Summary
- Key Positive Changes: Added resistance-swapping through new remnant-crafted fluxes and a significant rework to Ancestral Bond that removes totem placement costs/charge requirements.
- Quality of Life: Campaign improvements (shortened Dreadnought, removed Waterways lever), a new dedicated keybind for “Dodge,” and the addition of the Fragment tab.
- Economy & Crafting: New Divine Orb sink regarding Vaal orb mechanics; ability to upgrade the base defenses of low-level unique armors; expansion of the Atlas tree with more choice-based mechanics.
- Combat & Balance: Significant nerfs to leech (capped at 40k damage) and rolling slam; buffs to minion/companion builds; minor defenses adjustments (e.g., 30% increase to base armor/evasion).
- Outlook: Overall satisfaction with the patch despite some melee and attack speed nerfs, with a focus on upcoming build guides for the new league.
Patch Highlights & Core Changes
- Resistance Swapping: The introduction of three new fluxes, crafted from remnants, allows players to transform item resistances between elements. This addresses long-standing frustrations regarding crafting high-quality items with undesired resistances.
- Ancestral Bond Rework: The keystone now makes placing totems cost-free and removes the need for charges. Totems will reserve 75 spirit each, and the totem limit is doubled rather than removed entirely. This allows for more flexible totem gameplay.
- Divine Orb & Vaal Changes: Divine Orbs received a drop rate buff. To provide a necessary item sink, the interaction between Vaal orbs and item rolls has changed: Vaaling an item no longer automatically rerolls the item’s values (divining it). Players must now prioritize finding well-rolled uniques before applying Vaal orbs.
- Unique Armor Upgrading: A new system allows players to upgrade the base type of unique armors that drop below level 55 to make them competitive in the endgame. Armors above level 55 can be “Rune forged” to modify defenses, though this may come at the cost of other defensive stats.
Content & Mechanics
- Atlas & Endgame: The Atlas tree has been reworked to offer more “multiple choice” style decisions and now features free respecs. The Vaal Temple has been significantly altered, removing the snake boss and shifting the focus toward either fast bossing (Atziri) or progressing through upgraded, level-four rooms.
- Runes & Crafting: A large influx of new runes has been added to the game, though the lack of a traditional crafting bench continues to be a point of observation for potential systemic complexity.
- Campaign QoL: Developers are actively tuning the campaign experience by removing the Waterways lever and shortening the Dreadnought section to improve pacing.
Defensive and Offensive Balancing
- Leech Nerfs: Leech has seen substantial nerfs; it is now focused more on handling max hits, with recovery capped at 40,000 damage.
- Defense Buffs: There is a generic 30% buff to base armor and evasion. However, concerns remain regarding monster mechanics that bypass armor, which currently act as a significant frustration for player survivability.
- Melee vs. Minions: Melee received mixed updates; while some skills like Earthquake were buffed, others like “Rolling Slam” were nerfed (including worse animation canceling). Conversely, minion and companion builds received numerous buffs, including a new “rage” support gem for minions, making them look strong for the upcoming league.
Future Planning
- Build Considerations: Totem builds are viewed as much more viable now due to the Ancestral Bond changes. Companion and minion builds are also high priorities for testing.
- League Start: Build guides and practice runs are in development, specifically focusing on “safe” builds that allow for easy respecs in case early choices underperform.
Key References