Diablo 4 Season 9's nerf galore means PTR has a lot of self-reflection to do

Diablo 4 Season 9 is on the way, and the PTR was hit with a ton of nerfs, according to datamining. Basically, every build, whether it’s an S-tier god build or an F-tier worthless build, has been nerfed. I can understand why players immediately held up red flags and started to panic, but I think it’s perhaps too early to try and abandon ship. Yes, it looks bad for pretty much every class, but there are also quite a few buffs, too.

Several Core Skills got buffed for a few classes, which I think is a good thing. For such a long time, most Core Skills haven’t felt like they mattered at all. Conversely, simply buffing the damage of those skills doesn’t address the whole issue. I’m hopeful for Diablo 4 Season 9 beyond the nerfs, but let's talk about it.

Diablo 4 Season 9’s PTR nerfs could spell disaster for the game, but it’s too early to tell

Whether it’s Uniques, Affixes, or Overpower, Diablo 4 Season 9 is seeing a mountain of nerfs across the currently running PTR. The immediate, knee-jerk reaction for many players is to be worried, and to talk about playing other games instead. I certainly understand, though. Loot Reborn feels like the last truly great season.

There are so many multipliers in this game for damage, it's no wonder it gets out of control (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

It allowed players to go with a variety of incredibly powerful builds, there was great gear everywhere, and it was just fun. It feels like there are two philosophies clashing right now, in the world of Sanctuary:

We want the game to be fun for everyone.
We don’t want players dealing quintillions of damage.

I’m fine with some of the damage coming down in Diablo 4 Season 9, because billions and quintillions of damage is probably unnecessary. However, that comes with a qualifier: Enemy HP needs to come down, too. If Blizzard is nerfing everything, all in a hope of making Torment IV “matter more”, this is not the way.

On the other hand, I do think the community is getting up in arms a bit prematurely. It’s not uncommon for Blizzard to over-nerf on the PTR. That way, they get plenty of feedback, which is actually what the PTR is for — and they can make proper adjustments ahead of time. After all, Season 9 doesn’t start until July.

Simply buffing the damage of Basic/Core Skills isn’t going to do enough. They need to make Flat Damage/Additive Damage feel like it matters. Right now, Diablo 4 is built entirely around Multiplicative Damage. For those unaware, when you see a skill that has an [x] in it, that’s Multiplicative.

I can understand why players are upset, though. Blizzard has an unfortunate track record when it comes to Diablo 4’s changes. When a stat squish was promised, all we got instead was somehow more damage, bigger numbers than ever before. Putting damage caps on things is probably not the answer.

I'm not even that overpowered. There are so many better builds than Minion Necro - but I can dish it out too (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

I hope that the feedback will be good for Season 9, and Diablo 4 will allow a variety of builds to flourish, instead of just one or two. That’s the thing that bothers me about the game — if you aren’t running a specific build or builds for each class, then you don’t matter, and can’t clear content at higher difficulties.

However, if I may offer a suggestion, look back at Diablo 3! The balance adjustments there made more sense. Sure, most top-tier builds did silly damage, but it was fun. And, underperforming builds had a greater chance of being buffed, instead of nerfing what’s fun.

That’s what players want in Diablo 4 Season 9: For the game to be fun. Nerfing something because it’s top tier just makes people feel frustrated, disappointed. When that’s what people see on PTR, of course, they’re going to feel a bit worried, but let’s let it play out instead.

The point of a PTR isn’t for players to get a head start and find out what’s overpowered for the next season. It’s so the developers can get feedback on what feels good, what doesn’t, and what’s broken. I’m hopeful that these PTR nerfs, which admittedly were datamined, wind up leading to a fun Season 9.

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About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

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Edited by Jason Parker