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Patch 2.6.9 PTR Updated 6/4

A new patch for the 2.6.9 PTR is now available! This update includes changes to the Season 21 Theme and the new Demon Hunter & Necromancer sets!

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)

 

Update on June 4: 2.6.9 PTR has been updated. Please see below for changes with "Developer's Note" annotations in RED.
Update on May 28: 2.6.9 PTR is now LIVE!  We are looking forward to your feedback in the forums.

 

Wait, Nephalem. Do you sense that? Though the air remains tainted with a demonic brimstone stench, the world around you crackles with chaotic elemental energy. You have been deemed worthy. The primal forces of Sanctuary manifest to aid you in the fight against the swelling darkness. Channel untethered bouts of flame, forked lightning, slicing wind, and biting snow against the minions of the Burning Hells during the Trials of Tempests!

 

Our two-week PTR testing period for the 2.6.9 update begins May 28 and we're asking for your help to quell the tides of surging demons. Take a look at the preliminary patch notes below and start theorycrafting how you'll make the most of the brand-new season buff, two new class sets, and tons of Legendary item changes; Patch 2.6.9 will be arriving soon!

 

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Table of Contents

• PTR Focus & Details
  • PTR Tips
• Patch Notes
  • Seasons
  • Items
  • Skills
  • Bug Fixes
• How to Participate in PTR
• PTR Character Copy

Please note that this is a preview for PTR content, which is subject to change.

 

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PTR Focus & Details

We’ll be conducting the Patch 2.6.9 PTR over the course of two weeks, starting Thursday, May 28. During this time there may be periodic maintenances, outages, hotfixes, or minor patches.

 

There will be two PTR-unique buffs active to help you on your journey: increased Legendary drop rate and double Blood Shard drops. You can also buy new gear for testing from the special PTR vendor, Djank Mi'em, who will exchange Blood Shards for class-specific bags full of Legendary items that we'd love for you to test!

 

To ensure that the most significant changes receive an ample amount of attention, we'd love for you to focus testing and feedback on the new Demon Hunter and Necromancer sets, Necromancer Skill changes, and the Legendary item changes.

 

So that we can efficiently review your posts, feedback should be provided in the PTR Feedback forum while bug reports should be provided in the PTR Bug Report forum. 

 

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PTR Testing Tips

As with our previous PTRs, this testing period is short, so it's best to hit the ground running. Whether you’re a PTR veteran or newcomer, we thought we’d pass along a few tips to get you started.

• Because of the limited duration of this PTR, we ask that participants pick a particular portion of this update to focus on testing.
  • For example, if you’re primarily a Wizard player, consider what changes impact the Wizard specifically. What you like best, what you think may still need adjustment, and what you’d want to see in the future (even if that may be beyond the scope of this patch) are all good questions to ask yourself.
• Prior to the start of PTR, consider stocking up on items like Puzzle Rings and Bovine Bardiches. Having these available after you import your character can make any necessary PTR farming much faster!
• Try to break things! Just tell us when you do so we can make sure that the patch launch is as smooth as possible.
• When providing feedback, focus less on a solution and more on your experience. How did the changes make you feel? Was there something “off” that you noticed? Did something seem wrong or insufficient? Suggestions are always welcome but identifying the issues themselves is most important.

 

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Patch Notes

Below you will find the patch notes for the upcoming update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.9.

 

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PATCH 2.6.9

Table of Contents:

• Seasons
• Items
• Monsters
• Bug Fixes

Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated. Please note that PTR is only available for PC and Mac users.

 

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Seasons

Developer's Note: We’ve received a lot of feedback regarding the seasonal theme being difficult to track and that it sometimes didn’t feel like it was appearing or doing much to gameplay. We are adjusting the following: 

 

• The elemental power will now occur every 90 seconds, down from 120 seconds. 
• We have added in a buff to this effect to help better track it. 
• Firewalls will now start at the caster and will become stationary once they hit a wall. Firewalls before were sometimes not appearing with the caster. 
• Meteors will now track players and not stay at the initial location.  We have also decreased the intervals between meteors. 
• Damage has been slightly buffed for multiplayer. 
• NOTE: We’ve also just found out about the season effects proccing Area Damage. This will eventually be fixed but did not make it into the PTR build. 

 

• The elements have deemed you worthy. With you as their champion, the burning hells will face the Trials of Tempests!
  • Your character will occasionally (every 2 minutes 90 seconds) channel an elemental power which unleashes into the environment for a limited time:
    • Meteors rain from the skies around you.
    • Breathe lightning.
    • A wall of flame engulfs everything.
    • Release twisters of pure energy.
    • Crush your foes under the weight of rolling snowballs.
• Two unique new rewards, a portrait frame and a pet, will be granted to players who complete the Season 21 Journey.

 

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Items

Demon Hunter

• New Demon Hunter Set: Gears of Dreadlands 
  
  Developer's Note: We’ve adjusted the 2-Piece Bonus to address the Momentum and damage feedback from players. Momentum will now be a singular buff that affects all Primary skills. You will now be able to use multiple generators without losing the Momentum bonus when alternating between them. The 2-piece bonus will now also give 4 seconds per Primary attack, up to a maximum of 20 seconds. Momentum will also now be applied immediately when using a Primary Skill, instead of when it hits a target. These changes should help with damage output and allow for an easier time when building and maintaining Momentum.
   
  • 2-Piece Bonus
    • Gain a Momentum stack when attacking with a Primary skill. Each Momentum stack lasts 2 seconds at a maximum duration of 10 seconds. Your Primary skills deal 10% more damage per stack of Momentum. Gain 4 seconds of Momentum when attacking with a Primary skill, at a maximum of 20 seconds. Your Primary skills deal 10% increased damage per second of Momentum.

Developer's Note: We’ve fixed a few issues on the 4-Piece Bonus. Players will now be able to proc bonuses and other powers such as Simplicity’s Strength’s healing bonus from their Primary skills coming from Strafe. You will now also be able to Strafe forever while shooting Primary abilities as you will no longer need Momentum for Strafe to fire off the last used Primary skill. Lastly, we’ve fixed an issue where Hungering Arrow was not piercing correctly when used with Strafe so players will be able to use this with the 4-Piece Bonus reliably. 

• 4-Piece Bonus
  • Casting Strafe against enemies will automatically shoot your last used primary skill, and also give 60% damage reduction while strafing and for 5 seconds after. While Strafing, you move faster per stack of Momentum gain 8% increased movement speed for each second of Momentum.
• 6-Piece Bonus
  • Your primary skills deal 10000% more damage
• Leonine Bow of Hashir
  • Bolas have a 30% 100% chance on explosion to pull in all enemies within 24 yards, and also deal 100-150% increased damage.
• Emimei's Duffel
  • Bolas now explode instantly and deal 150-175% increased damage.
• The Ninth Cirri Satchel
  • Hungering Arrow has 20-25% is guaranteed to pierce and also deals 450-600% increased damage.
• Odyssey's End
  • Enemies snared by your Entangling Shots take 20-25% 100-150% increased damage from all sources.
• Hunter's Wrath
  • Your primary skills attack 30% faster and deal 45-60% 150-200% increased damage.
• Holy Point Shot
  • Impale throws 2 additional knives and deals 75-100% increased damage.

Necromancer

• New Necromancer Set: Masquerade of the Burning Carnival
  • 2-Piece Bonus
    • Your Simulacrums no longer take damage, gains all runes, and its cooldown is refreshed when you die.
  • 4-Piece Bonus
    • While you have a Simulacrum, damage is reduced by 50%. Damage you take is split with your Simulacrums as well.
  • 6-Piece Bonus
    • Your Bone Spear deals 10,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus.
• Grasps of Essence
  • When an exploded corpse damages at least one enemy, Your Corpse Explosion deals 75-100% 150-200% increased damage for 6 seconds, stacking up to 5 times.
• Haunted Visions
  • Simulacrum now drains 5% 1% of your maximum life every second and lasts twice as long forever. They can now duplicate Grim Scythe instead of Skeletal Mage.
• Razeth's Volition
  • Skeletal Mage gains the effect of the Gift of Death and Singularity runes. You gain 35-60% damage reduction if your Essence is not full.
• Jesseth Arms
  • 2-Piece Set Bonus: While your skeletons are commanded to attack a target, you deal 400% increased damage.
• Grace of Inarius
  • 4-Piece Set Bonus: Bone Armor grants an additional 2% 3% damage reduction per enemy hit.
• Pestilence Master's Shroud
  • 6-Piece Set Bonus: Each corpse you consume grants you an Empowered Bone Spear charge that increases the damage of your next Bone Spear by 3300%. In addition, Corpse Lance and Corpse Explosion damage is increased by 1650% 3300%.

Crusader

• Shield of Fury
  • This effect may stack up to 20 10 times.

General

• Stone of Jordan
  • Added power: Each of your elemental's damage bonus is equal to your highest static elemental bonus to skill.
• Reaper's Wraps
  • Added a 2-second internal cooldown to the Health globe effect.
• Mantle of Channeling
  • Now works with the Necromancer's Siphon Blood.
• Convention of Elements

  • Added "non-static" to the wording of the legendary power's description. The functionality is unchanged

 

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Skill Changes

• Necromancer
  Developer's Note: We’ve adjusted some non-intended behaviors with Simulacrum while also addressing the frustration of them getting split off from the Necromancer at times.

  • Simulacrum

    • These will now warp to the Necromancer if they begin to move too far away from the player. This onl works if the Necromancer is wearing the Masquerade of the Burning Carnival set or Haunted Visions.

    • Simulacrums cannot use Grim Scythe (with Haunted Visions) or Skeletal Mage unless the Necromancer had either of those abilities while the Simulacrums were created. 

  • Final Service

    • No longer consumes pets.

    • Final Service now activates before Simulacrum's Self Sacrifice.

  • Bone Prison
    • Simulacrums now benefit from this passive skill.
  • Serration
    • Simulacrums now benefit from this passive skill.
  • Corpse Explosion
    • Damage increased from 350% to 1050%.
• Witch Doctor
  • Spirit Barrage
    • The Spectres from the Phantasm rune no longer benefit from pet bonuses. 

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Bug Fixes

• General
  • Fixed a rare issue where players could enter a locked party and become unable to enter games or change game settings
• Necromancer
  • Fixed an issue where Skeletal Mages were not attacking certain creatures

 

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How to Participate

To participate in the public test, you must have a Diablo III game license attached to a Battle.net account in good standing (i.e. one that hasn't been suspended or banned). In addition, you will also need to download and install the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app if you have not already done so.

 

Step 1: Restart the Battle.net desktop app.

Step 2: Navigate to the Diablo III tab on the left-hand menu.

Step 3: On the Diablo III screen, there is a drop-down menu right above the "Play" button (note that this may say "Install" if you do not have Diablo III currently installed). Select "PTR: Diablo III" from this drop-down menu before proceeding.

Step 4: Click Install to begin the installation process.

 

Your PTR account will be created automatically if you do not already have one. The PTR is available in all supported languages, and accounts from all regions are eligible to participate. For additional assistance with installing and launching the PTR, click here.

 

 

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PTR Character Copy

The option to copy your existing Diablo III characters from your live account to the PTR will be available and can be done directly through the PTR client. However, only one region per account can be copied at a time. So, if you choose to copy characters from your account in a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost.

 

Step 1: Log into the live game and then log out.

Step 2: Log into PTR client and create a level 1 character. After you're done, return to the main character screen.

Step 3: Click on the "PTR Copy" button located in the upper right-hand corner. (The PTR Copy button will not appear in-game until you have created a new level 1 character.)

Step 4: Select your region.

Step 5: Click "Copy." This will copy all characters on your account from the selected region.

Step 6: You will be disconnected from the PTR client.

Step 7: Log back in. Your copied characters will be available for play.

 

Please note that you can only copy characters from one gameplay region at a time. If you choose to copy characters from a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost. In addition, you can only copy characters over to your PTR account once every 24 hours. Attempting to copy characters before this cooldown is up will result in an error.

 

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As this is a test server, please anticipate uneven game performance, and note that restarts and downtime may occur without warning. Thank you, and we look forward to your feedback!

Update: The PTR is now live!

Patch 2.6.9 PTR Begins 5/28!

After having been delayed last week due to last minute issues, the patch 2.6.9 PTR will begin on 5/28. The PTR is expected to go live in the afternoon (PDT)!

Originally Posted by PezRadar (Official Post)

 

 

Hi everyone

 

Back with that update I promised. It’s a good one!

 

We are aiming to have PTR up tomorrow afternoon (Pacific Time). We will update the blog posts and have threads up when things go live tomorrow.

 

Thanks for all your patience on this. We are looking forward to the feedback!

An Update On BlizzCon 2020

BlizzCon 2020 has officially been canceled. Saralyn Smith, Executive Producer of BlizzCon, released a blog post which you can read below detailing the cancellation, and also the possibility of some kind of digital event to take its place this year. The cancellation comes in light of the current global pandemic.

What kind of content would you like to see in a digital BlizzCon? Let us know in the comments.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)

 

Hello Blizzard community,

 

Several weeks ago, I shared an update about our uncertainty around holding BlizzCon this year. Since then, a lot has changed . . . and a lot also hasn’t changed. During this time, we’ve had many discussions about what holding a convention could look like in light of all the health and safety considerations we’d want to make. We’ve also talked about different paths we could take, and how each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead. Ultimately, after considering our options, we’ve come to the very difficult decision to not have BlizzCon this year.

 

We’re feeling deeply disappointed about this decision, and imagine many of you will feel the same. I truly love BlizzCon, and I know that’s a sentiment shared by everyone at Blizzard. We will sorely miss connecting with so many of you at the convention and “recharging our geek batteries” this fall.

 

But we will meet again!

 

We’re talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online, far less impacted by the state of health and safety protocols for mass in-person gatherings. We’d want to do this as soon as we could, but given that this is new-ish territory and the different factors involved, it will most likely be sometime early next year. BlizzCon is also a stage for big esports events in Blizzard games each year, so we’re also looking into alternatives for supporting some of the high-level competition that would normally take place at the show.

 

We’ll tell you more about our plans as they develop—but in the meantime, we hope to see you exploring the Shadowlands, hanging out in the Tavern, pushing the payload (do it!), and wherever else in the Blizzard universes you may roam.

 

Stay safe and stay well,

 

Saralyn Smith
Whirlwind Barbarian, Executive Producer of BlizzCon