In a recent Campfire Chat stream, the Diablo 4 team discussed the changes in patch 1.1.1, set to release on August 8. This major update follows the game’s contentious pre-season patch, which significantly reduced player survivability and damage output, leaving Sorcerers and Barbarians weaker than other classes.

Patch 1.1.1 will address all classes in the action RPG but will particularly focus on improving Sorcerers and Barbarians, which have struggled the most in Season 1.

Lead class designer Adam Jackson stated that their aim is to enhance the effectiveness and enjoyment of playing as a Sorcerer and Barbarian. The team plans to reduce the dominance of Vulnerable and Critical Strike damage, making other stats and builds more valuable in the future. Their goal is to achieve balance and diversity among different ways of dealing damage.

Exciting changes are coming to Sorcerers and Barbarians in the next Diablo 4 patch! Sorcerers are in for improved late-game survivability as detrimental effects are removed from their skills and items. Take Greater Chain Lightning, for instance, it used to only deal increased damage when bouncing off you, but now it will do so no matter whom it bounces off of. And that’s not all! Many of their Legendary aspects and Paragon boards have undergone similar enhancements.

Barbarians, on the other hand, are getting buffed skills that will grant you more Fury during combat, allowing you to unleash more powerful attacks. During early game, you’ll experience increased damage output. Violent Upheaval, an upgrade to one of the class’s basic attacks, will now trigger Berserking (a short damage buff) not just against regular enemies but also bosses.

Both classes will enjoy late-game Unique item buffs, making their gear even more potent. However, Blizzard notes that once the patch is live, you’ll need to obtain the items again to see all the changes to their bonuses. But fear not! The changes to Unique item stats will take effect immediately after the patch drops. So, gear up and get ready to dominate the world of Diablo 4 with these amazing improvements for Sorcerers and Barbarians!

Here are the changes to Diablo 4 coming in patch 1.1.1, which Blizzard notes aren’t completely finalized:

• Improvements to Barbarian Fury generation and late-game Unique item stats and bonuses
• Changes to simplify and improve the consistency of Sorcerer skills as well as improvements to their late-game survivability
• Improvements to Druid Spirit generation and companions
• Improvements to Necromancer damage consistency
• Increased boss health in World Tiers 3 and 4 and improved rewards
• Guaranteed Legendary item drops from bosses after level 35 in any World Tier
• Treasure Goblins at level 15 and on will guarantee a Legendary item drop
• Nightmare Dungeon enemy density greatly increased
• An additional stash tab will be added
• Elixir stack size will be raised to 99
• Respec gold costs will be reduced by about 40%
• Leave dungeon will be reverted back to a 3 second class
• “A whole lot of bug fixes”
• Fixes to VRAM use and general performance of the game

These Diablo 4 changes won’t be in patch 1.1.1, but Blizzard plans to address them in a future patch:

• Improving Necromancer minion builds is “on the team’s radar”
• Changes to enemy density based on player behavior in 1.1.1
• Improving the speed that players progress through the later World Tiers in season 2
• Changes to crowd control TKTK
• Changes to make elemental resistances more useful
• Improvements to the mount maneuverability, especially the boost skill when using a controller
• Changes to other stats, like Vulnerable and Critical Strike, to improve the value of Overpower damage

The full patch notes for 1.1.1 will go out on August 2 and the patch itself will go live on August 8.