Season 3 of Diablo 4 has met with little approval so far. Update 1.3.0a already brings some relief in its patch notes, patch 1.3.1 will be released in a few days
The new season of Diablo 4 has started. The Season of the Construct doesn’t sound quite as wonky in German as the then very wonky-named Season of Degeneracy, but Season 3 brings its own set of problems: people are upset that the grind just doesn’t flow thanks to the new trap mechanics and the new Seneschal companion spider feels about as useful as a Furby with battery damage.
Just in time for the weekend of January 26, 2024, a first patch was released that addresses the biggest criticisms. And that’s not all: The next major patch 1.3.1 will be released in just a few days, on January 30, 2024, i.e. on Tuesday. The patch notes for this were also briefly available online, but were then taken offline because Blizzard is probably reserving the right to make some last-minute changes
But one thing at a time. First, let’s talk about the current update 1.3.0a.
What changes Update 1.3.0a?
The complete patch notes can be found on page two of this article, but in a nutshell, the first update mainly alleviates the grind difficulties. The traps in the vaults hit less, you also get better rewards and leveling the spider is made easier:
- You no longer have to pay Pearls of Warding to summon Malphas. Instead, you now have your own items in the form of Igneous Cores, which you can loot from the Vault Heralds.
- A Pearl of Warding now gives you 10 protection stacks instead of three, and the maximum limit has been increased from 300 to 999.
- If you are hit by a trap, you will receive an increased grace period of 1.5 seconds during which you are invulnerable to further stack loss.
- After completing a vault, an additional chest will now spawn with a guaranteed legendary item and a 35% chance to get another legendary.
- Leveling up the Seneschal should now also be easier. The costs for crafting Governing and Tuning Stones no longer scale upwards, and the experience points required to level up the stones have been reduced across the board and retroactively.
- Echo of Malphas is now stronger with 30 percent more life energy and level 100 instead of 85, but in return you get more legendary items and a doubled drop chance for Unique Stones.
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What does patch 1.3.1 change?
As I said: The patch notes for update 1.3.1 have since been taken offline again, but you can still see them at the worthy Rob:
According to first impressions, update 1.3.1 will be a much more comprehensive patch than the quick 1.3.0a fix, it optimizes some annoying affixes and fixes a lot of bugs. We will add the patch notes as soon as we have them in their final form. What do you think of the current season? Are you satisfied or pretty frustrated? Are you giving Blizzard a grace period or did you expect more at the start of the third season?Patch Notes for Update 1.3.0a Build 49404
Echo of Malphas
Developer’s note: We’ve noticed that players tend to use their Pearls of Protection to fight Echo of Malphas instead of relying on Zoltun’s Protection. We’re adding Igneous Cores-a new item that only serves to summon Malphas instead of the Pearls-so players don’t have to choose between the extra protection in the Vaults and fighting the boss. In addition, we have made the fight against Malphas more difficult, but also increased the rewards.
- The level of Echo of Malphas has been increased from 85 to 100.
- Echo of Malphas’s health pool has been increased by 30%.
- A new item-Igneous Cores-now exists for the purpose of accessing the Uber Vault and Echo of Malphas. This item replaces the use of Pearls of Protection to gain access.
- Igneous Cores have a chance to drop from Vault Heralds and are guaranteed to drop from Son of Malphas in World Tier IV.
- Loot Updates
- The drop rate of unique stones from Malphas has been increased from 0.25% to 0.5%.
- Unique stones now have a 3% chance to drop from the chest after the boss.
- Defeating the Echo of Malphas will now reward more legendary items. Item level 925 items will also drop more frequently.
The Seneschal
Developer’s note:We have received feedback that the seneschal does not feel powerful. The Seneschal becomes more powerful when it reaches max level, but we’ve noticed that many players have not yet had the opportunity to level up their Seneschal to the point where they can experience this. We’re introducing several changes to ensure players have more sources to earn Steering and Tuning Stones so they can level up their Seneschal and unlock the full potential of their new companion.
- Crafting a Government or Voting Stone now always costs 200 Broken Stones and 20 Iron Chunks, regardless of level.
- Finding a government or voting stone of the highest level now grants 150 -200 Shattered Stones.
- Governing and Tuning Stones can now be acquired as a reward for completing Whispers.
- Son of Malphas now always drops 2-3 Reign and Vote Stones.
- Stones obtained from Seneschal Stone Stashes have been increased from 1 to 2 stones.
- Lowered the experience requirements for Government and Tuning Stones, allowing them to level up more naturally with your level experience.
Vaults and Arcane Shakes
We’ve made several changes to player quality of life in the Vaults and Arcane Hollows
- Consuming a Pearl of Protection on a statue of Zoltun Kulle now grants 10 stacks of Zoltun’s Protection instead of 3.
- The maximum number of stacks of Zoltun’s Protection has been increased from 300 to 999.
- The grace period for losing stacks of Zoltun’s Protection when hit by multiple traps at once has been increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds. (Example: If you are hit by 3 arrows within 1.5 seconds, you will only lose 1 stack instead of 3).
- Herald of Malphas is now guaranteed to drop a legendary item at level 26, with a 15% chance to drop a second legendary item.
- Knockback has been removed from all obelisk hazards.
- Chests now appear after completing the final encounter of a vault. These new chests will drop a guaranteed legendary item at level 26, with a 35% chance to drop another legendary item.
- The projectile speed of elemental arrows has been reduced by 20%.
- Reduced the hitbox of elemental rust and spike hazards on the ground by about 15%.
- The hitbox of elemental pillars has been reduced by about 15%.
Bug fixes
- Fixed an issue where the gatehouse for players on the PlayStation was not displayed on the map.
- Fixed an issue where the brazier could not be interacted with under certain circumstances during the quest “The Drums of the Vault”.
- Fixed an issue where the cosmetic item “Beckoning Thunder Horse” was invisible to Druid players.
- Fixed an issue where the damage effect and visual effect of floor traps in vaults were not synchronized.
- Miscellaneous stability and performance improvements.
