Lots of major improvements are included in the new update that can be tested by players

Apr 9, 2013 08:42 GMT  ·  By

After lots of discussions concerning the various improvements included in patch 1.0.8 for Diablo 3, Blizzard has rolled out the patch onto the game's Public Test Realm (PTR).

Thus, it allows all players to try out the new update and share feedback concerning its changes, its improvements, and any potential issues encountered after applying the patch.

Diablo 3 came out almost a year ago and quickly sold millions of copies around the world on the PC and Mac platforms.

Now, just as Blizzard is getting ready to debut the game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles, the studio is continuing to support the PC and Mac editions and has just rolled out patch 1.0.8 for Diablo III on the Public Test Realm.

Besides allowing any player to try out the game's update, a full changelog has also been posted.

As you can see in the huge list below, there are plenty of improvements, including oft-requested ones like the ability to identify all items in the inventory by using a certain item, or the major upgrades for the cooperative mechanic.

Check out the complete Diablo 3 patch 1.0.8 changelog below, via Battle.net.

PTR Patch 1.0.8 — v.1.0.8.15858

General

- Players can now identify all items in their inventory by speaking to Deckard Cain or by using the Book of Cain that can be found near the shared stash in all Acts - The cooldown incurred by changing skills outside of town on Inferno difficulty has been reduced to 30 seconds (down from 60 seconds) - There is now an option in Video Settings to lock the cursor to the window when in fullscreen windowed mode, if Diablo III is the active window

Multiplayer Co-Op

- Players now receive a 10% bonus to Magic Find, Gold Find, and Experience per additional player in a multiplayer game, up to a maximum of 30% in a four player game - The Magic Find and Gold Find bonuses can exceed their respective 300% caps - The Experience bonus can stack with other bonuses from items and Monster Power (the bonuses will stack multiplicatively) - A notification is now sent to all players in a multiplayer game whenever a party member engages an Elite monster or Treasure Goblin in combat, and their location will be shown on the mini-map - In addition to this, an icon will also appear over player banners in town to indicate if they're in combat with a monster, Elite monster, or Treasure Goblin

Achievements Bug Fixes - Fixed a bug that prevented monsters killed by a follower or pet, before being attacked by a player, from counting toward achievement criteria

Auction House User Interface - Tooltips in the Auction House will now show an item comparison for a player's currently selected character

Battle.net Matchmaking - Players will now be able to search for games that were started on any quest once they have reached level cap - Matchmaking "Tags" have been added. In addition to selecting your Difficulty, Monster Power, and Quest, players will also be able to choose from the following tags when searching for Public Games: No Tag, Questing, Brawling, and Key Warden

Social

- Players can now add a note about a friend by right-clicking the name in their Friends List - Players can now enter a message that will be broadcast to their friends - Players can now create multi-user conversations - There are multiple ways to start a conversation or invite other players to an existing conversation: - To start a conversation, open Public Chat Options, then select Invite Friends > Start Conversation or use the "Start a Conversation" option in the Social window by right-clicking on a friend's name - To invite or add friends to an existing conversation, open Public Chat Options, then select invite Friends or use the "Invite to a Conversation" option in the Social window by right-clicking a friend's name and selecting the desired conversation - Similar to public channels, private conversations can support up to 99 players - A new section has been added to the friends list called "Players Near You" - Any player who is on your local network will be displayed here (even if they're not currently your friend) - If needed, this feature can be disabled from the Social Options of the Game menu - Players may now be marked as a "Party Guide" - The Party Guide is assigned to the first person who joins a Public Game - If multiple characters join a Public Game at the same time, the game will choose the hero with the highest level or Paragon level to be Party Guide - When a Party Guide leaves the Public Game, a new one will be chosen automatically - Alternatively, the Party Guide can right click on a party member's portrait and pass them the Party Guide title - The Party Guide will have a unique icon that will appear on the mini-map - Names in your "Recent Players" list will now expire if they become older than a month - Blocked players will no longer appear in your "Recent Players" list.

Bosses Bug Fixes Skeleton King - A bug causing The Skeleton King and The King of the Dead to not play an animation when performing their Whirlwind attack should now occur less frequently

Classes Wizard Active Skills - Archon: The duration of Archon should now be extended by assists from players in multiplayer games, in addition to kills - Teleport: Players may now Teleport to any location within range, as long as a path is available Bug Fixes - Fixed a bug causing Teleport - Safe Passage to only reduce damage from physical attacks

Crafting General - Players can now craft multiple items and gems at a time within the same tier, so long as they possess the necessary materials - Players can now craft items using materials located in the shared stash Blacksmith - Salvaged item information will no longer be displayed in the chat log Bug Fixes - Fixed a bug preventing players from salvaging an item by dragging it onto the Blacksmith's anvil icon

Monsters General - Players should now encounter more monsters in Acts I, II, and IV in Inferno difficulty when playing at Monster Power 1 or greater - In multiplayer games, the increase in monster hit points per additional player has been reduced to 50% (down from 70%) - Tormented Stingers and Stygian Crawlers have had their experience reduced by 75%

Quests General - Experience earned by completing a quest is now granted to players that have reached level cap

User Interface General - A maximum of eight buffs and debuffs will now be displayed on the UI - The maximum number of debuffs that will be displayed is three

Bug Fixes

- Fixed a bug preventing damage numbers from being displayed if a monster was affected by a spell such as Hex

Bug Fixes

- The sound that plays whenever a Barbarian's Overpower ability comes off cooldown is no longer similar to a Legendary item dropping

The new patch is available on the Public Test Realm version of Diablo 3.