Summary
Diablo 4continues to prioritize convenience in Season of Blood, as the developers have recently upped the drop rates for Living Steel. While thecontroversy ofDiablo 4’s inaugural seasonstill looms in the air, the community has been cautiously optimistic about the changes that Blizzard introduced in Season of Blood. Patch 1.2 attempted to fix several design issues that have plagued the game since launch, such as elemental resistance and gems, while rebalancing the main offensive stats, such as Vulnerable and Overpower, from top-to-bottom.
Season of Blood also addednew bosses toDiablo 4’s endgame, and though it still lacks the satisfying gameplay loop ofDiablo 3, the community considers it to be an overall upgrade from Season of the Malignant. In addition to Helltides and Nightmare Dungeons, being able to farm Duriel for a chance at getting an Uber Unique has also givenDiablo 4players a worthwhile carrot to chase.
However, the latestDiablo 4hotfix has also introduced a long-requested buff to Helltides. Namely, a major increase in Living Steel drop rates. Players such as XhandsanitizerX flocked to social media sites such as Reddit to give credit to the developers for making the change, as it brought newfound excitement torunning Helltides inDiablo 4, which has been in an awkward spot as an endgame activity ever since Blizzard nerfed the Uber Unique drop rates in Patch 1.0.4.
In addition to thechanges thatDiablo 4’s Season of Blood introducedthus far, Greater Rifts are also slated to return as an endgame activity when Abattoir of Zir launches with Patch 1.2.3 in December. Though Abattoir of Zir is billed as a pinnacle dungeon that will serve as the culmination of the Season of Blood, many players are hoping that it becomes a permanent fixture inDiablo 4’s endgame going forward.
As far as the future of the game is concerned, the announcement ofDiablo 4: Vessel of Hatredat BlizzCon 2023 may not necessarily have revealed much about the first expansion, but the team has strongly hinted that they were looking intoDiablo 4’s itemization. WhereasDiablo 4’s third season is rumored to revolve around Zoltun Kulle and the Horadrim,Vessel of Hatredis set to introduce a sixth class to the campfire ofDiablo 4. Though it remains to be seen if Blizzard will stick the landing in the upcomingDiablo 4seasons, changes such as increasing Living Steel drop rates are certainly a step in the right direction.
