People, lets not forget that patch 2.1 is not the final patch of diablo 3.

As we reach the end of the PTR I just want to point out a few things because frankly the negativity is baffling me. I don’t know why this sub has turned into a circle jerk of hatred, frankly I avoid the b.net forums because that’s all that place is.

I won’t pretend 2.1 is perfect, it isn’t. There are plenty of things that need changing and more content is always something I’m going to want. Let’s look at this objectively though. Just like 2.0 before it there was/are things that aren’t right and need to change quickly. Crusader was underpowered right when 2.0 came out. It quickly got buffed in small patches after the big one came out. Why was this done? They wanted to collect data of everyone playing not just the select people that play on PTR.

So let’s compare 2.0 (live) to 2.1 just to show it is not all doom and gloom.

2.0: Legendaries have a ton of useless and pointless mods and/or fixed stats. I mean it was impossible to get a decent compass rose not just RNG and the lack of a strong mod but impossible. Quite a large number of legendaries were straight up pointless and instant souls for anyone at any point in the game (2-handers I’m looking at you).

2.1: Almost every completely worthless legendary has had its bad fixed stats either removed or were given a 5th primary affix to make it not a negative (possibly a positive if you want 5 primaries on that slot). edit: This does not mean they are all top tier items, just that they are at least potentially an ok legendary til you find something better. With seasons this is more important because starting over will be something they attempt to make enjoyable.

2.0 Monks (and to a lesser extent wizards) were basically unable to clear T6 solo. Any build besides zDPS was able to clear T4 at highest and that was with super min-maxed gear that was able to abuse one with everything. Wizards were also in the same situation with almost no build really being considered strong in T6 and they were basically forced out of multiplayer games due to being so low in DPS.

2.1: Monks are able to clear T6 with at least 3 different builds (with different elements no less). There are at least 3 builds and several ways to adjust and vary those builds. That is 3x what was possible before and there is a good chance there is other builds out there that can clear T6. I know Grifts have taken over as the endgame run of character strength but seriously this is a massive improvement over live and will probably only get better with some quick patches after the main one comes out.

2.0: Every class had (at best) one build capable of farming T6 in an efficient manner. The only class that sorta escaped this was the crusader and really it was the difference of swapping out different spenders.

2.1: Almost every class has at least 2 builds if not 3-4 builds capable of efficient T6 farming. I am talking different elements and 2-3 different skills at least. Builds are a tricky subject to define in D3 but I view it as having different gameplay which usually means more than just 1 skill or passive changed. This is a massive improvement.

Finally about seasons and Grifts these are being regarded as pointless additions and incomplete among other things. However, the biggest thing these additions bring is a great way for them to change and try new things without it having to appeal to the entire player base. Things the hardcore no lifers would enjoy.

TL:DR
This is not the last patch. They will continue to iterate and improve on Grifts, seasons, and legendary gems. Don’t get bogged down on the details of their first attempt at something if the dev team and blizzard as a whole has shown 30 times over is their first iteration is very plain and sometimes kinda boring. However, they always make it better over time by figuring out what the community wants and adjusting it.

It is slow and sometimes hard to be patient but take a break if need be Diablo 3 will only get better from here.

EDIT:

This is a sample of leaderboards up to greater rift 35 my arbitrary stopping point for measuring.

Current as of 6:48pm central. (4:38 PST)

Monk =

37 x 3

36 x 4

35 x 7

14 people able to clear grift 35 on current PTR build.

Barb =

39 x 1

37 x 2

36 x

35 x 2

10 people able to clear grift 35 or higher (note two barbs have cleared grift 40 on earlier eras).

Crusader =

40 x 1

39 x 1

38 x 1

37 x 6

36 x 5

35 x 9

23 able to clear grift 35

DH =

40 x 2

39 x 4

38 x 13

37 x 13

36 x 39

35 x 62 = 133 able to clear grift 35 and in a previous era (1 was able to clear GR 42 and 3 were able to clear 41.)

WD =

38 x 2

37 x 1

35 x 7

10 able to clear 35 (1 was able to clear 42 in a previous era and 2 able to clear 40.)

Wiz =

39 x 1

37 x 8

36 x 15

35 x 30

top 54 able to clear 35.

To make it clearer that is top 14 monks, 54 Wiz, 10 WD, 133 DH, 10 barb, and 23 crusader able to clear Grift 35. Monks, WD, Barb, and crusader are obviously behind. Now, with sample sizes this small we can't be sure it is due to class disparity or interest from people playing that class or due to random rifts being easier or harder. Blizzard has the same data, I wouldn't know exactly how to buff things based off this data either except that DH is looking way better and Wiz is possibly in a good spot. Monk is probably a little behind, but they just had a ton of gear and skill changes so it's uncertain if their gear is as min-maxed as the other classes that got less changes as well.

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