d3 Diablo 3 Season 22 and Patch 2.6.10 PTR Patch Notes

[Staff 1,489]

 

We have a new season PTR coming on October 1st, with Season 22 focusing on shadow clones of your class helping you out (with various builds of their own) and a fourth Kanai's Cube slot! The class changes focus on Wizards, Crusaders and Witch Doctors, there's plenty of new and changed legendaries, so check out the full post!

We get 2 weeks of the PTR, with the standard legendary drop rate buff, but also a new double Blood Shard buff added as well!

Patch 2.6.10 Preview (source)

Our two-week PTR testing period for the 2.6.10 update begins October 1 and we're asking for your help to quell the tides of surging demons. Take a look at the preliminary patch notes below and start theorycrafting how you'll make the most of the brand-new season content, a new item, and tons of Legendary item changes; Patch 2.6.10 will be arriving soon!

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Table of Contents

• PTR Focus & Details
  • PTR Tips
• Patch Notes
  • Seasons
  • Items
• How to Participate in PTR
• PTR Character Copy

Please note that this is a preview for PTR content, which is subject to change.

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PTR Focus & Details

We’ll be conducting the Patch 2.6.10 PTR, and phasing in content updates over the course of two weeks, starting Thursday, October 1. During this time there may be periodic maintenances, outages, hotfixes, or minor patches. This time around, testing will consist of two phases:

• Phase 1 - October 1: During this phase, we will be introducing Legendary and Set item changes
• Phase 2 – October 8: In this phase, we will be adding the Seasonal Theme content

NOTE: Phase 1 content will persist throughout the entirety of the PTR. Phase 2 content will be an addition to the existing content. 

There will be two PTR-unique buffs active to help you on your journey: increased Legendary drop rate and double Blood Shard drops. You can also buy new gear for testing from the special PTR vendor, Djank Mi'em, who will exchange Blood Shards for class-specific bags full of Legendary items that we'd love for you to test!

Class Changes: To ensure that the most significant class changes receive an ample amount of attention, we'd love for you to focus testing and feedback on the Wizard changes around Etched Sigils and Hydras, the Crusader’s Steed Charge build, and the Witch Doctor’s Crazy Chicken build.

So that we can efficiently review your posts, feedback should be provided in the PTR Feedback forum while bug reports should be provided in the PTR Bug Report forum. 

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PTR Testing Tips

As with our previous PTRs, this testing period is short, so it's best to hit the ground running. 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 patch 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

Below you will find the patch notes for the upcoming update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.10.

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PATCH 2.6.10

Table of Contents:

• Seasons
• Items
• Monsters
• Bug Fixes

Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated. Please note that PTR is only available for PC and Mac users.

Seasons

The shadows, they are moving, and they seem… animated. It is as though they had a will of their own. Whatever this trickery is, perhaps you can use it to your advantage. Let’s see what the demons say when you fight side by side with your own shadow!

Shadows of the Past: Activating a Shrine/Pylon will spawn in a shadow clone of your class. This clone will randomly have 1 out of 3 predetermined builds. This clone's power will scale with your character and will last for 1 minute or if your character dies. See below for the shadow clone variations that can spawn when activating. 

Witch Doctor

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Grasp of the Dead - Rain of Corpses	Wall of Death - Fire Wall	Mass Confusion - Mass Hallucination
Piranhas - Piranhado	Firebomb - Flash Fire	Spirit Barrage - The Spirit is Willing
Wall of Death - Surrounded by Death	Hex - Unstable Form	Wall of Death - Communing with Spirits
Zombie Charger - Zombie Bears	Piranhas - Piranhado	Piranhas - Piranhado
Corpse Spiders - Medusa Spiders	Zombie Charger - Explosive Beast	Horrify - Face of Death
Hex - Jinx	Spirit Barrage - Well of Souls	Grasp of the dead - Unbreakable Grasp

Wizard

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Arcane Orb - Frozen Orb	Meteor - Molten Impact	Arcane Orb - Obliteration
Frost Nova - Bone Chill	Arcane Orb - Obliteration	Disintegrate - Intensify
Blizzard - Unrelenting Storm	Explosive Blast - Short Fuse	Wave of Force - Debilitating Force
Ice Armor - Frozen Storm	Black Hole - Blazar	Slow Time - Exhaustion
Black Hole - Absolute Zero	Energy Twister - Gale Force	Energy Twister - Raging Storm
Ray of Frost - Snow Blast	Disintegrate - Convergence	Meteor - Star Pact

Barbarian

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Seismic Slam - Shattered Ground	Battle Rage - Marauder's Rage	Overpower - Killing Spree
Ground Stomp - Jarring Slam	Threatening Shout - Falter	Threatening Shout - Falter
Avalanche - Volcano	Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity	Furious Charge - Battering Ram
Earthquake - Molten Fury	Sprint - Run Like the Wind	Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity
Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity	Whirlwind - No Rune	Bash - Pulverize
Ancient Spear - Boulder Toss	Rend - Lacerate	Hammer of The Ancients - Rolling Thunder

Monk

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Blinding Flash - Faith in the Light	Fist of Thunder - Thunderclap	Exploding Palm - The Flesh is Weak
Seven-Sided Strike - Fulminating Onslaught	Deadly Reach - Scattered Blows	Wave of Light - Explosive Light
Inner Sanctuary - Sanctified Ground	Way of the Hundred Fists - Hands of Lightning	Lashing Tail Kick - Spinning Flame Kick
Epiphany - Soothing Mist	Lashing Tail Kick - Sweeping Armada	Epiphany - Inner Fire
Breath of Heaven - Circle of Scorn	Dashing Strike - Barrage	Sweeping Wind - Fire Storm
Wave of Light - Empowered Wave	Cyclone Strike - Implosion	Seven-Sided Strike - Sudden Assault

Necromancer

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Land of the Dead - Frozen Lands	Land of the Dead - Plaguelands	Land of the Dead - Frozen Lands
Frailty - Volatile Death	Decrepify - Wither	Bone Spear - Shatter
Bone Spirit - Possession	Army of the Dead - Blighted Grasp	Death Nova - Bone Nova
Corpse Explosion - Final Embrace	Corpse Lance - Ricochet	Frailty - Early Grave
Bone Spear - Blood Spear	Death Nova - Blight	Army of the Dead - Death Valley
Death Nova - Blood Nova	Bone Spear - Blighted Marrow	Corpse Lance - Blood Lance

Demon Hunter

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Marked for Death - Valley of Death	Marked for Death - Valley of Death	Marked for Death - Valley of Death
Caltrops - Jagged Spikes	Rain of Vengeance - Stampede	Rain of Vengeance- Flying Strike
Fan of Knives - Assassin's Knives	Cluster Arrow - Shooting Stars	Cluster Arrow - Maelstrom
Chakram - Twin Chakrams	Multishot - Arsenal	Multishot - Wind Chill
Vengeance - Side Cannons	Vengeance - Personal Mortar	Vengeance - From the Shadows
Impale - Ricochet	Elemental Arrow - Immolation arrow	Elemental Arrow - Frost Arrow

Crusader

Build Variation 1	Build Variation 2	Build Variation 3
Akarat's Champion - Fire Starter	Akarat's Champion - Hasteful	Akarat's Champion - Rally
Falling Sword - Superheated	Falling Sword - Flurry	Falling Sword - Part the Clouds
Sweep Attack - Blazing Sweep	Judgment - Mass Verdict	Heaven's Fury - Split Fury
Consecration - Shattered Ground	Consecration - Bathed in Light	Fist of the Heavens - Retribution
Bombardment - Annihilate	Blessed Hammer - Limitless	Iron Skin - Charged Up
Condemn - Reciprocate	Condemn - Reciprocate	Shield Glare - Uncertainty

Rewards: Two unique new rewards, a portrait frame, and a pet will be granted to players who complete the Season 22 Guardian Journey.

Kanai’s Cube: Additionally, the Kanai’s Cube will have a fourth slot this season. This fourth slot will have the choices of the first 3 slots but will not stack with any of them. The intent is to provide players with creative flexibility to their character builds.

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Items

General

• Haedrig’s Gifts now grants all class sets and we have a new rotation schedule. This upcoming season, depending on which class you choose, Haedrig’s Gifts will reward you with Horde of the Ninety Savages, Aegis of Valor, Gears of Dreadlands, Patterns of Justice, Masquerade of the Burning Carnival, Mundunugu’s Regalia, or Typhon’s Veil.
• Stone Gauntlets now drops for all classes.
• Paragon Bonus Gold Find has been changed to Gold Pickup Radius at 0.1 per point.

Item Changes

• New Item* Gelmindor’s Marrow Guards: Bone Spear cast from Simulacrums deal 400-500% increased damage.
• Ivory Tower: Rapid multiple blocks will now scale the damage for Fires of Heaven, up to a maximum of 2.5 times damage.
• Mantle of Channeling: Removed the 1 second start up before the power takes effect.
• Etched Sigil: While channeling Arcane Torrent, Disintegrate, or Ray of Frost, the damage of your Energy Twister is increased by 200-250%, and you also cast Energy Twister every second.
• Fragment of Destiny: Your Signature Spells attack 50% faster and deal triple damage. You gain a Spectral buff whenever you land an attack with a Signature Spell. Hydras deal 25-30% increased damage for each Spectral stack. Max 10 stacks.
• Valthek's Rebuke: Energy Twister now travels in a straight path and deals 300-400% increased damage.
• Winter Flurry: Enemies killed by Cold damage have a 25% chance to release a Frost Nova. Your Hydra deals 125-150% increased damage to enemies in a Blizzard.
• Wizardspike: Performing an attack has a 25% chance to hurl a Frozen Orb. Arcane Orb deals 300-350% increased damage.
• Delsere's Magnum Opus: 6 piece bonus increased from 8500% to 12500%.
• The Typhon's Veil: 6 piece bonus increased from 1300% to 2000%.
• Nervold's Fervor: Buff 2 piece bonus damage from 100% to 400%
• Armor of Akkhan: Buff 6 piece bonus damage from 1500% to 2000%
• Roland's Legacy: Buff 4 piece bonus damage from 13,000% to 17,500%
• Seeker of the Light: Buff 6 piece Blessed Hammer bonus damage from 12,000% to 15,000%
• Belt of the Trove: Every 4 seconds, call down Bombardment on a random nearby enemy. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.
• The Mortal Drama: Double the number of Bombardment impacts. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.
• Manajuma's Way: Angry Chicken explosion damage increased from 400% to 2000%.
• Spirit of Arachyr: Buff 6 piece bonus damage from 9000% to 17,500%.
• Helltooth Harness: Buff 6 piece bonus damage from 9000% to 17,500%.
• Scrimshaw: Reduces the Mana cost of Zombie Charger by 75% and increases its damage by 6-7 times.
• Inna's Mantra: Buff 6 piece bonus damage from 750% to 950%.
• Shenlong's Spirit: Damage bonus increased from 200% to 350%.
• Gungdo Gear: Exploding Palm's on-death explosion applies Exploding Palm. Exploding Palm's damage is increased by 75-100%.
• Blade of the Tribes: War Cry and Threatening Shout cause an Avalanche and Earthquake. Avalanche and Earthquake both deal 150-200% increased damage

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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: Restart the Battle.net desktop app.

Step 2: Navigate to the Diablo III tab on the left-hand menu.

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: Click Install to begin the installation process.

Your PTR account will be created automatically if you do not already have one. The PTR is available in all supported languages, and accounts from all regions are eligible to participate. For additional assistance with installing and launching the PTR, click here.

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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!

The Season 22 PTR is close and we get the full patch notes!

[darkgreenwax 412]

KANAI 4TH SLOT AND BOOM I'M HYPED FOR THIS ARCHAIC GAME ONCE MORE!!

[darkgreenwax 412]

on a serious note, I don't follow PTR developments so I wonder why they've reverted the Mantle of Channeling nerf. too much backlash?

 

also the witch doctor exploding chicken buff looks crazy. a season or 2 ago I accidentally collected all the chicken complimentary gear and it turned out to be a super fun way to speed through bounties, torment 16 rifts, and key hunting. it was surprisingly efficient at that level; lightning fast, movement wise.

[ActualBusry 0]

Well where to start...

Im thankful that youre still trying to create some content for this game, but that being said there are so many questionmarks... what were you thinking...

I get it that youre trying to make a viable Twister Build, but am i reading it right that youre not only killing every channeling build out there, AND give us a 3rd weapon option for the Build ? ( Etched Sigil offhand and Twister Sword, Rebuke and Deathwish ?)

making the Twister Build only really viable in the new Season?

Edited September 25, 2020 by ActualBusry
some stupid typos

[Valhalen 1,484]

Ohhh they're buffing Leapquake? I love it.

[Babygirll 1]

HYPE

[darkgreenwax 412]

2 hours ago, Valhalen said:

Ohhh they're buffing Leapquake? I love it.

i want to try this so bad, but it's hard to break the spin-to-win habit dating back 20 years in diablo 2 with my trusty [superior lance] ?

[Valhalen 1,484]

2 minutes ago, TyZone said:

i want to try this so bad, but it's hard to break the spin-to-win habit dating back 20 years in diablo 2 with my trusty [superior lance] ?

Understandable. Old habits die hard, lol. However, Leapquake is by far my favorite build in the entire game. I hope they bring it back on Diablo IV.

[gabrielgarciapro 0]

I am a fan of Diablo since diablo I.

Diablo two was fantastic due to the ability we had to create our custom rooms, and interact with players and negotiate. A communication gap that made Diablo III too impersonal and lost a lot of the game soul.

Now, I just fell that the changes are too minimal. We want more items, a lot more items! More innovation more crazy items like charms and the "Anny". Big variaty of crazy receipts and ingredients like we could do in diablo II cube. 

I still like diablo but is getting boring and boring each season. 

Our current big surprises are just fixes and minimal adjusts on items properties and cosmetic rewards that doesn't give any real excitement.

Diablo became a very repetitive play, a eternal dejavu with not really much space for different builds and personality. Everybody has too end up with the same two or three options that really work for specific class and the are no real player interation. I hope DIV completelly redesign the game to be again that small  world that we could have more space for creation and with 100 times more items...

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by gabrielgarciapro

[Valhalen 1,484]

8 hours ago, gabrielgarciapro said:

I am a fan of Diablo since diablo I.

Diablo two was fantastic due to the ability we had to create our custom rooms, and interact with players and negotiate. A communication gap that made Diablo III too impersonal and lost a lot of the game soul.

Now, I just fell that the changes are too minimal. We want more items, a lot more items! More innovation more crazy items like charms and the "Anny". Big variaty of crazy receipts and ingredients like we could do in diablo II cube. 

I still like diablo but is getting boring and boring each season. 

Our current big surprises are just fixes and minimal adjusts on items properties and cosmetic rewards that doesn't give any real excitement.

Diablo became a very repetitive play, a eternal dejavu with not really much space for different builds and personality. Everybody has too end up with the same two or three options that really work for specific class and the are no real player interation. I hope DIV completelly redesign the game to be again that small  world that we could have more space for creation and with 100 times more items...

The thing is: Diablo was always repetitive. Saying that Diablo II had "build variety" is pretty untrue. Sure, it was more flexible than Diablo III since sets didn't play a huge role, but it was very limited. Yeah, you could come up with crazy builds, but most of them were not very effective.

As for the seasons, I'm surprised the devs are still even making seasons. But Diablo III is on maintenance mode for years now as they make Diablo IV. There is little to no reason to add new content. At least they keep rebalancing stuff.

[Druidyguy 1]

Quote

• Helltooth Harness: Buff 6 piece bonus damage from 9000% to 17,500%.
• Scrimshaw: Reduces the Mana cost of Zombie Charger by 75% and increases its damage by 6-7 times.

Did I hear someone say Zombie Bears?

[Notoriousthf 19]

• Belt of the Trove: Every 4 seconds, call down Bombardment on a random nearby enemy. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.
• The Mortal Drama: Double the number of Bombardment impacts. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.

Is bombsader back? after a long time?

Edited September 28, 2020 by Notoriousthf

[Metro 2]

13 hours ago, Notoriousthf said:

• Belt of the Trove: Every 4 seconds, call down Bombardment on a random nearby enemy. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.
• The Mortal Drama: Double the number of Bombardment impacts. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.

Is bombsader back? after a long time?

This is exactly the build I want try on the PTR, Notoriousthf. Especially given the added Akkhan set bonus too. I wonder what might work best in the free 4th Cube slot?

[peltfire 0]

1 hour ago, Metro said:

This is exactly the build I want try on the PTR, Notoriousthf. Especially given the added Akkhan set bonus too. I wonder what might work best in the free 4th Cube slot?

What about thorns bomber?

[GamerGirlDK 0]

So which character is the best in season 22?

[Notoriousthf 19]

On 9/28/2020 at 12:26 PM, peltfire said:

What about thorns bomber?

Bombsader is thorns.

 

On 9/28/2020 at 10:26 AM, Metro said:

This is exactly the build I want try on the PTR, Notoriousthf. Especially given the added Akkhan set bonus too. I wonder what might work best in the free 4th Cube slot?

Definitely would want the Nervold's Fervor set, which also got buffed.

Another option is the classic blockbardment Invoker(2-4) Akkhan6 With Nervold's Fervor. This was my go to for solo while bombsader was still popular. Justice Lantern is required. Here's a link to my old build: https://www.diablofans.com/builds/98677-akkhan-blockbardment-crusader-gr95

4th slot will depend on whether or not we choose to run Akkhan's talisman. After all, Endless Time set and Hellfire Amulet are also powerful here (If using Lord Commander, Heavenly Strength, Iron Maiden, Finery, then Hold Your Ground for Blockbardment), I can see Pylon being the 4th option, Blood Brother for Blockbardment.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Notoriousthf

[Gator 0]

Test etched sigil with hydras? It no longer works for LoD hydra build! there I tested it and am very very sad :(

 

[darkinchworm 20]

Ok, the Paragon stat for gold is objectively the least meaningful of them all, but why change it from bonus gold to pickup radius? My pets vacuum the gold just fine, thanks.

Edit hours later to add it didn't immediately dawn on me that this may ultimately be more beneficial for certain skills, though if we're being honest I still haven't put that much thought into it.

Edited October 2, 2020 by darkinchworm