Here’s Why Diablo 4’s 1.1 Patch Sucks

Season of the Malignant is almost here, but now that Blizzard cranked out the 1.1 patch notes, players aren’t exactly in the best spirits as we head into its release. The latest patch contains over 6,600 words, detailing all the buffs and nerfs that have already hit the game’s classes, along with adjustments made to the neutral elements of Diablo 4.

As a result, four out of five classes have had some of their strongest builds nerfed to the ground. These include the Barbarian’s Hammer of the Ancients, the Necromancer’s Bone Spear, the Ice Shards for the Sorcerer, and the Werewolf Shred for the Druid. Most notably, players that use the Sorcerer class bore the brunt of the nerfs. It’s no wonder most of the community is disappointed with Blizzard’s tweaks to Diablo 4.

Dubbed As the Worst Patch to Any Video Game

Players took to the Diablo 4 Subreddit to express their disgust and complaints about Season 1’s patch 1.1.0. If you try to scroll your way through the page, it becomes apparent that every post that’s gaining traction misaligns with the developer’s decisions for Season of the Malignant. I’m personally discontent with what Blizzard has done to the game. We now have nerfs to skills, affixes, damage types, and even the time it takes for your character to exit a dungeon.

A user has dubbed Diablo 4’s patch 1.1 “the worst major patch ever to be released in a game,” honestly, they’re probably right. Patch 1.0.4 received a generally positive response, so it’s baffling to see why Blizzard would take the opposite route of what they were previously doing with their updates. Many felt like the latest update felt so out of touch.

The Neutral Nerfs Are A Huge Blow to All Classes

Things like Critical Hit Damage, Vulnerable, and Cooldown Reduction were all nerfed, besides whatever build buffs and nerfs players are currently getting. Blizzard blatantly stated on their patch notes that players were too strong for their own good, which resulted in them implementing neutral nerfs.

You might feel like you’re doing less damage, but I noticed that survivability is much worse now. You could feel the changes to the reductions to some Aspects, like the one that boosts armor on hit. Plus, since resistances barely do anything to your character, it feels much easier to die than before. At least, that’s what I’ve noticed during my playthrough as a Necromancer.

For the Barbarian’s Hammer of the Ancients builds, you could say goodbye to those 6-8 million damage spikes you were previously getting. The highest I’ve seen so far is 5 million these days through the Overpower Crit, but it’s usually much lower than that. It’s easier to get hit as the Barbarian now, especially when doing World Events.

The Sorcerer Class is Weaker Than Ever

A major point of contention for many is how the changes impacted the Sorcerer—a class that’s already struggling since Diablo 4’s release. Because of the nerfs to the class’ core damage skills, such as Devouring Blaze, they’ve become weaker than ever. The Sorcerer already has survivability issues, but thanks to the 1.1 patch, it’s become an even more fragile glass cannon.

Asmongold Speaks Up

Veteran RPG player, MMO creator, and Twitch streamer Zack “Asmongold” wasn’t happy about what Blizzard had done for Diablo 4 either. The streamer has been streaming games such as World of Warcraft and Diablo 4 since 2011, and he’s not one to shy away from letting the developers know when he doesn’t like the content or updates they’re putting out.

Asmongold claimed that everything is now worse. The entire process is harder, leveling is slower, and helltides are just meh at this point. He also called out Blizzard for failing to fix many of the already-existing problems with Diablo 4 in the 1.1 patch. Patch 1.1 was supposedly going to address some of the game’s underlying problems before Season of the Malignant launches. A major concern raised by the community since Diablo 4’s launch last month was balancing issues. Unfortunately, the latest update has failed to fix these problems.

Many of Asmongold’s viewers seem to agree with him. Perhaps the biggest punch in the gut is that Blizzard has yet to implement a single fix on the complaints made by people since release, such as necro builds, stash space, and rez.

Season of the Malignant Isn’t Looking Too Hot

In response to the overwhelmingly negative sentiments about the Diablo 4 patch 1.1, Blizzard is organizing a Campfire Chat about it this Friday, July 21, 2023. Joe Shely—the game director for Diablo 4—shared with the public that nerfs would be coming to the game, but all of it seems to be more than what the players were expecting. As a result, fans of the franchise are now threatening to leave the game in droves unless the main issues have been resolved. The nerfs for the general stuff and classes were terrible, but the adjustments made to Helltides specifically sparked even more anger.

It’s safe to say that Season of the Malignant’s launch is off to a rough start thanks to Blizzard’s unusual decisions. Hopefully, they’ll rectify this in future patches once Season 1 starts.