Patch 1.0.8 brings with it a slew of new enhancements, many of which are aimed at players tired of farming Act III. We’ll still have to wait a while longer for the much anticipated changes to itemization, but in the meantime, here’s what to expect when the patch goes live:
Increases in Monster Density
Every act outside of Act III is receiving a huge boost to monster density. Rather farm in the Cathedral than the Keep Depths? Now you can. Small adjustments are still being made, but it’s safe to say that players will have at least a few more farming routes to choose from.
However, the change is not without its issues. See, Blizzard kind of did a 180. Acts I & II now have their share of viable farming areas, but the one act that everyone used to farm, Act III, was rendered partially obsolete, and it’s all because of one little change. Experience from Tormented Stingers was dropped by 75%. Because of this, it’s safe to say that the once heavily farmed Arreat Crater will become about as populated as Death Valley.
Multiplayer Enhancements
It seems that with each patch, Blizzard gives it fan base more and more reasons to work together. Not only has the increase in enemy damage per additional player been reduced to 50% (down from 70%), but for each player in the game, all players will receive a 10% boost to Magic Find, Gold Find and Experience. Better yet, like Nephalem Valor, this boost ignores the hard MF and GF cap of 300%.
In addition, whenever one player engages an Elite mob or Treasure Goblin, the whole party will be notified.
You mean that I no longer have to type “E” when I’m sprinting around the Fields of Misery? Great!
Realistically, these boosts are probably not big enough to convince the most adamant solo players to start grouping, but for the rest of us, they’re a welcome change.
Identify All
Why did this take so long, Blizzard? Isn’t it like one line of code? Since Diablo III was launched, players have begged the developers to let them identify all their unidentified items at once. Finally, their wishes have been answered. In fact, Blizzard went a step further by also allowing player to craft multiple items and gems of the same tier at once, in so long as they possess the right materials.
Class Changes
I have this theory that before each patch, Blizzard spins a giant wheel with the names of each class on it. Whichever class it lands on is the one they buff for that patch. Hey, you never know.
Anyhow, looks like Wizards are getting most of the love in Patch 1.0.8. Arcane Torrent is getting a fairly significant damage buff. But the question is whether it will be enough to turn gamers onto the skill.
The Archon skill is also getting a much needed fix. In multiplayer games, the Wizard no longer has to be the player to deliver the finishing blow in order to extend Archon’s duration by one second. Wonderful.
Disintegrate received a nominal damage boost – no big deal. A big buff however…Wizards can now teleport to any area within range. Now all Blizzard has to do is reduce its cooldown and it will be as powerful as it was in Diablo II.
Demon Hunters received a buff to Rapid Fire and Witch Doctors to Firebats, but the buffs are rather nominal when compared to those bestowed upon Wizards.
Miscellaneous
There are also a ton of small incoming changes that should make navigating Diablo III’s interface a bit friendlier. My favorite one is that you can finally compare your equipped item to one in the Auction House. Again, where was this feature four patches ago?
Another good one is that up to eight buffs or debuffs will be displayed on the UI. And finally, the Act IV Keywarden has a chance to drop a random key. Unfortunately, I still don’t think this change and the increase in monster density is enough to entice players back into farming Act IV – it’s just too short.
Conclusion
We here at D3Domination are loving most of the Patch 1.0.8 changes, not because they’re overly significant, but because they prove that Blizzard is at least listening to its fan base. Let’s hope that Patch 1.0.9 brings the massive changes to itemization promised by Blizzard a few weeks back.
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