After a series of patch missteps left players feeling bitter, the Diablo 4 team concedes that its latest update is not fun. In a Campfire Chat developer livestream, the developers acknowledged that they don’t “plan on doing a patch like this ever again,” and promised to do more to give players reason to return to the game. The stream was a surprisingly candid affair, and while Blizzard’s confidence in its new approach may not be enough to convince some, it is one of the more positive outcomes of the controversy that followed patch 1.1.
The ire felt by the community has not diminished with time, and the latest patch debacle serves as a reminder that it’s important to listen to your audience. It is also a stark reminder that while big balance changes are inevitable, they should be done in the best interest of players, and that if a change is going to be controversial, it’s best to communicate it upfront and give players a chance to adjust.
On the corrections front, a server-side hotfix is currently rolling out to improve the quality of Nightmare dungeons by increasing enemy density. The developer stream also indicated that a barbarian and sorcerer legendary aspect boost are on the way, as is a buff to the elixir stack size and reduced respec gold cost. More than anything, though, it is important that the developers re-engage with the community and commit to making Diablo the exciting power fantasy it’s always been. That task will be no small feat, and only time will tell if the team is up to the challenge.
