Diablo 4 Patch 1.3.0a: Enhancements to Seneschal and Quality-of-Life Adjustments

Greetings, Diablo enthusiasts! Today, we have some exciting news for you regarding Patch 1.3.0a of Diablo 4. The developers have been hard at work and are ready to release this patch, which will introduce several improvements to the Seneschal companion and implement various quality-of-life changes. This article will dive into the details of the upcoming patch and what you can expect from it.

Season 3 Feedback and Patch 1.3.0a

We would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to the passionate Diablo community for their valuable feedback since the launch of Season 3 earlier this week. We have been listening attentively, collecting feedback, and taking note of the changes players have been eager to see. As a result, we are thrilled to announce that Patch 1.3.0a will be made available for download later tonight.

This patch addresses some of the key concerns we have identified from your feedback. Specifically, it focuses on enhancing the experience of the Seneschal Construct, addressing issues related to Vaults & Arcane Tremors, and improving the encounter with the Echo of Malphus.

We value the importance of ongoing communication with the community, and therefore, we are pleased to announce that another patch, Patch 1.3.1, is already in the works and will be released early next week. This upcoming update will incorporate changes based on the valuable feedback we have received from Season 3 thus far. Stay tuned for the patch notes, which we aim to provide early next week.

Once again, we want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has been actively providing feedback and contributing to the improvement of this season. Your dedication is instrumental in shaping the Diablo 4 experience.

Echo of Malphas Enhancements

We have observed that players have been primarily utilizing their Pearls of Warding for fighting the Echo of Malphas, rather than reserving them for Zoltun's Warding. In response to this, we will be introducing a new item called Igneous Cores. These cores will be exclusively used to summon Malphas, eliminating the need to choose between extra protection in the Vaults or battling the boss.

Furthermore, we have taken this opportunity to make the encounter with Malphas more challenging while also increasing the rewards players can obtain. As part of these changes:

• The level of Echo of Malphas has been raised from 85 to 100.
• The health pool of Echo of Malphas has been increased by 30%.
• A new item—Igneous Cores—has been introduced for accessing the Uber Vault and Echo of Malphas. These cores will replace the usage of Pearls of Warding, opening up access to the encounters.

As for obtaining these Igneous Cores, players will have a chance to acquire them from Vault Heralds, with a guaranteed drop from the Son of Malphas in World Tier IV.

In terms of loot updates, the drop rate of Unique Stones from Malphas has been doubled, from 0.25% to 0.5%. Additionally, Unique Stones now have a 3% chance of dropping from the chest after defeating the boss. To enhance the overall rewards, defeating the Echo of Malphas will now grant more Legendary items, with a higher frequency of Item Level 925 drops.

The Seneschal Companion

A common piece of feedback we have received revolves around the perceived lack of power in the Seneschal companion. While the Seneschal does become more potent at maximum level, we acknowledge that many players have not had sufficient opportunities to level up their Seneschal and experience its full potential. In light of this, we have implemented several changes to address these concerns.

To ensure players have more avenues to earn Governing and Tuning Stones for leveling up their Seneschal, we have made the following adjustments:

• The cost of crafting a Governing or Tuning Stone will now be a fixed amount of 200 Shattered Stones and 20 Iron Chunks, regardless of the level.
• Discovery of a max-level Governing or Tuning Stone will now provide players with 150-200 Shattered Stones.
• Governing and Tuning Stones can now be acquired as rewards for completing Whispers.
• Son of Malphas will always drop 2-3 Governing and Tuning Stones.
• The number of stones awarded from Seneschal Stone Caches has been increased from 1 to 2.
• Experience requirements for Governing and Tuning Stones have been reduced, enabling more natural leveling alongside your own character.

Vaults and Arcane Tremors Improvements

As part of our commitment to enhancing the player experience, we have made several quality-of-life changes to Vaults and Arcane Tremors:

• Consuming a Pearl of Warding at a Statue of Zoltun Kulle now grants 10 stacks of Zoltun's Warding, up from 3.
• The maximum stacks of Zoltun's Warding have been increased from 300 to 999.
• The grace period for losing stacks of Zoltun's Warding when hit by multiple traps simultaneously has been extended from 1 second to 1.5 seconds. With this change, if 3 darts hit you within 1.5 seconds, you will only lose 1 stack instead of 3.
• Heralds of Malphas will now guarantee a Legendary item drop starting at Level 26, with a 15% chance to drop a second Legendary item.
• Knockback has been removed from all Obelisk Hazards in Vaults.
• Chests will now appear after completing a Vault's ending encounter. These enhanced chests will drop a guaranteed Legendary item starting from level 26+, with a 35% chance to drop an additional Legendary item.
• The projectile speed from Elemental Dart hazards has been reduced by 20%.
• The hitbox for floor-based Elemental Grate and Spike hazards has been reduced by approximately 15%.
• The spout hitbox for Elemental Pillars has been reduced by about 15%.

Bug Fixes and Final Thoughts

Alongside the multitude of changes and enhancements, the developers have also addressed various bugs and made stability and performance improvements. Some notable bug fixes include:

• An issue where the Gatehall would not display on the map for PlayStation players has been resolved.
• A problem preventing interaction with the Brazier during the Drums of the Vault quest has been fixed.
• An issue causing the Beckoning Thunder Horse cosmetic to be invisible for Druid players has been rectified.
• An error where the damage and visual effects were out of sync for floor traps in Vaults has been resolved.

With the release of Patch 1.3.0a, you can expect an enhanced Diablo 4 experience. Furthermore, we are excited to announce that the Season 3 Legendary Aspects are now live, along with the availability of unique items in Season 3.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Diablo series. We value your feedback and look forward to continually improving the Diablo 4 experience together. Enjoy Patch 1.3.0a and the ongoing Season 3 adventures!