Diablo 4: Patch 1.03 – All The Biggest Changes

Patch 1.03 for Diablo 4 marks major positive changes to the world of Sanctuary. While the community have criticized developer Blizzard for changes in the past — including nerfs and severely de-populating standard dungeons to curb XP farming — Patch 1.03 brings a lot of welcome additions to our favorite new action RPG. Before the big first Season of content, you’ll want a rundown of all the biggest, most important changes in Patch 1.03. These changes might just change the way you play.

For more information on what changes Patch 1.03 brings, check out the official rundown here. The patch is now available on all platforms — PC, Xbox, and Playstation. This also includes a series of big bug fixes. We’re not going to go into the bug fixes, but they’re always welcome when it comes to patches. This is all about the buffs, and this patch buffs one activity, making it far, far more important for endgame players.

More Diablo 4 guides:

All Guides & Walkthroughs | Class Overview | Necromancer Shadowblight Minions Build | Barbarian Unconstrained Berserk Build | Golem Summoning | Accessibility Options To Change First | Potion Upgrades & Increase Max Capacity | Unlocking Horses | Silent Chests & Whispering Keys | Secret of the Spring Quest Solution | Early Game Loot Farm

Patch 1.03 | Changes You Need To Know

Patch 1.03 for Diablo 4 makes significant changes to how you’ll earn EXP in the endgame. Multiple Lvl. 50+ activities now drop more EXP, giving you a reason to do them beyond hunting for rare Legendary drops or Uniques. While there have been few changes to drop rates, there are now more avenues for leveling up and working your way to Level 100.

That’s especially important, as Seasons require you to make new characters on new seasonal servers. Until then, here are the most important changes we found while exploring the patch notes.

• Biggest Changes in Patch 1.03
• Nightmare Dungeons: EXP rewards are significantly increased for completing a dungeon. Enemies will also reward significantly more EXP for defeating them in a Nightmare Dungeon. ‘Hold Out‘ events will now properly reward EXP when completed. Enemy density in Nightmare Dungeons will also be increased as early as the start of Season 1.
• Nightmare Sigils: After acquiring a Sigil, you can now directly teleport to the corresponding Nightmare Dungeon. No need to teleport and sprint around the map. Reaching Nightmare Dungeons is now much more efficient.
• Helltides: EXP bonuses are significantly increased when opening chests. Roaming Helltide World Bosses also drop improved rarity gear — previously their loot pool was pretty weak.
• Tree of Whispers: EXP bonuses are also significantly increased for completing any Tree of Whisper quests. These quests are available after completing the main story and randomly change daily.
• Buffs to almost every Class’s Core Abilities. All 5 Classes have been buffed in a variety of ways, especially their most basic attack powers.

Basically, there’s now a good reason to hunt Helltides, Tree of Whispers and Nightmare Dungeons. Previously, Helltides and Tree of Whispers was great for unlocking targeted loot but wasn’t great for EXP farming. Earning levels can be a slog in Sanctuary post Level 50, so players were used standard dungeons with high enemy density to rapidly farm for experience points. That’s no longer required. Nightmare Dungeons drop more EXP completely. Regular enemies in Nightmare Dungeons drop more EXP when defeated, and completing the dungeons also gives you more EXP. Nightmare Dungeons are also more efficient to farm because you can instantly teleport to any available NM location.

There’s more reason now than ever to complete Nightmare Dungeons. The patch also boosts your basic abilities for all five classes. Incredibly useful for PVE — and great news for players working their way up to Level 100. Eventually!