Diablo 4's Season 4's full PTR patch notes are here, and among so, so many changes, updates, new systems, and adjustments, one particular change is designed to improve controller play parity with mouse and keyboard.
Again, it can't be overstated just how massive this update is, fundamentally changing the way the game will be played when Season 4 goes live on Tuesday, May 14. There's also a PTR test running from April 2 to 9 allowing players to check out all of the new stuff and provide feedback for Blizzard to consider implementing.
You can check out the complete patch notes for the PTR here, breaking down sweeping changes to itemization, the revamped Helltide event, the boss ladder, endgame content, and more. You'll need to expand the full patch notes at the bottom, even, since Blizzard hid them by default to spare everyone's browsers. Here's the three-point breakdown from Blizzard:
- "There are many impactful Class updates."
- "We are making flat-damage Legendaries more viable."
- "Opening up designs to be more generally useful, so you can make more connections and more builds! "
One of the key highlights somewhat buried in the Miscellaneous section of the patch notes reads: "Traversal skills—such as Leap and Teleport—can now have their distance determined by how far the analog stick on the controller is deflected. This will enable players on controller to have better control on the range for these abilities, improving parity with mouse and keyboard play."
As someone who almost exclusively plays Diablo 4 on PS5, this is quite literally a game changer. Mouse and keyboard will always have an edge on controller play, especially in PvP, but this is a massive buff to console players that'll make traversal in high-stakes situations dramatically more precision-based. On top of that, the patch notes add, "the Skill Tree can now be navigated with the D-pad on controller." Music to my ears.
Diablo 4 Season 4 was recently delayed to May in an effort to give Blizzard more time to review and implement feedback received from the PTR, so if you do get around to checking out the gargantuan update ahead of its full launch, be sure to make your voice heard as it could contribute to meaningful changes down the line.
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