This Was the Biggest Win in the Diablo 4 Campfire Chat

Summary

In a recent campfire chat, Diablo 4 developers revealed exciting updates for the game. The Gauntlet, a new competitive activity, will launch on March 5th with a mid-season update. This fixed, non-linear dungeon challenge will test players' strategic skills for the highest score within 8 minutes. The update will also bring balance changes, buffs to underperforming classes, and a fix for the snapshotting exploit. Additionally, vampiric powers return as legendary aspects, and the developers are considering releasing new legendary items for the sorcerer class before achieving parity across all classes. The Gauntlet offers weekly rewards and leaderboards, with top performers earning unique seals and the chance for immortality in the Hall of the Ancients. The teaser for season 4 hints at significant itemization changes and a public test server for feedback, promising to be a pivotal moment for the game's future.

Takeaways

• 📅 Diablo 4's Gauntlet will launch on March 5th alongside the mid-season update.
• 🧛 Vampiric powers are returning as legendary powers, with six new aspects including a nerfed Metamorphosis.
• 🔍 Snapshotting, an unintended exploit, is being addressed in the update for a fairer gameplay experience.
• ⚖️ Balance changes are coming, with specific buffs and nerfs to various classes and their skills.
• 🔥 Notable buffs are planned for the Sorceress's Incinerate, Druid's conjuration skills, and the Necromancer's minion builds.
• 🏆 The Gauntlet is a new competitive activity with a fixed dungeon layout, aiming for high scores within 8 minutes.
• 🏴‍☠️ In hardcore mode, dying in the Gauntlet results in permanent death, while in softcore, there's a respawn with a score penalty.
• 🏆‍♂️ Players can earn seals based on their scores, with the Seal of the Worthy required to qualify for leaderboards.
• 📈 The leaderboards are divided by party size and class, offering 16 different leaderboards each week.
• 🎁 Completing the Gauntlet and achieving high scores can earn players rewards like caches with a chance for unique items.
• 📈 Season 4 is teased as a substantial update, likely focusing on itemization, and will have a PTR for community feedback.

Q & A

When is the Gauntlet launching?

The Gauntlet is launching next Tuesday, March 5th, along with the mid-season update.

What are the vampiric powers returning as in Diablo 4?

The vampiric powers are returning as new legendary aspects, not as a mechanic.

What is the nerf to the Metamorphosis power in the Gauntlet?

The Metamorphosis power has been nerfed with a cooldown of 5 to 10 seconds.

What is snapshotting in the context of Diablo 4, and how is it being addressed?

Snapshotting is when a player retains a buff for longer than intended, which can be considered an exploit. Developers are fixing this issue to remove it wherever they can.

What changes are being made to Barbarian in the mid-season update?

There are no nerfs to Barbarian; instead, there are buffs to its early game skills, as it is one of the weaker leveling classes.

How are the Sorceress's skills being affected in the update?

Incinerate is getting significantly buffed, and there are also buffs to conjuration skills for the Druid.

What are the changes to the Necromancer class in the update?

The Necromancer is receiving a 20% damage buff across the board for minions, as well as significant move speed buffs and a reworking of the Deaths Reach skill.

How does the Gauntlet activity work in terms of scoring and rewards?

In the Gauntlet, players have 8 minutes to achieve the highest score possible in a fixed nonlinear dungeon. Monsters drop keys that open chests for more score. Players can earn seals based on their score, and rewards include caches with a chance at unique items.

What is required to qualify for the leaderboards in the Gauntlet?

To qualify for the leaderboards, players must earn the Seal of the Worthy, which is achieved by reaching specific score thresholds in the Gauntlet.

How are the leaderboards structured in the Gauntlet?

The leaderboards are separated by party size and game mode (normal or hardcore), and also by class, so players only compete against others with the same setup.

What is the significance of reaching the top 100 or top 10 on the Gauntlet leaderboards?

Reaching the top 100 on any leaderboard earns a player a Conqueror's Crest Mount Trophy, and reaching the top 10 allows the player's name and character to be immortalized in the permanent Hall of the Ancients.

What is the current stance on Uber unique crafting in the game?

The requirement for crafting an Uber unique from broken down Uber uniques has been changed from five to four, and the drop rates for Uber uniques outside of Durance have been significantly increased.

Outlines

00:00

📅 Upcoming Updates and Gauntlet Introduction

Rker discusses the recent Campfire Chat, where three Diablo 4 developers shared insights into the upcoming March 5th update. The Gauntlet, a new competitive activity, was introduced, set to launch alongside the mid-season update. It involves a leaderboard challenge where players compete for the highest score in a fixed, non-linear dungeon with an 8-minute time limit. The Gauntlet will feature vampiric powers returning as legendary aspects, with metamorphosis being nerfed. Snapshotting, an exploit where buffs last longer than intended, is being addressed. Balance changes for underperforming and overperforming powers were also mentioned, with specific buffs to Barbarian early game skills and other classes. The developers are seeking feedback on releasing new legendary items for classes incrementally rather than waiting for parity across all classes.

05:02

🏆 Gauntlet Gameplay and Leaderboard Details

The Gauntlet is a new weekly competitive event where players aim to achieve the highest score in a dungeon with fixed layouts and objectives. It features special pillars that grant temporary score boosts or respawn monsters. The difficulty is set at a level equivalent to a Nightmare dungeon level 70. Players can participate solo or in teams, and there are no item drops; the focus is on score accumulation. Upon death in hardcore mode, players are permanently dead, while in softcore, they lose a third of their score and respawn at the dungeon's start. Players can earn seals based on their performance, with the Seal of the Worthy being required to qualify for leaderboard rankings. The leaderboards are divided by party size and game mode, with the top 100 earning a Conqueror's Crest Mount Trophy and the top 10 having their names immortalized in the Hall of the Ancients. Season 4 was teased as a substantial update with a focus on itemization, and a PTR (Public Test Server) will be available for player feedback before its launch.

10:02

🔍 Feedback and Future Content Teasers

The video script outlines changes to Uber unique crafting, reducing the requirement from five to four Uber uniques to craft one of choice, with a possibility of further adjustment to three after observing player feedback. The drop rates for Uber uniques outside of Durance of Hate have been significantly increased. The developers are considering ways for dedicated players to earn cosmetics like platinum skins, and while nightmare vaults won't return in season 4, their role in the game is being considered for future content. An armory feature for rapid build changes is still of interest, but no timeline has been provided. The next campfire chat will provide more details on these updates and potentially reveal more about season 4 and endgame content.

Keywords

💡Diablo 4

Diablo 4 is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth installment in the Diablo franchise and is highly anticipated by fans of the series. The video discusses various updates and changes related to the game, making it a central theme of the content.

💡Gauntlet

The Gauntlet is a new competitive activity being introduced to Diablo 4. It is a fixed, nonlinear dungeon where players aim to achieve the highest score possible within an 8-minute time frame. The Gauntlet is a key focus of the video, as it represents a significant update to the game.

💡Legendary Powers

Legendary Powers are special abilities in Diablo 4 that are returning in the form of legendary aspects. The script mentions six vampiric powers that are coming back, which are not exact copies of their previous versions but are similar. These powers are a major part of the game's mechanics and are highlighted in the video as a point of interest for players.

💡Snapshotting

Snapshotting is a term used in the video to describe a game mechanic where players retain a buff for longer than intended, which can be seen as an exploit. The developers are working to fix snapshotting, which is important for maintaining game balance and fairness. It is a specific issue that the video addresses as part of the upcoming changes.

💡Balance Changes

Balance changes refer to the adjustments made to various aspects of the game, such as character abilities and stats, to ensure a fair and enjoyable gaming experience. The video mentions that the mid-season update will include several balance changes, which are crucial for addressing over- or under-powered elements in Diablo 4.

💡PTR (Public Test Server)

PTR stands for Public Test Server, which is a server used by game developers to test new features and updates before they are released to the public. The video discusses the introduction of a PTR for season 4 of Diablo 4, allowing players to try out and provide feedback on significant changes before they are finalized.

💡Uber Unique Crafting

Uber Unique Crafting is a feature in Diablo 4 that allows players to craft specific uber unique items. The video mentions a change from requiring five uber uniques to craft one to now requiring four, which is a response to player feedback and an effort to make uber uniques more attainable while still maintaining their rarity.

💡Season 4

Season 4 refers to the fourth major content update or season of Diablo 4. The video hints at it being a substantial update, possibly the most significant one yet, with a focus on itemization. It is presented as a potential turning point for the game, which could bring back players who have stopped playing or make or break the game's future success.

💡Leaderboards

Leaderboards in the context of the video are ranking systems that track the highest scores achieved by players in the Gauntlet activity. They are separated by party size and game mode (normal or hardcore), and achieving high rankings can earn players rewards and recognition, such as the Seal of the Worthy or inclusion in the Hall of the Ancients.

💡Nerfs and Buffs

Nerfs and buffs are common terms in gaming that refer to reducing (nerfing) or enhancing (buffing) certain game elements, such as character abilities or items. The video discusses several nerfs to overperforming powers and buffs to underperforming ones, aiming to balance the game and improve the experience for different classes.

💡Campfire Chat

Campfire Chat is a term used in the video to describe a live discussion or update session where developers share news and gather feedback from the community. It is a form of communication between the game developers and players, where important updates and changes are announced, such as those related to the Gauntlet and Season 4.

Highlights

Gauntlet launching on March 5th with the mid-season update.

Vampiric powers are returning as legendary powers.

Metamorphosis power will have a cooldown of 5 to 10 seconds.

Snapshotting is being fixed to prevent buffs from lasting longer than intended.

Mid-season update includes balance changes with buffs and nerfs to various classes.

Barbarian early game skills are receiving buffs.

Gors' Devastating Grips are being buffed again.

Sorceress' Incinerate and Druid's conjuration skills are getting significant buffs.

Rogue's ranged builds and Necromancer's minion builds are receiving damage buffs.

Necromancer is gaining move speed buffs and a reworked Deaths Reach ability.

Developers are seeking feedback on releasing legendary items for classes progressively.

Gauntlet is a new competitive activity with locked gear, skill tree, and Paragon.

Gauntlet dungeons are fixed nonlinear dungeons with the same layout every week.

Players can earn seals and rewards based on their Gauntlet performance.

Top 100 players on any leaderboard earn a Conqueror's Crest Mount Trophy.

Top 10 players on any leaderboard will be immortalized in the Hall of the Ancients.

Season 4 is teased as a substantial update with a focus on itemization.

PTR (Public Test Server) will be available for testing major changes in Season 4.

Uber unique crafting is being adjusted from five to four Uber uniques to craft one.

Drop rates for Uber uniques outside of durial have been significantly increased.

Nightmare vaults are not returning in Season 4, but their role is being considered for future content.

Next campfire chat will provide more details in a couple of weeks.

Transcripts

hey folks this is rker and we just got

to see three Diablo 4 developers compete

live in a preview of the upcoming

leaderboard Activity The Gauntlet in

today's campfire chat we learned more

about the gauntlet and other changes

coming in the March 5th update but we

also got some news about season 4

including news about something that I

have basically been begging to see added

to the game so let's give a summary of

what we learned today first off Gauntlet

launching next Tuesday March 5th along

with the mid-season update recently the

devs teased the return of vampiring

powers and yes they are returning but I

hyped myself up too much I thought they

would be returning as some form of

mechanic but they're actually going to

be returning in the form of legendary

Powers so six vampiric powers are coming

back as new legendary aspects they're

not going to be onetoone copies of what

they were but close enough the big one

that most people are going to be happy

about is metamorphosis that was the one

where you dodge into a bunch of bats now

however it's being nerfed with a coold

down on aade of 5 to 10 seconds some

great news is that they're fixing

snapshotting ideally they're trying to

remove it wherever they can they're

slowly working away at it snapshotting

is when you're able to retain a buff for

longer than the game wants you to it's

almost an exploit or arguably an exploit

it's just a lot of people do it

unintentionally let's say you have a 4se

second damage buff well if while you

have this buff up you start a channeled

skill for instance like Whirlwind well

until you stop Whirlwind you will still

have that buff snapshotted on you it

doesn't fall off after 4 seconds so now

they're fixing that the mid-season

update will also include a bunch of

balance changes they didn't cover

everything we'll be getting patch notes

tomorrow but there's some Nerfs to some

of the cells overperforming Powers no

Nerfs to Barbarian in fact there's some

Buffs to its early game skills Barb is

one of the weaker leveling classes so

this is nice I mean it's coming a little

late in the season to help with leveling

but hey this is rolling out to the game

forever so that's great early game Barb

needs some love they're also now once

again buffing gors when the game

launched gors devastating grips are way

too strong they nerfed it now they're

buffing it up again not quite all the

way but trying to bring Whirlwind back

here for the Sorceress incinerate is

getting incredibly buffed we're also

seeing some Buffs to conjuration skills

for the Druid same thing like the Barb

early game Buffs particularly with

generation it seems early game Druid has

some pretty severe resource issues this

ought to help we're also seeing huge

Buffs to companion Druid wolves poison

creeper Ravens oh my in some cases we're

seeing something like 10 times damage

output for the Rogue we're seeing some

Buffs to ranged builds heartseeker and

forceful Arrow they're having their

attack speed increased by 20% to make

them more competitive with puncture

flurry's getting some Buffs as well for

the Necromancer this is the start of

some massive Buffs to minion builds

right off the bat 20% damage buff across

the board for minions lots of Buffs

everywhere here to minions in general

necro is also getting some significant

move speed Buffs it's not getting a

Mobility skill but it's gaining the

ability to stack move speed now there's

one glyph that'll make you gain move

speed per active minion and there're

also reworking deaths reach to Deaths

Advance which now just passively gives

you move speed this is a great way to

really help the necro mobility issue

while still making them feel distinct

from other classes by not just giving

them a Mobility skill they also said

that they want our feedback they want

our opinion on one particular matter and

that's let's say they're working away at

something they've made a couple of

legendary items for the

sorcerer do they wait to have parody

between all classes before releasing

this as in do they wait to have a couple

items for every single class and then

release everything potentially delaying

it months or do they just here we we

made this cool stuff for the sorcerer

let's release it now and then when we

make Barbarian stuff we'll release that

I personally am cool with them rolling

out stuff faster to us I don't care if

my favorite class doesn't get something

special this time as long as it

eventually does cuz I know I'm in it for

the long haul but I can understand other

people feel differently so do sound off

in the comments about that again the

devs want feedback on how to proceed

there and then we got our Gauntlet

showcase this was an event co- casted by

macrob bioboy and anak live and one

thing to note about the gauntlet once

you're inside your gear skill tree and

Paragon are all locked so no Shenanigans

where you can swap around gear and stuff

like that which is good that is not fun

gameplay same thing with the

snapshotting it's not fun to have these

quasi exploit things that you got to do

to maximize your effici

so what is the gauntlet again this is

the new competitive activity being added

to the game forever it's not just for

season 3 and what it is is every week

we're going to get a new Gauntlet

dungeon this is a fixed nonlinear

dungeon where your objective is to get

the highest score possible you have 8

minutes and every time you try out the

dungeon and every time everyone in the

world tries out this dungeon it is

always exactly the same same layout same

monsters literally same everything so

it's all about how how good you are at

strategizing your path through this

Gauntlet it's unclear if it's just this

Gauntlet or all golets but we saw when

they entered the gaet right away there

was a boss two out of three players

decided to skip the boss and come back

to it later whereas the Hoda Barbarian

bonked it immediately and it seems once

you kill a boss it spawns a special

pillar there's two types of special

pillars that can spawn one is going to

give you a temporary buff to how much

score you're getting and the other kind

of pillar will respawn all monsters in

the dungeon so you want to be carefully

planning when you do this in the gaet we

saw monsters were level 124 which is the

equivalent of a nightmare dungeon level

70 the objective with the goet here

isn't to be abattoir of zir tier

difficulty the point isn't to see if you

can beat it the point is to see how well

you can do so this is something where

you can sacrifice damage and even

survivability to get more move speed for

instance no items drop it's just about

getting as much score as possible as

fast as possible Sometimes some of these

monsters will drop keys there are

special chests that if you use those

keys to open them they're going to drop

more score if you die in a gauntlet in

hardcore you are dead forever if you die

in softcore you drop 1/3 of your score

and respawn at the start of the dungeon

or something and then you can run back

to pick up your dropped score but that's

a significant time penalty you can do

these solo you can do them in a team

your teammates can pick up your score

for you and then depending on how well

you do at the end of things you can earn

one of four seals well I guess you can

earn all four seals you start off with

the Seal of the blooded you get that

just for completing the gauntlet and

then reaching specific amounts of score

will earn you better and better seals

until you get the Seal of the worthy and

you have to get a seal of the worthy in

order to qualify to even be on the

leaderboards you can retry The Gauntlet

as many times as you want you can earn

all seals and every seal also comes with

some small reward they don't want the

purpose of the gauntlet to be to farm

the rewards but but they do want to give

you something so you have like a cash

with some 925 items and a really good

chance at getting uniques so 925 uniques

and again this resets every week so you

can get those caches every week and then

the leaderboards themselves are

separated by party size normal hardcore

by class so if you're running a solo

Necromancer you're not competing against

Hoda barbarians but if you're in a party

of two you are competing against all

other parties of two so there's 16

different leaderboards every week and if

at any time you reach the top 100 of any

ladder you're going to earn a

conqueror's Crest Mount Trophy and if

you manage to get top 10 in any

leaderboard you'll have your name and

character immortalized in the permanent

Hall of the Ancients we don't really

know what that is yet but it's something

our three devs each managed to earn the

Seal of the worthy the first got a score

of 195,000 the second got a score of

215,000 and the Third on a Hoda

Barbarian got a score of

299,000 that happened to be Leviathan

Diablo streamer turned Diablo Dev

showing the power of a Charged hodab

Barb in the gaet then we also got more

of a teaser than anything about season 4

this is going to be it sounds like it's

going to be the most substantial update

to the game yet uh significantly bigger

than the season 2 change that reworked

vulnerable and all that it does sound

like itemization is going to be the core

part of this so people suspecting that

the atomization rework was going to get

pushed back it sounds like it is not

then the single best news today we are

getting a PTR for season 4 for these

giant changes again for what is going to

be the most important patch of Diablo I

so far we are getting a PTR a PTR is a

public test server where anyone who owns

the game can participate it's like a a

beta test for the upcoming content and

you can give your feedback so that it's

not the game the the the the season 4

launches and then everyone voices their

opinion it's before it launches we voice

our opinions they can make changes so

that when we launch things can be as

good as possible now this is not a

promise however to always have a PTR it

sounds like they're going to reserve it

only for big patches but we're

definitely getting one for season 4

they're planning to start the PTR while

season 3 is still running but no date

yet however they said in a couple weeks

we're going to have another campfire

chat where they're going to talk all

about that it's said to be a beefy

campfire chat oh and PTR is only open to

people playing on battl net on PC during

the Q a we learned that in next week's

patch they are making some changes to

Uber unique crafting you might remember

that they recently added a patch that

allows you to break down five Uber

uniques to craft one Uber unique of your

choice after feedback they're changing

that to four instead of five a lot of

people have been asking to change it to

three but it sounds like what they want

is for Uber uniques to still be rare

also they've significantly buffed your

odds of getting Uber uniques outside of

durial the drop rates about a thousand

times what it was I covered that in this

video over here so they they want to see

how things play out first but they said

that for season 4 maybe they'll they're

they're open to adjusting it further to

maybe three once they see how things

play out they said they want Uber uni to

still be aspirational and honestly

that's what I want as well I I want Uber

uni to be aspirational I say this as

someone who has done hundreds of durial

runs and gotten zero shakos I'm fine

with not having gotten a shacko I mean

am I sad sure but like I'm not rage

quitting the game over it I don't feel I

I am owed a shacko I am okay with it

continuing to be something that I'm

striving for and I hope I will one day

get they want Uber uniques to be things

that you don't need for your build

there's something that will supplement

your build it'll make it more awesome

but it's not needed to have fun on your

class and a Sho that gives you plus four

to all your skills yeah no one needs a

Sho but hell is it going to feel good to

have one now they were asked if season 4

is going to add any endgame content they

can't talk about season 4 but they

basically said that yes they directed us

to tune in to the campfire chat for the

PTR so things I look forward to there as

well they were also asked if Avatar of

Zer is coming back and they said to tune

into the PTR stream so I don't know if

that meant literally Avatar ofz or just

some kind of endgame content that is

analogus to abatar of zir apparently the

dev team has active conversations going

around about potentially earning skins

or things about the shop I would hope

for this I I think having dedicated

players who put in a lot of hours in the

game be able to earn platinum or

otherwise earn more of these Cosmetics I

think would be really good for the game

and I don't mean that just cuz I want

all the skins for free which yeah I do

but like people are going to play the

game more if they can earn the Skins it

sounds like nightmare vaults are not

going to return in season 4 but they are

are taking note of their role in the

game and knowledge about that will be

applied in future content about an

Armory in order to like uh rapidly

change your build they've reiterated

that that's something that they're

interested in it seems everyone on the

team wants to do it but they have no ET

on when that's going to happen and again

next campfire chat in a couple of weeks

so that wraps up our summary folks what

are your thoughts is the gauntlet what

you hoped it would be it sounds like

there's stuff there even if you're not a

competitive player you can still just

run it to get a little bit of rewards it

reminds me of challenge Rifts in Diablo

I where I would do the challenge Rift

once a week just to get that reward but

I didn't care to compete for the the

leaderboard position on it overall my

position remains that season 4 is going

to be really the season that could bring

back people who have stopped playing I

would almost say season 4 is a make or

break season for Diablo I but again what

are your thoughts sound off in the

comments thanks for watching if you

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