"Diablo 4" is about to become a very different game. From Season 4 onward, all classes, items, and progression systems will work differently, and Blizzard has released a 10,000+ word patch note on all the changes that will be tested in next week's Season 4 playtest in the Public Test Realm (PTR) ...

It is difficult to overstate how dramatic the reworking of items will be. As with any action RPG, the core of the game is the gear you equip and how it interacts with your class. Now that Legendary items have added stats and can be significantly upgraded with two new crafting systems, everything will feel different. Remember that the impact of the balance changes described in the patch notes will only really be known once the new context in which they live is revealed.

At the heart of this patch is a fundamental change in how items work in Diablo 4. Essentially, the number of items that can be picked up will be reduced, but two new crafting systems allow each item to potentially become an important part of the build: tempering and masterworking. tempering allows the necromancer's bone splinter to be cast twice Like Chance, it allows for unique stats to be attached to equipment, and Masterworking is only available at level 100, allowing for significant upgrades to these stats to one's liking. The idea is that no two items are ever the same.

Blizzard also went through each class and fixed the most underused skills and those that kept some classes invincible in the meta. Sorry, but there will be very few Barbarians, or big bonkers who can take down a boss in one hit, anymore.

The most notable class balance changes in the Diablo 4 Season 4 patch notes include:

On top of that, Helltide's open world event has been overhauled with more monsters and a "threat" meter that sends demons into ambush when the meter is full It has been overhauled to have a "threat" meter, and the Gauntlet, Diablo 4's weekly dungeon for high score trackers, now guarantees at least one unique item as a reward if you meet Blizzard's par time (which is very easy to do). In addition, all elixirs in the game have a more powerful effect, boosting XP gains to a greater degree.

The patch notes are packed with even more changes, most of which will only be appreciated when you get your hands on the PTR. Diablo 4 players on PC (including Game Pass players) who use the Battle.net launcher instead of Steam will be able to play on the PTR for a week starting April 2, and Blizzard will consider feedback from this PTR in preparation for the May 14 launch of Season 4.