After the Campfire Chat livestream, the full Season 8 2.2 PTR Patch Notes is now available in a blog post! Let's dive into it together! In the meantime, you can also take a look at our full Campfire Chat Wrap-Up:
You can also check the replay of the Campfire Chat livestream:
2.2 PTR Patch Notes
Ahead of his return, Belial’s putrid brand of deception flows freely through Sanctuary, tainting the mind and body of its worried populace. As Belial blurs the line between reality and fiction, his influence grows. Will deceiving all of Sanctuary sate the Lord of Lies’ seemingly bottomless appetite for power?
The 2.2.0 Public Test Realm (PTR) for Diablo IV will be available from March 11–18, offering you the chance to test upcoming changes and features releasing with the next season for the base game, along with some Vessel of Hatred updates.
The purpose of the PTR is to test updates and features before the launch of the next season, Belial’s Return, where we’ll be focusing on bosses. Then, using your feedback, we’ll make some adjustments before our next season goes live. The feedback we receive helps us to fine-tune balance changes, eliminate bugs, and create the best experience possible while testing new systems. Thank you kindly for playing the PTR.
Here is what the 2.2.0 PTR will be previewing ahead of the next season.
Deliver Retribution with Boss Powers
Using illusory magic, you can now command the very power foes once manipulated to send your Wanderer to the dreaded “You Have Died” screen. Boss Powers are a new way to further deepen your builds using abilities siphoned from the carcasses of defeated World, Event, and Lair (formerly Endgame) Bosses. There are 24 Bosses across Sanctuary you can claim Boss Powers from. Each Boss Power has 2 effects—a Main and Modifier—that can be activated depending on the Power Slot you equip it to. You can have up to 1 Main and 3 Modifier Powers active at a time.
Whichever Main Boss Power you equip will be the star of the show, the ability you feel most in your build. Whereas the Modifier Boss Powers are meant to bolster the Main Boss Power you selected, taking it to new heights. Tinker with different combinations of Main and Modifier powers to find the mix that best supports your build’s fantasy.
Boss Powers can be acquired after killing targeted bosses across Sanctuary for the first time this season. Various World Bosses, new Apparition Incursion event bosses (more information about this can be found further in the article), and even Lilith herself are among the line-up of diabolical titans who provide Boss Powers.
Here is a complete list of all 24 Boss Powers, including their Main and Modifier effects:
Can be Acquired at any Difficulty Level
Wandering Death's Chest Beam (obtained after defeating the World Boss, Wandering Death)
Main: While Channeling a Skill, spawn a beam that deals 300% Frostbite damage per second. Enemies hit take 50%[x] increased damage from you for 1 second.
Modifier: Your Main Boss Power instantly Executes Non-Boss enemies hit with less than 15% Life. When you Execute enemies you gain 25 Primary Resource.
Ashava's Poison Breath (obtained after defeating the World Boss, Ashava)
Main: Hitting an enemy affected by Damage over Time spawns a wave of acid that deals 400% Poisoning damage over 4 seconds. Applies 10% more Poisoning for each 1% of the target's current Life affected by Damage over Time.
Modifier: Once per activation, damaging an enemy with your Main Boss Power also applies 45% Poisoning damage to it over 3 seconds.
Avarice's Explosive Ore (obtained after defeating the World Boss, Avarice the Gold Cursed)
Main: When you gain excess Primary Resource, spawn a Piece of Ore. After 2.5 seconds the Piece of Ore explodes dealing 700% Fire damage. You can spawn up to 3 Pieces of Ore at once.
Modifier: Activating your Main Boss Power spends all your Primary Resource to increase its damage by 1.5%[x] per Resource point spent.
Allek's Talons (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Casting a Basic Skill applies 200% Sparking damage over 4 seconds to enemies it hit.
Modifier: Gain 5% Movement Speed, increased by 0.5% for each 1% Cooldown Reduction you have, up to a maximum of 11%.
Beastmaster's Training (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Whenever you cast a Summon Skill or call a Mercenary for Reinforcement, one of your Summons or Mercenaries Taunts enemies and gains 40% Damage Reduction.
Modifier: Your Summons deal 5%[x] more damage, increased by 0.25%[x] for each 1% Bonus Critical Strike Damage you have from items and Paragon, up to a maximum of 17%[x].
Blackmailer's Sabotage (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Casting a Core Skill while you have a Barrier Knocks Down Close enemies for 1.1 seconds. This cannot occur on the same enemy more than once every 5 seconds.
Modifier: Whenever you gain Fortify, additionally gain 20% of the amount as Barrier.
Flesh Reaper's Disruption (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Damaging a Vulnerable enemy removes the Vulnerable and then Stuns them and surrounding enemies for 0.5 seconds. This Stun applies 100% more Stagger to Bosses.
Modifier: Gain 5%[x] Vulnerable Damage, increased by 0.25%[x] for each 1% of Crowd Control Duration Bonus you have, up to a maximum of 10.5%[x].
Hatred's Embrace's Haste (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Casting a Shadow or Fire Skill grants 1.1% increased Movement Speed for 3 seconds, up to 11%.
Modifier: Gain 5%[+] Critical Strike Chance, increased by 0.5%[+] for each 1% of Shadow Resistance you have, up to a maximum of 22.5%[+].
Kirma's Sparks (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: When you Evade, apply 200% Sparking damage over 4 seconds to Close enemies.
Modifier: Your Evade Cooldown is reduced by 5%, increased by 0.2% for each 1% Lightning Resistance from bonuses you have, up to a maximum of 11%.
Outlaw Sharpshooter's Eye (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Dealing Direct Damage to a Distant enemy Slows them and surrounding enemies by 40% for 5 seconds.
Modifier: You deal increased damage to Enemies the further they are from you, up to 10.5%[x].
Sinerat's Flames (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Using a Mobility Skill Burns Close enemies for 200% Burning damage over 4 Seconds.
Modifier: Gain 5%[x] increased damage to all Elements. For each 1% of an Element's Resistance from bonuses, gain 0.2%[x] increased damage for that Element, up to a maximum of 15.5%[x].
Skerg's Toxins (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: When an enemy applies a Damage over Time effect to you, apply 1000% Poisoning damage to them over 4 seconds.
Modifier: When you take damage from a Damage Over Time effect, you have a 5% chance to be Healed instead, increased by 50% of your Poison Resistance from bonuses, up to a maximum of 12%.
Torusk's Rage (obtained after defeating this Apparition in the Apparition Incursion event)
Main: Damaging a Crowd Controlled enemy makes them and surrounding enemies Unstoppable but you gain 10.5%[x] increased Damage, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed for 3 seconds.
Modifier: Gain 5%[+] Attack Speed, increased by 0.25%[+] for each 1% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies you have, up to a maximum of 10.5%[+].
Must be Acquired in Torment I or Higher
Belial's Crystal Decoy (obtained after defeating Belial in a Lair Boss ambush)
Main: When you Cast an Agility, Defensive, or Macabre skill, spawn a crystal that Taunts enemies and explodes after 3 seconds, dealing 600% Shadow damage.
Modifier: Activating your Main Boss Power Fears Nearby enemies for 0.75 seconds and deals 50% Shadow damage to them.
Lilith's Wind of Hate (obtained after defeating Lilith)
Main: When you Cast a skill, attack enemies with a wave of spikes that lasts 2 seconds and deals 250% Physical damage. Enemies take 60%[x] increased damage from Wind of Hate each time it hits them, up to 300%[x].
Modifier: Hitting an Elite enemy with a Main Boss Power creates an inert Blister Clone with 10% of their Maximum Life for 15 seconds. Killing the Blister removes 5.25% of the Elite's Life. An Elite can have up to 3 Blisters active at once, except for World Bosses.
Duriel's Burrow (obtained after defeating the Greater Lair Boss, Duriel)
Main: When you Evade, you now burrow underground, immobilizing surrounding enemies for 5 seconds and dealing 200% on your entry and exit. You deal 200% damage every 0.25 seconds while burrowed. Evade's Cooldown is increased by 4 seconds, and Cooldown Reduction on Evade is 50% as effective.
Modifier: Activating your Main Boss Power grants you 21%[+] increased Dodge chance for 2 seconds. Whenever you Dodge an attack you Immobilize Nearby enemies for 3 seconds.
Belial's Eye Beams (obtained after defeating the Exalted Lair Boss Belial, Lord of Lies)
Main: After you drink a healing potion, gain 75% Damage Reduction for 2 seconds and summon eye beams that Corrupt enemies for 1,750% damage over 3.5 seconds. Then, your Healing Potion becomes disabled for 5 seconds. You may drink your Healing Potion at full health.
Modifier: Activating your Main Boss Power grants unbreakable Stealth for 2 seconds. You deal 11%[x] increased Overpower Damage while Stealthed.
Andariel's Flaming Skull (obtained after defeating the Greater Lair Boss, Andariel)
Main: After standing still for 1 second, summon a skull for 4 seconds that rotates around you and breathes fire that Burns enemies for 1200% damage over 3 seconds.
Modifier: Burning Enemies take 21% more damage from your Damage over Time effects. For 5 seconds after activating your Main Boss Power, all your other attacks Burn enemies for 1,800% damage over 3 seconds.
Beast in the Ice's Sleet (obtained after defeating the Initiate Lair Boss, Beast in the Ice)
Main: After casting 3 Skills which apply Crowd Control or Stagger effects, shoot out sleet spikes that deal 800% Cold damage and Freeze enemies for 2 seconds.
Modifier: Your Main Boss Power now Chills enemies it damages for 2.5%[x].
Grigoire's Lightning Square (obtained after defeating the Initiate Lair Boss, Grigoire)
Main: After you cast a Core Skill, lightning tiles outward for 1.2 seconds dealing 300% Lightning damage per strike.
Modifier: Once per activation, damaging an enemy with your Main Boss Power Stuns enemies it hits for 0.25 seconds.
Lord Zir's Blood Pool (obtained after defeating the Initiate Lair Boss, Lord Zir)
Main: After you damage an enemy, spawn a pool of blood that deals 400% Bleeding damage per second over 4 seconds. You can have up to 3 active pools.
Modifier: Activating your Main Boss Power Heals you for 5.5% of your Maximum Life over 3 seconds.
Varshan's Life Steal (obtained after defeating the Initiate Lair Boss, Varshan)
Main: Every time you lose 25% of your Maximum Life, attach a leeching beam to the attacker which restores 10% of your Maximum Life and deals 1200% Corrupting damage over 3 second to them.
Modifier: Activating your Main Boss Power inflicts Nearby enemies with 200% Corrupting damage over 2 seconds.
Urivar's Lobbed Bombs (obtained after defeating the Initiate Lair Boss, Urivar. Requires the Vessel of Hatred expansion)
Main: After you Cast an Ultimate Skill, lob 4 bombs that deal 800% Fire damage and reduce your Ultimate Skill's Cooldown by 5 seconds.
Modifier: Killing an enemy with your Main Boss Power reduces your Ultimate Skill's Cooldown by 0.2 seconds.
Harbinger of Hatred's Volley (obtained after defeating the Greater Lair Boss, Harbinger of Hatred. Requires the Vessel of Hatred expansion.)
Main: After damaging a Vulnerable enemy, shoot piercing projectiles that last 1.3 seconds, dealing 400% Fire damage and applying Vulnerable. Deals 40%[x] increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Modifier: Casting a Basic Skill while at Maximum Resource spends it all to make all Nearby enemies Vulnerable. Activating your Main Boss Power grants 11%[x] increased Vulnerable Damage for 5 seconds.
Incur Deadly Apparitions in a New Event
Discover the new season 8 seasonal mechanic: Belial makes his first bid for Sanctuary since Lilith met her tragic end. His Apparition Monsters—illusory foot soldiers who sew his lies into reality—have been spotted throughout Sanctuary.
You must cull them from your home by participating in the new Apparition Incursion event. Any character playing on any Difficulty Level can participate in this event. The event occurs in a different part of Sanctuary’s wilderness every few minutes, so keep an eye on your map for its current location.
Belial makes his first bid for Sanctuary since Lilith met her tragic end. His Apparition Monsters—illusory foot soldiers who sew his lies into reality—have been spotted throughout Sanctuary.
You must cull them from your home by participating in the new Apparition Incursion event. Any character playing on any Difficulty Level can participate in this event. The event occurs in a different part of Sanctuary’s wilderness every few minutes, so keep an eye on your map for its current location.
Lair Boss Rework
Bosses formerly known as Endgame or Ladder Bosses have been broken out into 3 tiers: Initiate, Greater, and Exalted Lair Bosses to convey their varying difficulty and rewards.
Initiate Lair Bosses: Beast in the Ice, Grigoire, Lord Zir, Varshan, and Urivar (available for Vessel of Hatred owners only).
Greater Lair Bosses: Andariel, Duriel, and Harbringer of Hatred (available for Vessel of Hatred owners only).
Exalted Lair Bosses: Belial, Lord of Lies.
You must be on Torment Difficulty I or higher to fight any Lair Boss.
Lair Boss Loot
Lair Bosses no longer require boss materials to summon and provide a vastly reduced reward upon death. Instead, when a Lair boss dies, a chest called a Hoard will spawn containing its loot. Each player must individually spend boss materials to open their Hoard.
The first Unique item dropped by a Lair Boss will be from their unique pool. Further Unique Items will have a 50% chance to be from the general Unique pool.
When playing in a party, Lair Bosses have a 33% chance per additional party member to drop an extra Unique Item from their unique pool.
Lair Bosses now drop 5 Unique Items in Torment IV, instead of 6.
Lair Boss Keys
Each boss requires a Lair Boss Key to unlock their Hoard. This is one specific item for each boss, such as: Malignant Heart (Varshan), Living Steel (Grigorie), Distilled Fear (Beast in the Ice), Exquisite Blood (Lord Zir), Judicator’s Mask (Urivar), Shard of Agony (Duriel), Pin-Cushioned Doll (Andariel), Hatred Hearts (Harbringer of Hatred, Betrayer’s Husk (Belial, Lord of Lies).
All Initiate Lair Bosses have the chance to drop a Stygian Stone, which can be converted into any Greater Lair Boss Key of your choice.
Lair Boss Keys can stack up to 99.
Locating Boss Lairs - The home of Lair Bosses.
Boss Lairs have a unique map icon to help distinguish them.
Once discovered, you can now teleport directly to a Boss Lair.
Each Boss Lair description on the map lists the required Hoard Key and if you currently own a sufficient amount.
Developer’s Note: We’ve received feedback that players would jump into a party, have a member of their party pay the material cost to summon a boss, kill the boss to earn the rewards, then leave the party. This behavior felt unfair to players who were paying the material cost to summon the boss, so now each player must pay the material cost to reap a boss’ rewards from their Hoard. Additionally, we received feedback that it felt unfair to pay the material cost to summon a boss to test your build against, only to die and not receive any rewards. Now, you can fight any Lair Boss on Torment Difficulty I and higher to determine if you have what it takes to best the boss before sinking materials into them.
New Legendary Aspects and Unique Items
New powerful Unique Items and Legendary Aspects arrive to magnify your renowned demon crushing prowess.
Barbarian
Bane of Ahjed-Den (Unique Gloves):
Affixes
+4-6 Ranks of Mighty Throw
+114-150% Critical Strike Damage
+7-10 Fury Per Second
+8-12.5% Cooldown Reduction
Unique Power
Every 12 seconds, your next Mighty Throw detonates its pulses instantly as Fire Damage and deals 400-600% increased damage.
Aspect of Delayed Extinction (Offensive Aspect): Mighty Throw and Steel Grasp now gain multiplicative damage instead of cooldown from Cooldown Reduction and their damage is increased by another 125-250%[x].
Druid
Gathlen’s Birthright (Unique Helm):
Affixes
Inherent: Anima of the Forest Grants 15% Attack Speed
+10.5-15% Willpower
+224-296 Armor
+2-3 Ranks of Humanity
+17.5-23% Movement Speed While in Human Form
Unique Power
While in Human form, Critical Striking enemies with Nature Magic 400-200 times grants you Anima of the Forest for 10 seconds.
While infused with Anima of the Forest you gain the Perfect Storm and Earthen Might Key Passives.
Aspect of Impending Deluge (Offensive Aspect): Storm Strike's damage is increased by 50%[x] and increases the damage the target takes from your other Skills by 20-40%[x] for 6 seconds.
Necromancer
Sanquivor, Blade of Zir (Unique Two-Hand Sword):
Affixes
Inherent: +60% Skeleton Mage and Golem Damage
+32-50% Chance for Army of the Dead to Deal Double Damage
+160-188 Intelligence
+1,060-1,142 Maximum Life
+2 Ranks of Skeleton Warrior Mastery, Skeleton Mage Mastery, and Golem Mastery
Unique Power
Your Summons' damage afflict enemies with Vampiric Curse. Consuming a Corpse also contributes a soul to Vampiric Curse, which can now stack up to 20 souls.
Army of the Dead can now unleash the souls from Vampiric Curse, causing both Army of the Dead and the souls to deal 5-10% increased damage per soul unleashed.
Aspect of Service and Sacrifice (Offensive Aspect): Skeleton Warriors explode on death, dealing (100-200%) Physical damage to surrounding enemies. They lose 25% Health per second while in combat. Skeleton Mages take 90% reduced damage and deal 50-100%[x] increased damage.
Rogue
Band of Ichorous Rose (Unique Gloves):
Affixes
Inherent: +4 Maximum Poison Traps
+10.5-15% Attack Speed
+3-5% Maximum Poison Resistance
+41.5-55% Poison Resistance
18.5-27.5% Chance for Poison Trap to Cast Twice
Unique Power
Poison Trap always deals its full damage over 3 seconds and it benefits from all its upgrades, which are increased by 50-100%[x]. Poison Trap also:
Benefits from Combo Points
Has no Cooldown during Inner Sight
Cooldown is reduced by Preparation
Aspect of Contamination (Offensive Aspect): Poison Trap bursts for 150-250% Poison damage when it triggers. If this burst Critically Strikes, you deal 20-40%[x] increased Poison damage for 5 seconds.
Sorcerer
Hail of Verglas (Unique Helm):
Affixes
Inherent 1: 7.5% Maximum Cold Resist
Inherent 2: 50% Cold Resistance
+10.5-15% Intelligence
13-17.5% Maximum Life
+10.5-15% Attack Speed
+4-6 Ranks in Ice Shards
Unique Power
Ice Shards now spreads out with 2 additional shards. You deal 1-1.5%[x] increased damage for each time Ice Shards damages an enemy for 5 seconds, up to 50-75%[x].
Shivering Aspect (Offensive Aspect): Enemies take up to 25-40%[x] increased damage based on how much they are Chilled or Staggering. You apply 15% more Chill.
Spiritborn
Sunbird’s Gorget (Unique Amulet):
Affixes
Inherent: +30% Resistance to All Elements
+16-25% Movement Speed
+2-3 Ranks of Potent
+2-3 Ranks of Furnace
+2-3 Ranks of Acceleration
Unique Power
Picking up a Storm Feather forms a firestorm around you for 8 seconds dealing 150-300% Fire damage every 0.5 seconds.
Every 5 additional Storm Feathers you pick up intensifies the firestorm, increasing its damage by 100%[x] but not refreshing its duration. The firestorm is considered to be an Eagle, Jaguar, and Storm Feather Skill.
Rip and Tear Aspect (Offensive Aspect): Rushing Claw deals 10-30%[x] increased damage and is empowered based on how many Charges it has when you Cast it:
1: Heals for 15% of your Maximum Life
2: Guaranteed to Overpower
3: Guaranteed to Critically Strike
4+: Strikes an additional time
PTR Boost
The PTR Boost NPC will not be available March 11–12 of the PTR.
Developer’s Note: In the 2.2.0 PTR, we are testing an updated leveling journey where experience gained from monster kills is reduced until reaching Level 25. Our goal is to smooth out the leveling experience which vastly increased leveling speeds seen in Season of Witchcraft. This result was the culmination of a new seasonal activity, rewards, and powers. We want to strike the sweet spot when it comes to the journey to max level. Hence, this change and additional testing. This change reduces the need to constantly upgrade early game items, increases the relative value of activity and seasonal rewards, and creates a more seamless early game journey. Because this is a change to the early game leveling journey, we’re turning off the Boost NPC for the first 2 days of the PTR to collect data on the new leveling journey and gather feedback about it directly.
Here’s what’s been added to the PTR boost NPC in Kyovashad since Season of Witchcraft:
Belial’s Return Unique Items have been added.
The Paragon boost has increased from Paragon Level 200 to 300.
The Unique Item Cache now always drops items of Ancestral quality.
The Legendary Item Cache now always drops items of Ancestral quality once the player reaches Level 60.
The Seasonal Menu now includes the ability to learn all Boss Powers, gain Hoard Keys for Initiate, Greater, and Exalted Lair Bosses, and gain access to Belial, Lord of Lies’ Lair.
There is also an option at the Boost NPC that offers all the above, and the following features:
Level to Max
There are options to increase yourself to Level 50 and 60.
Complete the Map
This includes the Campaign, Strongholds, Waypoints, and Fog.
Complete your Class Mechanic
Unlock All Torment Tiers
Fully Upgrade Your Potion
Max All Aspects in Codex of Power
Generates Legendary items for various classes and builds
Grant All Unique Items
Grant All Temper Manuals
Grant All Materials and Gold and Obols
Upgraded Potions
Fully unlocked and Maxed Paragon Glyphs
Unlocks Masterworking
Some of the Boost NPC’s options can trigger a partial reset of your character. Keep this in mind when interacting with them.
We hope you enjoy the Season of Witchcraft with the aid of our Season 7 updates. Our focus for the Season 7 is to make sure our Build Guides are always solid with all the new item updates, new features and mechanic changes. And we're continuing to work on more updates for D4Planner! We are now looking towards 2.2 PTR and Season update!
If you haven't already, head over to our Discord to stay up to date with our content development.
