With the new patch 2.7.0 in Diablo 3 a lot will change regarding the companions. We are looking at the patch notes of the update and showing you what this means for Season 23 and the future.
What’s happening with Diablo 3? Currently, Season 22 is underway in Blizzard’s hack and slash, but it will soon come to an end. Starting February 25, players can try out the new patch 2.7.0 on the test servers, with which Season 23 will run.
Instead of activating a temporary season theme as is customary in recent years, permanent changes are being introduced. The companions (Enchantress, Scoundrel, and Templar) will be fundamentally revised, allowing them to wear legendary items for you. You will still receive the bonuses.
Diablo 3 Patch 2.7.0 Patch Notes – What’s happening?
Here we summarize the most important changes from the patch notes for update 2.7.0 for Season 23 in Diablo 3. This includes the revision of companions, changes to the leaderboard system, and the usual buffs & nerfs.
Companions with more items – Equipping sets for you
What is it? The companions in Diablo 3 provide a bit of support for solo players. You can chat with them in town to accompany you on your adventures. Until now, the usefulness of the companions was rather limited. Occasionally, you would take the Templar with you, equipped with a Unity ring, absorbing damage for you or taunting enemies.
But now everything is changing. With a significant change, the companions will now be much more useful. So, the new patch will bring a lot for solo players. In groups, you cannot take the Scoundrel, Enchantress, or Templar with you.
Keep in mind that this change is permanent. It will not only be the case in Season 23, but it will remain in the future of Diablo 3. And this also applies in non-seasonal play. They will affect new seasons and also the characters you play outside the season.
This is changing: You can now equip your companions with up to 14 items. These are:
- Relics
- Helmet
- Shoulders
- Chest Armor
- Gloves
- Bracers
- Belt
- 2 Rings
- Necklace
- Pants
- Shoes
- Main Hand Weapon
- Off-Hand
The new feature Emanate allows the player to receive legendary and set bonuses when they are equipped on a companion. So if you want to have the bonuses of 2 shoulder pieces, but you are already wearing a couple and there is no space in Kanais Cube, you can equip the shoulders on your companion and still receive the bonus.
Which items can they wear? Blizzard has already established a selection of the items that you can equip on companions. These are:
- Broken Crown – Head
- Homing Pads – Shoulders
- Spaulders of Zakara – Shoulders
- Goldskin – Chest Armor
- Custerian Wristguards – Bracers
- Nemesis Bracers – Bracers
- Gladiator’s Gauntlets – Gloves
- Gloves of Worship – Gloves
- Dovu’s Energy Trap – Neck
- Rakoff’s Glass of Life – Neck
- Avarice Band – Ring
- Krede’s Flame – Ring
- The Flavor of Time – Neck
- Set – Sage’s Journey (3-piece bonus)
- Set – Cain’s Destiny (3-piece bonus)
Changes to Companion Skills
What’s happening here? To make the companions in Diablo 3 even more important, existing skills are being revamped, and new ones added.
The changes to the Scoundrel:
- A new skill is “Night’s Veil.” The Scoundrel throws a cloud that covers an area of 20 yards and lasts for 5 to 10 seconds. All enemies in that cloud will take critical hits from your attacks. The duration of the ability depends on the Scoundrel’s Dexterity.
- Also new is the Piercing Shot, which pierces enemies and increases damage to all affected targets by 10%. This lasts for 3-6 seconds. The duration of the ability depends on the Scoundrel’s Dexterity.
- Dirty Fighting and Poison Bolts have been removed as skills.
The changes to the Templar: The Templar’s skills Onslaught and Guardian have been revised.
- Onslaught inflicts a strike on an enemy for 800% weapon damage. The target and nearby enemies take 10% more damage for 3 – 6 seconds. The duration varies depending on the Templar’s Strength.
- Guardian ensures that the Templar intervenes as soon as you are about to take lethal damage. All enemies within 15 yards are then pushed back and you are healed for 15 – 25% of your life. Additionally, the Templar absorbs damage for you for 5 seconds. The amount of healed life depends on the Templar’s Strength.
The changes to the Enchantress:
The skills Forceful Push, Mass Control, Disorient, and Missile Ward have been removed. In return, there are four new skills:
- Temporal Pulse: The Enchantress casts a sphere that deals 150% weapon damage and slows enemies by 80% for 3 – 6 seconds. The duration of the ability depends on the Enchantress’s Intelligence.
- Amplification: Increases your highest elemental bonus by 5 – 10%, based on the Enchantress’s Intelligence.
- Prophetic Harmony: Reduces the cooldown of your skills by 5 – 10% based on the Enchantress’s Intelligence.
- Fate’s Lapse: If you take lethal damage, the Enchantress empowers you and increases your speed through time for 3 to 7 seconds, allowing you to escape death. The time varies depending on the Enchantress’s Intelligence.
All skill changes for the Enchantress, Scoundrel, and Templar can be found on Blizzard’s website at us.diablo3.com.
More Filters in Solo Leaderboards
What’s changing? For the leaderboards for solo players, there will be additional filters from patch 2.7.0. You can sort by equipped class sets, or whether players wore no set at all, or continue sorting everything together as is currently the case.
Balance Changes
Necromancer: The developers have taken a look at the Rathma set. It will undergo changes to make it play uniquely.
- 2-piece bonus: Whenever your minions deal damage, they reduce the cooldown of ‘Army of the Dead’ by 1 second. Your skeletal warriors spawn faster, and your revived minions do not disappear.
- 4-piece bonus: Your companions take no damage. Whenever one of your minions deals damage, you take 1% less damage for 15 seconds. Stacks up to 75 times.
- 6-piece bonus: Each active companion increases the damage of ‘Army of the Dead’ and ‘Bone Spirit’ by 1000%.
Additionally, the damage of Bone Spirit has been adjusted, and a new item “Bonds of C’Lena” has been designed. This item increases the damage of Army of the Dead and Bone Spirit by up to 400%. Additionally, Bone Spirit deals 2% more damage when Army of the Dead hits an enemy.
Wizard: The Firebird set has been targeted for revision.
- 2-piece bonus: When you die, a meteor falls from the sky that resurrects you. This effect has a cooldown of 60 seconds. Disintegration ignites enemies, causing them to take 3,000% weapon damage per second until they die (Ignite effect).
- 4-piece bonus: You take 80% less damage and deal 4,000% more damage when an enemy is affected by the Ignite effect. Casting Disintegration adds stacks of Devastation, reducing the cooldown of Teleport by 2% per stack. Can stack up to 50 times.
- 6-piece bonus: If you hit an enemy with the Ignite effect using a fire spell that is not Disintegration, the damage is multiplied by the stacks of Devastation.
Demon Hunter: The set Gear of Terror will be slightly nerfed, so the Hungry Arrow will only pierce targets a maximum of two times when the set is equipped.
Witch Doctor: The Mojo Gazing Death has been adjusted. It increases the damage of Spirit Barrage by 100 to 150%. Spirit Barrage also gains the Phantasma rune and lasts twice as long. Additionally, it increases the attack speed of the phantoms from ‘Spirit of Nature’.
You can find further changes in the official blog post from Blizzard. You can find it at us.Diablo3.com.
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Conclusion: Finally some big changes again
The last significant changes for Diablo 3 came, apart from new sets, in April 2019. At that time, the developers added new torment levels, changed goblins, and really intervened in the gameplay. These major changes occurred in Season 17 in Diablo 3.
Now, nearly 2 years later, there are fundamental changes in gameplay again. The adjustments to companions are enormous for solo players. It’s finally worthwhile to hire one of the three in town and take them on the journeys.
By allowing them to be equipped with 14 items, the developers have responded to player feedback. Because in nearly every past season, players wished that Diablo retain the season bonuses permanently. The improved companions are practically another form of Kanais Cube – and can even help you with abilities in combat.
When are the changes coming? The patch will be available on the PTR servers starting February 25. It is supposed to be tested for 2 weeks. If all goes according to plan, it will then go live.
How do you like the changes from patch 2.7.0? Is there a change that particularly appeals to you or one that you can do without? Let us know here on MeinMMO in the comments and discuss with other players about it.
Why Diablo 3 is finally becoming more attractive for solo players.
