14 DAY TRIAL // Diablo 3 has managed to evolve as a video game in many interesting ways since it was launched, and the development team at Blizzard continues to try and improve overall gameplay and seems ready to significantly downgrade the importance of many mechanics that gamers consider central to the title.
Conduit Pylons are one of the features that are set to be nerfed because they are currently too good, with a post on the official forums explaining that changes will be introduces in the next patch coming to the Player Test Realm.
It does not yet have an official launch date, but a community manager states that it will also be used to wipe the leaderboards, the conquests, the personal bests, and all Achievement progress, although there are no plans to affect characters’ abilities or equipment.
Basically, the Conduit Pylons in Diablo 3 will be less effective against single targets but will see almost no change when used against groups.
Blizzard adds, “The damage dealt will scale off your weapon damage instead of the Greater Rift level. This means it will feel strongest at lower tier Greater Rifts, about the same at Greater Rifts that match your level of gear, and less effective at higher Greater Rifts. Overall, it should still feel cool and powerful to use, but not an ultimate game breaker or something you should hedge your entire build around.”
The studio also wants to make Speed Pylons break both barricades and doors that gamers encounter while using them.
At the moment, the new PTR patch for Diablo 3 does not have a clear launch date.
Diablo 3 is organically evolving
The fact that some sort of change is being brought out to be tested by the community does not automatically mean that it will be introduced in the full game.
Gamers have a chance to talk about them and to suggest further refinements to the team at Blizzard.
Diablo 3 and its expansion, Reaper of Souls, have been very successful on both the PC and home consoles.
Plenty of gamers were disappointed with the title on launch, but Blizzard has worked hard to listen to the community and apply changes that make it more approachable and engaging.
Blizzard is currently still tweaking the core mechanics, and once the process is complete, the studio might announce a second major expansion, which could be introduced in late 2015.
