Diablo III Addresses Balancing in Upcoming 1.0.3 Patch

[Shawn Zipay]

Next week, Blizzard will release the 1.0.2 patch for Diablo III. This patch is mainly going to tackle "service issues" that the game has been having since its launch. However, the following patch (1.0.3) will be the real bread and butter for fans. This is the patch that will address a number of balancing issues in the game.

Blizzard states that it isn't a simple solution with regards to what people perceive to be as underpowered Legendary items. While they maintain that Legendaries weren't meant to be the best items in the game but rather an alternative to other gear, they will take a look to see if changes must be made. One change they will make are allowing players to take a look at the item levels so that comparisons between similarly leveled items can be made properly.

Possibly coming in the 1.1 (PvP) patch, Blizzard said they are looking to "straight-out buff Legendary items". These buffs will not be retroactive to Legendary items already out there.

Blizzard is also looking to change how Blacksmithing and gem crafting works. They are looking to reduce the cost of upgrading both as you level up. This includes both gold cost reduction and a reduction in cost of the number of additional materials (pages of blacksmithing/jewelcrafting) are needed to craft items and upgrade.

(via)

[Iwantcable]

Re: Diablo III Addresses Balancing in Upcoming 1.0.3 Patch

Glad I stopped upgrading the smith. I'm not actually to Inferno yet (I skip around between my characters a lot), but I'm glad to see they're actively balancing end game.

Also, "These buffs will not be retroactive, and so they’ll only apply to new Legendary items found after the patch."

[Scinto]

Most people don't bother upgrading the smithy as you can buy what you need off the AH cheaper usually. That and its random enchants so you have to craft something multiple times to get the enchants you want which is so annoying.