Ladder Season 3 starts on February 16 in Diablo 2 Resurrected and here are the official patch notes for the 2.6 update.
(Source)
You’ve returned safely! Join us around the campfire, Adventurer.
The stench of Hell grows in intensity, crazed snarls can be heard from afar, demons birthed straight from your nightmares surge toward you. Meet them axe first on February 16 when Ladder Season Three starts. We have quite a few updates to Diablo II: Resurrected to share—continue on for a more comprehensive look at what is releasing with Ladder Season Three and Patch 2.6.
Quest Log
Quality-of-Life Updates and Bug Fixes
Ladder Season Three
Our first two Ladder Seasons for Diablo II: Resurrected showed just how adept your adventurers were at saving Sanctuary, racing to be the first to cement their names on the Leaderboard. All the while striking fear into the tormented hearts of their demonic adversaries in the process.
Ladder Season Three will begin on February 16, ushering in a new opportunity for brave adventurers to race to level 99 and amass powerful loot along the way. We cannot wait to see how the eight new Rune Words will influence the leaderboard, or hopefully, allow new players the opportunity to see their name on it for the first time.
We’re also introducing changes to the availability of Sundering Charms, existing Rune Words, and new Horadric Cube Recipes with the start of Ladder Season Three. More information about these can be found in the following sections.
Ladder Season Three Launch Timing:
North America
February 16, 5:00 p.m. PST
Europe
February 17, 2:00 a.m. CET
Asia
February 17, 10:00 a.m. KST
As it was with previous seasons, Ladder Season Three will feature four different modes:
Version
Description
Pre-Expansion Ladder
The standard version of Ladder play that encompasses playing only with the original four acts.
Pre-Expansion Hardcore Ladder
The hardcore (only one life) version of Ladder play that encompasses playing only with the original four acts.
Ladder
The standard version of Ladder play that encompasses playing five acts, as it includes the “Lord of Destruction” expansion content.
Hardcore Ladder
The hardcore (only one life) version of Ladder play that encompasses playing five acts, as it includes the “Lord of Destruction” expansion content.
For those new to Ladder Seasons, you might be wondering what happens to your Shared Stash loot once the current season ends.
Once Ladder Season Two ends, all Ladder characters will be transferred to their respective non-ladder group. All items in that character group’s shared stash go into a new Withdraw Only set of Shared Stash tabs, denoted by a check marked Past box. Any items from Ladder Season One stored in the Withdraw Only tabs will be lost at this time. You will have all of Ladder Season Three to withdraw any items you would like to keep from Season Two. When Ladder Season Three ends, this withdraw only set of stash tabs will be overridden with any items in the Ladder Season Three Shared Stash. Be sure to get any items out before then or they will be forever lost!
Eight New Rune Words
Individually they are mighty, but when uttered in unison, a greater force is awoken—this is the mystique of Rune Words. Call upon these archaic forces to transform your ordinary items into a wieldable force of destruction capable of smiting demonic hordes.
We are introducing eight new Rune Words for Ladder and Offline Single-Player play. Our intent with introducing these additional Rune Words to Diablo II: Resurrected is to sprinkle variety into the competitive meta, creating an opportunity for players to forge new strategies as they race to Level 99. The bulk of these Rune Words focus on bolstering resistance bonuses, while the other Rune Words are centered on movement speed, and Assassin and Druid builds.
New Rune Word
Rune Order
Allowed Items
Character Level Required
Final Stats
Bulwark
Shael + lo + Sol
Helm
35
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+4-6% Life stolen per hit
+75-100% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Replenish Life +30
Damage Reduced by 7
Physical Damage Received Reduced by 10-15%
Cure
Shael + lo + Tal
Helm
35
Level 1 Cleansing Aura when Equipped
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+75-100% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Poison Resist +40-60%
Poison Length Reduced by 50% 75%
Ground
Shael + lo + Ort
Helm
35
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+75-100% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Lightning Resist +40-60%
Lightning Absorb +10-15%
Hearth
Shael + lo + Thul
Helm
35
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+75-100% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Cold Resist +40-60%
Cold Absorb +10-15%
Cannot be Frozen
Temper
Shael + lo + Ral
Helm
35
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+75-100% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Fire Resist +40-60%
Fire Absorb +10-15%
Hustle
Shael + Ko + Eld
Any Weapon or Armor item
39
Armor:
+65% +50% Faster Run/Walk
+40% +20% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+6 to Evade
+10 to Dexterity
50% Slower Stamina Drain
+All Resistances +10
Weapon:
5% Chance to cast level 1 9 Burst of Speed on striking
Level 1 Fanaticism Aura
+30% Increased Attack Speed
+180-200% +130-150% Enhanced Damage
+75% Damage to Undead
+50 to Attack Rating against Undead
+10 to Dexterity
Mosaic
Mal + Gul + Amn
Claw
53
+50% +25% chance for finishing moves to not consume charges
When a finisher is executed this way, it now refreshes the expiration timer of the stack
+2 to Martial Arts (Assassin only)
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+200-250% Enhanced Damage
+20% Bonus to Attack Rating
7% Life Steal
+8-15% to Cold Skill Damage
+8-15% to Lightning Skill Damage
+8-15% to Fire Skill Damage
Adds 3-14 Cold Damage
Prevent Monster Heal
Metamorphosis
lo + Cham + Fal
Helm
67
Werewolf strikes grant Mark for 180 seconds
Mark of the Wolf:
+30% +20% Bonus to Attack Rating
Increase Maximum Life 40%
Werebear strikes grant Mark for 180 seconds
Mark of the Bear:
+25% Attack Speed
Physical Damage Received Reduced by 20%
+5 to Shape Shifting Skills (Druid only)
+25% Chance of Crushing Blow (No longer attached to Mark of the Bear)
+50-80% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Vitality
All Resistances +10
Cannot be Frozen
Developer’s Note:
Bulwark, Temper, and Ground: We liked where they were at and opted for no change.
Cure: Given Cure’s more niche use cases, we opted to strengthen it with the Cleansing Aura. Note that the base Poison Duration reduction on the item went down, but the addition of Cleansing Aura results in a net-buff to Poison Duration reduction.
Hearth: To build on the theme of this Rune Word, we gave it a bit more oomph to solidify it as a go-to gear option when struggling with enemies who deal Cold Damage.
Hustle: Most of the feedback we received was around the armor form. The bulk of our focus was to improve that form, but we also saw improvements we could make to the weapon form. For the Armor, we wanted to add more offensive utility and some defensive stats in the form of All Resistances. For the weapon, we wanted to make using it as a primary weapon a more attractive option to increase its viability beyond its pre-buff utility.
Metamorphosis: We moved in the direction of a slight buff to Metamorphosis. We want this Rune Word to really compete for best-in-slot for Shapeshifter Druids.
Mosaic: We went all-in on increasing the strength of the Mosaic Rune Word. We wanted to add extra flexibility by increasing the chance to not consume charges from 25% percent to 50% so you can either wield one to get that 50% chance or dual wield for that 100% chance of not consuming charges. We also added an extra effect to how not consuming charges interacts with charge maintenance.
The Seven Rune Words and handful of Horadric Cube recipes that were added in Ladder Season One can now be used in non-Ladder Online game modes.
Rune Words: Flickering Flame, Mist, Obsession, Pattern, Plague, Unbending Will, and Wisdom.
Horadric Cube Recipes:
1 Ral Rune + 1 Sol Rune + 1 Perfect Emerald + Normal Set Weapon
Exceptional Version of Set Weapon
1 Lum Rune + 1 Pul Rune + 1 Perfect Emerald + Exceptional Set Weapon
Elite Version of Set Weapon
1 Tal Rune + 1 Shael Rune + 1 Perfect Diamond + Normal Set Armor
Exceptional Version of Set Armor
1 Ko Rune + 1 Lem Rune + 1 Perfect Diamond + Exceptional Set Armor
Elite Version of Set Armor
Sundering Charms
Adventurer, keep a keen eye towards the floor as you cut through Hell’s legions—Sundering Charms can now drop from fallen foes in all non-Classic game modes.
Patch 2.6
On February 15 at 10:00 a.m. PST, changes to Terror Zones and a variety of quality-of-life updates and bug fixes will go live.
Terror Zones
To spice things up further, we have made changes to Terror Zones. Also, Terror Zones are now available in offline games! Offline Terror Zones will operate on a different schedule from their online counterpart but function the same otherwise. Remember, you can now receive Sundering Charms as a drop in offline Terror Zone games too.
The red font text below denotes which new zones may be terrorized or zones that will now be terrorized in unison. Here’s a complete list of all the zones that can become terrorized:
Act I
Blood Moor and Den of Evil
Cold Plains and The Cave
Burial Grounds, The Crypt, and the Mausoleum
Stony Field
Dark Wood/Underground Passage
Black Marsh/The Hole
The Forgotten Tower
Jail/Barracks
Cathedral and Catacombs
The Pit
Tristram
Moo Moo Farm
Act II
Sewers
Rocky Waste and Stony Tomb
Dry Hills and Halls of the Dead
Far Oasis
Lost City, Valley of Snakes, and Claw Viper Temple
Ancient Tunnels
Arcane Sanctuary
Tal Rasha’s Tombs
Act III
Spider Forest and Spider Cavern
Great Marsh
Flayer Jungle and Flayer Dungeon
Kurast Bazaar, Ruined Temple, and Disused Fane
Kurast Sewers
Travincal
Durance of Hate
Act IV
Outer Steppes and Plains of Despair
River of Flame/City of the Damned
Chaos Sanctuary
Act V
Bloody Foothills/Frigid Highlands/Abbadon
Glacial Trail/Drifter Cavern
Crystalline Passage and Frozen River
Arreat Plateau/Pit of Acheron
Nihlathak’s Temple, Halls of Anguish, Halls of Pain, and Halls of Vaught
Ancient’s Way and Icy Cellar
Worldstone Keep, Throne of Destruction, and Worldstone Chamber
Developer’s Note: Our adjustments are focused on adding more variety to the available Terror Zones and improving the playability of existing zones. We’ve added some new zones, broadened others, and even removed a zone that was generally unpopular with our players.
Quality-of-Life Updates and Bug Fixes
Gameplay
Auras from another player or a mercenary no longer remove passive bonuses granted by the same skill. Such as Flickering Flame’s Resist Fire aura from a mercenary overwriting a Paladin’s base Resist Fire from their own hard points in Resist Fire.
This also fixes an issue where Paladin’s Blessed Aim Aura would overwrite the Attack Rating increase granted by Amazon’s Penetrate skill.
Assassin
The Assassin’s trap skills now benefit from -% to Enemy Resistance.
Fixed an issue where missiles created from Martial Arts charge up skills would not gain the benefit of +% To Elemental Skill Damage modifiers.
Amazon
Fixed an issue where Strafe was not applying bonus Attack Rating to attacks.
Fixed an issue where Strafe was still doing 75% weapon damage after a previous balance change.
Fixed issue where the +% Attack Rating on Power Strike was not being applied.
Fixed the tooltip for Multi Shot to reflect the synergy bonus.
Sorceress
Cold Mastery is now applied at 1/5 effectiveness after an immunity is broken.
Developer’s Note: We wanted to bring Cold Mastery in line with all other skill-based elemental resistance reducing effects for increased consistency.
Fixed an issue where Fire Mastery’s bonus to fire skill damage didn’t apply to the additional fire damage granted by Enchant on ranged weapons.
Updated the tooltip for Enchant to better reflect the skill’s effects.
Druid
Fixed an underlying issue that caused the Druid’s Shockwave skill to do an unintended amount of damage.
Developer’s Note: We wanted to implement targeted changes and buffs for the Druid instead of having a particular Druid build be strong because of a bug.
Terror Zones
Fixed Terrorized treasure classes for certain super-unique monsters and bosses.
Fixed an issue where an act boss’s quest treasure class would sometimes be used instead of the terrorized treasure class.
Fixed an issue where the current terrorized zone was not properly marked in the Waypoint menu while using Legacy Graphics.
Fixed an issue with translations that appear when The Pit is the current terrorized zone.
Controller
Fixed an issue where skills granted by charges on a character’s alternate slot weapon would have their bound hotkeys unusable when loading into a game.
Fixed an issue where the Loot to Cube skill would not function if bound to the shared interaction button.
General
Fixed an issue where pressing the hotkey to open the inventory while loading into the game could cause the inventory UI to appear empty.
Fixed an issue where the Shared Stash could exceed the memory limit, which caused items in the player’s inventory or Stash to be deleted.
Fixed an issue where the tooltip on the Lobby’s season dropdown would show an inaccurate date.
Fixed an issue where new entries on the leaderboard could display as Unknown.
Fixed an issue where applying changes to controls would automatically close the settings menu.
Fixed an issue where changes to controls would not be immediately applied.
Fixed an issue where swapping between keyboard and mouse input and controller input would reset the difficulty filter in the PC Lobby game list.
Added an appropriate error message when trying to create an online character with a name that is already taken on the player’s online character list.
The Ladder flag in character creation will now be disabled when there is no active Ladder Season.
Fixed an issue with a voice over line from Tyrael in Chinese.
Fixed an issue with the Chinese version of Deckard Cain’s Stay a while and listen voice over dialogue.
Modding
Moved the “% Damage Synergy” field for Multiple Shot (srvdofunc ? from calc4 to calc5.
New columns have been added. Developers of existing offline single-player mods can remake their changes with the new data, or they can add the new columns manually before merging.
skills.txt
“ItemUseRestrict”
skilldesc.txt
“item proc text”
“item proc descline count”
states.txt
“sunder-res-reduce”
Thank you for your continued support. We cannot wait to see you in the great race to Level 99 once Ladder Season Three begins!
-The Diablo II: Resurrected Team
