Diablo Immortal is preparing for its next big patch because what could ever go wrong popping in a patch right before Thanksgiving?
The core of the update is the new limited time event that NetEase and Blizzard hope will occupy your attention over the long holiday weekend: Eve of Unmaking. “Sanctuary will be unmade before your very eyes if Diablo’s plans are brought to fruition,” the devs warn. “Cut down his hellspawn in a new limited-time event to buy yourself and Sanctuary’s denizens a moment of reprieve. Those Level 30 and higher can earn rewards by completing daily tasks and logging in on the second, fourth, and eighth days of the event. Plus, they’ll also receive 100% bonus experience gained from Battle Pass levels.”
The patch notes are already live with Winds of Fortune buffs, returning events (Survivor’s Bane, Alley of Blood, All Clans on Deck, Trial of the Hordes, and Rising Damnation), a Vanguard reset, and a host of balance changes. Most notably, the studios are adding a new backlash mechanic:
“We are introducing a new ‘backlash’ mechanic with this round of balance changes. It will put your targets in a state where using their skills increases the duration of the harmful effect you placed on them, further punishing builds that rely on heavy spam usage of skills. Opponents can choose to fight through the pain of the backlash effect or disengage to come back at full strength after the effect has expired. Our intent is to work more on altering Legendary Affixes to impact gameplay more instead of flat-out nerfing Classes that might be too strong. While this is the beginning of a new approach to tuning, we will still adjust effects as needed, which is why there’s also a few nerfs to some overperforming classes[.]”
Servers go down for patching at 4 a.m. EST on November 27th in the Americas (a bit earlier – 8 p.m. EST on November 26th – for everyone else).