Since Diablo 4 arrived early last month, those who approached it with the perfect build in mind have been making great progress towards their goal of reaching peak performance.
Unfortunately, some of these hardcore Hellspawn had their anticipation for the game’s first season severely dulled by a controversial patch and some frustrating bugs.
Thankfully, it seems plenty of players and streamers have decided to press on and participate in the Season of the Malignant anyway. Many of them are currently testing out the season’s array of new items, with one having stumbled across a Malignant Heart that boasts a pretty peculiar power.
Which of Diablo 4’s Maligant Hearts have you found most useful so far?
Posted to the game’s subreddit by user Loglover666, the heart in question is a Caged Heart of the Decrepit Aura, which typically offer Necromancers a defensive aura that inflicts the Decrepify effect on nearby enemies.
This buff is designed to be activated when the player gets close to a specific number of enemies, specified in the description of the item, simultaneously.
However, it seems that there are versions of it out there which come with an activation number of zero enemies, which Loglover666 has confirmed via some testing means that its effect is permanently active, saying: “as soon as you leave town it activates!”
That said, in the replies to the post, user biebiep suggested that this blessing also comes with a curse of its own, revealing: “The [one enemy] version [of the heart] is better because it triggers. The [zero enemy] version sometimes doesn't [kick back into action] after [your character gets] stunned and you need to re-equip [the] item.”
Lots of the players in the thread seem convinced that this particular version of the heart is likely an oversight on the part of Blizzard, with many openly declaring that they expect it to be nerfed or changed in a future update.
That said, a few have come to the heart’s defence, with user partang3 saying: “I think this type of build-defining power is exactly what they want out of some [not all] of the malignant hearts as a seasonal mechanic. This is the type of impactful design I think is [a] healthy power for a season.”
The Caged Heart of the Decrepit Aura isn’t the only Malignant Heart players have labelled broken in recent days, with the Caged Heart of The Barber, which can ‘steal’ damage from other players, also having raised a few eyebrows.
Regardless of how many new uniques and aspects you’ve tried out so far in Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant, make sure to follow us for an array of guides to its changes, including quests like Holding Back the Flood.