Diablo III Reaper of Souls will be receiving its first major content patch with 2.1.0 and Blizzard has released a preview of what’s to come. As with all major patches, 2.1.0 will first be available on the Public Test Region (PTR) before hitting live servers. Several major new features will be added to Reaper of Souls when Patch 2.1.0 arrives including: Seasons, Greater Rifts, Leaderboards, Combat Changes and The Cesspools. Learn more about Diablo III Reaper of Souls Patch 2.1.0 after the break.
Seasons
Seasons have already been teased and announced previously by Blizzard, but now we have more details on what those seasons will entail. Similar to ladders in Diablo II, seasons in Diablo III will allow players to have a fresh start in the game with a level 1 character. Season participants will receive exclusive rewards and unique Legendaries while climbing new leaderboards by completing achievements, earning Conquests or running Greater Rifts. Playing in seasons will be completely optional and at the end of each season, the exclusive Legendaries will roll over into the normal item pool so that non-season participants will have a chance at obtaining them.
At the start of each season, players will have the opportunity to earn Conquests, which are special season-only achievements that will span a variety of challenging goals. The Conquests will be “first come, first served,” with the first 1,000 individuals to complete a Conquest within a given season to be immortalized on that season’s regional leaderboard. Currently, Blizzard plans to offer between 10-15 unique Conquests each season and each Conquest will have its own leaderboard. Some examples of Conquests that Blizzard provided include killing Malthael at level 70 on Torment VI and finishing each individual Act in an hour or less.
Greater Rifts
Previously called Tiered Rifts, the Greater Rifts will be a special type of Nephalem Rift that are designed to not only give players a challenge, but a way for them to measure their gear progression and efficiency. Accessing a Greater Rift will require completing a regular Nephalem Rift in any difficulty and obtaining a Greater Rift key from the Rift Guardian. If you’re in a group, each member of the group will have to contribute their own Greater Rift key (a change that will also apply to standard Rifts).
While Greater Rifts are a type of Nephalem Rift, there are several differences to them:
- Players will race against the clock to fill a progress bar by killing monsters.
- Most monsters will not drop loot, with the rewards being completely shifted to the Rift Guardian. This allows it so players can focus of killing monsters to obtain a better time rather than having to pick up loot on the way.
- Players will only be able to resurrect at the last checkpoint in Greater Rifts.
- Players will not be able to teleport or use banners if the target player is in a Greater Rift.
- Greater Rifts get progressively more difficult as players move onto deeper levels within the Greater Rift.
By completing a Greater Rift before time expires, players will advance to the next difficulty level. If their times are exceptionally good, they may even skip a few levels. The journey in a Greater Rift will end when time expires and the best results will be posted to the appropriate leaderboard.
Greater Rifts won’t be just about the challenge and the loot; Blizzard is introducing Legendary Gems that will be infinitely upgradeable and will provide special Legendary powers when socketed into Rings and Amulets. Currently the plan is to only allow Legendary Gems to work in Rings and Amulets and they will be upgraded when players complete additional Greater Rifts. More details on Legendary Gems will be coming soon and they won’t be available initially when PTR goes live.
Leaderboards
Leaderboards were one of the five things we’d love to see in Reaper of Souls, so needless to say we’re excited that it’s being added. Leaderboards will track progress for Greater Rifts, Seasonal achievement points and Seasonal Conquests across a variety of game styles. Players will be able to compare their progress to that of their gameplay region, friends and clan members.
Greater Rift leaderboards will be split between Hardcore and Normal gameplay modes in addition to Seasonal and Non-Seasonal characters. Greater Rift leaderboards will be broken down into four categories: Solo for each class, two-player groups, three-player groups and four-player groups.
Combat Changes
One of the biggest changes Patch 2.1.0 will introduce to Diablo III Reaper of Souls is a change to how Dexterity is going to work. Instead of giving Dodge Chance to Demon Hunters and Monks, each point of Dexterity will now give one point of Armor, just like Strength-based characters (Barbarian, Crusader). As a result, the existing passives that give 30 percent of Dexterity as Armor (Seize the Initiative and Awareness) will be completely redesigned.
Healing will also be changed so that the amount of healing Globes do will be reduced while Life on Hit and Life Regeneration from gear will be buffed to compensate.
The Cesspools
Lastly, Blizzard gave a sneak preview into The Cesspools, content that is being added to spice up the Adventure Mode exploration. The Cesspools were originally designed as the sewers of Westmarch, but weren’t included when Reaper of Souls originally launched. The team has spent some time polishing it up and they will be used in Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts. Players will have the chance to spawn Cesspool levels while in a Rift.
Blizzard hasn’t announced an official date for Patch 2.1.0’s release yet, nor has it hinted as to when PTR will go live – just that it will soon.
