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Last updated August 29 @ 2:00 p.m. PDT.

Below you'll find the preliminary PTR patch notes for patch 2.6.1. Please note that this isn't the final version of the patch notes and that some changes may not be documented or described in full detail.

PTR PATCH 2.6.1 - v2.6.1.47041

To provide feedback on patch 2.6.1, please visit the PTR Feedback forum.
To report any issues you experience while playing, please visit the PTR Bug Report forum.

Please note that support for Vista / Windows XP will be ending at some point during the PTR. For more info, please see our forum post.

In order to test Necromancer changes, you will need to have purchased the Necromancer in the live game. The ability to purchase the class on the PTR has been disabled.

Table of Contents:

• Classes
• Items
• Adventure Mode

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.
• 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
• 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 14400 seconds
    • Note: There is currently a bug preventing this passive from affecting Piranhas; this will be fixed in an upcoming PTR patch
• 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 45
• 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
  • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue with Battle Rage - Bloodshed where the damage from critical hits was not being scaled by the proc coefficient of the power doing damage
  • 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

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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% 300-400% 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 400-500% 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.
        • Note: The Legendary power on this item is currently not functioning; this will be fixed in an upcoming patch
    • 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% 400-500%
    • 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 350-450%.
      • 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 150-200% 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 450-600%, 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 400-500%.
    • 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 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.
  • 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 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.
    • Karlei’s Point
      • The damage of Impale is increased by 60-80% 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 Multishot 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 125-150%.
  • Monk
    • Binding of the Lost
      • Each hit with Seven-Sided Strike grants 3.0–3.5% 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
  • 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 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.
    • 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.
        • Note: There is currently a bug which causes the new and old versions of the ring to not work when both are equipped; this will be fixed in an upcoming PTR patch
  • Wizard
    • Halo of Karini
      • You take 45–60% 60-80% less damage for 3 4 seconds after your Storm Armor electrocutes an enemy more than 30 15 yards away
    • 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.
    • 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’s 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% 750% increased damage.
      • Might of the Earth
        • (6) Set
          • Increase the damage of Earthquake, Avalanche, Leap, Ground Stomp, Ancient Spear and Seismic Slam by 1200% 3000%.
      • The Legacy of Raekor
        • (4) Set
          • Furious Charge gains the effect of every rune and deals 300% 500% increased damage.
        • (6) Set
          • Every use of Furious Charge increases the damage of your next Fury-spending attack by 750% 1500%. 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% 1700%.
    • Crusader
      • Armor of Akkhan
        • (6) Set
          • While Akarat's Champion is active, you deal 600% 900% increased damage and take 15% 20% 50% less damage.
      • 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% 115% 70% for 2 seconds.
            • Note: There is currently an issue which causes the actual Thorns increase to be 35% instead of 70%; this will be fixed in an upcoming PTR patch
        • (6) Set
          • The attack speed of Punish and Slash are increased by 50% and deal 800% 1600% 2700% of your Thorns damage to the first enemy hit.
    • Demon Hunter
      • Embodiment of the Marauder
        • (4) Set
          • Sentries deal 400% 100% increased damage and cast Elemental Arrow, Chakram, Impale, Multishot, and Cluster Arrow when you do
        • (6) Set
          • Your primary skills, Elemental Arrow, Chakram, Impale, Multishot, Cluster Arrow, Companions, and Vengeance deal 1200% 2100% 2400% increased damage for every active Sentry
      • Natalya’s Vengeance
        • (6) Set
          • After casting Rain of Vengeance, deal 500% 750% 2500% increased damage and take 60% reduced damage for 10 seconds
      • Unhallowed Essence
        • (6) Set
          • Your generators, Multishot, and Vengeance deal 40% 70% increased damage for every point of Discipline you have.
    • Monk
      • Monkey King’s Garb
        • (6) Set
          • Has been redesigned.
          • Lashing Tail Kick, Tempest Rush, and Wave of Light have their damage increased by 600% for each stack of Sweeping Wind you have.
      • 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% 1800% 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
      • 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%. In addition, Corpse Lance and Corpse Explosion damage is increased by 1500%.
      • 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% 1700% 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: This set bonus is being temporarily disabled to fix an issue with the set. It will be re-enabled in a later PTR patch.
        • 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 120 480 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 1200 seconds worth of remaining damage.
    • Wizard
      • Firebird’s Finery
        • (6) Set
          • Your damage is increased by 120% 200% 150% 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
          • Increased number of Archon stacks gained when hitting with an Archon ability from 1 to 2
          • 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% 25%
      • Chantodo's Resolve
        • (2) Set
          • Every second while in Archon form you expel a Wave of Destruction, dealing 350% 600% 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.
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where minions summoned by the Demon Hunter's Companion skill would double dip on damage from the (6) Set bonus on Embodiment of the Marauder
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where Gargantuan would double dip on damage from the (6) Set bonus on Helltooth Harness
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where Hydra would double dip on damage from the (6) Set bonus of Tal Rasha's Elements
    • 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
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where equipping certain Legendary items to a follower would cause performance issues
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue which caused the change to Dayntee's Binding to incorrectly affect existing versions of the item
    • Fixed an issue where the Wave of Destruction was doing slightly less damage than intended
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where the Legendary power on Gavel of Judgement was not being applied when the item was equipped
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where the equipping the new version and then the old version of The Short Man's Finger would result in no Legendary power from either being applied
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where the legacy version of the Legendary power on Dayntee's Binding did not upgrade to the new version of this item’s power in Kanai’s Cube
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where you could equip the legacy and new version of the Legendary power on Gavel of Judgement at the same time
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where every rune except for Shattering Throw was not benefitting from the increased damage from Akkhan’s Leniency
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where where Lashing Tail Kicks cast by mimics spawned by Rabid Strike were not having their damage increased by Scarbringer
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where the new version of Fate's Vow was not displaying the correct visuals per rune selected with Army of the Dead
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where Fate's Vow was not providing the maximum bonus to Army of the Dead when used in Kanai’s Cube
    • (PTR Only) Fixed an issue where it was possible to reach zero HP and live when using Haunting Visions and Simulacrum

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  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 Constructs
    • Increased the amount of experience and Rift progress granted by Smoldering Constructs
    • Reduced the fog effect in the Shrouded Moors tilesets in Rifts
    • The Shrouded Moors tileset and 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.

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  PTR ONLY

  • D’jank Miem
    • Players can exchange Blood Shards with this vendor for bags containing Legendary items

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Blizzard Quote [source]

Challenge Rifts highlight the skill mastery, game knowledge, and dedication of our most active community members. Each Tuesday, we publish the rankings of the top 50 performers for the previous week’s Challenge Rift.

Raise your weapons high and give a cheer as we recognize the top ranked Challenge Rift competitors in the Americas region!

Challenge Rift 6 - 7/31/17

Time to Beat: 6:38.416

Note that the rankings above reflect only the Americas region.

Blizzard Quote [source]

Challenge Rifts highlight the skill mastery, game knowledge, and dedication of our most active community members. Each Tuesday, we publish the rankings of the top 50 performers for the previous week’s Challenge Rift.

Raise your weapons high and give a cheer as we recognize the top ranked Challenge Rift competitors in the Americas region!

Challenge Rift 4 - 7/17/17

Time to Beat: 6:01.916

Note that the rankings above reflect only the Americas region.

Blizzard Quote [source]

Diablo III Season 11 is now live in all gameplay regions! To create a Seasonal hero, choose your class, gender, and name as usual, then select the "Seasonal Hero" option. 

Alternatively, you can use the Season Rebirth feature to continue your adventures on an existing character by starting over this Season. You can select a character for Rebirth on the Hero Selection screen. Simply choose the "Rebirth" option to begin your next adventure! 

Any of the gear or items equipped on your character or in your inventory will be automatically stripped from the hero and mailed to your non-Seasonal characters, similar to the rollover process that occurs with your stash when a Season ends. In addition, your character will be set to level 1, ready to start the process as though they were freshly created!

For more details on the Season Rebirth feature, be sure to check out our original blog here.

What Are Seasons?

Seasons are an optional, recurring game mode that offers players the opportunity to periodically start fresh, leveling new Normal or Hardcore heroes from level 1 without any currency, resources, items, or previously earned Paragon experience. Similar to the separation between Normal and Hardcore game modes, Seasonal heroes will also have their own shared stash and Artisan progression. Any currency, materials, recipes, items, Paragon experience, and Artisan progression earned during a Season will be rolled over to a player's non-Seasonal profile once the Season concludes.

Season 11 will offer unique rewards and new challenges for players, including new cosmetic items, pieces of an exclusive transmogrification set only available to those who participate in Seasons, and Season-only achievements or challenges called Conquests. Progress within a given Season will also be tracked on the Leaderboard system, and in the Seasons Journey interface.

To learn more about Season 11, check out our Season 11 preview.

Good luck, nephalem! May Kadala be generous and your deeds of valor always be remembered. 

Blizzard Quote [source]

It's been 4 years and we've come a long way since the launch of Diablo III. From item overhauls to a brand new class and Act, the world of Sanctuary has never looked so good. However, some changes are larger than they may seem, making a tremendous difference in day-to-day gameplay. The inclusion and evolution of item comparison tooltips is one such example, so join me in taking a closer look at the development process behind this feature.

Then: Introducing Tooltip Comparisons

For many Diablo players, it can be a challenge to decide between potential upgrades. Gear can provide all manner of useful stats and the randomized nature of Diablo loot means upgrades come in countless combinations. Knowing which piece to equip takes great game knowledge, and that can be intimidating for the average or new player. As you may know, itemization has undergone a significant overhaul since the launch of Diablo III. In the beginning, Legendary items weren't always the obvious choice. That evolution is a different story to tell, but it's important context to keep in mind.

When we were looking to bring Diablo III to console, this presented a unique set of hurdles. Choosing which item to equip can be intensive and, especially where couch co-op was concerned, just didn't translate well. We didn't want the fun to stop every time your buddy paused the game to review loot. Keeping the pace of the game smooth was an important goal, and it was important to us that the solution was right for all platforms.

Whether in real life or Sanctuary, no one wants to wait around while you pick out which pants to wear.

This led us to the basic concept of item comparison tooltips, but the team expressed some concerns. As we were bringing something new to Diablo, we asked ourselves whether it was the right kind of new feature to introduce to the series. Over a decade had passed since the release of Diablo II and the way players approached games had changed drastically. We decided that it was a great opportunity for iteration and providing a tutorial-like element would only help more players enjoy Sanctuary.

More problematic was deciding whether or not it was okay to make some basic decisions on behalf of players. Again, we looked at the new feature as a training tool rather than an instruction manual. Ultimately, we want players to make their own gearing choices and we found that after players had received some guidance through the item comparison tooltips, they began to draw their own conclusions. This basic guidance allowed us to simplify enough to include a fast convenience feature on console in the form of Quick Equip.

Quick Equip makes assumptions, but ensures you're not interrupting gameplay.

To bring together the item comparison system, we condensed an item's power into three generalized stats: Life, Damage, and Protection. These were the principles most players followed when making gear decisions, so we stuck with known categories in order for the at-a-glance comparison to remain familiar and easy to grasp for new and veteran players alike.

Clearly, not an upgrade.

This didn't hit the mark close enough for us, especially as the game evolved. The information being presented went a little too far in generalization, resulting in stats that were misleading. The advent of Loot 2.0 in Reaper of Souls presented a unique opportunity to fine-tune this feature.

Now: Refining and Expanding Comparisons

Patch 2.0.1 launched just prior to the release of Reaper of Souls, introducing many new systems to the game in preparation for the expansion. One change was replacing the Life and Protection stats with new and better-defined stats.

In some cases, it was still tough to tell which items were truly an upgrade.

Enter Healing and Toughness. Toughness was intended to be an overall calculation of your Effective Health Pool, or EHP. This is a simplified summary of your hero's survivability based on stats like maximum Life, Armor, Resistances, Dodge, and other types of damage reduction. Similarly, healing was meant to be an average of how quickly you could regain health. This first pass got the basic messages across, but some of the more variable stats (like Life Per Kill) caused confusing inflations and muddled the information given to the player. So in Patch 2.1.2, we made another change.

Some stats needed their weights adjusted while others needed to be excluded altogether.

"Healing"� was replaced with "Recovery"� and the name was changed to not only better encompass its purpose, but to clearly highlight that change had occurred. The new stat estimated how much Toughness you would expect to recover in an average encounter, and we changed the weighting of certain healing stats to provide a more accurate picture.

In our current iteration, these stat summaries provide enough information to be useful to the average player and helps shine a light on how each stat contributes to your character's overall power. This feature was so useful that we received a lot of community requests for a similar overview of follower equipment. In Patch 2.4.0, we fulfilled this request!

Mouse over a valid item in your inventory while your follower's inventory is open and you'll see the item comparison tooltip pop up!

Quality of life features are rarely as small as they look. What tweaks to the game have you noticed over the years? What change has made a noticeable impact on the way you play Diablo III? Let us know in the comments, we'd love to hear which features interest you most!