With Season 6 there are numerous changes in Diablo 4, which primarily affect the classes. On the PTR, some were simply too weak – especially the actually strong barbarian. But that should change.
With Season 6 and the “Vessel of Hatred” expansion, Blizzard is revising basic mechanics in Diablo 4. The world levels will become difficulty levels, the progression system will be restructured – including a new max level of 60. In addition, paragon points will be separated from character levels in the future.
Blizzard is also working on the class balance for the coming season. In the last livestream on October 2nd, the developers explained that they were making adjustments to the classes based on feedback from the PTR. The barbarians were too weak there and are being improved, but the others are also getting buffs. We’ll show you what they look like below.
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Season 6 tweaks all classes
Season 6 brings new skills for the five classes in Diablo 4, but also some new uniques and mythic uniques. Players were able to test the innovations on the PTR at the beginning of September.
In the YouTube live stream, game designer Charles Dunn explained that the feedback from the PTR was very helpful. It helps the team make all classes as fun and engaging as possible, explains the developer.
What changes about the barbarian? Barbarians are one of the strongest classes in Diablo 4 and are known for crazy OP builds that have often been nerfed. However, according to the developers, the class performed too poorly on the PTR. That should change again soon.
The “Churning” skill should be improved in terms of its damage – from 88% to 100%. The damage bonus of the Twin Strikes item is also increased from 10-40% to 30-60%. Other items will also be improved.
What is changing about the Druid? The Druid was also not strong enough on the PTR for Season 6. Regarding the core passive skill “Nature’s Wrath”, an issue that occurred on the test server is fixed. Paragon nodes are also being reworked.
To do this, the developers are adjusting an aspect as well as the “Vettel’s Great Staff” in terms of the damage bonus. The “critical hit damage” affix is replaced, but the staff gets the affix that “Storm Strike” can work twice.
What is changing about the Necromancer? The necromancer was too “squishy” on the PTR and simply didn’t have enough defense. This primarily changes the defensive bonuses of skills, but also those that affect damage.
The Bloody Harvest skill gets increased damage reduction. The central passive skill “Kalan’s Edict” no longer only gives the minions increased attack speed, but also increased damage per active minion. In general, the necromancer’s companions are strengthened with some buffs. In Season 4, the Minion build was one of the strongest builds in the game.
Below you can see the changes in the screenshots from the English-language YouTube live stream:
What is changing about the hunters? According to the developers, the Huntress performed quite well on the PTR and received a lot of positive feedback, especially for the new skill “Dance of the Knives”. In return, however, some other skills will be revised.
The passive skill “Punish” was bugged on the PTR and will be adjusted. The skill “Hail of Arrows” receives an increase in damage bonuses, as do the hardening recipes for the skill. In addition, the bonus for infusions during the “Hail of Arrows” is increased.
What changes about the sorceresses? On the PTR, Sorceress was “definitely the strongest class,” explains Charles Dunn. The new central passive skill “Enlightenment” was particularly well received by the players. However, this caused errors, which will be revised. But the skill should still be strong afterwards.
Items are also being revised, such as the magic wand “The Oculus”. Instead of the previous affix for the size of the teleport, there will now be a chance for the teleport to deal double damage.
Below you can see the changes in the screenshots from the English-language YouTube live stream:
Community Director Adam Fletcher emphasizes in the live stream that these are not all the changes that will come to the classes and skills in Diablo 4 in Season 6. A full overview can be found in the patch notes on the Blizzard website.
Game designer Charles Dunn explains in the livestream that the team is closely following feedback on the classes – whether it’s about which builds are fun, whether something is over- or underpowered, or how players play the classes. This feedback helps developers make the game as good as possible, notes Dunn.
The new skills of the five classes that come with Season 6 in Diablo 4 will also be revised again before the start on October 8th. In some cases the damage is increased, in some cases affixes or aspects are adjusted. You can see which new skills will be added to Diablo 4 in Season 6 in our overview.