Diablo IV’s next update is coming on October 31, and it’s bringing two quality-of-life features fans have been asking for–training dummies and an easier way to reset Paragon Boards.
Blizzard has released the official patch notes for patch 1.2.1 ahead of the update’s launch next week, detailing the new features. When it comes to the ability to more easily reset Paragon Boards, Blizzard states that it has heard feedback from players that “reworking all or most of their Paragon Points was a common occurrence.” To that end, Blizzard has added a “Refund All” button to Paragon Boards, making it easier to do big respecs.
For data-driven players who love to test out new builds and item interactions without even having to leave town, update 1.2.1 will also introduce a training dummy feature. The dummy is located in a cellar beneath the city of Kyovashad, where players will additionally be able to access their stash. Players will have the ability to practice on either one dummy or a small group of them, and the strength of the dummies can be modified to mimic that of normal, elite, or boss-level enemies.
The rest of the update is largely bug fixes, aside from a few adjustments to Season of Blood-exclusive mechanics. Blood Wells, for example, will now drop more piles of Potent Blood, and Blizzard has added additional information tooltips in regards to Vampiric Powers. One more minor, but welcome, change is the reduction of the search area for Whispers that require players to find and kill a specific monster, which should save some time.
Diablo IV Season 2 is currently in full-swing, adding a new Vampire-themed storyline and Vampiric Powers for players to blast through monsters with, as well as massive balance changes. Blizzard will be sharing what’s next for Diablo IV at BlizzCon on November 3-4. The developer has already confirmed that Diablo IV will be receiving annual expansions in addition to quarterly seasons, so news on that front is expected at the show, which will be the first in-person BlizzCon since 2019. Diablo IV can be played for free this weekend on PC via Battle.net, but also recently released on Steam.
Diablo IV Update 1.2.1 Patch Notes
GAMEPLAY UPDATES
Paragon Board
- Added a Refund All button to Paragon Boards.
Developer’s Note: Players communicated that reworking all or most of their Paragon Points was a common occurrence. We’ve added this button to make it easier to do big respecs, along with the increases to Gold income from Whispers in Season of Blood.
Training Dummy
Players can test their mettle against a new inanimate and un-killable foe—the Training Dummy! The dummy is located in an underground room, the entrance can be found in Kyovashad. The training room contains a stash and the Training Dummy. Players can choose between attacking one Training Dummy or a small group of them, and dictate whether each Training Dummy is of Normal, Elite, or Boss monster difficulty.
Season of Blood
- Blood Wells now drop more piles of potent blood, slightly increasing the total average amount dropped.
- Previous: 1 pile of 45-60 Potent blood
- New: 8 piles of 5-9 each
- Added additional information to Vampiric Power tooltips to clarify what their next Rank will increase.
- Added additional information to the Vampiric Powers upgrade screen that communicates the amount of Pacts required and the power’s activation cost.
Miscellaneous
- The search area has been reduced for all Whispers that require the player to find and kill a specific monster.
BUG FIXES
Accessibility
- Fixed an issue where the Screen Writer wouldn’t fully read the Hunter’s Acclaim title.
Dungeons and Events
- Fixed an issue where progress in the Halls of the Damned dungeon could be reset from leaving the area during the Travel to the Sepulchrum objective.
- Fixed an issue with the Whispering Pines dungeon where doors could randomly appear in areas they shouldn’t. (What lies behind door number 3? HELL!)
- Fixed an issue where the Waves of Darkness event sometimes didn’t reward grim favors.
Gameplay
- Fixed an issue where Shrine Buffs would not apply when activated while mounted.
- Fixed an issue where Varshan could stop attacking if his path to the center of the arena was obstructed.
- Fixed an issue where Temerity would only apply its Overheal barrier at full health instead of including excess healing when a source of healing would take the player beyond full Life.
- Fixed an issue where monsters spawned by Hell Portals in a Nightmare Dungeon didn’t properly scale their Life to the number of party members.
- Fixed an issue where Aridah could become indefinitely idle if staggered within a particular window.
- Fixed an issue where the Sorcerer’s Ice Shards skill could miss short targets when cast from an area of higher elevation.
- Fixed an issue where the player could avoid area of effect (AOE) damage while fighting The Beast in the Ice by standing in a particular area of the arena.
- Fixed an issue where Aspect of Artful Initiative would not proc the damage reduction from the Explosive paragon glyph.
- Fixed an issue where Aspect of Artful Initiative was not properly scaling with Item Power.
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to revive their party members while under the effects of Chill.
Quests
- Fixed an issue where progression could be blocked during The Blind Eye quest if destructible terrain was broken from a distance during the Find a Way Out step.
- Fixed an issue where scorpions would not spawn during the Final Straw quest if the Quest was abandoned and restarted.
- Fixed an issue where some NPCs in Jirandai would disappear if Helltide was active in the area, blocking the ability to turn in certain Quests that had associated NPCs in the town.
- Fixed an issue where Theya could keep respawning without dropping the item for the Sight to Madness quest, which could block progression.
- Fixed an issue where Druid players could have progression blocked on their Class Quest if they attempted the Investigate Fainne step while other players were killing monsters in the same area.
Season of Blood
- Fixed an issue where Blood Lure Receptacles could be activated without getting rewards in Local Co-Op play.
- Fixed an issue where the Sanguine Pillar in the Sanguine Battery event didn’t have its life scale properly in Nightmare Dungeons, making it very easy for enemies to destroy.
- Fixed an issue where Vampiric Curse could be applied to non-hostile objects.
- Fixed an issue where Seeker Caches could drop more than once when a player swapped between different parties.
- Fixed an issue where the Blood Seal menu couldn’t be navigated properly with the D-Pad on controllers while inspecting equipped blood seals.
- Fixed an issue where Evade and non-damaging Skills could trigger Hemomancy.
- Fixed an issue where swapping between keyboard and controller while upgrading Vampiric Powers would consume Potent Blood without applying the upgrade.
- Fixed an issue where removing a Pact while in the Vampiric Powers tab would cause equipment tooltips to malfunction.
- Fixed an issue where the tooltip implied that Durability would be restored to a damaged item after removing a Pact from it.
- Fixed an issue where the player could get stuck behind a Seeker’s Cache in Hawezar during the Blood Harvest event.
- Fixed an issue where the Glacial Fissure attack from the Beast in the ice could deal damage through walls and outside of the boss area.
- Fixed an issue where the Summons of the Deathless quest could have its progression blocked if not all players in the party were alive when starting the Speak to Erys step.
- Fixed an issue where the Magistrate’s Notice could be inaccessible during the Blood Money quest if another player in the party didn’t have the Quest active.
- Fixed an issue where Flickerstep’s affix would occasionally not activate when using Metamorphosis.
- Fixed an issue where the description of the Domination vampiric power described the effects of Chill when it should have described the effects of Frozen.
- Fixed an issue where the Blood Bishop’s Flesh Sacks were not properly damaging players.
- Fixed an issue where Stored Souls could get spent by the Sorcerer’s defensive auto-cast Skills such as Ice Armor and Frost Nova.
- Fixed an issue where using the Metamorphosis Blood Seal while having Oculus equipped would result in Teleport evade charges not renewing properly.
- Fixed an issue where exiting the Blood Seal upgrade screen too quickly could result in being unable to upgrade the Blood Seal again until you restarted the game.
- Fixed an issue where Scroll of Amnesia would not go to the Lost Stash if left on the ground and the player left the area.
- Fixed an issue where the Sack of Vampiric Torques would drop rings instead of amulets.
User Interface and User Experience
- Fixed an issue where Several towns were missing a Stash icon in their waypoint tooltip on the Map.
- Fixed an issue where Achievement progression percentage was not consistent in all places it is displayed.
- Fixed an issue where Inventory sorting didn’t function properly while interacting with vendors or crafters.
- Fixed an issue where killing a monster with Metamorphosis didn’t reward a soul stack.
- Fixed an issue where the new item indicator would persist on the Quest tab after the item was used or turned in.
- Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Damage Reduction on armor could be inaccurate at higher armor levels.
- Fixed an issue where Social Wheel actions (emotes, trade, etc.) would not work properly while in the Immunity bubble at the end of a Nightmare Dungeon.
- Fixed an issue where the Social Wheel customization tab wouldn’t function properly when multiple players in Local Co-Op attempted to use it simultaneously.
- Fixed an issue where the tooltips for Aspect of Untimely Death and Berserking displayed their bonuses as additive instead of multiplicative.
- Fixed an issue where the completion pop-up for the Missing Pieces quest displayed an incorrect image.
- Fixed an issue in the Codex of Power menu where the Seasonal Realm filter could be active in Eternal Realm games.
- Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Aspect of Raw Might didn’t display its multiplicative damage indicator.
- Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Aspect of Elements had no damage type indicator on its tooltip and was incorrectly granting an additive bonus instead of multiplicative.
- Fixed an issue where Enhanced Fireball’s tooltip stated that its benefit was dependent on distance traveled.
- Fixed an issue where the Campfire Buff description was displaying the incorrect experience percentage bonus (Note: Bonus experience players have been receiving was already functioning correctly).
Miscellaneous
- Fixed an issue where using a Chaos Scroll while exiting the Fields of Hatred could disconnect the camera from the player.
- Fixed an issue where Reins of the Bloody Liquid Steed Mount Cosmetic was not rewarded for defeating Echo of Lilith.
Developer’s Note: This will be rewarded retroactively for any players that have already defeated Echo of Lilith. These players will receive the Mount upon logging in after installing Patch 1.2.1.
- Fixed an issue where Cinders would not be reset once a Helltide ended.
- Fixed an issue where the Cinder cost of the Tortured Gift of Living Steel was 280 instead of the displayed 300. It now costs 300 Cinders.
- Fixed an issue where riding a Mount that had no armor would cause the player character to appear as carrying invisible reins.
- Fixed an issue where the dagger option was not available at the Purveyor of Curiosities for Sorcerers.
- Fixed an issue where Uber Unique items were not always dropping at their maximum roll values.
- Various performance, stability, and visual improvements.
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