Blizzard talks Winter's Bane, Zir's Slaughterhouse, and upcoming improvements - Diablo IV

2023-11-30 20:00:00

During a new live broadcast, Joe Shely and Joseph Piepiora discussed the event Winter’s Bane and theZir Slaughterhouse, and gave a preview of the improvements coming next year to Diablo IV. Find all the most important information below.

Summary of information

The Blight of Winter is the first seasonal event, arriving on December 12 and ending on January 2. You will return to Broken Peaks, where a storm is raging. Gillian is waiting for you there to face this new threat.

This will send you in search of the cause of this threat. You will face terrifying creatures, including a new boss who will appear regularly.

You will collect trophies, which you bring back to Kyovashad and exchange for cosmetic rewards, an elixir granting experience, a new Legendary Skin. These will persist after the event.

Zir’s Slaughterhouse will arrive on December 5 with Patch 1.2.3. This is a new high-level activity. This will remain until the end of the season.

This is unlocked after completing the Journey. This activity is more difficult than the Nightmare dungeons and offers 25 levels.

Blizzard wanted a place where high-level players could test themselves. If you haven’t completed the Journey, you won’t be powerful enough for Zir’s Slaughterhouse.

You don’t know what affixes you’re facing in Zir’s Slaughterhouse.

You only have 10 minutes at your disposal. Zir’s Slaughterhouse is aimed at high-level players, and the developers will add more of this type of content in the future. A boss awaits you at the end of Zir’s Slaughterhouse Zir.

After your first trip, you will obtain a new, very powerful glyph. You will be able to improve it as you progress in Zir’s Slaughterhouse. You gain a lot of glyph experience and will be able to level up those in your possession quickly.

The more you progress, the more monsters have health points and inflict damage. Your priority will be the time allowed and not the damage inflicted by the monsters. The glyph will help you greatly in terms of damage.

Every time you enter Zir’s Slaughterhouse, the monsters are different, the environment is different, etc. You only have one life in Zir’s Slaughterhouse. If one of your teammates dies in a group, the trip is over.

The Tears of Blood glyph is a new progression experiment for developers. It has 200 levels, can become extremely powerful. Full details of Patch 1.2.3 will arrive tomorrow. Blizzard discussed the itemization during BlizzCon 2023. It can be difficult to find improvements. There are many affixes. In 2024, developers want to solve many of these problems. Items should be interesting upon obtaining. You should be able to customize these.Several changes were made in Season 2, for resistance and other mechanics, which are all interconnected.Blizzard is planning significant changes to itemization in Season 4.Some player feedback during of Season 2 will impact certain elements of Season 3. As in Season 2, Season 3 will bring balance changes that will open up new possibilities. Blizzard will share details once the details are ready. High-level content and itemization are the team’s priority. In Season 3, Infernal Waves will be available every hour for 55 minutes. There are not enough loot sources for high-level items. Blizzard will make this easier. Blizzard will share as many details as possible over time about items in development. A live stream will take place for the Season 4 changes.

Q&A

Blizzard will make it easier to exchange gold on console. Zir’s Slaughterhouse is an experiment by the developers, who will monitor player feedback on it. Permanent high-level content will be added to the game, but this event is temporary. In Season 3, Blizzard will add leaderboards and the Gauntlet, and will add more content of this type in subsequent Seasons. Part of the changes related to itemization will improve object management. Blizzard will explore adding a loot filter later if necessary. Blizzard likes the random spawning of monsters like The Butcher and Blood Seekers. Treasure Goblin loot will be improved in the future. Blizzard will expand the possibilities of the Wardrobe, notably with new colors.Blizzard will adjust class skills over time, notably with the addition of new powers.Blizzard will study the possibility of replaying the Campaign on a higher difficulty.

Conclusion

2023 has been a very exciting year for Joe Shelly and the team. We discovered a narrative arc involving many characters, including Mephisto. Season 1 was an opportunity for the developers to learn a lot from player feedback. These latter are the source of the modifications seen in Season 2 and those which will arrive with Season 3 and the following. This is the first year of Diablo IVand the team is looking forward to living 2024 and the next with the players, especially with Vessel of Hatredthe first expansion. The next live will take place in Albany, and will be the opportunity to reveal Season 3. The 12 Nights of Terror event will return to Diablo II : Resurrected.Details of the Season 30 PTR Diablo III are arriving tomorrow.The Dark Ages of Tristram event from Diablo III will arrive in January.The next patch of Diablo Immortal arrives on December 14.