A new Diablo 4 update has rolled out, and it hasn't taken long for players to spot some changes that weren't listed in Blizzard's blog posts. Diablo 4 patch 2.2.1 brings buffs to several classes, but it also includes some welcome quality-of-life improvements that weren't mentioned before, along with kickstarting a new Diablo 4 Mother's Blessing event offering bonus gold and experience. It's not all good news, however; an apparent stealth adjustment to one of Season 8's strongest boss powers has dramatically reduced the viability of a handful of builds.
Blizzard gave us an early look at the Barbarian builds, has been restored to action.
Previously disabled on on May 5 due to a bug enabling unintended damage scaling to immense levels, the Crown of Lucion was fixed in the patch notes but not initially made available to players. Community manager Adam 'PezRadar' Fletcher explains that the team was waiting for the patch to roll out to everyone before enabling the helmet's use, and you should now be able to equip it once more.
Also welcome is the return of the Diablo 4 Mother's Blessing event. From Wednesday May 14 through Tuesday May 20 at 10am PT / 1am ET / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST, you'll earn 35% additional experience and 50% more gold in Diablo 4. That means it's an ideal time to finish leveling your current character, or perhaps to try out another of the Diablo 4 classes if you've already had your fill of your season-start build.
There's some bad news for anyone who's been enjoying the Varshan's Life Steal boss power, however. The potent skill deals high damage to nearby enemies while applying a consistent healing effect to your character, and has been a key piece in some particularly strong Diablo 4 builds this season, with the likes of the Spiritborn and Rogue taking particular advantage.
Unfortunately, the Varshan power appears to have been nerfed with the implementation of a cooldown effect, despite this not being mentioned in the patch notes. Diablo 4 streamer Max, known as 'Wudijo,' has been testing the change and notes that the ability is now far less effective than before. While the power was working as intended, it could frequently cause the game to lag quite significantly – a problem that calls to mind the Evade Spiritborn build early in Vessel of Hatred that was toned down for a similar reason.
If Season 8 has run its course for you and you're on the hunt for something new, here are the best co-op games if you're planning to bring a friend or two along with you.
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