Diablo 4’s Patch 1.1.1 finally received some detailed notes and the reception is uniquely positive. As far as Diablo 4 patches go anyway.
Since the controversial implementation of Patch 1.1.0, Diablo 4 discourse has been decidedly negative. Blizzard aims to repair this with Patch 1.1.1 launching on August 8.
The developer was so confident that what they’re making would be well received that they published full notes for the patch on their blog five days ahead of its release. They seem to have learned some lessons after the recent backlash and it shows.
The reception to the new patch is a far cry from the mass complaints and review bombing that accompanied the last one. Players of Diablo 4 have combed through the patch notes and there’s a newfound optimism to their reaction.
The primary goal of the patch was to address the abysmal performance of the Sorcerer and Barbarian classes. This has been well-received by players in the Diablo 4 Subreddit at least.
“As a Chain Lightning Sorc… I’m f***ing stoked,” one Reddit user wrote. “Build was already fun enough pre-patch.”
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“Someone tell me what to be angry about,” another joked in light of the quality of the changes. “Huge” and “W” littered the comments below.
The reaction wasn’t entirely positive of course with some complaints regarding the rarity of powerful Wrathful Hearts. “All the hearts go away at the end of the season so I’m not sure why they feel as rare as an uber-unique,” a Twitter user protested.
Diablo 4’s Community Development Director Adam Fletcher responded to a similar complaint. “Yeah we’ve been seeing this a bit from feedback,” he said. “Team is discussing this a bit more here internally.”
Yeah we've been seeing this a bit from feedback. Team is discussing this a bit more here internally.
— Adam Fletcher (@PezRadar) August 2, 2023
Of course, all the positivity is purely speculative as Patch 1.1.1 doesn’t launch for another five days. Only hands-on time will tell if the many buffs and fixes truly improve players’ experience.
Still, it definitely seems like a step in the right direction for Diablo 4 and the development team behind it. Patch 1.1.0 left a sour taste in the community’s mouth but developers did promise “We don’t plan on doing a patch like this ever again.”