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Season 17 Ends On August 18th

It was announced on the official forums that Season 17 will end on August 18th at 5:00pm in each region. The start date for Season 18 has not yet been announced, but will be revealed in the Season 18 preview blog before the end of Season 17.

Originally Posted by Nevalistis (Official Post)

Greetings, nephalem!

 

With the end of the 2.6.6 PTR, we’re working on preparing for patch launch and the subsequent rollover from Season 17 to Season 18!

 

Season 17 will be ending on August 18 at the following times:

North America: 5:00 PM PDT

Europe: 5:00 PM CEST

Asia: 5:00 PM KST

 

We will be announcing the Season 18 start dates with the Season 18 preview blog, which will be available before Season 17 ends.

 

Thank you for your participation in the 2.6.6 PTR and we look forward to seeing you in Season 18!

This is your last chance to finish your seasonal journey for Season 17! If you need help completing your seasonal journey, be sure to join our Discord Server and use the Looking For Group channel to find other players looking to do the same!

Patch 2.6.6 PTR Creator Spotlights

As we work on updating our build tool to support the new item chances coming in patch 2.6.6, content creators took to the PTR to test a variety of new builds! Below, you will find a handful of amazing videos showcasing these builds, and links to the builds themselves on DiabloFans! Be sure to discuss these builds in the comments!

Jade Harvester Crimson Fury Witch Doctor From BigDaddyDen76

Utilizing the new Captain Crimson set with the Jade Harvester set on a Witch Doctor allowed BigDaddyDen to do some insane damage!

Crimson Rainment Generator Monk From Wolfcryer

The Generator Monk is a favorite for many Monk players, and Wolfcryer has added in the new Captain Crimson set to make it even better!

Patch 2.6.6 Build Preview From Bluddshed

Bluddshed takes a look at a wide range of new builds on the PTR which include a Strafe Demon Hunter, Shield Bash Crusader, Uliana Monk, Explosive Blast Wizard, Jade Witch Doctor Speed Build, and a Sweep Crusader!

Unhallowed Essence Multishot Captain Crimson Fire Demon From Leviathan

Leviathan brings us a new take on the Unhallowed Essence speed farming build which utilizes the new Captain Crimson set to power up this build!

Blood & Essence Necromancer Speed Farm Build From Lord Fluffy

Lord Fluffy has created a Necromancer speed farm build using a combination of the Pestilence set and the new Captain Crimson set. The result is permanent uptime on Land of the Dead!

Challenge Rift - Week 110

Challenge Rift Week 110 is live! This week the Challenge Rift features a wide variety of Monk builds! If you are curious how Challenge Rift builds are chosen each week, you can view this official blog post!

Patch 2.6.6 PTR Now Available

The PTR has been updated with Patch 2.6.6 and the Season 18 theme has been revealed! The Season of Triune will give all players a chance on hitting an enemy to spawn a circle which gives one of three different powers. Patch 2.6.6 also adds several new legendary powers to items that did not previously have one! Let us know what you think of the changes in the comments or come join the conversation in our Discord Server!

Originally Posted by Nevalistis (Official Post)

 

With Patch 2.6.4, we started a new process for testing content both internally and externally that worked well for our production schedule and helped ensure that we received focused, actionable player feedback. We’re going to continue using this process for Patch 2.6.6, with a one-week PTR to test the full extent of Season 18.

 

We’ve acted on your feedback and we’re introducing new powers across a number of existing Legendaries that previously had none. A brand new, unique Season buff for the Season of the Triune aims to change your moment-to-moment game play right from level one, so what are you waiting for? Jump in and get a taste of what Season 18 has to offer!

 

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Table of Contents

 

• PTR Details
  • PTR Goals
  • PTR Tips
• Patch Notes
  • General
  • Seasons
  • Items
  • 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 Details

 

We’ll be conducting the Patch 2.6.6 PTR over the course of one week, starting Thursday, July 25. During the course of the PTR, there may be periodic maintenances, outages, hotfixes, or minor patches.

 

There will be two buffs active to help you on your PTR journey: increased Legendary drop rate and double Blood Shard drops. This should allow everyone to acquire any new items (or supplemental items) that they might need for testing!

 

Feedback should be provided in the PTR Feedback forum, while bug reports should be provided in the PTR Bug Report forum. Clearly separating these tracks allows our designers and quality assurance testers to home in on the information they need most.

 

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PTR Goals

 

With another new game-impacting Seasonal buff and several beefy boosts to Legendary items, we know it’ll be very tempting to get your hands on as much as you can! To help guide your focus, here are our priorities in terms of what we’d most like to see tested.

 

• Players pushing Greater Rifts as high as possible with the new item changes listed below
• Experimentation with the Triune’s Will Seasonal buff, with emphasis on finding bugs

 

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PTR Tips

 

As with our previous PTRs, this testing period will have a short duration. 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

 

Last updated July 25 @ 10:00 a.m. PST.

 

Below you will find the patch notes for the most recent update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.6.

 

PATCH 2.6.6

 

Table of Contents:

 

• General
• Seasons
• Items
• Bug Fixes

 

Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.

 

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General

 

A pet has been added that will be available for players who pre-purchase Warcraft III: Reforged (PC Only)

 

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Seasons

 

• The buff for Season 18, the Season of the Triune, has been added
  • Triune's Will: All abilities have a chance when hitting an enemy to spawn a circle that gives a power. Only one circle can be active at a time.
    • Power: Players in the circle receive a 100% damage bonus while active
    • Resource Reduction: Players in the circle receive a 50% discount on resources spent while active
    • Cooldown Reduction: While standing in an active circle, any skills currently on cooldown come off of cooldown more quickly
• Developer Comment: The last couple of Seasonal buffs have been focused primarily on end-game content. We wanted to try something different this Season with a buff that was more beneficial to players regardless of where they might be in their Season Journey. Triune's Will can come into play as early as level 1 and continue to make an impact on your game experience from the beginning to the end of the Season, and we're looking forward to seeing how players leverage this ever-changing boost throughout their adventures!

 

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Items

 

• Developer Note: There are additional specific notes below, but broadly for 2.6.6, we wanted to introduce a handful of new item powers targeted at two audiences: (1) certain classes with long-standing requests for balance/quality of life adjustments and (2) the broader player base for experimenting with Kanai's Cube. This means fewer class-specific new additions, but more additions that everyone has an opportunity to play with. We also experimented with making some of the craftable sets from Haedrig more appealing for fresh level 70's or players looking to maximize their farming runs. We hope to see some interesting new theorycrafting and tactics out of 2.6.6 and can't wait to see what the community does with this new loot!
• Flavor of Time
  • New Legendary Power: Pylon effects last twice as long.
• The Executioner
  • New Legendary Power: Attacks will slay enemies with less than (5-10%) health.
• Stone Gauntlets
  • New Legendary Power: Getting attacked will slowly turn you to stone... (You gain 50% more armor, but your movement speed is reduced by 15% and attack speed is reduced by 20%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)
• Echoing Fury
  • New Legendary Power: Slaying enemies engulfs the wielder into a Frenzy. (Killing enemies increases your attack speed by 15% and movement speed by 5%. This effect stacks up to 5 times)
• Squirt's Necklace
  • New Legendary Power: While not taking damage, your damage is increased by up to 100% and damage taken is increased by up to 50%.
• Messerschmidt's Reaver
  • New Legendary Power: Reduce the remaining cooldown of one of your skills by 1 second when you slay an enemy.
• Mortick's Brace
  • New Legendary Item: Wrath of the Berserker gains the effect of every rune.
  • Developer's Note: If you played during the Patch 2.2.0 PTR, you'll recognize this as an item that was later removed from the game before it went to live servers. At the time, Mortick's Brace gave too much power for a single item slot. However, the power curve of Diablo III has changed significantly since then and we're comfortable with bringing it back.
• Spite
  • Note: This item can be crafted from the Blacksmith and is not a normal loot drop
  • New Legendary Power: Non-cleaving Gargantuans gain the cleave and chilling effects of the Humongoid rune.
• Legacy of Dreams
  • New Legendary Gem:
    • While you have no set bonuses equipped, every Legendary item you have equipped increases your damage dealt by 3.75% and reduces your damage taken by 2%. (Max level 99)
    • Rank 25: This bonus is doubled for Ancient items.
  • Developer's Note: The end game opened up significantly with Season 17's Legacy of Nightmare's buff (and the community was clear about how much these new options were appreciated), but wanted to make this addition a more permanent fixture in a more streamlined way than simply making it baseline. This Legendary Gem should open that path up even further and at more opportunities than just late game Greater Rift pushing.
• Crafted Sets
  • Note: The following sets have been significantly revised from their existing level 70 counterparts. Items crafted prior to 2.6.6 will continue to exist in their old forms but will not be updated after the patch. In addition, after the patch, the old recipes will no longer be available to craft and all players will need to re-acquire these recipes by finding the plans again through Horadric Caches or by killing Odious Collectors.
  • Sage's Journey
    • A Belt has been added to this set.
    • Haedrig the Blacksmith now automatically learns how to forge this set at Rank 12.
  • Captain Crimson's Trimmings
    • (2) Set Bonus
      • Regenerates 6000 Life per Second
      • Reduces cooldown of all skills by 10% 20%.
      • Now also reduces Resource Costs by 20%
    • (3) Set Bonus
      • Set bonuses have been replaced
        • Damage dealt is increased by your total percentage of Cooldown Reduction
        • Damage taken is reduced by your total percentage of Resource Cost Reduction
  • Aughild's Authority
    • (2) Set Bonus
      • Set bonuses have been replaced
      • Reduces damage taken by 15%
      • Increases damage dealt by 30%
    • (3) Set Bonus
      • Reduces damage from elites by 15% 30%
      • Increases damage against elites by 15% 30%
  • Cain's Destiny
    • (2) Set Bonus
      • Attack Speed increased by 8%
      • +50% Experience. (5.0% at level 70) (Moved from (3) Set Bonus)
    • (3) Set Bonus
      • When a Greater Rift Keystone drops, there is a 25% chance for an extra one to drop.

 

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Bug Fixes

 

• Fixed an error that occurred when reporting a player via a friend request
• Fixed an error that occurred when saving an existing Friend Note without making changes

 

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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!

 The new Hearthstone expansion reveal season is ongoing, make sure to check the most recent Saviors of Uldum Cards!

Frank Pearce Has Left Blizzard Entertainment

Frank Pearce has left Blizzard Entertainment. Frank was one of the original 3 founders that started Silicon & Synapse (the company that would later become Blizzard) along side Allen Adham and Mike Morhaime. Allen Adham had left the company before World of Warcraft originally launched, but rejoined Blizzard after a twelve year absence back in 2016. Allen is now the sole remaining founder still at Blizzard.

What are your thoughts on this new development within Blizzard? Let us know in the comments!

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Official Post)

 

From Frank Pearce

 

The time has come for me to step away from Blizzard and pass the torch to the next generation of leaders.

 

My journey as part of the Blizzard community began over 28 years ago. Allen offered me an opportunity to join him and Mike in their adventure and dream to make video games. Video games were a passion that we shared, and I had only a fleeting hope that I would have the opportunity to make games one day. The decision was easy for me - I did not have the benefit of internet searches to help start me down the path. Allen’s offer letter was the best and only chance I thought I might ever have. Looking back, I know how incredibly fortunate I was to have been a part of what Blizzard has become.

 

Our efforts were always guided by well-intentioned purpose. We made games that we wanted to play, believing that like-minded people would also want to play those games. Today we characterize it more specifically with the ambitious vision of bringing the world together through epic entertainment. I am so proud to have had the chance to positively impact the lives of so many people through the experiences we have created.

 

My time at Blizzard encompasses the entirety of both my professional career and my adult life. I have countless fond memories. Working with the best developers in the world on the best franchises in the world definitively stands out. Even more prominent are my memories of our first BlizzCon where I realized the special importance of the people and communities that had become part of the experience for our players.

 

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel to have been involved with Blizzard, our games, our employees, and most importantly our community. Before Blizzard I struggled to find a place in which I felt I belonged. Now I know I will always have a place, as will many other people. Thank you to all of you for providing me the sense of inclusion I require as a person.

 

I have been lucky enough to work with J and Ray for many years, and now it is their responsibility to define how the adventure continues. They are game development leaders that are incredibly talented, experienced, and truly understand what is foundationally most important for Blizzard and our community. I know that the future of Blizzard will be amazing under their guidance. There are many exciting initiatives in the works, and I can’t wait to see the end results.

 

Everything I have done at Blizzard has been driven by my passion. I have worked very hard and very passionately for a very long time. Now it is time for me to reflect and be thoughtful about what comes next. I plan to spend more time active in the outdoors. I’d like to learn to play an instrument. I hope to devote more time to aspects of my life that may not have gotten as much attention in the past. One thing is for certain – I will continue to be a part of the Blizzard family.

 

My request and hope for all of you is that you continue living the Blizzard values and that you be kind and respectful to one another as you experience what Blizzard creates in the future. Blizzard is a special place and a special community, and everyone with whom you interact is important to the Blizzard journey as it continues forward. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful past I have enjoyed, and thank you in advance for the great future I expect we will share.

 

Play nice, play fair,

 

Frank

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From J. Allen Brack

 

The time has come to say goodbye to one of my heroes, one of our founders, as well as one of our friends. When I moved into my new position last year, Frank stepped into an advisory role to help with the transition, specifically working with Ray Gresko and me on our games, culture, and the future of Blizzard. His support has been invaluable to us and to say we’re going to miss him is an understatement.

 

The first time I met Frank was during a lunch interview to join Blizzard. I was nervous not only because I was excited about the opportunity to join a company I loved, but because I was sitting face-to-face with one of the founders of Blizzard.

 

Frank can be intimidating, and sometimes comes across as a bit gruff. Underneath is a person of deep feeling, and of deep love for both the family of Blizzard, and the unique and caring community that has grown around Blizzard games. Frank is also a person I’m proud to call a close friend. Frank was one of the people who got me into running, and we’ve run dozens of races together over the years.

 

Like many of us, Frank is an introvert. Thus many of you haven’t seen a lot of him publicly, nor seen the deep impact he’s had on Blizzard, and on the culture specifically. But Frank has been here from the beginning, building and expanding the foundation and championing the values behind everything Blizzard does. Blizzard is better because of Frank Pearce.

 

A few BlizzCons ago, Frank talked about the value of human connection through video games, feeling a sense of belonging within the community, and that comes from a very personal place for Frank. Frank might be hanging up his armor now, but because of the influence he’s had in helping to build Blizzard and the connections he’s made with so many of us, veterans and new recruits alike who are all carrying the same torch forward, he’ll always be here with us.

 

We love you Frank.

 

JAB

Creator Spotlight

Looking to complete additional conquests in Season 17? If so, Leviathan is showcasing his completion of the Sprinter / Speed Racer conquest as a Solo Demon Hunter! This conquest is notorious for causing completion anxiety in new players; however, Leviathan shows you how it's done without having to rely on other players.

Official Forums

We previously covered news that the Official Diablo Forums will be migrating to the same forum software used on other Blizzard franchises. The migration is now complete, and players can access the new forums here.

Barbarian Feedback

Barbarian players within the Diablo community have compiled a comprehensive list of proposed changes for the Barbarian class, which received no changes in the last major patch. Barbarian players have been feeling overlooked in comparison to other classes and want to create a conversation regarding the balance of their favorite class.

In addition to the Barbarian Buff Proposals Website, you can also view their proposed changes on the new Official Forums!

Challenge Rift - Week 107

Challenge Rift Week 107 is live! This week the Challenge Rift features a variety of Necromancer Thorns builds utilizing the Legacy of Nightmares seasonal buff! If you are curious how Challenge Rift builds are chosen each week, you can view this official blog post!