Update: Hotfix is live addressing the lower Cinder drop rate issue.
The big patch for Diablo 4 Season 1 landed yesterday, and it’s a divisive one. One change that wasn’t included in the patch notes was a dip in the drop rate for Helltide Cinders. It turns out that change was unintentional and is a bug. Blizzard’s Rod Fergusson (the GM of Diablo) jumped on Twitter and said it was a bug. It’ll be fixed when the next hotfix hits live servers.
This bug and the increase in Cinders needed to unlock Mystery Chests (now 250 from 175) added to the community’s grumbling over everything in the patch. I’m with them. Even the change to the Mystery Chests feels like the developers don’t want us to have fun. Or, at the very least, they are slowing us down.
After playing a round of Helltide last night, the most significant change to the Cinder drop rate centers around Events and random groups of enemies. You’ll still get a bunch for killing certain enemies, Fiend Roses, and certain environmental objects that glow red. But random packs of enemies drop way less. Same with events. You’re lucky if you manage to get 10 out of one event.
Before yesterday’s big patch, it was easy to hit up two Mystery Chests, sometimes four if they reset in the middle of Helltide. Last night, I hit one but didn’t have enough time to open a second. The good news is it will be fixed in the next hotfix. These aren’t typical patches, so we can expect this fix anytime now.
What about other changes? So far, Blizzard isn’t saying much about the community’s reaction to the Season 1 patch. Adam Fletcher, the Global Community Development Director for Diablo, says the team will host a Campfire Chat on Friday to discuss this patch and its feedback.
Many changes have left us scratching our heads, but we’ll see what they say on Friday. I’m curious if Blizzard will be willing to revert any changes.