Diablo 4's latest patch may have broken damage reduction
Players report sudden deaths in Helltides and endgame activities, but the cause remains unclear.
On October 28, a new patch was released for Diablo 4 Season 15. It was not the biggest one, but it did add the long-awaited Splinter stacking and two really cool events:
Meat or Treat with the Butcher
March of the Goblins
However, it seems to also have introduced a new bug...
We personally experienced it as well, and there are multiple reports of a sudden increase in deaths after the latest Season 15 patch.
For some reason, characters are much harder to keep alive even if you did not make any changes to your gear or builds.
We are talking about unexpected deaths in Helltides, Infernal Hordes, and other endgame activities. This would not be the first time it has happened, and last time, it was a bug affecting damage reduction.
However, there is currently no official confirmation that the patch has changed how incoming damage works.
Why Are You Suddenly Dying So Often?
Since yesterday, reports keep coming in. And the question is always the same: why am I suddenly dying so often?
One player even claimed they had previously completed Pit level 150 runs without dying, but were suddenly struggling to survive Helltides.
People are dying to enemies that were not visible on screen yet, or being killed in situations where they could not identify what had dealt the damage. Some also mentioned unexpected deaths during Infernal Hordes, including immediately after a round ended.
It is also not limited to one class, either.
The first suspect seems to be damage reduction (DR) not working correctly.
It is supposed to reduce incoming damage and can make a huge difference to a character's survivability, especially at higher Torment difficulties. So if it suddenly is not being counted anymore... well, you will die way more often.
There are other guesses as well, such as missing stat bonuses or increased lag.
At the moment, these are theories. The official Diablo 4 patch notes for version 3.2.4 do not list anything that could trigger the problem, and Blizzard did not release any information about a bug either.
The update really just increases the maximum stack size for Prime Evil Splinters from one to 99 and includes general stability, visual, and UI improvements. And the two new events should also not necessarily make you more squishy.
What Should You Do if Your Character Feels Weaker?
If you are suddenly dying every 5 minutes but you did not change anything to your build since the patch from October 28, there is a small "workaround".
It might not work for everyone, but it seems to do the trick for a few people.
But basically, go check your equipment and character stats and see if they look different than before, especially your Toughness and Damage Reduction. If it seems surprisingly low, unequip and re-equip all your gear.
It seems like in some cases item bonuses do not appear to apply correctly, and when you remove everything and put it back on, it triggers the bonuses again normally. Then check if your stats look better or not afterwards.
Again, it might not work, but it is worth a try.
And also take the reports with a grain of salt. The timing is suspicious, but we do not yet know if the October 28 patch really caused the deaths players are reporting. Might just be nothing...
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