From September 4th to 11th, the next Public Test Realm (PTR) of Diablo IV goes live!
This PTR will include massive updates to the core-level character progression system for the entire game, similar to the extensive loot updates in Season 4.
These include updates to the Paragon system, new difficulty levels, new class skills and passive skills, the introduction of runewords, and a group finder tool.
In the last campfire chat, Adam Fletcher, Associate Director of Community, Colin Finer, Lead Live Game Designer, Aislyn Hall, Systems Designer and Charles Dunn and Jeevun Sidhu, Game Designer, gave a taste of what you can expect on the test realm. You can watch the campfire chat here watch on demand.
System changes and level adjustments
New system changes are being introduced on the PTR that will allow characters to reach the endgame faster.
This will help more players enjoy the new endgame features of Vessel of Hate
The Paragon and character levels are now split, with levels 1-60 representing character levels. This means you can earn an additional 10 skill points, opening up further possibilities for character customization.
Starting at level 60, players can earn Paragon Levels, which can be used to unlock Paragon Nodes. For characters above level 50, all experience-based Paragon Points are converted to Paragon Levels.
The way Paragon Points work has also been adjusted. Earned Paragon Points are now tied to realm level rather than character level, meaning that all earned Paragon levels are distributed across all characters on the same realm.
To support this change, a number of changes have been made to level travel, other stats, and monster levels, including numbers and stats that are easier to understand.
New difficulty system
World Tiers have been converted to Difficulty Tiers, a new way to manage challenges and rewards.
The first 4 difficulty levels – known as Standard Difficulty – are Normal, Hard, Expert, and Remorseful. The purpose of the Standard Difficulty levels is to help you shape your character as you attempt to reach the new maximum of level 60.
The higher the difficulty level, the more gold and experience you get.
New class abilities and passive skills
The combat experts in Sanctuary have developed new techniques to defeat the darkness, and each class is given a new skill that you must now learn. Each of these skills reveals a new direction in which your class build can go.
Each class also receives 5 new passive skills that you can use to refine your character into the ultimate agent of destruction.
Additionally, additional connections have been added for some passive skills in each class’s skill tree. This means there are more ways to unlock these passive skills, allowing for more flexibility when leveling up.
Runewords: A new source of power
Runewords allow you to take your character’s power to the next level by creating your own skills. There are two types of runes you can find in Sanctuary: Runes of Ritual and Runes of Invocation.
Runes of Ritual specify actions you must perform to trigger them, and Runes of Invocation grant you a powerful effect when you fulfill the trigger.
During the PTR, runes of any rarity can be purchased as monster drops in Sanctuary and will be available starting September 6th.
“We can’t wait to see the amazing runeword combinations you come up with during the PTR! Outside of PTR 2.0, runewords are a feature you can only access if you own the Vessel of Hatred expansion.”
Bravely on the move with the group finder
The Party Finder is a new feature that helps you find the right allies by allowing you to find Wanderers with similar personalities in Sanctuary.
You can use the Group Finder to create or find a group for various activities in Sanctuary, including the Nightmare Dungeons, Dark Citadel, and endgame bosses. The Group Finder can be accessed from the map, the in-game menu, or by performing a predefined action on the Emote Wheel.
For more details about the PTR and how to access it, see the current The Blog.