Blizzard at PAX East, Best of Mekkatorque's Workshop, Versus Series: Meta vs Naiman
Heroes Hotfix Patch 34190 Notes - February 18th 2015
Iron Docks Quest Hub Delayed, Lunar Festival, Mythic BRF, Blue Tweets, InstaDoom
Update: still no ETA on Patch 2.2 PTR (source).
First Look: Patch 2.2.0
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Patch 2.2.0 is currently in development and coming soon to a Public Test Region near you! Here's a first look at some of the new content and changes you can expect to see and, of course, test to your heart's delight once the PTR is live.
Legendary Updates:
New and Improved Sets:
One of our main goals this patch is to introduce more sets that could compete with the most powerful ones currently in the game. To that end, we're debuting three new 6 piece sets in patch 2.2.0—Unhallowed Essence, Wrath of the Wastes, and Delsere's Magnum Opus. You'll be able to take these items for a spin on the PTR (in Wrath of the Wastes' case, literally)!
In addition, we're redesigning—and, in some cases, adding—bonuses to existing Sets like Zunimassa's Haunt, Raiment of a Thousand Storms, Roland's Legacy, Tal Rasha's Elements, Inna's Mantra, Natalya's Vengeance, and Immortal King's Call. This means a grand total of ten new or revamped play styles to try out!
New Legendary Item Powers:
Sets aren't the only new items you’ll see in patch 2.2.0. We're also adding over 15 new Legendary powers in the form of Legendary gems, armor, rings, and more, as well as updates to existing items.Among these new Legendary powers include the one you, our community, helped create during theBlizzCon Legendary Workshop! We're still finalizing the details on this item (includings its name), and we'll be interested to know what you think once you've had the change to test it out on the PTR.
Adventure Mode Updates:
New Rift Layouts:
If you've been playing lots of Nephalem or Greater Rifts, you may feel like you've seen them all. Starting in the patch 2.2.0, however, you'll begin seeing some new Rift tilesets based on the Fields of Misery and Festering Woods from Act I, Stinging Winds from Act II, and Fields of Slaughter from Act III. Their map layouts are randomized as well, so they’ll look different each time you explore them. Below, you can see two of these new layouts; the first image is a randomization of the Stinging Winds, and the second is based on the Festering Woods.
New Bounties:
If you're a fan of Adventure Mode, you'll be happy to hear that you'll soon have over 20 new bounties to discover in Acts II, IV, and V. We're also introducing a brand new type of bounty to the game: Exploration. As the name implies, these new bounties involve exploring an area and finding people who need to be rescued (if they're good guys) or slain (if they're not). You'll see 14 bounties of this type across all Acts in the game.
Class Updates:
New Goblins to Chase:
For those who never tire of hunting Treasure Goblins, we're introducing three brand new ones to slake your thirst for gobbie slaying. The Gelatinous Sire splits into smaller goblins, the Gilded Baron helps satisfy your never-ending greed for gold, and the Insufferable Miscreant has friends to help him run interference. Be on the lookout, and good luck chasing after them!
New Cosmetics Window:
Want to take your Spectral Hound for a romp around Sanctuary without worrying about taking up valuable inventory space? Well, now you can! Starting in patch 2.2.0, any cosmetic items you own can be easily selected from a new interface, so all your visual goodies will be a click away. This includes items whose effect is only for looks and which don't directly affect gameplay, like wings, pets, portrait frames, and pennants.
New File System: CASC
For many years, Blizzard games have used a file format called Mo'PaQ (MPQ for short) as a way to compress and store game files, but it has had a number of technical limitations. To address these, we're switching Diablo III over to our proprietary file format called CASC (Content Addressable Storage Container) in patch 2.2.0.
This new file format has lots of improvements that directly benefit players, including a self-maintaining file structure (which helps prevent errors during installation), a faster and more reliable patching process, the ability to hotfix game client data, and a whole lot more!
The first step in transitioning Diablo III players will be converting existing installs to the new file format when patch 2.2.0 goes live, while using as much of the existing installed data as possible to reduce additional downloads.
Note: This change only applies to the Windows/Mac version of Diablo III and Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, and will not affect the console versions of the game.
While these are a few of the more noticable adjustments we're making, patch 2.2.0 will also include several additional fixes, quality of life enhancements, and other changes not listed above. We're eager to hear your thoughts and feedback as you try out the patch, and look forward to reading your comments below and in the forums.
See you on the PTR, nephalem!
Here we go again; pulling the fanboy-card because someone doesn't agree with you. Classic. Are you even capable of coming up with something original?
If you live on old promises, your life will be wasted.
May I remind you that most of what you claim as "promises" often is a "development-plan" or "roadmap" that developers and the team leaders have spent a lot of time contemplating over, before making the final call to release that roadmap to the public - those are not solid promises that they should be held up to. These things change dynamically throughout development, deadlines are set. A piece of software can't stay in development for ever, and to make sure they get the best out of what they have planned, they cut things off that seem too ambitious, and focus on what can be done to enhance the experience without stalling the development into the next decade (excuse my overstatement).
Luckily, the voice of yours is one of a minority. The minorities that dislike something the most are often those that are the loudest. On the other side we have the majority which are satisfied with the product as it is, and find no need to voice an opinion - these go by the millions.
A company should never let a minority rule their development - there is no greater good in that for the users.
And what about the AUTO PICK-UP for material and gems? Just implent it already, everybody is asking for it
And some new tabs too plz ?
Thanks GOD, I don't need carry my wings anymore!
Remove auto-pickup potions and increase blood shards will be awesome!
Coldhatez1 is right though, they said PvP would be comming soon after release, it even says so on the game's box, there were trailers and demos for pvp, alot of my friends bought the game mainly for pvp and have since quit because of blizzards lack of word/professionalism... i still love the game and the potential it has, but this dev team sure is wasting that potential... oh well maybe the cosmetic window is the road to cosmetic micro-transactions so they can have money to introduce a proper pvp mode.
Of course they had to make a skimpy Wizard set.
Did the WoW artists come over to design these things? I mean seriously, they look like they're in the wrong game.
Oh well, at least the transmog system exists.
Amazing patch and amazingly soon. Got me hyped as hell. I really hope that the new cosmetic windows adds cosmetic microtransactions to the game. We all know that D3 needs some kind of monetization (since AH is dead) to keep the developers team bigger and they can provide us more quality patches.
That cloak on the barb looks pitiful...
@RiftLayouts: Would be nice to see some thematic Layouts, speaking of monster variety. What I mean is having only some specific monster types in a Rift - Like a Skeleton Realm or a Demon Realm or a Zombie Realm etc etc etc
People need to stop getting baited by the "D3 has no endgame content" trolls already..it's been years.