Diablo 2 Resurrected Patch 2.4 PTR - Release Date, Ladder Seasons, Runewords, Skill Changes, Mercenary, Items, Areas

Diablo 2 Resurrected Patch 2.4 PTR - Release Date, Ladder Seasons, Runewords, Skill Changes, Mercenary, Items, Areas

1/3/2022 6:06:20 PM

As announced, Ladder Season 1 of Diablo II: Resurrected, which kicks off in early 2022, will come with several balancing changes for classes and times and introduce new Runewords. And before the official Ladder update rolling out, a Diablo II: Resurrected Patch 2.4. PTR (Public Test Realm) will be set up for giving players the chance to provide extensive feedback regarding planned content. MrLlamaSC was now in the company of Design Lead Robert Gallerani and Senior Game Producer Matthew Cederquist, shared several information about the D2R 2.4 PTR Patch of which you will find the most important below.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Patch 2.4 PTR

Diablo 2 Resurrected Patch 2.4 PTR Release Date & Content (Ladder Update Patch Notes)

For the first time in more than a decade, we will not only be entitled to changes in class abilities, but also to new runic words and recipes for the Horadrc Cube. Blizzard has lifted the veil on the content of patch 2.4 and I admit to being rather excited by the words of the developers.

All of this confirms one thing to say the least: Blizzard didn't release Diablo 2 Resurrected to just let it live its life for another 20 years. In addition to the Seasons, the classes will benefit from many improvements that will allow some builds to become viable. So obviously, we must not get too excited. We'll have to see what it looks like on the PTR 2.4 and if Blizzard hasn't seen too big. But this is great news for players who plan to stay on D2 in the coming months.

D2R 2.4 PTR Release Date

According to speculation, the Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.4 PTR patch is going live in the third or fourth week of January (2022) after the first PTR candidate arrives in the first two weeks of the new year. Again, we should have an official release date of the D2R Ladder Season 1 somewhere in February as a result of this.

UPDATE: Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.4 Ladder PTR is scheduled for January 12th, 2022

D2R 2.4 PTR Patch Notes (Contents)

The D2R Patch 2.4 PTR before this ladder update is aim to test the technical improvements mentioned below. Developers are still preparing the PTR and do not yet know precisely what form it will take.

Ladder Seasons

After the rediscovery of Diablo II in its Resurrected version, players are now ready for the Ladder Seasons, which will arrive on the PTR at the beginning of the year.
Developers think that a Ladder season duration of 4 months is fine. Three months, like Diablo III, is too short, and six months, as is currently the case on Diablo II, is too long.
Seasons bring new content, like Ladder-Only Rune Words.
At the end of the Ladder Season, you will have three new Cache tabs in which your Diablo 2 Resurrected Ladder items will stay for 3 months.
Once the Ladder season is over, you can make the previously exclusive Rune Words, as the next Season will have other new features (which will not necessarily be Runic Words). There will be reasons to come back and play in Seasons.

Class Balancing Changes

When a build is too powerful, players have no choice.
The developers want players to have more diversity while maintaining the identity of the classes.
The descriptions will be improved to be clearer about how the spells work.
Some spells are little used, which is one of the reasons why they will be adjusted.

Amazon

The Synergies were a little too restrictive and will now be easier to access.
Many spells will now be more viable.
For example, Impale will slow down enemies with each hit.
Push back will have a faster incantation animation.
Several frustrating elements will be adjusted, such as the incantation delay.
Some less viable spells at a high level will be adjusted.
The mana costs of the Bow and Crossbow skills are also affected, including a reduction in the cost of Ice Arrow.

Assassin

The Martial Arts tree will be improved. Some skills will only consume one charge instead of three.
The gameplay will be more advanced than alternating between spells generating and spending loads.
The PTR will be decisive for the changes, especially in PvP. Player feedback is important.
It's not just the build that defines a character, but the equipment, the Runic Words...
Some adjustments will also be made to Shadow Disciplines.
Some of the Traps are little used and will be adjusted accordingly, with improvements in synergies and an increase in damage.
The Blade Sentinel skill will be improved, especially with more synergies.

Barbarian

The Barbarian will see several skill improvements, such as an increase in damage for the War Crees.
The Leap will be improved and will be faster. Berserker will also be improved.
Cast spells will have additional damage and will receive Pierce.
Increased Stamina will synergize with other abilities.
Throwing Mastery will be reviewed so that the specialization is more viable.
Frenzy will receive a new synergy so that it is more interesting to put skill points.
Grim Ward will be improved at a low level.
Depending on the feedback, if the Barbarian still requires changes, the team will consider them.
Changes to Whirlwind would greatly alter fate, but adjustments are not excluded.

Druid

Fire skills will be improved and will be a better source of damage.
Fire Claws will gain physical damage and gain new synergies.
Arctic Blast will be easier to use than it is now.
Druids will be able to launch upgrades during a metamorphosis, such as Cyclone Armor.
Improvements will be made to the transformations, including Werewolf that will do more damage.
The least viable invocations will be more so. Raven will have more damage and synergies, Wolves will be more unique, Spirits will receive spiny upgrades.
The Druid is probably the class that will receive the most changes this time.
Cyclone will also be more effective.

Necromancer

Even if it is effective, the Necromancer can also be improved.
Skeleton Necro will be more effective with Elemental skills.
The Fire Golem and Iron Golem will also be more powerful.
Bone skills will receive the better balance in order to be more viable than they are now.
The damage absorption of the Bone Armor will be increased.
The Weaken spell will also be more effective so that it is more interesting to put skill points on it.
It is not expected that summons will always be present when players log in.

Paladin

Several Paladin skills can be upgraded to be more effective.
The Offensive Auras will be more effective than currently with higher difficulties.
Incantation delay adjustments for Holy Bolt and Fist of the Heavens.
Holy fire receives an improvement in damage.

Sorceress

Like the Necromancer, this one does not particularly encounter any problems.
Frozen Armor will be more distinct from each other.
Some Lightning and Fire skills are little used and will be improved so that they are more interesting.
Blaze will be faster and more efficient than at present.
Inferno will be easier to use.
Hydra will be easier to use and will no longer have an incantation delay, which will allow you to have more on the battlefield.
Frost Nova will be improved as well but will remain less effective than Nova.
Thunder Storm will also be a synergy for Nova and may receive adjustments.

Mercenaries

Mercenaries will receive balancing changes, such as spell and stat upgrades, and some of the new Rune Words will be effective on them.
The Mercenaries of Acts I, III, and V will be more effective so that the use of players is more varied than currently.
The six abilities of the Mercenary of Act II will be accessible at any level of difficulty.
Thorns have been adjusted. Currently, it is based on percentages, and developers are currently testing operations based on raw damage. Developers are waiting for player feedback on the PTR.
The Mercenary in Act I should receive another ability and the Mercenary in Act III will gain more statistics at each level.
For example, the Mercenary of Act V will have access to Battle Cry.

Rune Words and Horadic Cube

New recipes will be added for the Horadic Cube.
Some of the new Rune Words complement the changes made to classes and Mercenaries.
There will be improvements for little-used Rune Words.
Some little-used runes will now be more useful (probably Zod and Cham).
A version of the runewords Plague and Pattern present at the time in the files will be added to Season 1.
There will be no new runes, only new Runewords, especially levels 40 to 60.

Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.4 Unbending Will Runeword Attributes & Pros

Set Items

Some D2R set items are little used, and will be improved, but not at the level of Unique.
Among the sets that will be improved, we find Naj and Bul-Kathos Set.
There will be a reason to equip several rooms with the same set.
Currently, obtaining such an item sometimes does not generate the enthusiasm hoped for.

Areas (Farming Spots)

Some areas receive level adjustments for the monsters present, such as Ruined Temple and Arachnid Lair that pass level 85.
The developers want to encourage players to browse more of the available content.
The Prisoner of Hate area will require the Destruction Key.

Q&A

The developers are studying a redesign of the Diablo clones to make them more accessible.
There are no plans to add new character slots at this time.
There have been no changes in years. This patch is the first step and the developers will study the sequel once it is in place. A new meta will arrive.
There are no plans to add any new Endgame content at this time.
The developers know that two-handed weapons are not as interesting as one-handed weapons and will make changes based on players' feedback on this.
There are no plans to add new Cache tabs at this time.
Bot annihilation is a priority for Blizzard.
Some changes will also affect Diablo II.
There are no plans to add any new Unique items at this time.
There are no plans to make any changes to the crafting of items.
The stacking of gems, runes, will probably not happen, but a Cache dedicated to this type of item has already been mentioned by the developers.
There are several issues with a loot filter, sometimes you want to see items of a lower rarity. There are no plans to add one at this time.
Blizzard is monitoring PvP balancing as well.
Now that the most important bugs have been fixed, the patches will be more spaced out, but also more important in terms of content.
The developers will always make improvements to the loading screens.
The / players command will remain reserved for Solo mode.
The developers do not yet have information for Consoles players.