The next Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred patch notes are here, and they’re pretty lengthy. The ARPG’s latest update is mostly focused on fixes, with some of the bigger frustrations tackled alongside some welcome changes for recurring irritations such as the constant flood of Gem Fragments. Alongside those come improvements to Legion events and the Kurast Undercity, as Blizzard prepares the table ahead of its midseason patch for Diablo 4 Season 6. There’s a lot to dig through, so here are the most important changes.
The new Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred patch notes pack in a lot of bug fixes, but there are some key points to pick out among them. First of all, two major annoyances have been rectified. The cap on Gem Fragments has been “significantly increased,” which should prevent you from ending up with them lying all over the floor, unable to be collected. The damage needed to knock you off your mount has also been raised, meaning you’ll be less likely to be forcibly dismounted while traveling around in the RPG’s endgame.
The Kurast Undercity has seen some of the biggest improvements. The valuable Portal Prankster chests are now affected by the active bargain for that run. Bargains that were not correctly guaranteeing their rewards should now do so, and you’ll no longer be able to jump into the end of an Undercity run and claim its rewards without taking part. A powerful exploit allowing you to repeatedly swap out your socketed gems for additional benefits during equipment-locked content has also been dealt with.
Legion events, which have felt a bit left in the dust during Vessel of Hatred, will now afford you the bonus loot and Zakarum Remnants reputation from your active Seething Opals upon completion, making them more worthwhile. Realmwalkers will be a little slower to bring down, however, as their health has doubled, and you’ll see an additional wave of Bloodborne Guardians spawn during a single encounter. Blizzard has also resolved an issue that made it awkward to attack the Guardians with some melee builds.
Balance-wise, there are a few fixes to be seen. Druid’s Shred should now target enemies correctly, Necromancer’s Reaping Lotus aspect will now work with the ‘Chance for Sever to deal double damage’ affix, and Rogues won’t mysteriously lose Dance of Knives charges unexpectedly.
Rounding out the most notable updates, we have a much-needed fix for the Glacial Fissure bug that could cause Beast in the Ice to not spawn if you attempted to resummon it too quickly, wasting your valuable Distilled Fear. If you’re using a Necromancer with Blood Lance, Bone Storm, Corpse Explosion, or Sever, or a Sorcerer with Incinerate or Teleport, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now correctly get the stronger greater affixes to appear on their respective ‘Chance for skill to deal double damage’ slots.
Diablo 4 patch 2.0.4 arrives on Tuesday October 29. Notably, despite a few bug fixes for the Spiritborn, there are no changes in this update for the bugged interactions most responsible for the class’s dominance in Season 6. Blizzard is likely still pondering whether it wants to leave those as-is as it prepares the upcoming midseason patch notes, which will be delivered along with another developer livestream to go over the changes.
While we wait for that to arrive, make sure you’ve got the most out of the Diablo 4 Dark Citadel with our handy guide to the new endgame mission. Or, if you’re not quite there yet, bring one of the best Diablo 4 mercenaries to help you with the rest of the game.
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