The latest Developer Update Livestream is dedicated to Season 7 which starts on January 21. We’re liveblogging it so check back often for updates!
Stream Highlights
- The Tree of Whispers is missing a lot of heads and is really mad. The witches call upon you and give you an offer. When you collect the heads back, they will teach you the art of Witchcraft.
- The tree roughly knows where the missing heads are and affects enemies in Headhunts, zone takeovers that complement Helltides.
- Every time you complete Whispers, you have a chance to summon a boss. When you are really lucky, you will find one of the heads.
Witchcraft
- You will earn Covenant’s Favor from completing Whispers to unlock new Witchcraft at the Altars.
- You will also collect Restless Rot, that you can offer to an Altar to learn new Witchcraft.
- Restless Rot can also be used to upgrade Witchcraft.
- Witchcraft remains unlocked and upgraded for alts!
- Forgotten Altars are scattered across the dungeons of Sanctuary.
- Discovering one of those allows you to learn Lost Witchcraft.
- If you find more powers, you can upgrade them or pay a premium Restless Rot to do so.
- Rootholds are micro-dungeons that have a decent Headrotten population. They require Whispering Wood Sigils to access. These drop from Whisper Caches and Silent Chests.
- After finishing a Roothold, we will take the head back to the witch at the Tree to exchange it for crafting an Occult gem that you can socket into your ring.
Occult Gems
- These are special socketables that help you fine-tune your builds when you have a good foundation of Witchcraft.
- They can be slotted in jewelry slots.
- They only last for the season.
- When items are transferred to Eternal realm, they will disappear forever.
- They provide bonuses for certain Witchcraft combinations.
Tree of Whispers
- Blizzard has updated the Town area around the Tree of Whispers.
- While you are out on Headhunts, you can use Raven of the Tree to make submissions to the Tree of Whispers, so you can immediately get a cache without visiting the Tree.
- Ancestral caches are a new type of cache that guarantees an Ancestral item.
Season Journey Improvements
- Early chapters have been revamped to help casuals get to the endgame.
- Later chapters (7+) have been reworked to provide more aspirational challenges.
- You can earn Dorian, the first flying pet from the Journey in Season 7.
PTR 2.1 Headhunt/System Learnings
- Multiplayer Headhunts felt overwhelming for new players, so they tweaked them.
- They have made targetted reduction in the number of Elites.
- Reduced “bad luck protection” for boss cocoon spawns.
- Reduced the number of low value item drops.
- Reduced the number of active Headhunt zones.
- Adding a new HUD element in 2.1.1.
- Headrotten, especially bosses, were not challenging and rewarding enough, so both issues were fixed.
- Some players didn’t know how to earn/upgrade Witchcraft, so they made some changes.
Class Updates
- Blizzard updated ultimate in Patch 2.1. Scaling was too high.
- Summons have been updated and a few Summon bugs have been fixed.
- Too much incidental Crowd Control can make combat less engaging. They do not have any changes for that in Season 7 but will look into improving this in the future.
Barbarian Changes
- On the 2.1 PTR, Barbarians performed solidly.
- Hammer of the Ancient and Whirlwind buffs have been buffed.
- Barbarians are getting a new Unique called Mantle of Mountain’s Fury.
Sorceress Changes
- Weakest class on 2.1 PTR.
- Many buffs on Passive effects
- Searing Heat and Icefall Paragon nodes now have applications to all damage types.
- The Fire Bolt enchantment will have a chance to heal you and unleash a fire bolt at a nearby enemy.
- The Sorceress has two new mutually exclusive Uniques coming in Season 7.
Druid Changes
- Had a bugged build on the PTR.
- Blurred Beast Aspect has been reworked.
- Spirit Boon Updates.
Rogue Changes
- Strong class on PTR
- Rain of Arrows scaling has been brought down.
- Shadow Clone ultimate has been updated to work with all modifiers.
Necromancer Changes
- Scaling bug with Ultimates.
- Summons Update
- Blood Wave Uniques
The first one promotes synergy between blood and bone.
The alternative changes Blood Wave to two waves crushing from the sides.
Spiritborn Changes
- The newest class was crazily overpowered in Season 6, but they fixed a lot of bugs in Season 7.
- On the 2.1 PTR the class was still very strong, but they’ve made minimal changes.
- A new unique that promotes the Razor Wings build has been added.
Occult Gem Updates on the PTR
Below are additional tuning changes to Occult gems based on PTR testing.
Witch Power Updates on the PTR
Blizzard also made some changes to underperforming Witch Powers on the PTR.
A new Witch Power called Force of Will has been added.
The Armory
- Lets you save loadouts. This includes your equipment, skills, and Paragon points.
- Loadout slots are character bound.
- Changing loadouts does not cost gold
- The Armory can be accessed through Sanctuary, Citadel, Tree of Whispers, and Training Areas.
- The button clarity has been improved from PTR.
- Easier loadout deletion is coming in 2.1.1.
Gameplay Update
Here are some miscellaneous updates coming in Season 7.
- Paragon Migration – Seasonal XP added to eternal at the end of each season.
- Unique Power Roll Updates – Power roll floor increased per Greater Affix. The more GA it has, the higher the roll will be.
- Ancestral Items – Gravitate toward the top end of Aspect rolls. Baseline drop rate increased.
- Gem Fragment Conversion – Use gem fragments to craft jewelry.
Early Game Updates
- Class Quest Unlocks
- Rewards unlock at Level 15 and 30.
- Class quests can still be completed.
- Requires a character who has completed the quest.
- Archetype Caches
- Themed goodie bags.
- From Class Quests
- From Season Journey
- Greater Caches
Stream/VoD Link
You can watch the Developer Update Livestream below.
