The detailed blog post for Diablo 4 Season 14 PTR 3.1.0 has been out for a while. If you have already read it, you might think you have a pretty clear picture of what is coming.
Meanwhile, the developers also answered a lot of community questions during Sanctuary Sitdown on Discord. While it was not extremely detailed, it did contain some information not covered in the official blog post. So, IGGM has compiled these easily missed details for you.
Skipping Mephisto’s Cutscenes
If you have ever farmed Uber Mephisto repeatedly, you know the frustration of an unskippable cutscene that lasts over a minute per run. You wait for the first phase to end, and then you wait again for the second phase to finish.
The official patch notes said nothing about this, but the change was confirmed during Sanctuary Sitdown. However, this adjustment did not make it into 3.1.0 PTR that went live on June 2nd, meaning the cutscenes there remain unskippable for now. Nonetheless, the feature has been confirmed for implementation.
Iconic Mythic Items Cannot Be Rerolled via Horadric Cube
3.1 PTR patch notes mentioned that you can now reroll the affixes of Mythic Unique Items inside Horadric Cube, which ties into the new Mythic Uniques 3.0 system.
The old Mythic Unique Items were not mentioned in the patch notes, but the developers indicated that they will be classified as Iconic Mythics. These cannot be modified in Horadric Cube in any way. Only regular Legendary gear and the new Mythic Unique Items can be rerolled.
Furthermore, the developers explicitly confirmed that the ability to craft on Legendary gear is permanent and will remain in the game. The same applies to the new Mythic rarity system. Both of these changes will continue to exist after Season 14 ends.
Mythic Uniques 3.0
Sanctuary Sitdown provided a much more detailed explanation of Mythic Uniques 3.0. When a Legendary item is upgraded to Mythic, all of its base affixes become maximized. There are no so-called Greater Affixes, but the item will have the highest possible base values.
On top of that, the item’s Unique power receives an extra 30% bonus on top of its maximum value. The new Mythic gear follows the same rules as regular Legendary items, meaning it has one fixed affix and three random affixes.
Mythic Unique items in Season 14 can drop as loot, or you can craft and upgrade them using materials. Whether you need materials or Unique items, there is an ample supply of cheap Diablo 4 items for sale at IGGM, so you can always quickly obtain what you urgently lack.
Infernal Hordes Base Experience Doubled
Infernal Hordes are one of the least favored activities among players. The good news is that the developers are directly doubling the base experience from Infernal Hordes, and this is before Torment difficulty experience bonuses even apply.
In addition, all reward chests have been improved: Diablo 4 gold, gear, and talismans – the drop rates for all these materials scale better as your Burning Aether count increases. The developers did mention that the chest improvements might not be live when PTR 3.1 launches, but the experience change should be included.
Dungeon Key Salvaging
This change also did not make it into 3.1 PTR, but it will be implemented for the official launch of Season 14. All dungeon keys will become salvageable into sigil dust. If you have a large stockpile of keys you never use, you can now break them down and then use that dust to craft the keys you actually need.
You are already able to salvage Nightmare Dungeon sigils for regular dungeons, which means that other key types, such as Escalating Nightmare dungeon keys, may eventually become salvageable as well.
Echoing Hatred Keys
The drop rate for Echoing Hatred keys will be significantly increased in Season 14. The developers have notably raised the drop chance from elite and champion monsters. However, this is still designed as a rare reward activity, so do not expect to find one every hour.
Gem Strength
This change will affect a great many builds. The developers were very direct: the bonus effect from gem strength was never supposed to be as strong as it became, and it was never meant to synergize and amplify with two-hand weapons. In short, the super affix for gem strength will almost certainly be nerfed in Season 14.
Solo Self-Found
3.1.0 patch introduced the basic concept of the pure Solo Self-Found (SSF) mode, and Sanctuary Sitdown filled in more details.
You will not be playing in an empty world. You will still see other players in the overworld, but you cannot group with them, trade with them, or engage in any party activities with them.
Dark Citadel is completely disabled for pure solo mode characters. Your Diablo 4 items, seasonal currency, and Paragon levels – everything – is only shared among your other pure solo mode characters on the same account. It is completely separate from your normal characters, just as softcore and hardcore are independent from each other.
Realmwalker 2.0
Realmwalker first appeared in Season 6. You had to follow it slowly for about five minutes while it leisurely spawned minions. The developers admitted that this was its biggest problem.
In 3.1.0 PTR, when a Realmwalker appears, you go straight into combat. No chasing, no following – instead, it becomes a fight similar to a world boss. However, it does not appear on a timer; rather, it is an ambush-style encounter.
The above covers the additional information from Sanctuary Sitdown regarding Diablo 4 Season 14. IGGM reminds you that some of these changes will not go live until Season 14 officially begins. Even though they were omitted from the patch notes, they will still have a significant impact on your gameplay experience.
