The Uber Unique “Andariel’s Visage” was supposed to be enhanced with Patch 1.4.3 during the Mid-Season in Diablo 4 – and it certainly seems that way. However, the powerful effect is currently only visual.
The Mid-Season Patch was expected to fix several bugs, such as the issue where the damage of the “Holy Bolt” elixir scaled “unintentionally high.” Patch 1.4.3 weakened the effect of the elixir while also causing additional bugs. The developers disabled the elixir.
The update also introduced some buffs for the five classes – as well as for several Uniques and Uber Uniques. This opened up new possibilities for strong builds. In particular, the Uber Unique “Andariel’s Visage” was in the spotlight. The effect of the Uber Unique helmet received an adjustment.
What is this item? Andariel’s Visage is an Uber Unique, which means an ultra-unique item in Diablo 4. You can get it as a drop from the bosses Duriel and Andariel, and in rare cases outside of that. The helmet increases the following stats:
- all attributes
- attack speed
- life steal
- poison resistance
Additionally, there is a chance with the lucky hit to trigger a poison nova that inflicts poison damage on enemies. After the patch, this should be quite visible to them, and the damage of the poison nova should be increased as well. But the effect animation is misleading.
Update: On June 20, Community Manager Adam Fletcher wrote in the forum that the bug was fixed with a hotfix: “A problem was fixed where the poison nova of Andariel’s Visage caused damage around the player, even though the visual effect was around enemies. A problem was fixed where the poison nova of Andariel’s Visage dealt less damage than intended.”
Enemies in a large poison nova – but only visually
According to Patch 1.4.3, the following changes were to be made to Andariel’s Visage:
- “Poison nova” now appears on the enemy instead of the player.
- Damage of “Poison nova” increased by 50%.
This means that not only is the damage of the poison nova effect higher. The area of effect can now also reach over a greater distance and is no longer limited to the immediate vicinity of the player character. However, players are now noting that the change to the helmet seems to be faulty.
Why is the change misleading? On Reddit, “zopikl0n” writes on June 17: “Andariel’s Visage is bugged. Only the visual part of the [poison] nova triggers on enemies. It still deals damage around your character, but the visual part is triggered on the enemy.”
And “SamGoingHam” writes in the comments: “Damn. I was looking forward to playing the Andariel build.” Since the Mid-Season Patch, the Andariel build for huntresses is at the top of the tier list for endgame builds in Season 4.
This is Blizzard’s response: Under a post from Community Manager Adam Fletcher on X, which is actually about the “Holy Bolt” elixir, users address the issue with Andariel’s Visage. Fletcher responded: “The problem with Andariel has been identified internally, and we will provide a future hotfix to address this issue.”
What do experts say? The Diablo expert wudijo explains the problem with the Uber Unique in his YouTube video as follows: One can clearly see the poison explosions on the enemies based on the green poison areas. So it really looks like the effect is working.
However, what is actually happening is that the effect still occurs around the character instead of on the enemies, as described in the patch – and as visually recognizable. However, this is a “fake animation.” Tests have shown that the damage is higher. Essentially, nothing is different than before the patch.
With the buff for the Uber Unique, further builds might emerge in Diablo 4 – if the effect works correctly. According to wudijo, sorceresses could also benefit from the helmet. The Mid-Season Patch brought several buffs for the classes in Diablo 4. However, players of two classes have been particularly disappointed and believe: They deserve much more love.
