Hello everybody.
I would like to invite everyone who is testing on the 2.0 PTR - to write everything in this topic so that it will be easier to debate upon it and also, to avoid opening other topics with the same purpose as this one.
So, let’s go, testers, write your experience on the 2.0 PRT so far !
The Sorcerer needs to be reworked and strengthened, and they definitely need to focus on improving the functionality of this class. Enchantments have been losing power each season since Season 2… While other classes have strong class specializations, we have fewer and fewer options for build combinations each season. Enchantments are losing their functionality; in another 2-3 seasons, they’ll be completely useless. This is a character that has had issues with DPS or sustain every season, which had some power in Season 2 and still somewhat in Season 5, but let’s not kid ourselves—the pool of meta builds is limited, and now it’s getting more nerfs it didn’t deserve. Someone really, really hates this class. I have a suggestion—maybe they should just remove it. At least it would hurt less if I couldn’t choose the character I love to play, rather than playing and suffering like some kind of masochist.
Seasons 4 and 5 have been the best for me personally. Even though the game has improved, I still refuse to purchase it or give my money to Blizzard. The issue is that the game, which was marketed and sold as a brand-new experience at full price, is gradually turning into a rehashed version of Diablo III, Now keep in mind that there are players who pre-order it, bought it at launch, on a sale, whatever…
Blizzard seems to be subtly pushing players toward buying the upcoming expansion, and knowing their track record, this was likely a calculated move. It’s frustrating to witness, and it speaks to a broader problem: the state of the gaming industry and the role we, as consumers, play in it, although most people may not see the problem as it is or choose to ignore it…
If we want original, creative, and innovative games, we need to stop supporting monopolistic companies that thrive on hype, microtransactions, and recycled content. I genuinely feel for those who bought the game at full price, but it’s important to approach this critically. I’m not hating on the game itself I’m sharing a perspective that might not be popular, especially with fans, but it’s important to think beyond the surface.
Gaming isn’t just about entertainment; it’s about the choices we make and who we support. If more people resisted the pressure to buy into these business models, we might see a healthier, more innovative gaming industry. Right now, only a handful of games truly feel worth the time, money, and support. It’s time to be more critical of what we consume.
This is just my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to anyone who enjoys the game.
I agree with your statement. But take a look at the psychological move they pulled… Season 4 brought major changes (I think one of the best seasons, right after Season 2), then we had Season 5, where they added a massive buff to uniques and overall DPS of characters… And it was all just to make two good seasons in a row, sell as many expansion copies as possible, and suddenly, we have a PTR where all the changes have been reversed by miles. Overall, it feels like we don’t get any real content each season, but instead, they just take turns breaking and fixing the game. Why are they doing this? Because it’s the quickest way. Divide this by 4, oh, players didn’t like it, so let’s multiply DPS by 20x and HP by 1.5x. Ok, in the next season, let players learn everything from scratch again, change everything, and flatten it to the level it was at launch. New expansion, and we start the adventure all over again… But as a player, I’m no longer amused. Today, I got a response from the consumer rights office in my country (and, in fact, all EU citizens can apply for a refund since most EU countries have the same laws; only the number of days since the purchase differs). We have the right to a refund, even if we received cosmetic items; the law covers 14-30 days (depending on the country). And whether Blizzard likes it or not, if they refuse (respond with a negative reply), you can contact the consumer rights office. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection will also be informed of the company’s practices, which (according to Blizzard) are misleading, claiming that a purchased expansion cannot be refunded. If anyone wants to request a refund and encounters problems from Blizzard, please contact the above-mentioned institutions and consumer rights office. They will help you draft an appeal with the relevant legal references, and if the company doesn’t comply, you can escalate the case further (appropriate sanctions will be imposed if violations are found).
Leveling in PTR is far too slow, There is no time to test anything. Your builds are 6 month old, so they are useless to run. I have 20k materials to mastering but nothing in PTR.
PTR is a big JOKE. 
The problem I always had with D4 somehow even got worse and the PTR sadly didn’t show any change. There is no real freedom designing a build. What I love most about ARPGS is experimenting and coming up with my own builds. In D4 that process is all on rails.
Part of the problem is the aspect system and how limiting it feels, similar to set items of D3, just in new clothes. There isn’t a big toybox with plenty of synergies to discover. It’s already sliced and diced for you on a silver platter.
The other part is the skill (and paragon) tree which as well provide hardly any real choice, despite the additional nodes and connections.
Will the new Runewords make this any better? For sure they will a help a bit and will be great for players already in love with D4. But in the end - just like the aspect, paragon and skill tree system - it’s creating builds “on rails”.
I wish Blizzard would have been more bold with their design choices, but I guess there is a very good market exactly for the product they have made.
Sorcerer needs third enchantment slot. Period.
It’s not about giving a character that struggles compared to other classes extra slots or changing the DPS (which is often lacking anyway). The issue is that what was good about the Sorcerer from the start has been made worse, while what was bad hasn’t been changed at all or has been made even worse. Only when you drop the right uber uniques does anything start to work, or it becomes meta… And in my opinion, that’s not how it should be. A character that struggles throughout all stages of the game shouldn’t rely on others to help drop mythical gear to become functional—and only with a maximum of two builds, despite having so many spells. Pure lightning, compared to Rogue, has neither the DPS nor the ability to stack stun on bosses at the same level as Rogue. You can have tons of lucky hits for stun/freeze, and while using lightning, the boss’s stun bar only fills thanks to the lightspear and its upgrades. Adding an extra slot for enchantments won’t change anything because enchantments themselves are useless and too random. Additionally, sparks have such a short range that you practically have to step on them, so any build around them is pointless… And 99% of enchantment mechanics are negated if you invest in cooldown or mana reduction. 70% of them either work as a lucky hit or with lucky hit mechanics, meaning you have x% chance for something to happen. But these lottery-style mechanics often have such low chances that it’s not worth investing a slot in them, and they also have low DPS, don’t scale with aspects or passive skills from the tree (for example, if an enchantment activates with a skill that has a cooldown, the barrier doesn’t activate if you have the passive skill that gives it for every skill used with a cooldown). Another issue is when you collect sparks and have a 10-12% chance to summon a lightspear, and with the passive that creates 2 spears instead of 1, that doesn’t activate with enchantments. Everything in this class has been “broken” ever since Season 2, when it had its moment with one lightning build, and since then, Blizzard seems to hate lightning. So, I disagree that additional slots are needed here; what’s needed are serious changes to enchantments to give them the power that other classes have with their specializations.
PS: I’ll just add that they promised to rework glyphs. I thought they’d be redesigned with additional, more interesting options… But as usual, it’s just number changes xD and increased glyph levels. I feel like I’m playing Diablo 3. Get the Diablo 3 team off Diablo 4 development!
Played the PTR now 3 Days. I understand the necessity to make changes. But instead of bringing more content in to solve the gap at Tier 3 and the lag of Endgamecontent, we get this forced on us? Season 4 was a good step in whats is needed. Brought the Fun and reason to play back to D4. With the changes, that awaiting now, i am very unhappy. I don’t see myself play this. Grinding for month and hoping to find a halfway usable peace of Gear? Was before hard enough. Maybe it’s time to bring a Refund button for Vessel of Hatred on the shop. This is not the Game i payed for.
They mentioned that finding an item with a great affix would be something desirable and extraordinary… I agree with them, that has indeed happened. At the same time, mythical equipment has become something more common… If you drop a legendary with 3 great affixes, be happy. It’s like finding Shaco in Seasons 1-3 xD. There are still errors in DPS calculations… And despite the reduction in power on items, the power we get from glyphs and paragon boards is so significant that you don’t really notice the difference in numbers. However, all these changes have reduced the number of meta builds. There are simply fewer of them. Sorcerer has problems with HP/armor… and DPS. I played Necromancer, and it was fairly enjoyable (though I still prefer the Sorcerer class because it’s my playstyle, but Sorc is sinking fast). Necromancer has no issues with maintaining armor, resistances are easy to stack… I had 9k HP, and my stats were 5000% crit, 4800% Overpower, 2300% general DPS, and all other DPS types around 2500-2900%, with runes from Barb + Druid for crit/damage and a huge amount of multiple DPS. My lowest crit with Overpower was 50 million, and the highest was 175 million. However, there was no wow factor, even with good survivability after moving from Torment 3 to Torment 4. In T3, you were hitting for 100-200k and making progress. But in T4, even with hits in the millions, boss health bars didn’t go down that quickly. And this is yet another thing that makes me feel like I’m playing Diablo 3.
I’ll wait for Blizzard’s response regarding any changes after the PTR. But if they don’t get their act together (and they still have some time) and don’t expand the number of playable spells for each class, I’m out. I don’t want to play tag with them anymore.
It’s good. They are getting there… Too much to sum up in some post.
The problem is that they don’t play their own game. They don’t see the real issues… It’s like taking a blind person deep into a city and telling him to find way home without any help. How are they supposed to balance the classes if no one on their team plays the game from start to endgame and understands the situation? How is it that Rogue and Barb are pulling 1-2 billion DPS, while the rest of the classes are barely getting by?
I only tryed the PTR for 1 day and here are my what i learned from it.
Load into New char screen and game crash x 20, finally gets into the game instan crash again, next try to play the PTR after eating dinner i go into a zone with a ongoing helltide and more or less lag around and die about 10 times and crash just as many.
I know i have a really old PC but the game runs fine on Live server so i hope its just a problem with PTR servers for my PC and maybe not optimzed version of the test yet.
For now Diablo 4 is on hold til dlc is released, since live season is a bore right now.
I read alot on forum that ppl dont like the slow leveling, i hate the fast leveling and 1 button kills all things on the screen, and only have to use more then 2 buttons when fighting an uber boss was just so boring.
i would welcome that you had to get into a group befor you had a chance to kill an boss and a good geared grp to kill an uber boss.
So this is what Diablo 3.5 would look like? Where did Diablo 4 go?
It’s easier to go D 3.5 than try to fix D 4. D 3 team helps them to do it easily. MS will publish D 4 sometimes later. We all get half of our monye back and all are happy.
But I start to play PoE 2.
I played the PTR to T3 and in my opinon its a fail from blizzard. Had I known they were going to make this big a change, I would not have preordered the expansion.
I make that mistage and have to play it a while for my money. I really hope that they do some changes to this PTR.
You really don’t “have” to… generally (and this applies to the real world too) it is better to learn when to cut your losses, rather than spend more time or effort (or even money while we’re at it) towards something you find yourself not being able to enjoy.
I don’t know what you do with your money but I allways try to get return for my investment, is it game or something else. It is how the business goes in this live.
I think you are so young that you don’t know it yet but you learn.
This may come as a surprise, but I’m actually not.
At the end of the day it’s your choice - your time & your money as well. My point still stands though… investing in something without getting a return is a bad idea - business or not.
A bad investment always hurts, but it can also be an ego check and help you out in the long run. You’ll think twice and also do a bit more research.