Diablo 2 Resurrected update 2.3 patch notes: offline difficulty scaling, cast keybinds

The Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.3 update patch notes are here that will bring offline difficulty scaling along with other highly-requested features to the game.

Blizzard has big things in store for D2R. The game will soon have a Public Test Realm (PTR) where players can test out experimental patches before they hit live servers, as well as major improvements to the user interface (UI) and gameplay systems.

A few months since the game launched, the devs are directly addressing the Diablo community’s biggest complaints. Patch 2.3 brings fixes to everything from keybind features to essential movement mechanics missing from the remastered.

The complete Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.3 patch notes are out and here’s a look at everything we know.

Blizzard

Diablo 2 Resurrected will soon let solo players farm hordes meant for parties of (up to) eight.

Diablo 2 Resurrected modern ‘/players 8’ feature

D2R is integrating offline difficulty scaling from the original version. This will let players increase how hard the gameplay is to what it would be if eight players were in the party.

With higher difficulties come more challenging dungeon crawls and even better rewards to loot. Now single players won’t need to drum up a full lobby to start hacking away for high-tier items.

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After the 2.3 patch, Resurrected’s setting will have a new slider from 1-8 to change to scale the difficulty.

Quick cast skills keybinds

Blizzard

Diablo 2 Resurrected will introduce a much more varied keybind system for PC players.

The 2.3 update includes quick cast spells and a ton of keybind mapping options to Diablo 2 like never before.

The devs were cautious of adding in an Active Skill Bindings bar and a Quick Cast Skill option in case it took too much away from the original D2R experience.

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But after tremendous player feedback in support of the features, Blizzard are quickly going to bring them in D2R.

Diablo 2 Resurrected PTR

Blizzard is also planning to release a D2R PTR that will go a long way to addressing the game’s biggest problems around patch time.

The PTR will let players sign up and try out builds of the game to find any bugs or massive imbalances that Blizzard might have missed.

Blizzard

A Diablo 2 Resurrected PTR will launch soon to test out patches before they hit the main game.

D2R had complications with game crashes or server issues since release and a PTR would help identify those problems sooner.

Though the test realm might come at a different time than the D2R 2.3 update, Blizzard plans to launch them both in the coming weeks.

Take a look at the Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.3 patch notes below, courtesy of Blizzard.

Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.3 patch notes

Gameplay

• Players now have a “Game Difficulty Scale” available in the options menu for offline games, which provides the same function as the /players debug command
• Players can now enable “Force Move,” an option available in the control settings which can allow the player to command their character to move to a specific location without targeting monsters
• Players can now enable “Quick Cast,” an option available in game settings which can allow the player to use abilities with hotkeys without having to select the skill in the UI
• Players can now enable the “Active Skill Bindings” bar. This additional bar shown above the standard HUD represents the skills (up to 16) players have mapped for their character.

Accessibility and Graphical improvements

Gameplay

• A visual indicator has been added to show when a character’s attack misses an opponent in PvP (please reference the options menu to enable “Miss Text”)
• Pets, Summons, and Mercenaries will now warp to a player’s location if they are far away from the player’s character
• Pathing has been improved for player summons

Chat and Social

• Players can now use the TAB key to cycle through all channels in-game and in lobby
• The text color for Whispers now shows as a different color than system messages
• Battle.net Real ID friends now show the Real ID names on your friends list in-game

Lobby Menu

• A visual indicator has been added to represent PC lobby characters who are muted or ignored players
• A visual indicator has been added to show character level and expansion type to PC lobby characters

Graphics

• NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is now supported. To enable, please reference your options menu.

Miscellaneous

• Added proper error messaging in cases where the game couldn’t retrieve online characters from the server
• Deleting your character will no longer jump your character selector to the top of the list, instead, your character selector will progress to the next sequential character

Bug fixes

Art | Enemies

• Fixed an issue where NPC Talic, Korlic, and Madawc’s VFX may not always play
• Fixed an issue that caused Hell Swarm enemies to appear as white when they spawned for a short amount of time before changing to their correct color
• Fixed an issue preventing the Abyss Knight from receiving full color tinting on frozen or poison effects
• Fixed an issue preventing the Imp monster deaths from being correctly tinted to match the monster’s color variant
• Fixed an issue preventing the Amazon’s Valkyrie skill from showing as the correct color
• Fixed an issue preventing part of the Willowisps from receiving the correct color tinting

Art| World

• Fixed an issue where the exploding cow could reappear unexploded
• Fixed issues where in certain areas, players could partially fall into the floor or float above the ground
• Fixed issues where secret objects were incorrectly highlighting
• Fixed issues where some assets could disappear incorrectly while on-screen
• Fixed issues where some assets on lower detail levels had distorted geometry
• Adjusted red light intensity in Throne of Destruction
• Fixed various texture issues and graphical bugs

Art | Players

• Fixed an issue affecting the Necromancer where the Dim Vision VFX could stretch when teleporting
• Fixed an issue where animation stutters could occur when continually casting Inferno or Arctic Blast
• Fixed an issue affecting the Assassin’s Phoenix Strike VFX which could remain on screen for other players after the charges had been used
• Fixed an issue affecting the Necromancers Fire Golem death VFX appearing offset from the corpse
• Fixed an issue with Wolf and Dire Wolf summoning VFX causing poly-storming

Audio

• Fixed an issue preventing audio from properly playing in the Options menu when using a controller
• Fixed an issue preventing the audio of auto-filling the belt from playing when pressing R3 on a controller
• Fixed an issue causing an infinite looping of voice lines when Diablo spawned in a game with a Classic character
• Fixed an issue causing music to start over while toggling in and out of the Legacy Mode
• Fixed an issue in Act 3 where some quest items would not play audio when picking them up

Crash and Stuck Fixes

• Fixed a crash that could occur if the Act 2 Mercenary uses Jab while transformed with the Delirium Rune Word
• Fixed a crash that could occur if you max out your channel name length and select that channel in the dropdown menu
• Fixed a rare issue where a player could become stuck in the Join Game state after failing to create an Online game
• Miscellaneous Crash Fixes

GAMEPLAY

Online

• Fixed an issue in multiplayer sessions where if one player smashed another player’s Soulstone on the Hellforge, that player would be unable to interact with their inventory
• Fixed an issue in online games where waypoints could become unselectable when surrounded by monsters
• Fixed an issue in online games with Korlic’s Leap Attack
• Fixed an issue where entering a Town Portal of another player could cause you to load into the next area, before teleporting your character back into town
• Fixed an issue with client to server synchronization when using Holy Shield
• Fixed an issue where when attempting to trade a player who was either in their stash or hovering their cursor over an item would flash the trade prompt
• Improved synchronization of ability and attack animations in online games
• Fixed an issue where your trade with another player could close if another player joins the game session
• Fixed an issue where other players’ corpses wouldn’t appear until they chose to respawn
• Fixed an issue where player attack and skills would not always stay in sync between client and server

Player Abilities

• Fixed an issue where going hostile with a Druid character could show their summons at 1/3 of their actual health
• Fixed an issue where using Telekinesis on the Altar of Ancients wouldn’t activate the Ancients
• Fixed an issue where way pointing in Legacy mode while the Hurricane skill is active could cause a long loading screen
• Fixed an issue with the Assassin’s Dragon Talon skill animation playing an extra kick
• Fixed an issue where the Druid’s Fury skill was not properly animating as many hits as it throws when using the Werewolf and Werebear form
• Telekinesis no longer requires line of sight to interact with a target
• The Throw skill can now be equipped even if you aren’t holding a throwable weapon
• Fixed an issue where overlapping Fire Wall or Blaze missiles could cause increased damage
• Fixed an issue where a player would use Telekinesis on the Orifice in Act 2 that would cause an interface screen to become stuck on screen
• Fixed an issue where if you are in town and cast Enchant on another player it could initiate a trade
• Fixed an issue where Paladin characters couldn’t interact with their stash if they had certain abilities mapped to specific controller buttons
• Fixed an issue where auras could toggle off and on briefly while performing inventory functions
• Fixed an issue where the Paladin could begin rubber banding when his mana was depleted while holding down the Charge skill
• Fixed an issue where you couldn’t equip Conviction if you were using a bow or crossbow
• Fixed an issue where Shadow Master would not teleport when using the Dragon Flight ability
• Fixed an issue where on occasion, monsters revived by the Necromancer couldn’t be unsummoned

Controller

• /nopickup now works properly for controllers on PC
• Fixed an issue on controller where binding an oskill to a button and then binding a common skill would cause the incorrect tooltip to display
• Fixed an issue where other party members death could cause vibration on other players’ controllers
• Fixed an issue where quick moving items between stash and inventory could fail
• Fixed an issue where the toggle “run” UI would display the wrong button if Swap Sticks option was enabled
• Fixed an issue where if you accept a trade and then loot your corpse before the other player accepts, the trade would look like it was successful but was not
• Fixed an issue where navigation past either end of the channel list would cause the user to be unable to navigate the channels again
• Fixed an issue where players could not use UI buttons or pick up items when imbuing
• Fixed an issue where using “R3” to autofill your belt would occasionally fail part way through
• Fixed an issue where typing a message in game chat while on the quest panel would remove the quest UI
• Fixed an issue where a key bind for run/walk toggle would interfere with Paladin auras
• Fixed an issue where having a trade initiated while in the skill bind menu would cause players to lose controller capability
• Fixed an issue where if the emote wheel was on-screen and a trade was initiated, the emote wheel interface screen would overlap the trade interface screen

Mercenaries

• Dead Mercenaries will no longer appear in town
• Fixed an issue where a player with a dead mercenary joining another player’s game could cause the dead mercenary to appear in an idle animation
• Fixed an issue where an Act 2 Mercenary could display the incorrect Aura
• Fixed an issue where Mercenaries would not always teleport with the player

Enemies

• Fixed an issue where stunned Grotesques were not targetable
• Fixed an issue where Tomb Vipers’ Poison Cloud attack was improperly dealing physical damage.; the poison clouds now deal proper poison damage
• Fixed an issue where some of Baal’s projectiles and attacks could display different VFX for different players in the session
• Fixed an issue where Death Lords’ frenzy attacks wouldn’t animate correctly

World

• Fixed an issue where hatched cocoons could reset and become unhatched

Stash

• Fixed an issue where if you attempted to deposit more gold into your stash than the stash could fit, no gold would be deposited at all

Performance

Abilities 

• Optimized various player abilities

Enemies

• Optimized various boss encounters and monsters

Localization

• Corrected audio translation on Greiz’s voice over for “Who goes there?” when playing in Chinese
• Corrected audio translation on Kashya’s voice over for Act 1, Quest 5 when playing in Chinese
• Corrected issues where some text in some languages could align improperly with the UI bounds
• Removed the gender prefixes for the speaker’s name in non-English translations
• Fixed an issue where in certain languages the voice lines were not translated in chat after defeating Baal for the first time

User Interface

General

• Fixed an issue where the player hostility tooltip would be difficult to click to display in Online mode

Controller

• Fixed an issue where a red screen flash would appear when unequipping items that give life bonus or dropping specific items
• Fixed an issue where the skill icon for Town Portals on controllers wouldn’t turn red when it should
• Fixed an issue where a player’s cursor could get stuck on the potion belt if they had a sash equipped and used the directional pad while hovering over belt slots
• Fixed an issue on controller where the join game button in the Lobby would unselect and go back to the lobby list if another person joins the game
• Fixed an issue where the player could not navigate to buttons below the game creation options panel when using a controller
• Fixed an issue where Baal’s health bar while using a controller would be improperly sized

Mercenaries

• Fixed an issue where Mercenary skills would be displayed in the incorrect order when using a controller

Chat

• Fixed an issue where if the chat channel list was large enough to create a scroll bar, and then channels are left, the player could have difficulty scrolling back to top of the channel list
• Fixed an issue on where longer chat messages could be getting cut off by the chat window
• Fixed an issue when clicking on a linked item, the game could incorrectly display the previously clicked linked item
• Fixed an issue with the Chat window on blocking the player from casting
• Using the /whois chat command without a username will no longer cause the game response to display twice

Lobby

• Fixed issues where certain button highlights would be misaligned
• Fixed an issue where clicking and dragging to highlight text didn’t display until the player let go of the mouse
• Addressed inconsistencies with text highlight behavior

Automap

• Fixed an issue with the automap not showing explored areas when entering a new area from a portal until the player moves around
• Fixed an issue where level exits wouldn’t always load on the Minimap when rapidly teleporting

Inventory

• Fixed an issue where the button highlight is improperly sized on the “Imbue” and “Add Sockets” button when using a controller on PC

Front End

• Fixed an issue where indestructible items weren’t visible on your character in the menus
• Added error messaging for when a player attempts to create a channel with a name longer than 15 characters
• Fixed an issue in the credits where music could stop playing
• Fixed an issue where holding the “Escape” button caused the exit screen to keep popping up repeatedly
• Fixed an issue where the players lobby character would be cut off if the player had an equipped helmet that was too tall
• Fixed an issue where newly created characters were not selected or sorted properly upon returning to the front-end
• Weapons, armor, and shields with no durability remaining will no longer appear on your character in the front end

Settings

• Fixed issues where certain button highlights would be misaligned
• Fixed an issue where the player could lose controller input when switching between Controller and Keyboard & Mouse on the HDR calibration screen

Panels and HUD

• Fixed issues where certain button highlights would be misaligned
• Fixed an issue where the Necromancer class text in the Party Menu would get cut off in Large Font Mode
• Fixed an issue when swapping in and out of Legacy mode that was causing certain tooltips to shrink
• Using a traversal skill while the waypoint menu is active will now correctly dismiss the waypoint menu