Diablo III 1.04 Patch Brings Significant Endgame Changes

Blizzard have updated their blog with an article on Diablo III‘s upcoming 1.04 patch. The update will address several balance issues which Blizzard feel currently hurt the endgame, something they’ve previously admitted is not as well-crafted as they wished it to be. The list of changes includes a removal of averaging out gold and magic find, more consistent enemy health levels with smaller gaps between normal monsters, champions and elites, and an adjustment of some of the more annoying enemy abilities, among many others.

One of the general improvements we’d like to make to our item game addresses the difference between an item having a chance of being good vs. knowing the item isn’t going to be good before you even identify it. In other words, there’s a world of difference between an item having no chance of being good, and some chance of being good. It’s not something we’re going to be able to fully address in 1.0.4, but giving every dropped item a chance to be good is a long-term goal. One area we felt we could make immediate improvements for 1.0.4 was with weapons.

Weapon damage is the most important stat on a weapon. It can be disheartening to get a lot of weapon drops and you know before even looking at them that they have no chance of being good. To help give weapons a fighting chance, the raw damage value on all level 61 and 62 weapons will be able to roll damage that extends all the way to the top end of level 63.

We also want to close the gap between dual-wielding and two-handers, and so we’re improving two-handed melee weapons by creating a new set of stronger affixes to compensate for the loss of stats that can come from your offhand.

Overall it looks like Blizzard are, as usual, committed to breathing continued new life into the game.