Diablo 3 Brings Back Players with Patch 1.0.4

Diablo 3 was updated about 2 weeks ago with its first major patch. All of the dust and hype regarding Patch 1.0.4 has settled, but has it truly fixed all of the glaring issues that players have been dealing with since launch?

The main two complaints that surrounded Diablo 3 were how players were forced to conform to a cookie cutter build in order to progress through Inferno, and how Legendaries were significantly weaker than a well rolled Blue, let alone a well rolled Rare. Luckily, these two complaints have both gotten some attention. Blizzard went through each of the five classes, and buffed almost every skill previously considered weak. There are dozens of new builds popping up, and more are soon to follow. Unfortunately, there are still a few cookie cutter builds that absolutely decimate everything (I’m looking at you WW Barb), but it is definitely an improvement.

Blizzard also went through and just buffed Legendaries across the board. There is almost no reason to not use a decently rolled Legendary, as the stats are so ridiculously high now. Now people can wear Legendaries and feel incredibly powerful. The major drawback is that now any rare or blue that doesn’t have an amazing roll is almost worthless. While lower level rares may have gotten a few buffs, people only want Legendaries, but Legendaries are incredibly expensive and the only way to afford one is to find one of your own and sell it. This can be very frustrating, as now earning gold is even more of a gamble. But, at least Legendaries aren’t worthless now.

Diablo 3′s recent patch also addressed one other major complaint: the insane difficulty curve in Inferno. Blizzard went through and nerfed some of the Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3 monsters, allowing people to progress at a much faster pace now. This was unnecessary, as buffing Legendaries and buffing skills made Inferno easier. With the lowered innate difficulty, and the buffs, people who struggled in Act 2 now find themselves clearing through Act 3 with ease. Still, it makes Inferno a lot less daunting for new players.

Unfortunately, they did little to keep people playing Diablo 3 after Inferno. They added a Paragon System which essentially adds 100 levels to grind out once you hit 60. Upon level up, you gain 3 of your main stat, 2 vit, and 1 for each of the other stats along with 3% magic find and 3% gold find. While this does add a certain “carrot-on-a-stick” effect to grinding, it won’t keep people playing for long. Diablo 3 is still lacking a real endgame and we’re hoping the fabled PvP patch isn’t too far off.

Without a doubt, Patch 1.0.4 for Diablo 3 brought many players back to the game. With a few balance tweaks, and item tweaks, the game is certainly more enjoyable. Though, with the nerfs to monsters and buffs to lower level rares and all Legendaries, the game will only get easier as more gear comes into the market. Regardless, this patch was a step in the right direction. It made the game a lot less frustrating, and allowed people the creativity they desire. Hopefully Blizzard can follow it up without too long of a delay.