Blizzard is making some balance changes to the Active and Passive skills for Monks in Diablo 3 Season 28, entitled Rites of Sanctuary. Skill changes, while significant, aren't the only balance changes occurring in the latest season of Diablo 3, as the developers are changing set item pieces and bonuses alongside some legendary items with Season 28.
This article outlines the important balance changes to Set items, including bonuses and Legendary items in Diablo 3 Season 28. These could, for all intents and purposes, be even more significant than tinkering with class skills.
Update on 2 May 2023: We've updated this article with the latest information about Set and Legendary item balance changes for Diablo 3 Season 28.
Set Item & Legendary Balance Changes in Diablo 3 Season 28
The Wizard, Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, and Necromancer get Set item or Legendary item balance changes in Season 28 of Diablo 3. The Demon Hunter sees the most item changes for Diablo 3 Season 28.
The only classes not included here are the Witch Doctor and the Crusader, with their class items being untouched, as per a blog post by Blizzard. Please note that the details with a line through them are how the items and set bonuses used to work, and then the changes for each one are outlined afterward to clear up any confusion.
Barbarian item changes:
- Horde of the Ninety Savages (6-piece bonus):
- Frenzy deals 1,000% increased damage per stack.
- Frenzy deals 2,000% increased damage per stack.
Demon Hunter item changes:
- Chanon Bolter:
- Spike Traps lure enemies to them. Enemies may be taunted once every 12-16 seconds.
- Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them and deal 150-200% increased damage. Enemies may be taunted once every 10 seconds.
- The Demon’s Demise:
- The blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after one second.
- Each blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after 1 second and deals 150-200% increased damage.
- Natalya’s Slayer:
- Increases Rain of Vengeance Damage by 20-25%.
- Increases Spike Trap Damage by 10 -15%.
- Natalya’s Vengeance (2-piece bonus):
- Reduce the cooldown of Rain of Vengeance by 4 seconds when you hit with a Hatred-generating attack or Hatred-spending attack.
- Hitting an enemy summons a Spike Trap if it is on your action bar. Each Spike Trap detonation restores 1 Discipline.
- Natalya’s Vengeance (4-piece bonus):
- Rain of Vengeance deals 100% increased damage.
- Laying a Spike Trap grants 60% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds.
- Natalya’s Vengeance (6-piece bonus):
- After casting Rain of Vengeance, deal 14,000% increased damage and take 60% reduced damage for 10 seconds.
- Spike Traps deal 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive blast from the detonation chain reaction will deal 10% more damage than the previous blast.
- Trag’oul Coils:
- Spike Traps gain the Impaling Spines Rune and are deployed twice as fast.
- Spike Traps gain the Scatter Rune, are deployed twice as fast, and deal 150-200% increased damage.
- Unhallowed Essence (6-piece bonus):
- Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 350% increased damage per point of Discipline the Demon Hunter currently has.
- Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 1700% increased damage per point of discipline the Demon Hunter currently has.
Monk item changes:
- Patterns of Justice (6-piece bonus):
- Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage delt by 15,000%.
- Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage dealt by 20,000.
- Raiment of Thousand Storms (4-piece bonus):
- Dashing Strike spends 75 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does.
- Dashing Strike spends 25 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does.
Necromancer item changes:
- Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (6-piece bonus):
- Bone Spear deals 6,000% increased damage
- Bone Spear deals 9,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus.
Wizard item changes:
- The Typhon’s Veil (6-piece-bonus):
- Hydras deal 2,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.
- Hydras deal 4,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.
So that's all the item balance changes in Diablo 3 Season 28, which are sure to shake up the Solo Greater Rift meta a bit. We will endeavor to update this article if any more balance changes become available since Blizzard has not mentioned the Crusader and Witch Doctor classes at all.
