d3 Season 17 Content Hub (Patch 2.6.5)

[Starym 3,801]

 

The new season is finally live on the PTR! We'll be taking a look at all the new features so we can all be prepared for mid-May when the live patch is scheduled to arrive. Our very own Stan will be diving into the PTR and sharing all the details for those of us that don't want to spoil ourselves on the massively increased legendary drop rate test realm, or for those that don't have time/just want to wait for the real thing.

Here are all the articles related to the new patch:

• Season 17 Pushed Back to May + All Season Durations
• Patch 2.6.5: Torment Difficulty & Rewards
• Additional Stash Space Gated Behind Seasons on PC
• Season 17 Guardian Reward: Galactic Wings
• Ancient Vault of Greed Videos
• Season 17: Sets & Rewards
• Season 17: New Torment Difficulties, UI Improvements, More Stash Space

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And here are the full patch notes, in case you missed them before:
 

           (Source)

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 2.6.5, with a one-week PTR to fully test Season 17.

On the docket are also highly-requested quality of life changes, item changes that should boost some fan-favorite playstyles, and an all-new Season 17 buff that'll help us bring the terror to the Season of Nightmares!

Table of Contents

• PTR Details
  • PTR Goals
  • PTR Tips
• Patch Notes
  • General
  • Quality of Life
  • 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.

PTR Details 

We'll be conducting the Patch 2.6.5 PTR over the course of one week, starting Friday, April 5. 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 class set items (or supplemental items) that they might need!

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 hone 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 will be very tempting to get your hands dirty with as much as you can! To help guide your focus, here are the 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 Legacy of Nightmares Seasonal buff, with emphasis on finding builds with unforeseen interactions or bugs

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PTR Tips 

As with our previous 2.6.4 PTR, 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 2.6.5 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 March 29 @ 10:00 p.m. PST.

Below you will find the patch notes for the most recent update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.5.

Table of Contents

• General
• Quality of Life
• Seasons
• Items
• Bug Fixes

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

General 

• Torment 14, 15, and 16 have been added to the game
• Portals left behind by Treasure Goblins may occasionally lead somewhere udderly ridiculous
• Using an Ancient or Primal Puzzle Ring in Kanai’s Cube will produce a new result
• Party portraits now display if a player’s Cheat Death buff has been recently used (PC Only)
• When a boss is killed in a Nephalem Rift, a permanent ping will mark the location of the boss’ death until the Rift is closed
• The Boss Notification screen has received a rework (PC Only)
• The Greater Rift Notification screen has received a rework (PC Only)
• The Greater Rift Completion screen has received a rework (PC Only)
• Matchmaking no longer prevents players from joining a game while a Greater Rift is already in progress
  • Players who join the game will still be unable to join a Greater Rift in progress
• The progress bar for a Greater Rift is now visible to all players in the game, regardless of whether they are participating in the Rift or not

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Quality of Life 

• Additional stash space has been added for all players
  • PC: 5 additional stash tabs are now available
  • PS4/XB1/Switch: 140 additional stash spaces are now available
• Search functionality has been added to Stash (PC Only)
• All Crafters now have an Expand/Collapse All button for recipes (PC Only)
• Most Bounty indicators are now displayed immediately after entering the Bounty area
• Death's Breath now drop in Horadric Caches

Developer Comment: With 2.6.5, we’re aiming to address some of the longest standing and most desired quality of life features the community has brought to us. We’ve hit a little bit of everything, from adding additional Torment levels, making Ancient/Primal Puzzle Rings feel rewarding, and rehauling stash space in both size and functionality. Other changes were made to help smooth out overall gameplay, such as making Bounties feel less of a chore and more rewarding and reworking a few of our notification screens.

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Seasons 

• The Season Journey Journal now displays all chapters, regardless of current progression
• Added the buff for Season 17
  • Player’s damage dealt is increased by 750% and damage taken is reduced by 4% for every Ancient Item they have equipped while having no Set Bonuses Active

Developer’s Comment: The Season of Grandeur was by far our most popular Themed Season yet. In the wake of having a free Ring of Royal Grandeur active, we saw a lot of requests to try the same thing with the Legacy of Nightmares set power. We had been toying with the same idea internally, and the community request really nudged us over the edge of giving it a go!

Items 

• (NEW) Bottomless Potion of the Unfettered
  • Become immune to control-impairing effects for 5-7 seconds after drinking this potion
• Akkhan's Leniency
  • Each enemy hit by your Blessed Shield increases damage of your Blessed Shield by 15-20% 75-100% for 3 seconds
• Bloodtide Blade
  • Death Nova deals 80-100% 300-400% increased damage for every enemy within 25 yards
• Chantodo's Will
  • Every second while in Archon form you expel a Wave of Destruction, dealing 1000% 4000% weapon damage to enemies within 30 yards. Every time you hit with an attack while not in Archon form, 1000% 4000% weapon damage is added to the Wave of Destruction, stacking up to 20 times
  • Wave of Destruction ticks now scale with attack speed
• The Dagger of Darts
  • Your Poison Darts and your Fetishes’ Poison Darts now pierce and deal an additional [400-500%] damage.
• Iron Rose
  • Attacking with Siphon Blood has a 40-50% 100% chance to cast a free Blood Nova
• Jekangbord
  • Blessed Shield ricochets to 6 additional enemies and has its damage increased by 225-300% 300-400%
• Sage’s Set
  • Now doubles the amount of Death’s Breaths that drop
    • Previous: Increases Death’s Breath drops by 1

Developer’s Comment: With Patch 2.6.4, we focused on making a lot of changes to different class sets to open up build diversity and level out the comparable power between classes. With 2.6.5, we’re continuing that trend through adjustments to (mostly) Legendary powers we feel have a very strong, fun fantasy, but needed some damage bumps.

Bug Fixes 

• Fixed and issue where Xbox One/PS4 Voice Chat within public games was failing to work (Xbox One and PS4 Only)
• Fixed an issue where The Immortal King’s Set Dungeon objective numbers were incorrect
• Fixed an issue where the player counter UI was incorrectly showing 0 players online
• Fixed an issue where Greater Rift 70 first-time completion Primal drops were occurring for players even if they did not succeed at the 15-minute completion time
• Fixed an issue where Bounties that required interacting with an object would not update the next objective immediately after completing one
• Fixed an issue where a second Puzzle Ring tab would be shown in the Kanai’s Cube UI when a Puzzle Ring was equipped (Console Only)
• Fixed an issue where Keywarden icons would not show up on the map in Torment level games (Switch Only)
• Fixed an issue where some subtitles in the Taiwan localization would exceed the screen limit (Switch only)
• Fixed an issue where the mouse cursor may be hidden when launching the client (Mac only)
• Fixed an issue where players would not be blocked from entering Public Games with the Key Warden tag when Key Wardens have already been defeated

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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: Create a PTR account. To create a PTR account, log in to Blizzard Battle.net Account Management and double-click on your Diablo III game license; this will bring you to the game management page. On this page, click "Create a PTR account.

If you've participated in any previous Diablo III PTR, the "Create PTR account" button may not appear. This is because you've already created a PTR account and can therefore skip this step.

Step 2: Once you have created a PTR account, installed the Blizzard Battle.net desktop, and logged in with your Blizzard Battle.net credentials, select "Diablo III" from the main menu on the left-hand side of the application.

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: You should now have the option to install and play the patch.

The PTR is available in all supported languages, and accounts from all regions are eligible to participate.

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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.

*Header art is of an Enslaved Nightmare from the D3 Wiki.

The new patch and season is on the PTR and we're taking a look at all the additions.

[Cambios 0]

Free LoN sure is great for a handful of builds....

But what about WW Barb? You cannot play WW barb without the 2 piece bonus from the swords. And the 2 piece bonus from Endless Walk is darn near required as well. 

They have been ignoring a lot of very iconic builds for a long time and every season the same builds dominate.

HOTA & Charge have been the kinds of barb forever. WW and Leapquake ignored.. and god forbid you want anything else.

If LoN worked with 2 piece set bonuses, THEN we would have something interesting for more people.

[Starym 3,801]

27 minutes ago, Cambios said:

Free LoN sure is great for a handful of builds....

But what about WW Barb? You cannot play WW barb without the 2 piece bonus from the swords. And the 2 piece bonus from Endless Walk is darn near required as well. 

They have been ignoring a lot of very iconic builds for a long time and every season the same builds dominate.

HOTA & Charge have been the kinds of barb forever. WW and Leapquake ignored.. and god forbid you want anything else.

If LoN worked with 2 piece set bonuses, THEN we would have something interesting for more people.

Sure you can. You just can't be "competitive" with it ?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Starym said:

Sure you can. You just can't be "competitive" with it ?

And there is absolutly harm in that IMO.

It's not like you miss parts of the game if you do not play a Tier 1 build.

It's not like there is a difficult raid like in WoW where you need the best items / strategy to finish it.

You can only play higher GR tiers.

But there is absolutly no difference if you play GR 50 or 75 or 100.

That's why I suggest Cambios that you just play the build you like best ?

[Cambios 0]

On 4/5/2019 at 4:20 PM, Starym said:

Sure you can. You just can't be "competitive" with it ?

 

22 hours ago, WedgeAntilles said:

And there is absolutly harm in that IMO.

?

Of course there is harm in it. Progress and constantly getting little upgrades is part of Diablo and always has been.

With whirlwind, that door get slammed shut in the 90s. For charge and hota, its 120+, and for zbarb its 150 in a group.

WW is not group viable at all on top of the fact it is about 30 GRs lower than the other solo builds.

That means your ability to progress is over weeks/months sooner in a season. That sucks.

Not only does it suck, but it is actually very easy to remedy. More build variety for meaningful gameplay and more progression are good things.

Telling people to "just enjoy sucking with your build" is not really a great suggestion. It also isn't good for the game.

[Cambios 0]

Also, this isn't just about whirlwind. There are tons of fun builds in many other classes that are also garbage and could easily NOT be garbage.

And unfortunately LoN is just going to widen the gap if they don't do some other things as well.

Allowing 2 piece set bonuses with LoN would actually be a big step in that direction.

[Nihilatos 10]

Personally I think the LoN is the worst set in the game. It relies on you having ancient legendaries and no other sets and lets face it, ancient legendaries have a very low drop rate. I can play for hours and never get one, so in the season it makes this buff useless. Clearly this is directed towards the elite players that spend all day farming rifts rather than the normal players. Focus and Restraint would have been a far better theme than LoN.

[Guest]

20 hours ago, Cambios said:

Telling people to "just enjoy sucking with your build" is not really a great suggestion. It also isn't good for the game.
 

Oh yeah, playing what you like is REALLY very bad for the game...

If you want the greatest GR possible play this build for heavens sake.

If you want to play what you like do that - like I said no build excludes you from the game. You can kill any boss, you can do GR. Not GR 125 maybe but only GR 70 - there is no difference.

Seriously, I do not get your point. You can do whatever you want without having to forfeit anything in the game.

What are you whining about?

[Starym 3,801]

19 hours ago, Nihilatos said:

Personally I think the LoN is the worst set in the game. It relies on you having ancient legendaries and no other sets and lets face it, ancient legendaries have a very low drop rate. I can play for hours and never get one, so in the season it makes this buff useless. Clearly this is directed towards the elite players that spend all day farming rifts rather than the normal players. Focus and Restraint would have been a far better theme than LoN.

I don't think it'll be that hard to get those ancients though. With three new torments and the Sage set dropping insane amounts of death's Breath now it will be a lot easier. Also what you're talking about is only relevant if you HAVE TO have the best LoN setup asap to push the absolute highest GRs possible, otherwise you can still play lower ones with whichever ancients you get.

[Acheronus 1]

On 4/7/2019 at 7:14 AM, Nihilatos said:

Personally I think the LoN is the worst set in the game. It relies on you having ancient legendaries and no other sets and lets face it, ancient legendaries have a very low drop rate. I can play for hours and never get one, so in the season it makes this buff useless. Clearly this is directed towards the elite players that spend all day farming rifts rather than the normal players. Focus and Restraint would have been a far better theme than LoN.

I disagree. Im a VERY casual player and I managed to get a truckload of ancient and a handful of primal items without even really trying. The LoN mechanic is great because you gain a flat 750% damage boost from ANY ancient piece, not just the BiS item for the top tier build. LoN opens up endgame to many more gear combinations than simply the top tier class sets.

[Cambios 0]

On 4/7/2019 at 1:05 PM, WedgeAntilles said:

Oh yeah, playing what you like is REALLY very bad for the game...

If you want the greatest GR possible play this build for heavens sake.

If you want to play what you like do that - like I said no build excludes you from the game. You can kill any boss, you can do GR. Not GR 125 maybe but only GR 70 - there is no difference.

Seriously, I do not get your point. You can do whatever you want without having to forfeit anything in the game.

What are you whining about?

1) That's the problem. You *CANNOT* play what you like if you want to progress beyond the first 2 or 3 weeks. My ww barb was capped/maxed out in that time and no longer viable. There are many other fun builds with the same problem (multishot DH, etc).

2) Why should there be major, core, iconic builds with core sets designed around them that are 30+ GRs behind others? That makes no sense.

Given the choice between being awesome with more variety and being shitty with less variety, always choose awesome.

There is no upside to WW, multishot, and tons of other core builds being garbage.

 

 

[Nihilatos 10]

On 4/8/2019 at 9:11 PM, Acheronus said:

I disagree. Im a VERY casual player and I managed to get a truckload of ancient and a handful of primal items without even really trying. The LoN mechanic is great because you gain a flat 750% damage boost from ANY ancient piece, not just the BiS item for the top tier build. LoN opens up endgame to many more gear combinations than simply the top tier class sets.

Heh you're very lucky then. I get the occasional ancient but it's not very often. As for primals I've had the grand total of 3 and 2 of them weren't useful to me at all. I think my RNG quota is clicked to bad, it's the same for WoW ?