Blizzard’s Diablo 4’s third beta test caused quite a stir with its Server Slam on the weekend. Fans of the game come across an interesting situation that unfolded on May 14th. The Diablo GM, Rod Fergusson, admitted that the Necromancer’s recent post-beta nerf did not feel good. It’s rare for someone as high up as Fergusson to accept that something isn’t right. Such a situation is surprising as most game developers take months of deliberations to make nerfs or buffs to games.
However, something out of the ordinary happened within six hours of Fergusson’s admission. A hotfix was rolled out to buff the Necromancer’s skeleton health, apparently back to the pre-nerf level. Fergusson had tweeted about the issue at 6:40 PM, and the hotfix was made by 1:00 AM that very night. This kind of quick response provides hope for Diablo 4 players that there might be more such instant changes like this one.
Blizzard had already impressed Diablo 4 players with the speed they implemented fixes between the first two betas and Server Slam ones. Early users of the game had complained that the Barbarian and Druid classes were not much fun in the game’s early content. However, Blizzard buffed these characters immediately, making them stronger with better survivability at lower levels.
Rod Fergusson has stated that while major patches are saved for seasonal transitions every three months, the team is prepared to roll out minute-to-minute patches when it’s required. The speedy way in which they made the Necromancer skeleton health hotfix shows Blizzard is prepared to take quick action in case of outlier situations.
Diablo 4 is expected to launch in two weeks. This early release will provide feedback on what to expect from the live game. Blizzard, in its commitment to make Diablo 4 a live game, has stated it will release yearly seasons in addition to full expansions. Changes are inevitable. We are yet to see what changes will make it to the game. Until then, those interested in Diablo 4 can follow Paul Tassi on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. They can also subscribe to his free weekly content round-up newsletter, God Rolls.
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The material in this article is written on the basis of another article.
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