Blizzard Quote [source]
This week’s Waypoint includes a handy guide for how to use Zei’s Stone of Vengeance better, tips for understanding Demon Hunter breakpoints, plus some great discussions on best Hardcore moments, Legendary items, and the benefits of playing multiple classes!
Understanding How To Use Zei's Stone of Vengeance
If you've been playing a ranged build and wondering how you might incorporate Zei's Stone of Vengeance into it, Meathead Mikhail has a new video you might find helpful. He summarizes how this Legendary Gem works before getting into the nitty gritty of how it interacts with pets and specific builds.
He's also created video guides for other Legendary Gems, so be sure to check them out on his YouTube page!
What’s Your Scariest Hardcore Moment?
Playing Hardcore heroes can be a perilous pursuit, but nothing compares to triumphing over the hordes of the Burning Hells despite the pressure of knowing you might have been killed for good. /u/Legit_muffins asked Hardcore players on Reddit Diablo to share their "Well, that escalated quickly!" moment while playing Hardcore.
We're curious to know: what’s your scariest moment while playing Hardcore?
What Are Breakpoints, And How Do They Work?
YouTuber Rhykker put together a helpful video for understanding breakpoints for Sentry builds on the Demon Hunter. Although the video focuses on one class, the concepts it explains can be helpful to anyone – especially if you're looking for tips as you try to improve a particular build.
Why Playing Multiple HeroesHas Its Advantages
Most people have a favorite class, but no two classes are the same, and you can learn something from playing each one. /u/Yutingxiang talked about his experience playing each of the classes at Greater Rift level 30, detailing the builds he used and what he learned from playing them.
What about you? Do you tend to jump between classes? If so, what have you learned from playing this way?
Which Legendary Items Make References to Real People?
Have you ever wondered where Legendary items get their names? /u/Thunderclaww of Reddit Diablo noticed the connection between several Legendary item names and people who helped develop the game. For some items, the connection is obvious (like the Harrington's Waistguard, named for Jill Harrington), but others aren't as easy to guess.
Can you tell which Legendary items refer to real people?
What Community Contributions Deserve A Shout Out?
Over the past few weeks, we've seen cool build calculators, several helpful videos, and some thought-provoking discussions. We've even seen some tasty Diablo-themed recipes. But what do you think? What awesome links do you have to share, nephalem?
If you see a cool thread, tweet, article or video that’s worth sharing, send it over to tyvalir@blizzard.com (along with a brief explanation of why it’s worth sharing)!
Until next time, we'll see you in Sanctuary!
Blizzard Quote [source]
While the master of magic, the Wizard, prevailed in our last Play Your Thursday community vote, we were unfortunately unable to sync up with V3dun#2884 for our upcoming livestream. Thankfully, runner-up Majier#1230 has raised his weapon in service and will be joining us this Thursday, October 16.
But that's not all, nephalem. We'll also be joined by a very special guest for this week's show—deadmau5!
Here are all the juicy details:
- What: Our fourth Play Your Way Thursday livestream
- Where: http://www.twitch.tv/diablo
- When: Thursday, October 16 @ 2:00 p.m. PT to 3:00 p.m. PT
- Who: Brandy "Nevalistis" Camel, Majier#1230, Joel "deadmau5" Zimmerman, and Don Vu
- Why: To kill ghosts n' stuff.
For this particular stream, associate game designer Don Vu raised the bar and challenged us to jump into the Hardcore Season with Halcyon himself, Joel Zimmerman. See just how long I'll last running V3dun's "Void Ray" Wizard and learn more about Majier’s "Sweeping Thunder" Crusader as we Rift our way to HC glory.
May our deeds of valor be remembered!
This is definitely an edition of Play Your Way you won’t want to miss, so be sure to follow us on Twitch so you’ll be notified the moment we go live.
Won't be able to tune in on Thursday? Just hang tight, because we'll have the VOD available on both Twitch and YouTube shortly after we go off the air. Follow and subscribe so you can stay up to date on when our replays become available!
Blizzard Quote [source]
Greetings heroes!Patch 2.1.0 is now live for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
New features in Patch 2.1.0 include:
"What's New" Screen
- A "What's New" screen will now appear whenever a player logs into the game after a new patch has been installed (and pressing "Start" at the Main Menu). As the name suggests, this screen will provide a quick overview of new features included in the patch.
The Cesspools
- When adventuring in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts, players will have a chance to encounter a new randomized environment: The Cesspools. Originally designed as the sewers of Westmarch, this festering, dank underworld is now ready to explore and plunder!
The Vault
- Whenever Treasure Goblins are defeated, there's now a chance they will spawn a new type of portal through which players can enter. Inside this mysterious new realm known as "The Vault," mighty treasures await…along with Sanctuary's newest boss: the Baroness Greed.
- Please note that portals to The Vault can only be accessed in Adventure Mode, and that they will not appear inside Nephalem Rifts or Greater Rifts.
- For more information about The Vault, click here.
Greater Rifts
- Greater Rifts are a special type of timed Nephalem Rift. There are an infinite number of Greater Rift levels, and each level will be progressively more difficult than the last. Upon completing a Greater Rift, players will be able to choose between one of two rewards: a chance to upgrade their Legendary Gems or (if they complete the Greater Rift level within its allotted time) the opportunity to move on to the next Greater Rift level. Players can continue progressing through Greater Rift levels so along as they complete the current Rift level before its timer expires.
- Please note that Greater Rifts can only be accessed in Adventure Mode.
- For more information about Greater Rifts, click here.
Legendary Gems
- Legendary Gems are a new type of gem that can drop in Greater Rifts and The Vault and will offer powerful abilities when socketed into Rings and Amulets. Players will have the opportunity to upgrade their Legendary Gems over time by completing Greater Rifts.
- For more information about Legendary Gems, click here.
Ramaladni's Gift
- Ramalandni’s Gift is a new Legendary item that will allow players to add a socket to any weapon that does not already have one. This item can drop randomly in the game world and will be consumed on use.
- For more information on Ramaladni’s Gift, click here.
Good luck, nephalem. We wish you fortune and glory in your continued adventures across Sanctuary!
To update your game, please make sure you are signed in to either your PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account. PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold subscriptions are not required to access this newest update.
If you haven't picked up the base game or expansion yet, now might be the time!
Blizzard Quote [source]
The mortal realms need heroes, and now—for a limited time only—you can save 50% on the digital PC editions of Diablo III and the Reaper of Souls expansion set!
Hurry though, this offer ends Monday, October 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. If you still haven't joined the battle against the Lord of Terror and the Angel of Death, your hour has come at last.
Blizzard Quote [source]
Diablo III patch 2.1.1 is now live in the Americas for PC! Check out the full patch notes below to learn all about the latest changes.
Important: Please note that you will not be prompted to download patch 2.1.1 until the patch is live in your home region. If you are logging in from a European or Asian client, you will need to wait for this patch to release in that region before it can be installed. Additionally, if your home region is in the Americas, you will be unable to log into Europe or Asia using Global Play after patch 2.1.1 is live until those regions have also patched.
Diablo III Patch 2.1.1 - v2.1.1.27255
Visit our Bug Report forum for a list of known issues.
Table of Contents:
CLASSES
- General
- Pets
- Philosophy
- We want pet survivability to be roughly equivalent to the player that summoned them
- Many monster attacks that are intended to be avoided by players, and weren't already dealing reduced damage to pets, now deal significantly less damage to pets
- Bug Fixes
- Pets are now properly affected by Shield Pylons
- Philosophy
- Pets
- Crusader
- Active Skills
- Shield Bash
- Can now be interrupted during the hit animation
- Shield Bash
- Active Skills
- Witch Doctor
- Active Skills
- Fetish Army
- Fetish Life has been greatly increased
- Fetish movement speed has been significantly increased
- Fetish leash range has been slightly increased
- Gargantuan
- Gargantuan is now summoned at the location of your mouse cursor
- Summon animation speed has been increased
- Spirit Walk
- No longer cancels early when the physical body that is left behind takes enough damage
- Summon Zombie Dogs
- Zombie Dog Life has been greatly increased
- Fetish Army
- Passive Skills
- Fetish Sycophants
- Fetish Life has been greatly increased
- Fetish movement speed has been significantly increased
- Fetish leash range has been slightly increased
- Fetish Sycophants
- User Interface
- Fetish Army and Fetish Sycophants portrait icons should now display more fitting names on mouseover
- Active Skills
ITEMS
- Class-Specific Legendary Items
- Wizard
- Firebird's Finery
- The infinite DoT debuff should now have a unique effect when it is applied
- Firebird's Finery
- Wizard
- Legendary Gems
- Boon of the Hoarder
- The number of Gold piles that explode from enemies on kill has been reduced
- To compensate, the amount of Gold in each pile has been increased
- The total amount of Gold dropped remains unchanged, but this will noticeably reduce screen clutter
- The number of Gold piles that explode from enemies on kill has been reduced
- Boon of the Hoarder
- Bug Fixes
- The Moratorium secondary power can now be triggered by assists
- The Bane of the Trapped damage increase will now properly applied to Frozen enemies
- The Gem of Efficacious Toxin poison DoT can now properly be applied by pet attacks
ADVENTURE MODE
- Rift Guardians and Greater Rift Guardians now drop more crafting materials
- Infernal Machine
- In multiplayer games, the Key of Bones, Key of Gluttony, and Key of War will now be considered group drops
- This means that, instead of players having an individual chance to find a key, that chance is now exists at the party level
- If a Key of Bones, a Key of Gluttony, or a Key of War drops, it will drop for everyone in the party at the time
- In multiplayer games, the Key of Bones, Key of Gluttony, and Key of War will now be considered group drops
- Greater Rifts
- The Rift of Trials has received numerous adjustments in an effort to more accurately assess an appropriate level of Greater Rift
- Large Aqueduct and Sewer maps will no longer show up in Greater Rifts
- Kadala
- Philosophy
- While Kadala is doing a great job of giving players more control over finding specific items, we felt the current experience was a bit cumbersome and inconvenient
- As a result, we're working to reduce the frequency at which players need to run between Kadala and the Blacksmith to salvage unwanted items
- The cost to purchase items from Kadala has been greatly increased
- The chance for Kadala to drop a Legendary item has also been greatly increased
- Philosophy
- Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that could cause Greater Rift Guardians to sometimes drop multiple of the same Legendary Gem
CRAFTING
- Mystic
- Enchanting
- Philosophy
- We want players to be able to more reliably add sockets to their jewelry in order to enjoy Legendary Gems
- We still have long term plans to provide more outlets for excess gems and more ways to farm gems that a player needs; however, since those changes are further down the road, we wanted to improve the quality of life of Seasonal and Non-Seasonal players alike by making it easier to add a socket to your Rings and Amulets
- The cost to enchant jewelry has been reduced from a Flawless Imperial gem to an Imperial gem
- Philosophy
- Enchanting
MONSTERS
- The Electrified monster affix now has a short internal cooldown
- The damage of The Butcher's Fan of Spears attack has been slightly reduced
- The range of the Charging Beasts' Charge attack has been slightly reduced
- Plague Nest Bats have had their health globe drop rate significantly decreased
- Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts
- Maggot Broods no longer start out burrowed in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts
- Sand Dwellers no longer start out burrowed in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts
- Demonic Hellflyers now run away less frequently and no longer ambush players from the air in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts
- Ghosts now run away less frequently and no longer fly through walls in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts
- Rockworms can no longer spawn in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts
If you are experiencing technical issues with the patching process, connecting to Battle.net after installing the patch, or errors while playing a newly-patched game, please visit our support site or post in the Technical Support forum for assistance.