'Diablo 4' Latest Patch Backlash: Activision Blizzard Addresses Player Concerns

Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) has assured gamers that it will address the backlash it received on the heels of Diablo 4's latest patch.

What Happened: Yesterday, the highly anticipated pre-Season 1 patch, 1.1.0, was released, but it didn't take long for players to express their discontent with the heavy-handed nerfs (i.e. a change to a game that downgrades the power, effectiveness, or influence of a particular game element in the attempt to achieve balance) implemented by Blizzard.

The "Diablo 4" community believes that these changes have considerably slowed down progression in all aspects of the game.

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According to IGN, some of these nerfs are affecting Sorcerer players significantly. The popular endgame activity, Helltides, has also become more difficult, while opening so-called "Mystery Chests" has become slower due to a bug.

Players have expressed their frustration on various social media platforms, including Reddit, with some even declaring that they will cease playing until Blizzard takes corrective action.

But the video game developer is justifying the changes.

"In general, we prefer build-specific changes to be bonuses instead of decreases, but we feel these changes are necessary for the overall health of the game," Blizzard said. "Diablo 4 is a game that is continually evolving through its Seasons, thus the adjustments we make will evolve with them."

Nevertheless, Diablo community development director Adam Fletcher announced on Twitter that Blizzard's team will address the player feedback.

"We have been hearing feedback from players regarding some of the changes in 1.1.0 for #DiabloIV. We are going to have a Campfire Chat later this week on Friday to talk more about it," Fletcher wrote. "We will have more details/timing in the next day. Thanks again for the feedback!"

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