Diablo 4 Season 1 patch nerfs Vulnerable to make it less of a "hard requirement" for builds

Diablo 4 primeval demon
(Image credit: Blizzard)

The Diablo 4 1.1.0 patch notes are finally live, and one of the biggest global changes is tucked away in a developer's note acknowledging that Vulnerable is so good that it feels mandatory.

Mosey on down to the item affixes portion of the big Diablo 4 Season 1 patch and you'll see that Blizzard reckons "many Affixes are too efficient and are outshining alternatives," which is putting it mildly. With the first seasonal patch, Blizzard's trying to hammer down the outliers and bring up ignored build options, and Vulnerable, which is widely regarded as a must-have for nearly all top-tier builds, is a lynchpin here. 

"We're seeing Critical Strike Damage and Vulnerable Damage often viewed as a hard requirement for a build's success in Diablo 4," Blizzard agrees. "We believe this is a step towards allowing more builds to flourish and will continue to make changes in support of this goal."

To that end, today's patch notes have made the following changes to affixes:

  • Critical Strike Damage: Reduced by ~17%
  • Lightning Critical Strike Damage: Reduced by ~17%
  • Critical Strike Damage with Bone, Earth, Imbued, and Werewolf Skills: Reduced by ~17%
  • Vulnerable Damage: Reduced by ~40%
  • Critical Strike Damage (Inherent on Swords): Reduced by ~50%
  • Vulnerable Damage (Inherent on Crossbows): Reduced by ~65%

Other Diablo 4 affix nerfs include core stat bonuses on weapons, cooldown reduction, and damage to crowd controlled enemies. Overall, Blizzard says it's also deliberately "shifting power to many offensive Affixes from defensive Affixes" to make it more difficult to fight monsters above your level. Blizzard says it "wants to support" punching above your level, "but the current situation is beyond what we believe is correct for the long-term health of the game."

Fortunately, these many nerfs are offset by a raft of Affix buffs benefiting things like:

  • Raw damage (physical, fire, etc.) and damage over time
  • Damage with specific weapons
  • Skill damage types (Companion, Werewolf, Cutthroat, etc.)
  • Attack Speed and damage after dodging an attack 

It wasn't in the patch notes, but it looks like a new Diablo 4 uber boss is on the way.  

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Read more
Diablo 4
Diablo 4 boss would push for patches to have more fun stuff to balance out unpopular but necessary nerfs: "Lots of medicine, don't see much sugar"
Diablo 4 season 8 boss
Diablo 4 season 8 is revamping the boss ladder system with new mechanics and bosses, including one of the best from Diablo 3
Diablo 4 season 7 screenshot
Blizzard disables Diablo 4 season 7 Witchcraft power that was being used to deal "very egregious numbers" and plans to bring it back "next week"
Diablo 4's new merc using his shield to help someone
Diablo 4 Season 7 faces new competition: the original Diablo, which is coming to Xbox Game Pass just a week earlier
Diablo 4 season 7 screenshot
Diablo 4 season 7 all but revives the Diablo 3 class I've been wanting Blizzard to officially add since launch
A screenshot of Human Torch in his Marvel Rivals reveal trailer
New Marvel Rivals balance patch only tweaks "a handful of heroes" to maintain the "rich diversity" of the shooter's current strategies, but it also includes a much-needed buff for Human Torch
Latest in Action Rpg
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot showing a chatacabra battling a hunter
Monster Hunter Wilds' new event quest is the best one yet: bully a Chatacabra for "a pile of Hard and Advanced Armor Spheres"
Zenless Zone Zero screenshot of Soldier 11 eating crackers
Actors supporting AI protections didn't know they were being replaced in Zenless Zone Zero update 1.6: "I found out the role was recast today alongside all of you"
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most"
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds players are tricking the action RPG into thinking they completed hunt quests in mere seconds using the power of poison ammo
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"