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Patch 2.6.8 PTR Coming Soon!

It was recently discussed on the official forums that the Diablo III Patch 2.6.8 PTR will be making an appearance soon. This comes in addition to a blog post about game balance that is in progress, and should publish before the release of the 2.6.8 PTR!

Which two new class sets do you wish to see in this upcoming patch? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

Originally Posted by Matthew Cederquist (Official Post)

Title…

Will it come:

1. Soon

2. Blizzard Soon

3. Very very soon

Is the year too fresh to ask for it? xD

I guess everyone would like to know what sets+legendaries we will see and what season theme will come to Sanctuary.

Peace

 

Hey Mortred!

 

We’re going to go with Option 1 on this one. We’ll have more communications in regards to PTR in the coming weeks.

 

Thanks

Originally Posted by Nevalistis (Official Post)

Yeah, Matthew, what’s the ETA? stares at the email with the text awaiting review

 

It’s in progress. I did the bulk of the writing before break with some touch-ups after coming back, now it has to go through the multi-phase preparation for release: verifying text with our development team for accuracy and tone (it’s here now), review with our editorial team for grammar and polish, delivery to our localization teams to be translated into all our supported languages, and then re-distributed to all our regional community managers for formatting and publishing. There’s also asset creation and review that happens in tandem, for things like headers and thumbnails or any in-blog images, all which follow a similar structure.

 

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should publish before the release of the 2.6.8 PTR.

Quarterly Diablo IV Blogs/Updates

Additional information regarding when to expect the quarterly Diablo IV updates has been detailed by Brandy over on the Diablo Subreddit!

Originally Posted by Nevalistis (Official Post)

I mean, we're 7 days into 2020. For some, the first day back at work from holiday vacation was yesterday. I understand how excited everyone is, but let's set expectations and cover a few points (some reiterated, some that might be obvious but should be said).

 

• Diablo IV very, very early in development. Part of the reason we're aiming for quarterly updates is because there's not a lot right now that's ready to share. If it was ready to show, you saw it at BlizzCon.
• Diablo IV isn't the only project we're working on, though it might be the one you're most excited about (and it's fine if you are). As a reminder, we have patches actively being developed for Diablo III as well as the ongoing work on Diablo Immortal. For both bandwidth reasons on our end as well as avoiding flooding our (currently shared) communication channels, there's strategy needed in pacing out the distribution of information.
• Q1 means sometime between now and the end of March. April would mark the beginning of Q2. I don't have a time estimate for you, but my personal goal is to aim for somewhere in the middle to second third of the quarter. I'm not sure where exactly it's going to land; we've never approached communication in quite this manner before, and sometimes there's changes and schedule adjustments that need to be made. I suspect there will be many learnings for myself and the team with the first update as a result.
• We want to put a lot of time, effort, and polish into these updates because they are so few and we care a lot about our work. However, ultimately, the content will be decided by (1) what's ready to show and (2) what conversations we're ready to have with the community. For example, I wouldn't expect the first update to be about the intricacies of end-game activities. It's still too early (some areas of the game are still in concepting, while others are being actively implemented) - but we do want to make sure we're checking in with you on systems of interest as they come together, concept art, and possibly in-progress models. It's really going to vary. Actually making the game will always be the priority.
• Blogs take a really long time to produce, especially when they are of this caliber and content level. If video is required, even more so (as it adds an entire new team and process for review/approvals). What content we end up showing will drive the production needs, which is part of why it's so hard for me to give you an estimate on arrival.

Making games is complicated. So is supporting and communicating around them. Almost none of it can be done fast if we're going to do it well. We want to make sure the information we're giving is as clear and accurate as possible and, while we want to maintain transparency, we also don't want to risk over-promising and under delivering. This happens all too often by showing features too early.

 

So we are going to take our time. I understand it's hard to be patient; I literally live day to day in a building full of cool stuff I can't share and sometimes it's maddening. You can bet your hard earned gold we'll be sharing what we can as soon as possible, and it's okay to take a break from the waiting if it's eating at you. We'll just be here, hard at work.

The Darkening of Tristram

Every year on January 3rd, a special event takes place in Diablo III, The Darkening of Tristram. This event looks to emulate the nostalgia of the original Diablo as well as offering up achievements and cosmetic rewards that are only obtainable during the month of January. If you've missed out on the event in previous years or are seeking to finish all of the achievements, don't delay. You only have until January 31st to acquire all of the rewards that await you beneath Tristram.

The full details of the event can be found below.

Theros Beyond Death

 We'd also like to highlight one of our sister sites in the the Magic Find group, MTGSalvation has a list of all of the current Theros Beyond Death Spoilers if you're interested in learning more about the upcoming Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)

 

Diablo’s anniversary is right around the corner, along with the Darkening of Tristram event! Whether you’re a series veteran craving nostalgia, or a newcomer hungry for your first taste of the franchise’s past, this annual loving homage to the earliest days of Diablo is for you.

Read on for more, including a closer look at the anniversary dungeon and its unique rewards.

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Stop the Cultists

Your journey begins on the trail of a group of mysterious cultists causing trouble in Sanctuary. As you hunt them down in Adventure Mode, you’ll uncover clues leading to a portal into Tristram’s past, and the terrifying darkness that took hold of the town so many years ago. . . .

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Explore the Cathedral

Follow the clues and you’ll soon find yourself in a realm of glorious RetroVision™, where an all-too-familiar cathedral looms. Explore the depths and you’ll discover familiar enemies and iconic items, all brought to life in the Diablo III engine. Meanwhile, deep beneath the catacombs, the Dark Lord himself awaits any intrepid adventurer who dares to challenge him. . . .

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Discover Precious Loot

What is a Diablo game without shiny new loot to call your own? Completing activities in the anniversary event yields unique transmogrification effects, achievements, portraits, pets, and more.

While some rewards are easy to find, others may have you scouring every nook or unlocking every achievement before you can get your hands on them. Can you earn them all? There’s only one way to find out!

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Your Journey Begins…

Exclusive rewards and challenging enemies await you, but they won’t last forever! The cultists have begun appearing since December 31 at 4 p.m. PST, and the portal opens January 3 at the same hour. Both parts of the event end January 31 at 4 p.m. PST.

Enter the dungeon, reap your rewards, and survive the evils within—or die in the process, never to be heard from again. . . .

As with the beginning of every New Year's celebration, we celebrate the release of the original Diablo from way back in 1996. For 23 years we've been killing demons, exploring dungeons, and vainly fought against the corrupting influence of the Lord of Terror. Many fans of the game have literally grown up with the Diablo franchise and it's something that continues to remain important to us all. With the coming New Year, it's fitting to celebrate this particular anniversary as we look forward to Diablo IV and where this next iteration of the game will take us. 

What are your New Year's hopes for Diablo? More impactful themed seasons in Diablo III? More details on the end game systems for Diablo IV? A release date for Diablo: ImmortalI? Let us know in the comments below, our forums, or our Discord!

In recent days there has been another round of bans being given out for Season 19. While Blizzard never officially announces ban waves, we can see the effects from names disappearing on the leaderboards. This is likely a combination of bans for the usual mix of botters as well as a follow up on the exploit that was fixed just the other week. Most of the focus lately has been on discussions and feedback for Diablo IV, but it's good to see Blizzard still committed to Diablo III. Expect the ban waves to continue from Season to Season and for Blizzard to possibly take further steps to combat the botting issues the game faces as well as other third party programs. Senior Game Producer Matthew Cederquist have been very active on the forums lately and has not been shy about issuing ultimatums to botters.

Following Blizzard's recent statement on an exploit found in the Season 19 Pandemonium buff, they have now released a patch fixing the exploit.

Originally Posted by Nevalistis (Official Post)

 

Below you will find the patch notes for the most recent update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.7b.

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Last updated December 11 @ 4:00 p.m. PST.

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PATCH 2.6.7b - v.64706

Table of Contents:

• Bug Fixes

Note: The following changes apply only to the PC version of Diablo III.

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Bugs

• Season Theme Buff - Pandemonium
  • Fixed an unintended use of Game Mechanics involving the Seasonal Theme
    • As a byproduct, players are now required to be in the same "world" as the monster they slay for the purpose of gaining or maintaining stacks of Pandemonium. A world is defined as either within the boundaries of a Rift (both Greater and Nephalem) or in the same zone of the world map.
  • Fixed an issue where the Pandemonium buff would fall off of players once their Cheat Death passive activated