Median XL
- Patch 1.2 -
General
SKILL RANGE & AOE CHANGES
This rework consists of two major changes:1) The radius of most Area of Effect type skills has been reduced between 10% and 30%, depending on the skill in question. For example a skill like Pounce has had a 10% reduction whereas a skill which covers the whole screen (or more) like Stormcall has had a 30% reduction. Skills with a smaller AoE, for example Carnage, have not been changed.
2) The range of most projectile skills has been capped to slightly more than half the length of the screen diagonal on 1024x768 resolution, in preparation for the transition to the higher resolution in Sigma. For example skills like Sun Strike, Flamefront, Stampede etc. will no longer offscreen on 768p (however they will still on 800x600). There are some exceptions depending on skill function such as Cascade. Many projectiles which had a range that scaled with skill level will no longer scale but have a significantly increased base range instead.
There are many benefits to these changes. They make positioning and targeting in combat more important as it becomes harder to spread your damage to the whole screen and make farming potential more equal across builds. They reduce the abuse of the AI by ranged characters, who could kill monsters before they were even spotted. Group play won't be as visually confusing and engine performance will increase as there are less projectiles to model on the screen at any one time.
GENERAL
Sprite overflow is no longer possible. Note that this doesn't actually improve performance, but at least you can see thingsReduced the time it takes to reveal the map in Act 3
Reverted the nerf to single player drop rates
Game version is now displayed on the splash screen before the main menu
ENDGAME CONTENT
The chance for Aldric Jitan, Bartuc and Akarat to drop a trophy has been increased by 50%Act 5 Side Areas: reworked [+]
This rework includes the following areas: Icy Cellar, Abaddon, Pit of Acheron, Infernal Pit
These have a higher monster density compared to the regular story areas and are inhabited solely by stronger versions of Elite monsters from the whole game. These elites drop better items on average and give significantly more experience.
On Destruction difficulty these side areas are the only places in the game where you can find Oil of Conjuration. This is a new crafting material which may be transmuted with any weapon for a 40% chance to add 10% spell damage. Note that this is mutually exclusive with the other lucky bonuses.
Rathma Square: the charm is now a guaranteed dropThese have a higher monster density compared to the regular story areas and are inhabited solely by stronger versions of Elite monsters from the whole game. These elites drop better items on average and give significantly more experience.
On Destruction difficulty these side areas are the only places in the game where you can find Oil of Conjuration. This is a new crafting material which may be transmuted with any weapon for a 40% chance to add 10% spell damage. Note that this is mutually exclusive with the other lucky bonuses.
Kurast 3000 BA: increased charm drop chance to 1/6. Increased chance to drop sets
Arreat Summit: new location hosting the Assault on Mt Arreat quest. Can be accessed after killing Talic in the Arreat Summit
Canyon of the Magi: new location hosting the Binding of Baal quest. Can be accessed after killing Zoltun Kulle in Tal Rasha's Tomb
Secret Cow Level: cow soldiers will no longer leave corpses in order to improve performance
Khalimgrad: increased charm drop chance to 1/6, removed Lantern Archons. Can be accessed after killing Izual
Diamond Gates: new location hosting the Judgement Day quest. Can be accessed after killing Imperius or Malthael in Khalimgrad
Baal: chance to teleport has been halved on all difficulties, might have fixed occasional crashes related to Visions of Terror
Caldeum: reworked the map slightly so it can be traversed more easily
Realm of Lies: may now be accessed after killing Maghda in the Chaos Sanctuary
Realm of Sin: new area which can be accessed after killing Ghom in the Chaos Sanctuary
Heart of Sin: new area in the Realm of Sin - fully reworked Azmodan
Toraja: increased Edyrem key drop chance
Teganze: halved the amount of torches. Decreased respawn chance by 33%, buffed essence and runestone drop rates
The Triune: bats spawned by the Messenger will now be targeted by auto-aiming skills
Torajan Jungles:
greatly reduced area size, made Akarat and Teganze more accessible
Crippling Swarm: are now easier to see, reduced mana burn by 50%
Forest Keeper: reduced shield skill life bonus by 40% and made it visible
Tran Athulua:
attack speed, attack rating and life increased for all Priestesses on Terror and Destruction difficulties
Hefaetrus: will now shoot fire arrows. Will cast Lava Pit instead of Tremor
Karcheus: will now shoot cold arrows. Will cast Blizzard instead of Tremor
Lycander: will now shoot lightning arrows. Will cast Magnetic Field instead of Tremor
Yshari Sanctum:
Valthek will no longer be completely stationary
stage bosses will now always drop their set pieces, minions now have a 60% increased chance to drop theirs
Xazax:
the Wretched Sands may now be accessed from the Island of Skartara
the duration of the maggot curse has been reduced by 25%, however it may no longer be dispelled by transformations
Duncraig:
renamed to Corrupted Abbey
Duncraig is now a new city with weaker Slain Souls between the Subterranean Passage (Cave Level 1) and the Abbey
multiple map changes and improvements
The Black Road:
reworked map. Can be accessed after killing Buyard Cholik in the Chaos Sanctuary
Kabraxis will now heal for 7.5% of his maximum life on kill, up from 5%
The Void:
removed Into the Void skill, as the quest is now accessed after using Dark Portal. Troll room removed
Soul of Wrath's damage has been significantly reduced. Life reduced by 25%
Nephalem's Sacrifice:
a total of 10 brand new, very difficult, stages leading up to Uldyssian. Can you defeat the three Prime Evils at the same time?
located after the Diamond Gates, in Khalimgrad. Uldyssian health lowered to compensate. Oh, and it's 100% Bug-Free guaranteed™
MONSTERS
New Superuniques: Zoltun Kulle, Tal Rasha, Buyard Cholik, Ghom, MaghdaFrost Raptor: reduced Lemures damage and cast chance
Hellcat: aura which restricts you to melee skills now has a smaller radius and fades faster once you are out of range
Blood Prince: on death fire explosion duration reduced by 33%, damage increased by 30%
Characters
Realm characters will now expire if they have not been logged in 180 days. This change was necessary for performance reasonsReduced experience required for levels 121+ and improved experience ratio to compensate for alchemy removal. Slightly reduced experience from greater signets to match new values.
AMAZON
Sun Strike: now shoots 1 arrow initially and gains a new arrow every 2 base levels, down from 3Wyrmshot: reduced mana cost at level 1 by 40%
Enfilade: increased javelin hit box, slightly reduced mana cost
Fairy Ring: mana cost reduced by 20%
Thundercrack:
Skill is now an attack rather than a projectile type
Now adds 10% bonus defense to Asterism per Base Level
Lightning bolts have increased range, a bigger area of effect and deliver more hits per second
Conversion to lightning damage is now fixed at 50% and the bonus lightning damage increases for all skill levels
Hammer of Zerae: bonus lightning damage now scales with spell damage. Refactored numbers to avoid damage cap issues
Magnetic Field:
The damage mechanics of this skill have been redone and damage per second is now greatly increased
Enemies within the field will now always be hit, regardless if stationary or on the move
Enemies closer to the center of the field take increased damage
Weapon damage has been increased to 60%, mana cost at level 1 significantly increased
ASSASSIN
Bloodbath: base duration increased by 100%, no longer affected by the Buff\Debuff duration statScorpion Blade: gets an additional projectile every 3 Base Levels of Maelstrom MKIV, down from 4
Storm Crows: total number of knives halved, weapon damage doubled
Maelstrom MkIV: flechette novas now explode closer to each other
Shuriken Flurry: is now great again (throws shurikens)
Way of the Spider: poison damage to weapon increased by 25%
Way of the Phoenix: fire damage to weapon increased by 15%
Hades Gate: area of effect has been increased by 30%
Perfect Being: will now give significantly more avoidance to low level characters. Avoid chance at higher levels is unchanged
Obliteration: has been removed
Prismatic Cloak:
New Black Road Challenge reward skill
A passive which grants physical and magical damage reduction and adds a fraction of this bonus to Bloodbath
Bloodbath receives an extra amount of damage reduction, up to 50% more, increasing with Prismatic Cloak skill and base level
Phase Bomb: mana cost at level 1 increased by 300%
Way of the Gryphon: lightning damage to weapon increased by 15%
BARBARIAN
Death Gaze: enemy targeting focuses more on closer targetsBear Stance: now grants 20% less damage reduction at level 1 and 20% less bonus defense per skill level
Gladiator's Dominance: deadly strike per Base Level reduced to 1%, down from 1.5%
DRUID
Thorn Strike: reduced lag. Total hits per attack reduced (Next Delay is still zero), weapon damage is now 66%Elemental: now has 1 projectile initially, down from 2
Hunting Banshee: reduced Next Delay. Wraith now targets enemies and explodes 50% faster. Will no longer off-screen as much
Pagan Rites:
Reworked healing formula to make more sense considering monster density, increased mana cost
Previously at skill level 30 every corpse would heal 67% of your maximum life, now it will heal 22%
Rain of Fire: damage reduced by 20%
Werewolf: Mana degen can no longer be reversed by equipping jewellery with mana regen. Melee dodge reduced to 40%
Mana Pulse: weapon damage increased to 125%. Mana recovery per attack increased by 50%
Harbinger: weapon damage increased by 11%
Twisted Claw: weapon damage increased by 50%, 25% more hits per second, bonus cold damage increased by 20%
Cascade: number of projectiles reduced by 50%, weapon damage doubled (this is a buff)
Spore Shot: reduced lag when used in crowded areas
Goodberry: has been removed
Lifeshield: now provides bonuses to both maximum life and defense. Is now a reward for the Ennead Challenge
Symbiosis:
New Black Road Challenge reward skill
A buff skill which adds bonuses to life regeneration, avoidance and cold & lightning spell damage
Stat bonus depends on points invested in other Druid skills and requires 4 points to apply at 100% value
NECROMANCER
Death's Fury Totem: now has synergy with Rathma's ChosenHowling Totem:
Fixed a bug which caused crushing blow to scale with skill level rather than Base Level
Minion Damage bonus now capped at 500%
Now has synergy with Rathma's Chosen
Fireheart Totem: number of firebolts decreased by 25%, damage increased by 33% (total damage is unchanged)
Stormeye Totem: damage increased by 20%
Embalming: mana regeneration per level reduced to 2%, down from 5%
Parasite: weapon damage increased by 17%
Rotting Flesh: may now be cast without having to target and sacrifice a minion
Flametail Shot: gains an extra projectile every 2 Base Levels, down from 3
Rathma's Chosen: skill has been reworked
Summons an untargetable minion with high melee damage who casts Arachnomancy and Carnage
The Chosen's weapon and spell damage increase with skill level
The Chosen has an aura which empowers all nearby Necromancer minions with a total physical damage multiplier
Makes supported totems much more durable so they can be used more comfortably without a build focusing on Nightwalker
PALADIN
Vindicate: life regeneration reduced by 10%Retaliate: nova travel speed increased by 17%
Divine Judgment: total number of hits per attack reduced by 25%, mana cost increased
Drakemaw: now shoots 6 projectiles per cast
Incarnation: life steal at level 1 reduced from 17% to 5%, attack rating bonus reduced by 30%, spell damage increased by 25%
Sacred Armor:
Skill has been reworked and no longer grants invulnerability
Provides big bonuses to magic resistance, base defense and life regeneration
Base duration increased, cooldown decreased
Stormlord: attribute bonus reduced by 10%
Dragonform: base movement speed reduced by 25%
SORCERESS
Thunderstone: total number of hits per cast increased by 10%Flamefront: damage increased by 10%
Living Flame: bonus life at level 1 increased by 150%, bonus life growth per Base Level increased by 20%
Flamestrike: damage increased by 10%
Pyroblast: damage increased by 10%
Familiar: felines are no longer vulnerable to reflected damage
Wraithsword: weapon damage increased by 25%
Fusilade: weapon damage increased by 25%
Bladestorm: enemy targeting prioritizes closer targets more, weapon damage increased by 17%
Chronofield:
Enemy physical/feedback resistance reduction now scales with skill level rather than Base Level, due to a Diablo 2 limitation
oSkill/proc versions of this skill are now named Timefield and will not reduce resistance
oSKILLS
Throw: will no longer manifest strange objects when usedDark Summoning: disabled as no more quests require this mechanism
Dark Portal: new skill which allows you to open a quest portal upon killing certain bosses
obtained from the Summoner on Destruction difficulty
Orb of Annihilation: now uses the cast animation rather than the attack one, may no longer be cast with less than 9000 mana
Champions of the Sun: fixed wrong damage reduction value listed in the skill description
Inner Fire: no longer appears as an oSkill on player items. Procs are unchanged
Mana Tide: now grants 10% mana regen per level, down from 50% (description incorrectly calculated as 100% per level)
Wyrd: explosions will occur 40% faster, total number of explosions per cast is unchanged
Fire Fountain: spawns half as many bombs which now deal double damage, removed incorrect information from the description
Liche Form: now gives 25% damage reduction instead of damage avoidance
Whirlpool: total number of hits halved, weapon damage doubled
Dark Power: fixed description error regarding the amount of crushing blow granted
Hailstorm: duration reduced by 20%
Fixed graphical issues with the icons of Lightning Cascade, Squall Gust and Lightning Wall
Items
GENERAL
Most Tier 2 affixes, procs and oSkills will no longer spawn on items created by the Rare Downlevel recipeAlchemy has been removed
Auhe runes now grant 3% Deadly Strike in weapons and 2% in other equipment, down from 5% and 3% respectively
Vendor price reduction has been decreased on all items
Fixed all rare/crafted item names (rip fishX), Scourge name and other minor typos
Fixed monsters dropping tier 1 items when not intended
Fixed incorrect apple description
Arcane Cluster: a new item which can store Arcane Crystals. Created by transmuting an Arcane Crystal with an Oil of Craft
Hand of God: Strength requirement has been reduced for tiers 1 to 6. The Sacred version now requires 832 strength, up from 496
MYSTIC ORBS
The Deadly Strike mystic orb now gives 1% per orb, because at 2% it was nearly always superior to other alternativesThe Maximum Damage mystic orb now gives +6 to Maximum Damage, up from +4
Crystal of Tears: now reduces Maximum Life by 2% instead of by 25 points
Vizjun's Ball Bearing: Deadly Strike halved
SHRINES
Weird Shrine: flat damage bonus for weapons increased by 100%Trinity Shrine: elemental damage for 2h weapons and body armor increased by 300%, for other equipment by 100%
RUNEWORDS
Khany: Stormblast oskill replaced with lightning damageHellfire Plate: Teleport now triggers on striking instead of when you take damage
Prodigy: reduced mana regen, increased mana on kill
Megalith: no longer gives Mana Tide charges
SETS
Pentacle: fixed socketsScosglen's Tales: faster block rate replaced with fire spell damage
Last King of Scosglen: plague oSkill replaced with Curare
Grey Ranger: is now an Ida rather than a Mammen Axe
Eruption: is now a Great Sword rather than a Kriegsmesser. Proc changed to 15% CtC Cataclysm on attack, added fire pierce
Snowstorm: is now a Bull Shield rather than an Ida. Proc changed to 10% CtC Frigid Sphere on attack, added cold pierce
Ravine: proc on death removed
Cinadide's Craft: slow target reduced to 25%, Bane oSkill level reduced to 1, all attributes reduced by 20%
UNIQUES
The Dragon's Star: now spawns with +(2-3) to Curare instead of Rathma's ChosenVizjerei's Folly: Unholy Armor now triggers when your enemy is slain, proc chance increased to 4%
The Endless Loop: Teleport now triggers on striking instead of when you take damage
Invictus: no longer gives a bonus to total character defense
Quietus: now has charges of Sacred Armor rather than Unholy Armor
Titan's Burden: strength requirement has been reduced
Dreamswayer: has been reworked
Moonwrap: now gives spell damage instead of mana regen
Myokai's Path: experience bonus doubled, mana regen removed
Eternal Vigil: has been reworked
Athulua's Scream: removed and replaced with a new unique - Athulua's Wrath
Wolf Teeth: removed and replaced with a new unique - Warmonger
Haraigami: removed and replaced with a new unique - Natalya's Deception
The Celebrant: removed and replaced with a new unique - Legion
Previous patches:
Median XL 2017 1.1
Median XL 2017 1.0