Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred's upcoming update aims to introduce substantial enhancements to its new endgame and seasonal activities. Key changes are expected for Realmwalkers and the introduction of the Kurast Undercity endgame activity. Following its release on October 8, the first expansion for Blizzard's ARPG, along with its sixth season, is now in full effect. An update slated for October 17 will address numerous bugs, introduce quality-of-life improvements, and enhance reward structures, roughly a week after the game's launch.
According to the patch notes, one of the activities set for improvement is the seasonal Realmwalkers. Currently, these entities move slowly and spawn enemies at a leisurely pace. Once a sufficient number of enemies are defeated, the Realmwalker can be slain, opening a portal to the 'Seething Realm' where players can earn additional rewards. With update 2.0.3, Realmwalkers will receive a significant speed boost and spawn enemies more rapidly. There will also be a chance for them to summon a Treasure Goblin, and Blizzard has implemented various other changes to expedite the event's progression. This acceleration should allow players to reach the Seething Realm, the core of the event, more swiftly than before.
The Kurast Undercity will also become more rewarding. Blizzard states that successful runs will yield more items, including at least one guaranteed Legendary item. The amount of gold dropped in the dungeon will be doubled. Enemies within the Kurast Undercity will have their health and affixes adjusted to align more closely with those in other dungeons. Additionally, the mode's timer and the bonus time earned from defeating elite enemies will be increased.
Other changes in update 2.0.3 include a bug fix potentially impacting one of the game's popular Spiritborn builds. The 'Evade' build for the Spiritborn class allows players to continuously dodge-roll using the Evade button, unleashing a barrage of feathers that overwhelm enemies. A bug allowed players to cancel the evade animation mid-Evade, making the build faster than intended. This bug will be fixed in the next update, which may slightly slow down the Evade build but it will likely remain highly effective.
Additional updates include buffs to several Mythic Uniques, a fix for players who did not receive their Resplendent Spark for defeating the Echo of Lilith, the reintroduction of several items disabled at the expansion's launch, and a mount trophy for reaching Paragon 300. Tooltips for Masterworking, Runewords, and various crafting materials will also be updated for better readability.
In GameSpot's review of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, writer Alessandro Barbosa noted that the expansion serves as 'a great reentry point for lapsed Diablo 4 players,' revitalizing the game and making it feel fresh once more.
