Diablo 4 players dig patch 1.1.1’s changes to dungeons and Helltides

A dungeon in Diablo 4.
Credit: Blizzard.

A dungeon in Diablo 4.
Credit: Blizzard.

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.

With patch 1.1.1 having just been deployed on August 8, players have been eagerly checking out how its array of changes have affected the experience the game offers and, so far, the verdict on some of them looks to be pretty positive.

How do you feel about the changes brought to Diablo 4 by patch 1.1.1 so far?

Since the patch arrived in a game, a couple of threads praising what it’s done to nightmare dungeons and Helltides have managed to accrue a pretty substantial amount of upvotes on the game’s subreddit, suggesting the opinions they express might not be in the minority.

“The new Helltides from patch 1.1.1 [are] amazing so far,” declared user Emotional_Engine9 at the beginning of one, continuing: “I've been enjoying the [mob] density, the cinder drops from [them] and all the interactables. The gameplay feels organic and smooth.”

A number of their fellow players have responded relaying similar experiences, citing the lack of a need to concentrate solely on doing certain things in order to earn the kind of cinder hauls they’re looking for.

Meanwhile, in another thread, user AlmostProGaming has praised the effect the new mob densities have had on Nightmare Dungeons, suggesting that despite the experience gains on offer from dungeon running still being lower than they’d like, the patch’s changes to them have been a net positive.

That said, a couple of players in thread reported having experienced a bit of a spike in the difficulty of some monster battles, likely due to the patch’s controversial health buffs to many powerful enemies.

The announcement of said buffs led streamer Wudijo to test out the viability of playing in a manner that avoid bosses altogether, showing just how unnerved players were by the prospect of them.

If you’re planning on jumping into the game to check out what’s different, you’ll probably also want to know that it’s set to receive a hotfix at some point this week, which will target issues such as those currently making it difficult to progress through the side quest ‘Fury Against Fate’.

Regardless of whether you’re about to head out on a dungeon run or to take on a Helltide, make sure to follow us for an array of guides to the Season of the Malignant’s items and quests.