Though the arrival of Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant was arguably overshadowed by a controversial patch, plenty of players have still delved into it and set about trying to find items that can take their characters to the next level.
Some of these hardcore hellspawn have even managed to stumble across a Malignant Heart that offers a permanent buff. Unfortunately, others have been less lucky, encountering some frustrating bugs.
Now, the full notes for the game's Patch 1.1.1, which was previewed during last week’s Campfire Chat and is set to be deployed on August 8, have been released, with some upcoming changes to boss health priving a bit unpopular among players.
What do you think of the changes coming in Diablo 4’s patch 1.1.1?
Among the patch’s most headline-grabbing changes, which you can read in full here, are its buffs to bosses above level 60. These baddies are set to see their health boosted by values ranging from 50% at level 80 to 150% at level 150, a change that isn't going down too well with players.
“This is really bad for a lot of builds,” streamer Wudijo said of these revisions in a video breaking down the patch, pointing out that those which rely on area of effect damage and don’t have “big single target damage” are “not [really] going to kill bosses in a comfortable amount of time anymore.”
They added that they’d have preferred to have seen buffs to the attack damage of movement speed of the bosses instead, arguing that the patch’s substantial increase to the chance of bosses above level 35 dropping legendary items won’t do enough to offset the health boosts.
Wudijo also suggested that the change could see some players opt to only run dungeons that don’t contain any bosses.
Similarly, fellow streamer Macrobioboi said of the buffs in their own patch review: “The issue with bosses wasn’t that they died too quickly, [it] was that they’re a gear check and then they’re of no consequence.”
Thankfully for those terrified that every boss battle they jump into after the patch goes live, Diablo Global Community Development Director Adam ‘PezRadar’ Fletcher has since confirmed in a tweet that the bosses you battle during the game’s main campaign, in addition to Uber Lilith, won’t be getting any health buffs.
Thanfully, the patch also includes many changes which have been received positively.
These include the rectifying of an enchanting bug that could make stats repeat across multiple re-rolls and an issue with the Barber Malignant Heart that would lead it to soak up the damage from every single player in a party, not just the user.
Regardless of how you feel about your chances of slaying the Diablo 4 first boss you encounter after the patch goes live, make sure to follow us for an array of guides to the Season of the Malignant’s items and quests.