Season 8 is currently in testing on the Diablo 4 PTR, and players are already noticing a huge issue. Seasonal boss powers are dealing billions of damage, while fully optimized skill builds struggle to keep up.
Huge Damage Gap Between Skills and Boss Powers
One Sorcerer player shared their experience on Reddit (see below) after testing an Ice Shards build with 24 skill ranks, full crit chance, and capped defenses. The build dealt millions of damage per hit and felt solid overall, but it was completely overshadowed by the Beast in the Ice boss power, which outclassed everything by a massive margin.
“No item or perfect gear roll could make my actual skills hit for even 1% of the damage that power does.”
“Why Should I Even Care About My Build?”
That one comment sums up the core frustration. Many players feel that if borrowed powers like this deal such absurd damage, then actual builds start to feel irrelevant. The post started a bigger conversation around build identity, power scaling, and balance.
Several players also pointed out that this issue is not unique to just one class or power. It is happening across the board, making entire builds feel like they exist just to trigger a seasonal effect that actually does the real damage.
Fears of a “One-Build Meta” in Season 8
Some even compared the situation to the infamous Barbarian meta from earlier seasons, where one overpowered mechanic completely took over endgame content. If nothing changes, the fear is that every build in Season 8 will just become a “boss power build”, no matter the class or playstyle.
One player said: “We are not building around our skills anymore. We are just scaling the seasonal power and pressing a random button to make it go off.”
While most of us agree that seasonal mechanics should feel impactful, there is clearly a growing concern that the current balance undermines the core gameplay and build variety. Some are hopeful, like us, that Blizzard will adjust the damage scaling before Season 8 goes live, while others worry this is just the direction the game is headed.
With feedback now flowing in from the PTR, many in the community are stressing the importance to tone down the seasonal powers to the devs and make sure builds remain fun, rewarding, and skill-driven. Not just reliant on one flashy effect!
If you want, you can read the full community discussion on Reddit:
