The 2.1 PTR Patch for Season 7 of Diablo 4 brings a whole lot of shaking up, both for your characters and your expectations.
Spiritborn skills are seeing one or two buffs – Thorns damage is practically going off the rails, and Vigor generation is flying high, but also quite a few key nerfs to Legendary Aspects and Spirit Halls.
However, while Spiritborn seems to be at an all-time low, Rogues are speedier and more mobile than ever before. This, along with some other major buffs to other classes from the base game, makes it very much worth it to catch up on the changes coming to PTR.
All Spiritborn Nerfs
Spiritborn takes a clear hit, but it’s not all bad.
Changes to Spiritborn skills
- Enhanced Thunderspike: Vigor gain bumped from 5 to 7.
- Velocity: Vigor generation now requires movement.
- Touch of Death: Swarms now ignore invulnerable enemies.
- Endurance: Vigor generation was doubled
- Bastion: Thorns damage tripled. Thorns, thorns everywhere.
Nerfed Legendary Aspects
- Aspect of Tenacity: Resolve now only increases at maxed Vigor.
- Aspect of Binding Morass: Damage against slowed enemies nerfed to 10-30%.
- Sticker-thought Aspect: Completely removed.
Nerfed Spirit halls
- Centipede Primary Spirit Hall: Poison damage added, but damage reduction lowered to 2% per hit.
- Eagle Secondary Spirit Hall: Delay before reset stretched to 4 seconds. Expect combos to suffer.
Nerfed Unique items
- Band of First Breath: Swapped Vigor generation for damage buffs.
- Scorn of the Earth: Barrier replaced with Lightning resistance.
- Rod of Kepeleke: Critical strike damage nerfed into irrelevance.
Paragon nodes tweaked
- Hubris Glyph: Thorns cap increased.
- Bitter Medicine Node: Now inflicts Poison instead of direct damage.
Recipe reworks
- Sky Augments: Razor Wings double-cast chance replaced with random double damage.
- Soil Augments: Touch of Death Swarm duration extended.
Other nerfs sneak in
- Lucky Hit bonuses: Nerfed across the board for Ferocity buffs.
- Bug fixes: Fixed “issues” like tooltips and unintended bonuses.
Changes to Rogue
The Rogue class just got a major glow-up, blending lethality and finesse into a sharper toolkit. Here’s what’s sizzling:
Assassin’s Stride Boots
You’ll dash like a caffeinated ninja with +100% Movement Speed after casting a Mobility Skill. Plus, your Mobility Skills are now always Shadow Imbued with boosted damage. If you hit an Elite or Boss, you get a free Shadow Imbuement explosion.
Legendary aspects
- Slice and Dice: Twisting Blades now cleave, and their return speed cranks up by 45%.
- Bitter Infection: Shadow Imbuement deals 50% more damage and ticks like a time bomb.
Skills rework
- Twisting Blades: Bonus damage lasts longer.
- Caltrops: No more awkward self-yeeting; you can now target where to throw them.
- Rain of Arrows: Instant damage, faster, smoother, and now doubles as a crowd-control masterclass.
Passives & Paragon
- Shadow Crash now stuns enemies more reliably, while Precision delivers crits faster with extra juice.
- Legendary nodes like Danse Macabre and No Witnesses supercharge Mobility and Ultimate damage.
Unique Gear tweaks
Shadow Clone got serious buffs, triggering faster and packing more oomph. Traps and Grenades now double as Core Skills, opening explosive possibilities.
Changes to Sorcerer
Sorcs are hotter, colder, and downright electrifying.
New toys for Sorcs
- Strike of Stormhorn: Say hello to Super Ball Lightning, your new best friend.
- Okun’s Catalyst: Ball Lightning now orbits like a lightning-filled hula hoop while you strut around Unhindered.
Skill Shake-ups
- Ball Lightning: Faster, stronger, and now spawns crackling energy.
- Inferno: Now adds Vulnerable to enemies inside and supercharges Pyromancy skills.
- Deep Freeze: Beefs up its damage and gives you a Barrier when you thaw out.
- Enchantments & Passives: Many tweaks to make builds healthier, faster, and more flexible. Flame Shield pops sooner, Devouring Blaze buffs Pyromancy Crits, and Conjuration Mastery now rewards summon builds with a massive boost.
Legendary Aspects
- Pyro, Frost, and Shock skills now multitask with barriers, speed boosts, and immobilization.
- Ball Lightning enhancements make you the static field of doom.
Paragon changes
More bang for your burn and smarter scaling across the board. Glyphs and nodes now pack more focused power to avoid the “everything’s burning but me” problem.
Changes for the Druid
Druid also got some much-needed love with several boosts and mobility buffs.
Unique items
- Malefic Crescent Amulet: Boosts Werewolf crit damage, movement speed, and adds ranks to Feral Aptitude. Lupine Ferocity damage increased by 100-150% on consecutive crits.
- Mjölnic Ryng: While Cataclysm is active, gain unlimited Spirit and 40-100% damage increase. Now, Cataclysm benefits from Lightning Bolts.
- Tempest Roar: Changed Willpower damage to %Willpower.
Skills
- Hurricane: Can now be cast while moving.
- Raging Shred: New combo applies 30% increased Poison damage.
- Blood Howl: Adds 25% damage boost while shapeshifted.
- Grizzly Rage: 60% increased damage bonus.
- Lacerate: Damage increased to 600%.
- Petrify: Resets non-Ultimate skill cooldowns on cast.
Passives
- Lupine Ferocity: Every 3rd Werewolf skill hit Critically Strikes, with 75% increased damage.
- Toxic Claws: Increases Poison damage on Shred and Lacerate.
- Heightened Senses: Increased movement speed from Werewolf form (3%).
- Charged Atmosphere: 10% more Lightning damage.
Spirit Boons
- Deer: Deal 5% more damage after taking an enemy hit.
- Wolf: Lucky Hit now restores full Spirit.
Legendary Aspects
- Blurred Beast: Shred’s dash lands 4 extra strikes based on distance traveled.
- Virulent: Triples Rabies cooldown reduction against Elites, boosts damage by 25-50%.
Paragon
- Heightened Malice: Damage increases with more Poisoned enemies nearby.
- Ancestral Guidance: Ultimate Skills get bonus damage per Spirit spent.
Glyphs
- Keeper: +15% non-physical damage.
- Territorial: +15% damage reduction against nearby enemies.
- Werewolf: +16.6% Werewolf form damage.
Tempering
- Shapeshifting Finesse: Adds +% damage while fortified.
Changes to Necromancer
Necros get energy cost reduced and damage increased for several skills.
Unique items
- Indira’s Memory Unique Pants: Bone Spear reduces Blood Wave cooldown and Blood Wave becomes a Bone Skill that spawns Bone Prison, increasing Blood Skill damage.
- Kessime’s Legacy Unique Pants: Blood Wave fortifies you, forms two waves that pull enemies in and increase Blood Wave damage for each hit.
Legendary Aspects
- Aspect of Distilled Anima: Soulrift grants Unhindered status and increased Movement Speed per absorbed soul, lasting 5 seconds after Soulrift ends.
- Bone Duster’s Aspect: Bone Spear guarantees Critical Strikes inside Bone Prison and deals increased damage.
Skills
- Blight: Essence cost reduced, now doubles damage against Elites and has a chance to Freeze enemies.
- Bone Spear: Damage increased, boosts Overpower damage, and Critical Strikes grant Maximum Essence and Bone Shards.
- Enhanced Sever: Deals 85% of damage, slows enemies, and every 3rd cast causes Fear and Vulnerable.
- Soulrift: Drains 2 additional enemies from Bosses and refills Healing Potions after consuming souls.
- Blood Mist: Baseline damage increased, grants Movement Speed and spawns a Corpse, while applying Vulnerable.
- Bone Prison: Cooldown reduced and grants Essence on cast, more for Bosses.
- Army of the Dead: Damage increased, Volatile Skeletons now Stun, and Rank 5 boosts damage from Skeleton Mage and Golem.
- Blood Wave: Knockback more consistent and pushes enemies further; Rank 5 boosts damage from Damage While Healthy/Fortified bonuses.
- Bone Storm: Rank 5 boosts damage based on Critical Strike Damage bonus.
Passives
- Reaper’s Pursuit: Grants increased Movement Speed and damage for each Darkness Skill on the bar.
- Amplify Damage: Increases damage against Cursed and Feared enemies.
- Hellbent Commander: Gain 10% Summoning Damage while controlling at least 7 Minions.
- Coalesced Blood: Grants 6% increased damage while Healthy.
- Spiked Armor: Provides Thorns, Armor, and Block Chance.
- Rathma’s Vigor: Now also grants Overpower damage.
- Affliction: Explosion damage scaling now provides a Critical Strike Damage bonus.
Legendary Aspects
- Bristleback:Dodging or Blocking triggers a Thorns attack against the attacker.
- Aspect of Redirected Force: Increases Critical Strike Damage based on Block Chance, doubling after a Block for 10 seconds.
- Aspect of Layered Wards: Increases Blocked Damage Reduction while you have a Barrier.
Paragon
- Wither: Intelligence cap increased to 2,000.
- Bloodbath: Increases Overpower damage and boosts Blood Skill damage after Overpowering.
Changes to Barbarian
Barbarians get some mobility and movement speed boosts.
Affixes and Aspects
Mantle of the Mountain’s Fury
- Inherent: Hammer of the Ancients gets a 50% damage boost for 5 seconds after an Earthquake hits. Armor? 200-350 of it. Plus, 2-3 ranks to Defensive Stance for that extra beefy feel.
- Power: Hammer of the Ancients now leaves a seismic line that slows enemies by 60-80%. Earthquakes it touches explode for their full damage.
Of Incendiary Fissures Legendary Aspect
Earthquakes now deal 35-50% more damage and are Fire-based.
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Skills
- Hammer of the Ancients: Damage increased from 70% to 80%. Can now strike ground areas and auto-approach targets.
- Furious Hammer of the Ancients: Gains 3% Critical Strike Damage and Chance per 10 Fury, with Critical Strikes now Knocking Down enemies.
- Mighty Throw: Impact damage increased from 80% to 105%, pulse damage from 35% to 50%.
- Kick: Skill Ranks now increase damage.
- Mighty Kick: Knockdown duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds.
- Wrath of the Berserker: Rank 5 pulls in enemies and deals 200% damage.
- Call of the Ancients: Now has the Summoning tag. Rank 5 gives 40% Movement Speed and 20% Damage Reduction.
- Iron Maelstrom: Bludgeoning Slam damage increased from 60% to 75%, Duel-Wield Swing damage from 33% to 43%.
Passives
- Heavy Hitter: Now boosts Earthquakes and Dust Devils.
- Defensive Stance: Adds healing while Fortified.
- Slaying Strike: Increases damage to both Injured and Healthy enemies.
- Unbridled Rage: Now doubles damage against Injured enemies.
- Walking Arsenal: Increases damage and Attack Speed with all weapon types active.
Legendary Aspects
- Executioner’s: Overpower now spawns a damaging Earthquake with 25% bonus damage per 100 Strength.
- Of Earthquakes: Ground Stomp now adds 10-25% more damage to Earthquakes.
- Of Bul-Kathos: Leap creates Earthquakes with 10-25% extra Damage Reduction.
- Of Herculean Spectacle: Mighty Throw damage increased from 15-35% to 25-45%.
Unique Items
- Twin Strikes: Double Swing now stuns enemies after 4 uses.
- Unbroken Chain: Now includes 2-3 Skill Ranks of Slaying Strike and increased Enemy Damage Reduction.
- Ugly Bastard Helm: Fire damage bonus increased from 60-80% to 80-100%, and Fire Resistance doubled.
Paragon
- Bone Breaker (Legendary Node): Ultimate Skills deal up to 80% more damage after Overpower.
- Weapons Master (Legendary Node): Swapping weapons grants 8% Fury, and you now deal 30% more damage to Injured and Healthy enemies.
Loot changes, bugs & more
Changes to loot
The chances for Ancestral items to drop have been increased (finally, more good loot!), while the drop rates for Elixirs from Elite monsters have been reduced.
Legendary affixes on Ancestral items now have a minimum roll equal to the max of non-ancestral items, so you’re getting better gear, period.
Infernal Compasses are a bit of a mixed bag now – while their drop chance from Greater Helltide Chests is up, drops from Whispers, Nightmare Dungeons, Lesser Helltide Chests, and The Pit are down.
Also, a new Whisper Cache, Collection Keys, has been added, which includes Infernal Compasses and Nightmare Dungeon Sigils.
The Greater Crafting Whisper Cache now drops four times as many crafting materials and is no longer filled with non-crafting items.
Changes to Affixes
Speaking of affixes, class-specific affixes are now class-restricted, and tooltips will clearly call out which affixes work for which class, so no more confusion.
This means if you’re a Barbarian, you get exclusive access to Damage to Injured or Damage with Dual-Wielded Weapons, while Necromancers get perks like Ultimate Cooldown Reduction and Essence recovery from Blood Orbs.
Changes to Summons
There’s also a standardization for Summons across classes – whether you’re summoning minions as a Necromancer or conjuring companions as a Druid, the damage will now be attributed to you, meaning your Lucky Hit effects can trigger off your Summons.
Lastly, a ton of fixes have been made for characters and monsters. Barbarians, Rogues, Necromancers, and Sorcerers have had several bug fixes that improve gameplay, like addressing issues with Shadow Clones or Meteor recharge bugs.
Quality of Life improvements
The quality of life improvements aren’t bad either: mounts can now be customized anywhere.
There’s also been a big cleanup of item drop issues, including some of the more annoying bugs involving the Purveyor of Curiosities or monster hitboxes.
That’s all the changes coming to the existing content of Diablo 4, but there are new mechanics, like Witchcraft power, coming in Season 7.