08 Aug 2019Developer postOriginal post (opens in a new tab)

Update 0.94.0 - Item, set, and skill balance, new TL items and much more!

Hey everyone!

Long time no big update.. so here's one!

Some highlights are:

Sets have had their 4th piece be much more optional by moving special mechanics to earlier tiers
New True Legendary items
Several new Warden items
A lot of skill and item balance changes
New double cast mechanics on many CDR passives
Changed Companion pathing and AI
More aggressive enemy AI (longer LOS)
And a bunch more, check out the full notes below!

The next big update (0.95.0) will focus on adding more endgame content! And expect a few smaller fixes/tweaks between this one and the next, as always. I am also quietly and secretly making progress on Act 5, which will be out with either 0.99.0 or 1.0.0 :-)

Also, next week I will be moving to a new place which as of yet does not have an internet connection (yikes), so there be some radio silence for an undetermined time until I get that fixed. Just a heads up!

Anyway, I hope you like this update!

Here are the full notes:

0.94.0:

Items:

All:
- Added additional stat rolls to all TL items that didn't have one
- Added lore to some legendary items (just a few, including two templar sets with continuous lore across the items)
- Sets have been changed so that the 4) bonus is made entirely optional, giving you more flexibility in your builds
- Skull Mask:
  - Now rolls flat damage as a guaranteed enchant and the power greater augments up to 20%, up from 14%
- Weyrick's Crown:
  - Now greater augments to 6%, down from 8%, but also rolls a gem strength enchant
  - !Note on mechanic change!: The bonuses are now additive with Class Mastery bonuses, which are multiplicative with all other % bonuses to health, damage, and mana
- Amulet of Despair:
  - Now greater augments up to 30%, up from 24%
- Jotunhelm:
  - Now has a roll range and is augmentable up to 50% of HPR into damage (used to be no roll range and always 100%, which in hindsight was ridiculous)
- Added new True Legendary items:
  - Heart of the Forest:
    - Base cooldown of all skills reduced, but base mana cost increased
  - Lucilla's Vision:
    - Overhealing from Health on Hit turns into damage, cap based on max health
Runes:
- Berserker:
  - New rune - Warp Echo:
    - Dragon Warp spawns an Echo which has X% chance to doublecast shout skills
  - Rage Jaw:
    - Renamed Rage Smash, item affix changed from Jawbreaking to Smashing
- Warden:
  - New rune - Greater Storms:
    - Tornado, Toxic Storm, Thunder Storm, Hail Storm all now increase their tick rate by x% of the Warden's attack speed. (Their damage per strike is kept so DPS increases)
  - Lesser Rune of Greater Hail:
    - Now affects both Hail and Pelted
Templar:
- Thundercharge Set:
  - 3) Avenger now triggers on-hit effects on 3) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Thundering Army Set:
  - 2) Double base health and damage is now on 2) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Is now only the damage share mechanic
- Wargod:
  - 2) Burning Conviction now slows on 2) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Is now only the damage share mechanic
Berserker:
- Cataclysm Set:
  - Now deals with "Stone Skills" rather than just 3 select skills (see Skill changes below for more info)
  - 2) All Stone Skills deal 30% increased damage on 2) instead of a few select skills on 4)
  - 4) Rock Ward is now activated by all Stone Skills
- Bloodsoaked Set:
  - 2) Now adds infinite stacking for Internal Hemorrhage on 2) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Spiritual Garb Set:
  - 3) Now also increases the damage taken on hosts by 100% for each missing link
  - Also places a stacking DoT effect on hosts
- Skysoul Set:
  - 3) Now increases Dragon Soul proc rate to 100% on 3) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Dragonfire Set:
  - 2) Destructive Manoeuvres strike 3 times when triggered on 2) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Volcanic Set:
  - 2) Lava Blood now stacks infinitely on 2) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Northern Rage Set:
  - 3) Frostbound now stacks infinitely by default
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Frostwyrm Set:
  - 2) Frostbote now stacks infinitely on 2) instead of on 4)
  - 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
- Face Breakers:
  - Now uses 50% of the damage of the skill used rather than 100%

Warden:

Added new True Legendary item:
- Gaia:
  - For each active companion, damage is increased by X%
Added new Legendary items:
- Loaded Bolts:
  - Double Draw now explodes on impact, dealing damage in a X meter radius
- Call of the Wild:
  - All companion skills that summon 2 or more companions summon X additonal companions
- Thistle Thorn:
  - Increases attack speed of Nature skills
High Ranger Set:
- 2) Now also increases Double Draw proc rate to 100%
- 3) Now also increases Double Draw damage
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Windcaller Set:
- 3) Now spawns Whirlwinds in pairs on 3) instead of on 4)
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Shroomtender Set:
- 2) Now causes shrooms to chain react on 2) instead of on 4)
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Everspring Set:
- 2) Now also doubles proc rate of Bloom on 2) instead of on 4)
- 3) Now also makes all poison skills apply 3 stacks of Pods
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Stormcaller Set:
- 3) Now increases Lightning Rod and Static proc rates on 3) instead of on 4)
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Wispmother Set:
- 2) Changed effect: Lightning skills apply Wisp Spark to foes, increasing the damage they take from Wisps by 5% of the damage percentage of the used skill. Wisp Spark both lasts and stacks infinitely.
- 3) Spawns an additional 3 Wisps, and the Wisp's Chain Lightning attack is replaced with Thunder Orb, dealing increased damage to a concentrated location.
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Torrent Set:
- 3) Now restores 1% mana on 3) instead of on 4)
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Snowstorm Set:
- 3) Default range of Snow Ball is now 7 meters (up from 5, with 7 meters being the 4) bonus)
- 4) Now only adds Damage Reduction
Finned Arrow:
- No longer instance caps to 1 arrow

Warlock:

Bloodbinder Set:
- 3) Living Bloods and Clots now apply the poison debuff on all their attacks
Burning Hells Set:
- 3) Now casts Demonic Fury on companions 3) instead of on 4). Demonic Fury now deals full damage from companions. If no companions, Flaming Hells applies 5 stacks per hit.
- 4) Now provides Damage Reduction to both the Warlock and his minions (reduced to 40%, down from 50%)
- Old 3-part bonus removed (Demonic Fury causing Flaming Hells stacks and triggering Combustion)
Demonlord Set:
- 2) Hellpit teleports is now on 2) instead of on 4)
- 4) Is now only the damage share effect with demons
Desecrator Set:
- 2) Slowing bonus is now on 2) instead of on 4)
- 4) Is now only the heal/shield
The Bone Spear:
- Now shoots several Bone Spears in a cone. Augmenting increases the amount of spears
Desecrator set:
- Screaming Skull conversion no longer requires a LOS to the player to deal damage

Interface:

Mastery Perks (rhombus single point skills) are now properly listed as Perks (updated localization too)

Mechanics:

Auto-loot no longer flickers while on
Greatly increased the aggro range of all monsters
Changed how companion pathfinding works in an attempt to stop companions form getting stuck in hallways and attack the wrong targets. Companions are no longer considered obstacles and both companions and AI can path "through" them, though they are all still affected by collisions and will push each other aside
Companion Use effect and Companion Aura effect has been merged into a single "Companion Passive & Use Effect" stat

Skills:

Warden and Warlock has had their Masteries reset because of the changes listed below (and a fix for an exploitable bug on Warlock)
Templar:
- Rolling Thunder:
  - Now also grants skills with 1 second cooldown or less a chance to doublecast instead of a chance to reset the cooldown
- Weapon Straps:
  - Now also grants skills with 1 second cooldown or less a chance to doublecast
Berserker:
- Added a new Mastery which increases the damage transferred by Soul Link
- The Chain Lightning effects of Arc Punch, Overload, and Lightning Fist will now hit the initial target before zapping a nearby target (so it works vs single targets)
- Now has a new "Stone Skill" tag the following skills:
  - Jawbreaker, Stonefist, Earthshatter, Boulder, Rock Pound, Shattering Roar
- Jawbreaker:
  - Renamed to Rock Smash
- Soul Link:
  - Now only transfers 30% of damage taken at max rank (without masteries or related set)
- Thunder Punch:
  - No longer causes knockback
- Overload:
  - Improved animation by adding a nova effect
  - Is now considered a Nova skill
- Thundering Roar:
  - Improved animation by adding some extra thunder strikes
- Dragon Stomp:
  - Cooldown removed
- Fissures:
  - New graphic and sound effect
- Flamewrath:
  - Cooldown reduced by 1 second
  - Is now considered a Nova skill
- Glacial Roll:
  - Now rolls to the target/cursor location, but never less than 3 meters, to give you more control over the ability
- Frigid Roar:
  - Is now considered a Nova skill
Warden:
- Fierce Beasts (mastery):
  - Removed mastery node as it has become obsolete with the companion use and companion aura merge
- Added new skill:
  - Vine Blast: No cooldown Nature skill that attacks in a cone, found with Vine Shot, Bramble Vine, and Bramble Storm
- Preparation, Gardener, and Overcast:
  - Now also grants skills with 1 second cooldown or less a chance to doublecast
- Archer:
  - Now has 5 ranks (up from 3) taking the skill to 15% Archery damage at max rank, up from 10%
- Naturalist:
  - Now has 5 ranks (up from 3) taking the skill to 15% Nature damage at max rank, up from 10%
- Overgrowth:
  - Now longer doubles Accelerated Growth
- Toxic Storm:
  - Visuals made less cluttered, and performance slightly increased
- Guide:
  - Now has 5 ranks (up from 3) taking the skill to 50% Companion Health, up from an uncomfortable 31%
- Ferocity:
  - Now increases Companion Damage by 30%, down from 31%
- Air Freeze:
  - Now forms and fires the ice chunks more rapidly, and the ice chunks move at a higher pace
- Shock Orb:
  - Range increased by 2 meters and projectile speed doubled
- Storm Orbs:
  - Range increased by 1 meter and cone width (spread) doubled
- Stormer:
  - Increased base storm damage by 1%, making it 15% at max rank, up from 14%
- Wisps:
  - Increased size of collision boxes (not hitboxes)
- Thunder Shot:
  - The thunder strikes no longer strike at the same time
- Static:
  - Now builds up charges (4 max) before it releases as a stronger effect. Lasts until 4 stacks/charges are met. 10% increased base proc rate (now goes to 100% with mastery and set) Overall DPS should be roughly the same, but performance a lot better.
Warlock:
- Bone Caster (Mastery):
  - Now increases Bone skill damage by 25% per satellite, up from 5%
- Grand Sorcerer (Mastery):
  - Is now called Lord Sorcerer
- Living Blood:
  - Slightly increased attack range
- Demonic Fury:
  - Now deals direct damage, triggering on-hit effects
- Infernal Demon:
  - Shrunk the bounding box so they can move around easier

Performance:

Improved performance of some spiraling effects such as Screaming Skulls
Improved performance and hit detection of most projectiles

Fixes:

Fixed a few co-op related crashes
Fixed the right stick not working on gamepads in the inventory menus
Fixed Double Draw going through walls
Fixed Death Lord mastery (Warlock) not being unlearnt when drinking Elixir of Mastery
Fixed Wolfpack's (Warden) "use" effect not dealing the correct amount of damage and not triggering related effects
Fixed Toxic Storm's (Warden) visual creating a rectangle area instead of an intended circle
Fixed crash related to Accelerated Growth (Warden) passive
Fixed issue which allowed proccing Double Draw, Overdraw, Static, and Lightning Rod without having any points in the skill by picking the mastery proc rate for it
Fixed Nimbus (Warden) not being limited in instances
Fixed the Poison Trees Rune (Warden) working even if Treants had no thorns stat, causing them to create Shrooms dealing 0 damage (Rune now requires the Thorny passive to function)
Fixed Spirit Link not properly linking with 6 targets when wearing the Spirit set
Fixed issue where some damage calculations wouldn't happen in the correct order, so conditional damage buffs (such as for example extra damage vs a bleeding or slowed foe) wouldn't be properly considered for passive procs in most cases
Fixed Frost Winds (Berserker) instance limitation also being limited by the Twisters enchant
Fixed Glacial Roll (Berserker) dropping icicles every 2 meters instead of the 1.5 as listed in the tooltip
Fixed some "infinitely stacking" effects having a somewhat reachable max stack (9999 stacks)
Fixed issue where you would get duplicate Runes across multiple sessions before you had seen all runes
Fixed Entity's Eccentricity not working
Fixed Illumine power/rune using the old name (hallowed blade)
Fixed Burning Hells Set adding .4 seconds to the duration of Flaming Hells
Fixed some general grammar errors and skill description inconsistencies
Fixed bad text formatting on socketed gems in the socketing vendor interface
Fixed some gems listing proc rates over 100% with high enough gem strength
Fixed font kerning issue where "..." came out as "__"
Fixed the "Swap" button on the rightmost column of mastery nodes being partially cut off
Fixed quest log text highlighting being incorrect
Fixed quest log track button "hitbox" being slightly offset
Fixed a linebreaking issue causing some things to extend beyond info cards, and making some info cards have a lot of vertical padding
Fixed buff tooltips sometimes cutting off words and sometimes added unnecessary padding
Fixed default attack skill descriptions not being fully parsed (keywords remained)
Fixed issue showing stats such as nature damage etc 1% lower than they are
Fixed rare crash on enchanting
Fixed color coding issue on skills with multiple range/radius numbers
Fixed seasonal set complaining about MISSING TEXT
Fixed some effect description inconsistencies (using "more" instead of "increased" for multiplicative effects)
Fixed (probably) issue where you could get locked in the Hidden Cellar in Act3