned out to be pretty popular. And don't look to be stopping anytime soon, with Blizzard noting that they will continue alongside the arrival of new Legendary Powers and even Set Items. Which means the now 7 Year Old action-RPG has a few more tricks up its sleeve.


With Season 18 set to begin this weekend, on August 23, it presents the Season of the Triune. A new buff, available from Level 1 onward that periodically has different summoning circles appear across the battlefield.

Triune of Love (Power): Players in the circle receive a 100% damage bonus while active

Triune of Determination (Resource Reduction): Players in the circle receive a 50% discount on resources spent while active

Triune of Creation (Cooldown Reduction): While standing in an active circle, any skills currently on cooldown come off of cooldown more quickly

For the ability and skill focused Diablo 3 this will no doubt add a new player to strategy and potential builds from the get-go. Having periodic cooldown and resource cost reduction will no doubt factor into the decision making when it comes to what skills and items to equip.

Also coming is a new Legendary Gem that will no doubt shake-up the endgame possibilities.

Legacy of Dreams

While you have no set bonuses equipped, every Legendary item you have equipped increases your damage dealt by 3.75% and reduces your damage taken by 2%. (Max level 99).

Rank 25: This bonus is doubled for Ancient items.

This turns last season's Legacy of Nightmare's buff into a more interesting and permanent addition to the game.

Interestingly a Crafted Sets (green) are being given an overhaul, meaning that they're actually usable and definite choices prior to high-level play.

Captain Crimson's Trimmings

(2) Set Bonus

Regenerates 6000 Life per Second
Reduces cooldown of all skills by 20%.
Now also reduces Resource Costs by 20%

(3) Set Bonus

Damage dealt is increased by your total percentage of Cooldown Reduction
Damage taken is reduced by your total percentage of Resource Cost Reduction

Aughild's Authority

(2) Set Bonus

Reduces damage taken by 15%
Increases damage dealt by 30%

(3) Set Bonus

Reduces damage from elites by 30%
Increases damage against elites by 30%

Cain's Destiny

(2) Set Bonus

Attack Speed increased by 8%
+50% Experience. (5.0% at level 70)

(3) Set Bonus

When a Greater Rift Keystone drops, there is a 25% chance for an extra one to drop.

On top of this several existing Legendary Items have been given a rework:

Flavor of Time

New Legendary Power: Pylon effects last twice as long.
Note: Only wearers of this item gain this effect. This is intended.

The Executioner

New Legendary Power: Attacks will slay enemies with less than (5-10%) health.

Stone Gauntlets

New Legendary Power: Getting attacked will slowly turn you to stone... (You gain 50% more armor, but your movement speed is reduced by 15% and attack speed is reduced by 20%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)

Echoing Fury

New Legendary Power: Slaying enemies engulfs the wielder into a Frenzy. (Killing enemies increases your attack speed by 15% and movement speed by 5%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)

Squirt's Necklace

New Legendary Power: While not taking damage, your damage is increased by up to 100% and damage taken is increased by up to 50%.

Messerschmidt's Reaver

New Legendary Power: Reduce the remaining cooldown of one of your skills by 1 second when you slay an enemy.

Plus a brand new Legendary for Barbarians called Mortick's Brace that gives Wrath of the Berserker the effect of every rune.

All great stuff, and with more on the horizon we'll be checking in on Diablo 3 each Season - probably right up until the eventual release of Diablo 4. That is, assuming that game's reveal is scheduled for BlizzCon 2019 with a say late 2020 release on the cards.

For more info on Diablo 3's Season 18 and the full Patch Notes - head here.

As per a new update, Blizzard has noted that the recent addition of Themed Seasons in Diablo 3 has been a success - with the first drawing as many players as the introduction of the Necromancer class. It's premise which gave a popular and essential Legendary Ring passive to all players, opened the door to new builds and experiences.

This was followed up by the current Season 17 that is wrapping up and will continue with Season 18 which is shaping up to be something of a game changer in its own right. Dubbed the Season of the Triune, it adds a buff to all players from Level 1 where hitting enemies has a chance to spawn a circle, that offers up one of three powers:

Power: Players in the circle receive a 100% damage bonus while active

Resource Reduction: Players in the circle receive a 50% discount on resources spent while active

Cooldown Reduction: While standing in an active circle, any skills currently on cooldown come off of cooldown more quickly

The new season also sees a large number of existing Legendary Items and Crafted Sets getting a rework, in addition to a new Legendary Gem called Legacy of Dreams that sounds great:

While you have no set bonuses equipped, every Legendary item you have equipped increases your damage dealt by 3.75% and reduces your damage taken by 2%. (Max level 99). Rank 25: This bonus is doubled for Ancient items.

It's an impressive list, so be sure to check out the current PTR Patch Notes for full details.

As per a general update on future Diablo 3 support the team is also working on a new Legendary Set for each class, something that will no doubt be of interest to many, well, seasoned players. The update mentions dozens of Legendary Powers also in the works too. Again, great stuff that compliments the game-changing nature of the revamped seasons. And with the recent addition of Diablo 3 to the Nintendo Switch library this all eases the wait until the eventual Diablo 4 announcement and reveal.

But, if we have one gripe - it's this. We'd love to see new areas, enemies, maps and dungeons join the line-up. Alongside Themed Seasons that's more than enough reason to keep coming back.

With the highlight of the latest Diablo 3 patch being "Class Set Revisions" you might be wondering what makes this new update probably as important as the recent addition of the Necromancer. Well, the revisions are many and extensive - with "several changes to bring as many gameplay styles as close in line to each other as possible" the goal.

Yeah, there's a lot in here so be sure to go through the patch notes below.

Diablo III patch 2.6.1 is now live in the Americas for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One! Check out the full PC patch notes below to learn all about the latest changes.

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

• Class Set Revisions
  
  • We’ve taken a top-down look across all class performance in Greater Rifts, and made several changes to bring as many gameplay styles as close in line to each other as possible, with a focus on the most popular or requested builds.

• Skill Changes
  
  • Several skills have had their overall power buffed, while others have been tweaked for improved playability and performance.
  
  

• Item Revisions
  
  • Numerous Legendary items have seen tweaks, yielding increased power for players to enjoy.
  
  

CLASSES

• Barbarian Skills
  
  • Battle Rage
    
    • Bloodshed
      
      • Has been redesigned:
      
      
      • Deal damage equal to 20% of your recent Critical Hits to enemies within 20 yards every 1 second.
      
      
      • Note: Bloodshed caused performance issues when encountering high enemy density, particularly when combined with Whirlwind, Pain Enhancer, and Gem of Efficacious Toxin.
      
      
  
  
  • Ground Stomp
    
    • Jarring Slam
      
      • Added a maximum threshold on the number of health globes that can spawn in a given time.
      
      


• Crusader Skills
  
  • Blessed Hammer
    
    • Limitless
      
      • Has been redesigned:
      
      
      • Increase the damage of Blessed Hammer to 640% weapon damage as Holy and increase its area of effect by 20 yards.
      
      
      • Note: The extra projectiles created by this rune were causing performance issues in cases with high enemy density.
      
      


• Monk Skills
  
  • Tempest Rush
    
    • Flurry
      
      • Reduced the maximum number of stacks from 500 to 100
      
      


• Necromancer Skills
  
  • Command Skeletons
    
    • Commanding your Skeletal Warriors will break crowd control effects on them
    
    
    • Skeletal Warriors will no longer die after taking too many hits
    
    
    • Design Philosophy: When we were first designing Command Skeletons, we wanted to capture the feeling of being an undead commander by having skeletons regularly spawn around the Necromancer and charge into battle during combat. It created a cool visual, but as the class evolved through Set bonuses and Legendary powers, it became clear that this visual began to hinder gameplay for some builds. Skeletal Warriors now have the same defenses as all other pets in the game.
    
    
  
  
  • Devour
    
    • Voracious
      
      • Resource cost reduction stacks granted from this rune will now stack and are no longer overridden from multiple casts.
      
      
  
  
  • Simulacrum
    
    • Added a glow to the skill icon to indicate when Simulacrum is active.
    
    
  
  
  • Skeletal Mage
    
    • This skill will now display the duration of the oldest mage raised as a buff in addition to the total number of mages active
    
    
    • Design Philosophy: This change is largely to provide transparency to players on the duration of their mage armor. This will be especially useful to players using the Bones of Rathma set. It’s our goal that players will no longer feel compelled to refresh their Skeletal Mage counter when they’re already at max.
    
    
  
  
  • Bone Armor
    
    • Essence cost removed
    
    
    • Can now be cast while moving
    
    
  
  
  • Army of the Dead
    
    • Frozen Army
      
      • The pulsing damage from this rune has been spread out
      
      
      • Design Philosophy: This was done to ensure enemies within range are evenly hit and to better align with the visual. This will result in more targets being hit more consistently for the stated weapon damage amount.
      
      


• Necromancer Passives
  
  • Fueled By Death
    
    • The movement speed bonus from this passive can now exceed the 25% cap
    
    
  
  
  • Life from Death
    
    • Added a maximum threshold on the number of health globes that can spawn in a given time.
    
    


• Witch Doctor Skills
  
  • Soul Harvest
    
    • Adding a stack or refreshing Soul Harvest now refreshes all stacks of Soul Harvest.
    
    


• Witch Doctor Passives
  
  • Creeping Death
    
    • Increased the duration of Haunt, Locust Swarm, and the damage amplification of Piranhas when this passive is active from 3600 to 19800 seconds


• Wizard Skills
  
  • Arcane Orb
    
    • Frozen Orb
      
      • Create an orb of frozen death that shreds an area with ice bolts, dealing 393% 950% weapon damage as Cold
      
      
      • Increased projectile travel distance from 30 to 40
      
      


• Bug Fixes
  
  • Fixed an issue which prevented Army of the Dead from sometimes triggering when the player is immediately afflicted by a monster’s crowd control after casting it
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where enemy monsters could heal themselves when striking another monster afflicted by Leech
  
  
  • Fixed a bug which caused Skeletal Mages to sometimes spawn up in the air
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where the firewall left behind by Arcane Orb – Scorch was not dealing damage
  
  
  • Fixed an issue which caused Skeletal Mages to lose their target when players used Command Skeletons to attack the same target
  
  
  • Fixed an issue which caused connection issues when players used a channeling skill while attempting to force move at the same time
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where your pets would double dip from the damage bonus granted by Wolf Companion
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where the advanced tooltip for Bone Armor - Dislocation did not correctly state the rune did Poison damage
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where Furious Charge would inherit the elemental damage type on your weapon when Vile Ward was equipped, as opposed to the damage type of the rune you chose
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where Bone Armor: Dislocation did not apply the movement and attack speed reduction provided by Rigor Mortis
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where Monk players could reset the Blood is Power cooldown for Necromancers allowing them to gain more cool down reduction than intended
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where Creeping Death was not correctly affecting the duration of the Piranha’s damage debuff
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Spike Trap - Impaling Spines did not display its correct damage type
  
  
  • Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Bone Armor - Harvest of Anguish did not display its correct damage type
  
  

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ITEMS

• General
  
  • Many Legendary and Set items have had their drop chance increased
  
  
• Legendary Items
  
  • Barbarian
    
    • Band of Might
      
      • After casting Furious Charge, Ground Stomp, or Leap, take 50–60% 60-80% reduced damage for 8 seconds
      
      
    
    
    • Bracers of Destruction
      
      • Seismic Slam deals 300–400% 400-500% increased damage to the first 5 enemies it hits.
      
      
    
    
    • Bracers of the First Men
      
      • Hammer of the Ancients attacks 50% faster and deals 150–200% 400-500% increased damage
      
      
    
    
    • Fury of the Vanished Peak
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Seismic Slam damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Reduces the Fury cost of Seismic Slam by 40-50% and increases its damage by 400-500%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Gavel of Judgement
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Hammer of the Ancients damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Hammer of the Ancients returns 20–25 Fury if it hits 3 or fewer enemies. The damage of Hammer of the Ancients is increased by 600-800% and it returns 25 Fury if it hits 3 or fewer enemies
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    • Girdle of Giants
      
      • Seismic Slam increases Earthquake damage by 80–100% 200-250% for 3 seconds.
      
      
    
    
    • Skull Grasp
      
      • Increase the damage of Whirlwind by 250–300% 300-400%
      
      
    
    
    • Standoff
      
      • Furious Charge deals increased damage equal to 200–250% 400-500% of your bonus movement speed.
      
      
  
  
  • Crusader
    
    • Blade of Prophecy
      
      • No longer rolls a bonus to Condemn damage as an inherent affix.
      
      
      • Two Condemned enemies also trigger Condemn's explosion and the damage of Condemn is increased by 600-800%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Bracer of Fury
      
      • Heaven's Fury deals 150–200% 300-400% increased damage to enemies that are Blinded, Immobilized, or Stunned.
      
      
    
    
    • Denial
      
      • Each enemy hit by your Sweep Attack increases the damage of your next Sweep Attack by 30–40% 100-125%, stacking up to 5 times.
      
      
    
    
    • Faithful Memory
      
      • Each enemy hit by Falling Sword increases the damage of Blessed Hammer by 50-60% 60-80% for 10 seconds. Max 10 stacks.
      
      
    
    
    • Fate of the Fell
      
      • Gain two additional rays of Heaven’s Fury.
      
      
      • Heaven's Fury gains two additional rays and has its damage increased by 375-500%
      
      
    
    
    • Frostburn
      
      • No longer smart drops for Crusader.
      
      
    
    
    • Frydehr’s Wrath
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Condemn damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Condemn has no cooldown and has its damage increased by 600-800%, but instead costs 40 Wrath.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Golden Flense
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Sweep Attack damage as an inherent affix.
      
      
      • Sweep Attack restores 6 Wrath for each enemy hit and has its damage increased by 225-300%
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Gyrfalcon’s Foote
      
      • Removes the resource cost of Blessed Shield and increases Blessed Shield damage by 275-350%.
      
      
    
    
    • Jekangbord
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Blessed Shield damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Blessed Shield ricochets to 6 additional enemies and has its damage increased by 225-300%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
  
  
  • Demon Hunter
    
    • Dead Man’s Legacy
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Multishot damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Legendary power now also increases Multishot damage, now reads Multishot hits enemies below 50-60% health twice and its damage is increased by 150-200%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Karlei’s Point
      
      • The damage of Impale is increased by 300-375% and Impale it returns 10–15 Hatred if it hits an enemy already Impaled.
      
      
    
    
    • Lord Greenstone’s Fan
      
      • Every second, gain 160–200% 300-400% increased damage for your next Fan of Knives. Stacks up to 30 times.
      
      
    
    
    • Manticore
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Cluster Arrow damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Reduces the Hatred cost of Cluster Arrow by 40-50% and increases its damage by 250-300%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Yang’s Recurve
      
      • Multishot attacks 50% faster and its damage is increased by 150-200%.
      
      
    
    
    • Wraps of Clarity
      
      • Your Hatred Generators reduce your damage taken by 30–35% 40-50% for 5 seconds.
      
      
  
  
  • Monk
    
    • Binding of the Lost
      
      • Each hit with Seven-Sided Strike grants 3–3.5% 4-5% damage reduction for 7 seconds.
      
      
    
    
    • Balance
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Tempest Rush damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • The damage of Tempest Rush is increased by 450-600% and when your Tempest Rush hits 3 or fewer enemies, it gains 100% Critical Hit Chance..
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Cesar's Memento
      
      • Enemies take 300–400% 600-800% increased damage from your Tempest Rush for 5 seconds after you hit them with a Blind, Freeze, or Stun
      
      
    
    
    • The Fist of Az’Turrasq
      
      • Exploding Palm's on-death explosion damage is increased by 250–300% 400-500%.
      
      
    
    
    • Incense Torch of the Grand Temple
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Wave of Light damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Reduces the Spirit cost of Wave of Light by 40–50% and increases its damage by 450-500%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Scarbringer
      
      • The damage of Lashing Tail Kick is increased by 300% 450-600% to the first 7 enemies hit
      
      
    
    
    • Spirit Guards
      
      • Your Spirit Generators reduce your damage taken by 30–40% 45-60% for 3 seconds.
      
      
  
  
  • Necromancer
    
    • Bloodsong Mail
      
      • While in the Land of the Dead, Command Skeletons gains the effect of all runes and deals 100–125% additional damage and gains the effect of the Enforcer, Frenzy, Dark Mending and Freezing Grasp runes.
      
      
    
    
    • Bloodtide Blade
      
      • Death Nova deals 20–30% 80-100% increased damage for every enemy within 15 25 yards..
      
      
    
    
    • Dayntee’s Binding
      
      • You gain an additional 40–50% damage reduction when there is an enemy afflicted by your Decrepify any of your curses.
      
      
    
    
    • Defiler Cuisses
      
      • Your Bone Spirit's damage is increased by 75–100% 400-500% for every second it is active.
      
      
    
    
    • Fate’s Vow
      
      • Army of the Dead now deals an additional 200-250% damage and gains the effect of the Unconventional Warfare rune.
      
      
    
    
    • Golemskin Breeches
      
      • Your Golem's damage is increased by 100–125% and You take 30% less damage while it your Golem is alive and the cooldown on Command Golem is reduced by 20-25 seconds.
      
      
    
    
    • Leger’s Disdain
      
      • Grim Scythe deals an additional 7–10% 65-80% damage for each point of essence it restores.
      
      
    
    
    • Lost Time
      
      • Your cold skills reduce the movement speed of enemies by 30%. In addition, your movement speed is increased by 4–5% 8-10% for 5 seconds. Maximum 5 stacks.
      
      
    
    
    • Maltorius’ Petrified Spike
      
      • Bone Spear now costs 40 Essence and deals 375–450% 550-700% increased damage.
      
      
    
    
    • Mask of Scarlet Death
      
      • When paired with the Revive: Purgatory rune, the mega-revived monster will drop the same number of corpses were used to create it on death.
      
      
      • This item will now attempt to give preference to the strongest monster to become the mega-revive when selecting a group of corpses.
      
      
    
    
    • Nayr’s Black Death
      
      • Each different poison skill you use increases the damage of your poison skills by 50–65% 75-100% for 15 seconds.
      
      
    
    
    • Scythe of the Cycle
      
      • Your Secondary skills deal 250–300% 350-400% additional damage while Bone Armor is active but reduce the remaining duration of Bone Armor by 4 seconds.
      
      
    
    
    • Steuart’s Greaves
      
      • You gain 40–50% 75-100% increased movement speed for 2 10 seconds after using Blood Rush.
      
      
    
    
    • The Johnstone
      
      • Each corpse consumed in the Land of the Dead gGrants a 50 stacks of Macabre Knowledge when Land of the Dead expires. Macabre Knowledge increases the damage of Corpse Lance and Corpse Explosion by 150–200% while outside Land of the Dead.
      
      
  
  
  • Witch Doctor
    
    • Bakuli Jungle Wraps
      
      • Firebats deals 150–200% 250-300% increased damage to enemies affected by Locust Swarm or Piranhas.
      
      
    
    
    • Mask of Jeram
      
      • Pets deal 75–100% 150-200% increased damage.
      
      
    
    
    • Staff of Chiroptera
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Firebats damage as an inherent affix. Can still roll 10-15% as a random affix.
      
      
      • Firebats attacks 100% faster, and costs 70-75% less Mana, and has its damage increased by 125-150%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • The Short Man’s Finger
      
      • Gargantuan instead summons three smaller gargantuans each more powerful than before that have their damage increased by 500-650%.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
  
  
  • Wizard
    
    • Deathwish
      
      • While channeling Arcane Torrent, Disintegrate, or Ray of Frost, all damage is increased by 30–35% 250-325%.
      
      
    
    
    • Etched Sigil
      
      • Your Arcane Torrent, Disintegrate, and Ray of Frost also cast one of your other damaging Arcane Power Spenders which deal 125-150% increased damage every second.
      
      
      • While channeling Arcane Torrent, Disintegrate, or Ray of Frost, the damage of your Arcane Power Spenders is increased by 125-150% and you also cast one of your other damaging Arcane Power Spenders every second.
      
      
    
    
    • Halo of Karini
      
      • You take 45–60% 60-80% less damage for 3 5 seconds after your Storm Armor electrocutes an enemy more than 30 15 yards away
      
      
    
    
    • Nilfur's Boast
      
      • Increase the damage of Meteor by 200% 600%. When your Meteor hits 3 or fewer enemies, the damage is increased by 275–350% 675-900%
      
      
    
    
    • Orb of Infinite Depth
      
      • Each time you hit an enemy with Explosive Blast your damage is increased by 4% 8-10% and your damage reduction is increased by 15% 20% for 6 seconds. This effect can stack up to 4 times.
      
      
    
    
    • Ranslor’s Folly
      
      • Energy Twister does 225-300% more damage and periodically pulls in lesser enemies within 30 yards.
      
      
    
    
    • The Grand Vizier
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Meteor damage as an inherent affix.
      
      
      • Reduces the Arcane Power cost of Meteor by 50% and increases its damage by 30% 300-400%
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Triumvirate
      
      • Your Signature Spells increase the damage of Arcane Orb by 150–200% 300-400% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
      
      
    
    
    • Unstable Scepter
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Arcane Orb damage as an inherent affix.
      
      
      • The damage of Arcane Orb is increased by 350-450% and its explosion triggers an additional time..
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
    
    
    • Wand of Woh
      
      • No longer rolls Legendary-strength bonus to Explosive Blast damage as an inherent affix.
      
      
      • The damage of Explosive Blast is increased by 300-400% and 3 additional blasts are triggered after casting Explosive Blast.
      
      
      • Note: Existing versions of this item will also be changed to include the damage roll in the orange text, but will always roll a damage roll equal to the previous maximum possible.
      
      
  
  
  • Set Items
    
    • Barbarian
      
      • Immortal King’s Call
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • While both Wrath of the Berserker and Call of the Ancients is active, you deal 400% 1500% increased damage.
          
          
      
      
      • Might of the Earth
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Increase the damage of Earthquake, Avalanche, Leap, Ground Stomp, Ancient Spear and Seismic Slam by 1200% 5600%.
          
          
      
      
      • The Legacy of Raekor
        
        • (4) Set
          
          • Furious Charge gains the effect of every rune and deals 300% 1000% increased damage.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Every use of Furious Charge increases the damage of your next Fury-spending attack by 750% 2800%. This effect stacks. Every use of a Fury-spending attack consumes up to 5 stacks.
          
          
      
      
      • Wrath of the Wastes
        
        • (4) Set
          
          • During Whirlwind and for 3 seconds after, you gain 50% damage reduction and your applied Rends deal triple damage.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Whirlwind gains the effect of the Dust Devils rune and all Whirlwind damage is increased by 800% 3000%.
          
          
      
      
      • Bul-Kathos' Oath
        
        • (2) Set
          
          • Increases Fury Generation by 10 15
          
          
          • During Whirlwind you gain 30% 45% increased attack speed and movement speed
          
          
    
    
    • Crusader
      
      • Armor of Akkhan
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • While Akarat's Champion is active, you deal 600% 1500% increased damage and take 15% 50% less damage.
          
          
      
      
      • Roland's Legacy
        
        • (4) Set
          
          • Increase the damage of Shield Bash and Sweep Attack by 2500% 3300%.
          
          
      
      
      • Seeker of the Light
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Increase the damage of Blessed Hammer by 1250% 2000% and Falling Sword by 500% 1000%.
          
          
      
      
      • Thorns of the Invoker
        
        • (2) Set
          
          • Your Thorns damage now hits all enemies in a 15 yard radius around you. Each time you hit an enemy with Punish, Slash, or block an attack your Thorns is increased by 35% 140% for 2 seconds.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • The attack speed of Punish and Slash are increased by 50% and deal 800% 5400% of your Thorns damage to the first enemy hit.
          
          
    
    
    • Demon Hunter
      
      • Embodiment of the Marauder
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Your primary skills, Elemental Arrow, Chakram, Impale, Multishot, Cluster Arrow, Companions, and Vengeance deal 1200% 3000% increased damage for every active Sentry
          
          
      
      
      • Natalya’s Vengeance
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • After casting Rain of Vengeance, deal 500% 3500% increased damage and take 60% reduced damage for 10 seconds
          
          
        
        
      • The Shadow's Mantle
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Impale deals an additional 40000% 50000% weapon damage to the first enemy hit.
          
          
        
        
      
      
      • Unhallowed Essence
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Your generators, Multishot, and Vengeance deal 40% 100% increased damage for every point of Discipline you have.
          
          
      
      
    • Monk
      
      • Inna’s Mantra
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Gain the five runed Mystic Allies at all times and your damage is increased by 125% 150% for each Mystic Ally you have out.
          
          
      
      
      • Monkey King’s Garb
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Has been redesigned.
          
          
          • Lashing Tail Kick, Tempest Rush, and Wave of Light have their damage increased by 1000% for each stack of Sweeping Wind you have.
          
          
      
      
      • Raiment of a Thousand Storms
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Your Spirit Generators increase the weapon damage of Dashing Strike to 12500% 13000% for 6 seconds and Dashing Strike increases the damage of your Spirit Generators by 1250% 1300% for 6 seconds.
          
          
      
      
      • Uliana’s Stratagem
        
        • (4) Set
          
          • Your Seven-Sided Strike deals double 777% its total damage with each hit.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Increase the damage of your Exploding Palm by 250% 2100% and your Seven-Sided Strike detonates your Exploding Palm
      
      
      • Shenlong's Spirit
        
        • The damage of your Spirit Generators is increased by 1.5% 2% for each point of Spirit you have
        
        
        • When reaching maximum Spirit, all damage is increased by 150% 200%, but you no longer passively regenerate Spirit and 65 Spirit is drained every second until you run out of Spirit
        
        
    
    
    • Necromancer
      
      • Bones of Rathma
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Each active Skeletal Mage increases the damage of your minions and Army of the Dead by 625% 1000%.
          
          
      
      
      • Grace of Inarius
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Bone Armor also activates a swirling tornado of bone, damaging nearby enemies for 750% 1000% weapon damage and increasing the damage they take from the Necromancer by 2750% 3750%.
          
          
      
      
      • Pestilence Master’s Shroud
        
        • (4) Set
          
          • Each enemy you hit with Bone Spear, Corpse Lance or Corpse Explosion reduces your damage taken by 2%, up to a maximum of 50%. Lasts 15 seconds.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Each corpse you consume grants you an Empowered Bone Spear charge that increases the damage of your next Bone Spear by 3000% 3300%. In addition, Corpse Lance and Corpse Explosion damage is increased by 1500% 1650%.
          
          
        
        
      • Trag’Oul’s Avatar
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Your Life-spending abilities deal 3300% increased damage but cost twice as much Life. Your healing from skills is increased by 100%.
          
          
    
    
    • Witch Doctor
      
      • Helltooth Harness
        
        • (2) Set
          
          • Enemies hit by your primary skills, Acid Cloud, Firebats, Zombie Charger, Zombie Dogs, Gargantuan, Grasp of the Dead, Piranhas, or Wall of Death are afflicted by Necrosis, becoming Slowed, taking 1500% weapon damage every second, and taking 20% increased damage from your attacks for 10 seconds.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • After casting Wall of Death, gain 1400% 4400% increased damage for 15 seconds to your primary skills, Acid Cloud, Firebats, Zombie Charger, Zombie Dogs, Gargantuan, Grasp of the Dead, Piranhas, and Wall of Death.
          
          
        
        
        • Note: The damage bonus for you against enemies affected with Necrosis causes performance issues when encountering high density. This change is not intended to be a nerf and, when coupled with the six-piece change, should be a net buff for the complete set. This change should not change the gameplay style of this set.
        
        
      • Raiment of the Jade Harvester
        
        • (2) Set
          
          • When Haunt lands on an enemy already affected by Haunt, it instantly deals 120 560 seconds worth of Haunt damage.
          
          
        
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Soul Harvest reduces damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds and consumes your damage over time effects on enemies, instantly dealing 300 1650 seconds worth of remaining damage.
          
          
      
      
      • Spirit of Arachyr
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • The damage of your creature skills is increased by 2400% 4500%. Creature skills are Corpse Spiders, Plague of Toads, Firebats, Locust Swarm, Hex, and Piranhas.
          
          
      
      
      • Zunimassa's Haunt
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Enemies hit by your Mana spenders take 2500% 5500% increased damage from your pets for 8 seconds.
          
          
      
      
    
    
    • Wizard
      
      • Delsere’s Magnum Opus
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Enemies affected by your Slow Time and for 5 seconds after exiting take 3500% 3800% increased damage from your Arcane Orb, Energy Twister, Explosive Blast, Magic Missile, Shock Pulse, Spectral Blade, and Wave of Force abilities.
          
          
      
      
      • Firebird’s Finery
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • Your damage is increased by 120% 200% and damage taken reduced by 3% for each enemy that is Ignited. This effect can stack up to 20 times. You always receive the maximum bonus whenever a nearby Elite monster is Ignited.
          
          
      
      
      • Vyr’s Amazing Arcana
        
        • (6) Set
          
          • You also gain Archon stacks when you hit with an Archon ability. Archon stacks now also reduce damage taken by 0.15% and have their damage bonus increased to 18% 50%
          
          
      
      
      • Chantodo's Resolve
        
        • (2) Set
          
          • Every second while in Archon form you expel a Wave of Destruction, dealing 350% 1000% weapon damage to enemies within 30 yards
          
          
          • Every time you hit with an attack while not in Archon form, 350% 600% weapon damage is added to the Wave of Destruction, stacking up to 20 times
          
          
  
  
  • Other Items
    
    • Shields acquired by Necromancer players can now properly roll the +Max Essence affix
    
    
  
  
  • Bug Fixes
    
    • Fixed an issue where Mimics created from Rabid Strike were not correctly inheriting the player’s bonus damage from Lashing Tail Kick, Seven Sided Strike, Cyclone Strike, Exploding Palm and Wave of Light.
    
    
    • Fixed an issue where after dying, the pet damage bonus granted from Jesseth Arms could sometimes be lost if skeletons are re-commanded onto the same target.
    
    
    • Fixed an issue preventing the free Blood Nova granted by the Iron Rose from correctly granting the damage bonus from the Trag’Oul’s six-piece bonus.
    
    
    • Fixed an issue causing certain items to drop for the Necromancer which are not able to be equipped by the class.
    
    
    • Fixed an issue preventing Necromancer primary skills from taunting enemies when Boyarsky’s Chip is equipped.
    
    
    • Fixed an issue which prevented the +% Thorns damage bonus granted by Aberrant Animator from applying correctly to items such as the Spear of Jairo
    
    
    • Fixed an issue where you would not gain the buff from Crystal Fist when you had the buff from Channeling Pylon and Raiment of a Thousand Storms equipped
    
    
    • Fixed an issue with the (2) Set power of Vyr's Amazing Arcana where your Arcane Blast and Arcane Strike would not Freeze enemies unless you had the Slow Time rune chosen
    
    
    • Fixed an issue where the Wave of Destruction was doing slightly less damage than intended
    
    
    • Fixed an issue where the internal cooldown for channeled abilities on Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac would not scale with items that increased the attack speed of specific channeled abilities
    
    

ADVENTURE MODE

• Rifts
  
  • Reduced the number of deadends when Rifts choose the Temple of the Firstborn tileset
  
  
  • Increased the amount of experience and Rift progress granted by the Hematic Disciple
  
  
  • Increased the amount of experience and Rift progress granted by Blazing Guardians
  
  
  • Increased the amount of experience and Rift progress granted by Smoldering Constructs
  
  
  • Reduced the fog effect in the Shrouded Moors tilesets in Rifts
  
  
  • The large Temple of the Firstborn tileset can no longer be selected for Greater Rifts
  
  
  • The amount of experience and Rift / Greater Rift progress that Shock Towers provide has been increased
  
  
  • Shield Pylons no longer reflects damage back to attackers
    
    • Note: Reflecting damage back to attackers caused performance issues when encountering high density.
    
    

CHALLENGE RIFTS

• Increased the amount of materials that the Challenge Rift Cache drops


• The Challenge Rift Cache now always drops 10 Death’s Breath

MONSTERS

• Bug Fixes
  
  • Fixed a champion spawn rate issue for certain monsters required for the achievement ‘We Are the Champions’. The following monsters were adjusted and should spawn with the same frequency as other champion packs:
    
    • Fallen Conjurer
    
    
    • Fallen Peon
    
    
    • Fallen Cur
    
    
    • Fallen Grunt
    
    
    • Fallen Overlord
    
    
    • Fallen Slavelord
    
    
  
  

Season 10 for Blizzard's Diablo III is expected to kick off on March 31, and comes alongside a new patch that will bring some handy new features to the game. Like the Armory, which will let players save and switch out different builds (along with skills, gems, and so forth) at the press of a button. Plus, making crafting materials a currency like stat and a new tier of legendary gear with perfect rolls called Primal Ancients.

For console owners, who got new content in the past in the form of a patch, Season 10 will mark the first time they'll be able to participate in a Diablo III Season Journey. Which means starting fresh, completing challenges like "Complete a Torment XIII Rift in under 5 minutes" and "Complete Greater Rift 60 solo", and taking part in leader-boards. The only real question is how Seasons will work on the console versions of Diablo III, as currently they do not authenticate or connect to Battle.Net when played online. And, are still plagued with players decked out with hacked items.

Blizzard has noted that more details on how Seasons will work on console (limited to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game) are coming in the near future. If we were to take a guess, We'd say that the update will mean that any Seasonal play-through on console will start fresh on Battle.net so there's no chance of hacked items showing up and potentially ruining leader-boards.

For more info on Season 10, head here. And for more on Patch 2.5.0, head here.

To celebrate three years of Diablo 3, Blizzard have answered the age old question - "Where's the cow level?" Turns out, in the game. Well, from the 15th to the 21st of May it is. And during this brief window Diablo fans can expect to find an Elite cow by the name of the Herald of the Queen roaming Sanctuary. Who when killed, will drop a portal to the secret plane of the bovine.

What exactly is in this secret cow level? Well, plenty of cows, lots and lots of chests, and an event where you need to dispatch of a bovine horde. So many that it's crazy. Check it out (sorry for the poor quality, this was recorded on my Xbox One).

Patch 2.2.0 is on the horizon for Diablo 3, and Blizzard has jumped in early to warn that recent datamined information won't be relevant to all regions; specifically of the microtransaction nature, which we can expect to be secluded to the Asian market.

Community manager Brandy ‘Nevalistis’ Camel took to the Battle.net forums to outline that the recent datamined Platinum currency, times experience boosts, stash space and character slot expansions as well as some new cosmetic items will be excluded from the Western release.

“While the above features will not apply to this region, players will still benefit from some of the quality of life perks tied to these additions, such as a streamlined UI for selecting cosmetic benefits like pets and Collector’s Edition wings,” noted Camel.

“We recognize that many players have expressed an interest in microtransactions being added to Diablo 3. While we may explore this model in some regions, we have no immediate plans to implement such purchases anytime soon for the Americas (nor European) region.”

What are your thoughts on introducing microtransactions to Diablo 3, even in a limited region fashion? Let us know in the comments!

Right on schedule, Blizzard has launched the rather significant 2.1.0 patch for Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls on its North American servers, introducing its new seasons concept as well as greater rifts, leaderboards, itemisation updates and new environments.

A blog post discussing everything can be found here on the battle.net site. As Australian players default to North American servers, you can update right now, but if wanting to Global Play on the European or Asian servers, you might have to wait until those patch.

Watch the overview video below.

Diablo 3's upcoming patch 2.1.0 will soon allow players to enter the strange region known as the Vault, the home of the Treasure Goblins, where boundless wealth is awaiting those keen to take on the challenges.

Previously, players engaging in a Loot Goblin and being unsuccessful in stopping their looting attempts would be granted with a defeating escape portal that they were unable to enter as the Goblin fled from the scene. Now, however, there's a chance that the creatures will spawn a portal when they die, and when that happens, players will be able to step through and into the Vault.

"In the Vault, players will encounter unimaginable wealth, presumably stolen from the merchants and townfolk of Sanctuary," Blizzard wrote in the Patch 2.1.0 preview. "Piles of gold, chests brimming with treasure, and enough gems to sate even Shen himself will reward your curiosity."

As is with any unimaginable amount of wealth, someone is wanting to protect the riches awaiting you. The Vault will be guarded by Baroness Greed, whose name gives you a hint as to her nature, and who is't quite as easy to share the loot as you'd hope.

"Initially, most people assumed that Greed would be a male. When working with the character team on Greed, though, they proposed for it to be a female," Senior Environment Artist Richie Marella explained in a Q&A on the demon's design. "This turned out to be a great idea because it fell in line with what we were going for with the bee hive motif and having the so-called queen (aka the Baroness) at the end fit perfectly."

Diablo 3's resolution on Xbox One will be bumped up to native 1080p with a launch-day patch, developer Blizzard Entertainment has revealed.

Speaking to GameSpot, Blizzard associate producer Tiffany Wat noted that the Xbox One version of Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition will be "native 1080p resolution." The resolution will be applied in a day-one patch, improving upon its original 900p resolution.

Earlier, Blizzard had expressed hope that it would eventually be able to boost the resolution to 1080p, but indicated that it didn't expect to be able to get there by launch. The studio previously confirmed that the game runs in native 1080p on PS4; both versions feature a frame rate of 60 frames per second.

Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition will be launching on August 19th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. Existing PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players can now port their saves across to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, respectively.

Blizzard has today revealed that the upcoming new-gen versions of Diablo 3: The Ultimate Evil Edition will be running at resolution rates of 1080p for PlayStation 4 and 900p for Xbox One.

Senior producer Julia Humphreys confirmed the resolution rates to Joystiq, also revealing that that the two versions will both run at 60FPS. "We're prioritizing frame rate," Humphreys said regarding the quality difference. It is unclear whether the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will have their resolutions changed from the original Diablo 3 launch of 1120x584.

Diablo 3: The Ultimate Evil Edition will be launching on August 19th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

After celebrating Diablo 3's second birthday with a much-loved 100% boost to Legendary drops, Blizzard has announced that the loot buff will now be a permanent stat change, because you know, at Blizzard, the cake is not a lie.

"I come bearing exciting news," wrote Blizzard's Travis Day on the Diablo 3 forum. "Due to the overwhelming popularity of our Anniversary buff we have decided to keep the increased Legendary drop rate once the Anniversary celebration ends. Once the buff is disabled tomorrow morning, you will find that the new base line drop rates for Legendary items will be the same as those you have all enjoyed for the last week."

The change to the drop rate has been met with overwhelming joy, with many celebrating the permanent change by frolicking in the much-improved loot shower. One thing is for certain, it's always good to see a developer listening to their community and feedback.

Console players will soon be able to enjoy the loot-filled pinata with Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition launching August 19th for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Blizzard always feels rather generous when it comes to their own birthday celebrations, and Diablo 3 is no exception with the developer announcing an increased 100% drop rate to legendaries for an entire week.

Alongside the legendary buff, players will also receive double Rift Fragments to use. The buff will only be available to players on the Windows PC and Mac editions of the game, but "will apply to all characters and stack with similar bonuses."

The buff will begin at 5PM AEST tonight, and will continue through until Thursday, May 22nd at 12PM AEST.