14 DAY TRIAL // After quite a lengthy wait and a big period in the Public Test Realm, Diablo 3 patch 2.0.1. is finally rolling out worldwide on the PC and Mac platforms, bringing quite a few major modifications to the role-playing dungeon crawler.
Diablo 3 appeared back in 2012 for the PC and Mac and, since then, Blizzard launched the title for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles as well.
Now, ahead of the release of the Reaper of Souls expansion for PC and Mac, Blizzard has just rolled out a major update for the core game, in the form of patch 2.0.1.
The new update was thoroughly tested via the Diablo 3 PTR, as many fans were eager to see just what new mechanics have been added by the developer.
After a bit of tinkering, the update has finally gone live in North America and will be automatically downloaded by the in-game launcher or through the Battle.net desktop application.
The patch introduces several major changes to the game, including mechanics like Pools of Reflection that give a bonus to XP gain, but also Nephalem Glory, which buffs your damage output, not to mention new hero stats that should provide players with a better understanding of their character.
Of course, one major new feature is the loot 2.0 system that should offer players much better gear and items, eliminating the need for the Auction House, which will be removed completely from the game next month.
Check out a short changelog of the general tweaks from Diablo 3 patch 2.0.1 below, via Battle.net.
GENERAL
- Pools of Reflection have been added to the game - Pools of Reflection provide a 25% bonus to experience - This bonus persists until you reach a set amount of bonus experience (equal to approximately 10% of the current amount of Paragon experience needed to reach the next Paragon level) or your character dies - Gathering additional Pools of Reflection bonuses increases the amount of total experience bonus a character can receive until character death, stacking up to 10 times - This experience bonus persists on logout - Nephalem Glory has been added to the game - Occasionally during battle, monsters will drop Power Globes when damaged or killed - Power Globes grant the Nephalem Glory buff, which causes players to deal additional damage in the form of golden lightning bolts and increases their movement speed for a short time - This buff can stack up to three times - New hero stats have been added to the game - These include Toughness, Healing, Splash Damage, Cooldown Reduction, and Resource Cost Reduction - Life Steal has been redesigned and is now less effective at higher character levels - At level 60, Life Steal is reduced to 10% effectiveness - Players now have the ability to resurrect in multiple places when they die in Normal (non-Hardcore) games - You may choose to either resurrect at your body, in town, or at the last checkpoint you encountered - Players may not resurrect at their body during a Boss encounter - Players may only resurrect at their body a maximum of three times in a row - Player hit boxes have been adjusted to more closely represent character models - Both male and female models of the same class share the same size hit box - Followers now automatically level with characters - Quests now occasionally grant item rewards when completed during the leveling process - Gold can no longer be traded - Nephalem Valor has been removed from the game - Graphics engine has been updated to support reflections - Reflections can be turned on in the Options > Video menu - Note: This setting is not recommended for players running minimum system specifications
A huge amount of changes that affect different character classes and other systems are also included in the new update.
The patch is available for download in North America for Diablo 3 owners and should go live in Europe and Asia later today, February 26.
Update: You can also download Diablo 3 patch 2.0.1 from Softpedia.