Diablo 2 Resurrected was built to be a faithful recreation of the original game, but Blizzard is also making some tweaks to the fundamentals for the first time in a decade. The latest patch, version 2.4, makes balance changes to the classic action-RPG.
As detailed in the patch notes, the 2.4 version makes fairly substantial changes across all seven classes. Some, like the Amazon and Druid, got lots of buffs. Others like Assassin and Sorceress received more minor tweaks. The Barbarian, in particular, got double-digit buffs to several of its weapon masteries.
Those balance changes come among several other bug fixes and quality-of-life adjustments. The patch promises better pet AI, performance and settings adjustments, and more options for how you appear online and message friends. This patch also paves the way for the first ladder season to begin later this month. You can find the full patch notes below.
"It's why, unlike Diablo III, I don't foresee myself spending a lot more time with Diablo II: Resurrected," Alessandro Barbosa wrote in GameSpot's Diablo 2 Resurrected review. "That's not to say the adventure was without merit, and it's certainly great to have a way to play one of Blizzard's classics with a coat of paint that does its visual aesthetic justice so many years later. But outside of players already well-versed with the game's aged design choices and imbalance, there's not a lot here outside of a history lesson for new players to enjoy. A lot of the time spent playing Diablo II: Resurrected, I just longed to return to Diablo III."
Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.4 Patch Notes
CLASS CHANGES
AMAZON
Impale
- Animation speed for Impale increased by 30%
Plague Javelin
- Plague Javelin poison duration is no longer fixed at 3 seconds as it was in the previous PTR, but its duration and damage scaling have been adjusted compared to Live. This should net out to a 20% damage-per-second increase at level 1 and up to a 33% damage-per-second increase at max level.
Multiple Shot
- Added synergy from Guided Arrow: +12% physical damage per level
Immolation Arrow
- Cooldown reduced by 40%
Guided Arrow
- Added synergy from Multiple Shot: +12% physical damage per level
Strafe
- Synergy from Multiple Shot: +5% physical damage per level
- Synergy from Guided Arrow: +10% physical damage per level
Developer Comments: We've noted your feedback that it feels odd that the physical bow skills don't have any synergies like the cold and fire bow skills do. We hope that giving some synergies to the physical bow skills help them remain viable.
ASSASSIN
Wake of Inferno
- Added yards calculation to the Wake of Inferno tooltip
Blade Fury
- Attack rating increased by 10%
BARBARIAN
Leap Attack
- The Barbarian now deals extra physical damage to surrounding enemies within a range of 4.6 yards when landing from a Leap Attack. Damage scales per level.
- Modified Leap and Leap attack jump to give it a smoother trajectory that should keep the barbarian on screen at all times, and reduce jerkiness when he lands
- Leap and Leap attack now have a minimum jump height and duration
- Increased mana cost of Leap Attack from 9 to 10
Developer Comments: We saw an opportunity to make leap attack more viable by changing to fantasy to make the leap itself an attack. By doing this we feel like the combat viability of the skill will increase while still preserving it as a movement skill. We feel that this change paired with the animation changes we made to it brings the leap attack more in line with the fantasy and feel we want it to have.
Sword Mastery
- Renamed to Blade Mastery
- Now affects daggers in addition to swords
- Increased base attack bonus to 40% (from 28%)
Axe Mastery
- Attack rating increased by 12%
- Increased base attack bonus to 40% (from 28%)
Mace Mastery
- Attack rating increased by 12%
- Increased base attack bonus to 40% (from 28%)
Polearm Mastery
- Increased base attack bonus to 44% (from 30%)
Spear Mastery
- Increased base attack bonus to 44% (from 30%)
Throwing Mastery
- Increased base attack bonus to 44% (from 30%)
- Added chance to not consume quantity per level (Up to 50%)
- Critical strikes with throwing weapons now replenish quantity
Developer Comments: Barbarians run out of throwing weapon quantity far too quickly. Adding chances to not consume as well as chance to replenish will allow a throwing barbarian to be viable without having to return to town frequently.
DRUID
Armageddon
- Removed the Hurricane skill requirement for Armageddon
- Increased the missile damage radius of Armageddon by 33% (from 3 to 4)
- Increased the missile drop rate of Armageddon by about 30% (from ~3 per second to ~4)
Summoning
- Druids can now have spirit wolves, dire wolves, and bears all summoned at the same time
Developer Comments: The restriction of the Druid being allowed only one type of summonable at a time has restricted the viability of this build and has hampered the fantasy of a Druid Summoner from living up to its full potential. We feel that a druid being able to summon all of his allies at once will make for a more interesting and fun playstyle.
Werewolf
- Werewolf now only uses the new attack speed calculation that was originally introduced in the PTR
- Raised Werewolf attack speed cap from +75% to +150%
Fury
- Increased speed between attacks by 40%
Werebear
- Werebear now only uses the new attack speed calculation that was originally introduced in the PTR
- Raised Werebear attack speed cap from +75% to +150%
- Damage bonus per level increased from 8% to 15%
- Base defense value increased from 25% to 40%
- Defense bonus per level increased from 6% to 10%
- Cannot be interrupted while performing attacks or skills
Maul
- Now grants +3% attack speed per charge
Developer Comments: We've debated on the best way to bring shapeshifting Druids forward. After much discussion, we are going to commit to the modern (Balance PTR 1) way of calculating attack speed for the wereforms. We have rebalanced the werewolf to allow that form to reach even faster speeds than it could previously. As for werebear - we want to deliver on the fantasy of a powerful, unstoppable, killing machine. We've introduced uninterruptible attacks and skills, as well as increased damage and defense. While this will change the way players have played the Werebear in the past, we feel like it is more in line with the intended fantasy. For players who loved their fast werebear builds, we’ve added attack speed bonuses to Maul, but we also hope the new Werewolf changes will offer them the same style of play, as it is now the faster form.
NECROMANCER
Blood Golem
- 20% reduction in mana cost applied per level
- Attack damage increased by about 20%
Fire Golem
- 20% reduction in mana cost applied per level
- Attack damage increased by about 20%
- Holy Fire level bonus per level restored to 1 from 2
Developer Comments: We've heard your feedback that golems don't feel valuable enough as skills. Without giving them a larger overhaul, we hope these changes will make them feel powerful enough to use more often.
PALADIN
Thorns
- Now deals a flat amount of damage when hit in addition to returning a percentage of damage taken to the enemy when hit
Holy Fire
- Changed how the proximity bonus for Area Damage is calculated. It will now deal 200% damage to enemies at melee range.
- Tooltip: The maximum Area Damage values incorporate the maximum proximity damage bonus.
- Resist Fire Synergy increased from 18 to 21%
Holy Freeze