Diablo 4 Patch 1.03 is here, and it’s a big one.
In a lengthy list of patch notes posted to their blog, Blizzard detailed Diablo 4 Patch 1.03, which included an enormous list of gameplay improvements and some hotly requested changes to address the endgame XP grind.
Many issues that have bothered players have been addressed, like rogues becoming invisible indefinitely in the PvP-focused Field of Hatred zones, and disappearing corpses when using Corpse Tendrils as a necromancer.
But the most notable changes can be found in a section called “Experience Rewards,” where numerous improvements to the endgame XP grind can be found.
A major issue with the endgame grind is that Nightmare Dungeons, which are meant to be one of the main activities for players to tackle, have actually been less efficient for leveling than doing certain standard dungeons. One of the reasons for this is that many Nightmare Dungeons are simply too far from fast travel points to be worth hiking over to enter the activity in the first place, while a second even more critical reason is that Nightmare Dungeons simply didn’t give enough XP to make the high-difficulty activity worth it.
Both of these issues are now being addressed, as players will now be able to teleport directly to Nightmare Dungeons, which have been tuned to give off dramatically more XP. Similarly, Helltide chests now provide “substantially more bonus experience when opened” and XP granted from completing Whisper bounties has been “significantly increased.”
If the patch notes deliver on these changes, it should dramatically improve a lengthy endgame grind that has frustrated some players in its sluggishness, especially when tackling the activities that were meant to be grinded were not the most efficient way to level.
Diablo 4 arrived earlier this month and it has thus far proven to be a major hit for Blizzard. For more coverage, check out our extensive map of Diablo 4’s Sanctuary.
Travis Northup is a freelance writer at IGN.
