So as you may have seen elsewhere, we’ll be issuing a small update to 2.6.7 between now and the start of Season 19 to address some balance issues prior to the start of the Season of Eternal Conflict. This patch isn’t going to resolve every balance issue; there’s simply not enough time between the need for QA verification and patch submission for all our platforms to address everything. That said, we’re committed to continuing to balance with community feedback in mind as we release additional patches throughout 2020.
For Season 19, though, here’s what you can look forward to (these Patch Notes are currently pending through Localization for official release, so please take unofficial translations you read with a grain of salt) :
Items
Lamentation
- Now increases the damage of Rend by [100-150%]
- Developer's Note: As we've indicated in forum posts, we overshot on Lamentation's original implementation during the 2.6.7 PTR. However, we also very much undershot the overall balance of Rend/Whirlwind's adjustments by removing this bonus completely. After reading a ton of your feedback and completing our own internal testing, we've settled on a middle ground we believe reaches the balance level we were shooting for.
Shield of Fury
- The benefit of this item now stacks up to a cap of 20
- Developer's Note: As many of you noted coming out of our 2.6.7 update, we also overshot on Crusader with the live patch. We love to see Crusader performing much better with it's new set, and this cap should reign in damage to a more reasonable level
Bugs
Patterns of Justice
- Fixed an issue where the Tempest Rush Flurry rune attack did not benefit from the 6-Piece bonus when cancelling Tempest Rush (PC Only)
- Developer's Note: We were unable to resolve this for 2.6.7a for Console; however, it is slated to be fixed on Console in a future patch.
Fjord Cutter
- Fixed an issue where Fjord Cutter was increasing all damage to slowed or chilled enemies instead of just Seismic Slam damage
Won Khim Lau
- Fixed a bug where Epiphany would trigger teleporting while channeling Tempest Rush (Electric Field) when Won Khim Lau was equipped
We know there are still other things to address, including Rathma Necromancer, Bazooka Wizard, and general Demon Hunter performance (among other concerns for other classes that we have slated for future patches). We’re not ready to deploy changes on these fronts, but we are continuing to pore through feedback, experiment, and iterate on potential solutions, so please keep making your voice heard in a constructive manner!
We’re also discussing extending future PTRs for patches that include additional set items; one week was simply not enough for the iteration process, and we’re adjusting accordingly.
It’s taken time to get communication to a more mobile and agile place, and I appreciate your patience while we’ve worked to get new processes in place. Hopefully it shows that we’re working on addressing as much as we can, as timely as we can; we are passionate about Sanctuary and its inhabitants, and we’re doing our best to make Diablo III as awesome as it can possibly be.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you in Patch 2.6.7a and Season 19!
