Diablo 4 'Season of the Malignant' is here - and already reverts an unpopular patch v1.1 change

The first season of Diablo 4 is now live, and Blizzard has already removed one of the less well-received changes made in its unpopular preseason patch (v1.1.0).

Sadly, this doesn't involve letting up on the nerfs made to the sorcerer class, which have been the most complained about element of patch 1.1.

However, as Wccftech spotted, with the release of Season of the Malignant, Blizzard has performed a U-turn on a change whereby level requirements were implemented for tackling Capstone Dungeons to level up to World Tier III or IV.

Patch 1.1 had made it necessary to be levels 40 and 60 for those tiers respectively, but now that demand has been removed, so you reach those tiers regardless of your level (just as before).

The change had prompted accusations of Blizzard unfairly slowing down character progression. That said, others point out that it was always the intention to have a level requirement - and indeed this was the case at launch, it just wasn't actually enforced.

Another change made with the new v1.1.0b patch alongside the launch of the season is that Blizzard tells us that Malignant Hearts will always give armor that directly maps with their item power.

Time will tell if Blizzard starts to relent on some of the balance changes in v1.1 which as mentioned have been highly criticized in some quarters.

As for the launch of Season of the Malignant itself, it has already been dubbed 'season of the stuck in loading screen'.

High player volumes all trying to login for the new season made slowdowns inevitable really, but the reported extent of some of the lengthy waits some players are experiencing are pretty ridiculous, it has to be said.

There are also complaints from players running up against invisible barriers in the game, and being unable to progress beyond a certain point in the new questline for Season of the Malignant, which is far from an ideal start.

Mind you, we'd expect that these initial teething troubles will be short-lived. Meanwhile, Diablo 4 is making Blizzard an absolute ton of cash, as you might imagine - and even revitalizing some other Diablo titles.

For those with several bees in their bonnet on the balance changes with v1.1, Blizzard is holding a Season of the Malignant campfire chat later today at 11am PDT where the feedback on the patch will be discussed (it'll be livestreamed on Twitch and YouTube).

That should be an interesting watch indeed, and for those who miss it, the stream will be available on-demand for viewing at the weekend (bring your own popcorn).