We’re just one day away now from the release of Diablo 4’s next patch. This is the Season 6 mid-season update, so much of its focus is, as usual, on balance tweaks. Blizzard talked a lot about the higher-level changes we can expect in last week’s livestream, and the developer has now published the full change log.
While balance updates aren’t usually the most exciting, especially since the Spiritborn won’t be nerfed this season, the mid-season patch does actually bring a few bug fixes, alongside some quality of life tweaks worth getting excited about.
Patch 2.0.5 arrives November 19 on all platforms, which is great timing because that’s when most of the Diablo 4’s end-of-year events will also kick off. Tomorrow happens to be when the Red-Cloaked Horror event returns to the game, alongside a trial for the Spiritborn for players who do not yet own Vessel of Hatred.
All players will also benefit from a welcome back campaign that offers a free character boost to any one of your existing characters, or two if you own the expansion. Even Mother’s Blessing starts tomorrow, boosting XP and Gold earn for all players. In short, you’re probably going to want to log in on November 19.
As for the patch itself, here are a couple of changes that caught my eye. First, the Spiritborn’s Soar ability now works better when using a controller, as it will now land at the targeted enemies. Previously – and inexplicably – it always landed at max distance.
One of the biggest features of the season is the Party Finder, and though it’s not perfect, Blizzard at least continues to update it with every new patch. The mid-season update makes a bunch of bug fixes to text and usability, but also tweaks the UI to make the feature more visible, as it remains somewhat hidden.
Look for new tooltips and icons all over the UI for the Party Finder, which hopefully means more players will be encouraged to use it. Speaking of which, the Echo of Hatred boss fight is now an activity you can list/find in the Party Finder, where previously you couldn’t, making for some awkward situations where players would leave when they find out.
Elsewhere in Diablo 4 world, we have a date with another Campfire Chat this Thursday, November 21. In this one, Blizzard will reveal the details of the game’s next PTR (patch 2.1), which we expect to open soon. The PTR will act as a preview of what’s to come in Season 7, which arrives in late January.