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    Similar to all previous weeks, tomorrow will bring with it maintenance time and a few patch notes. There’s nothing big here as the turn-around is quite fast since the semi-major fixes came last week. Patch 1.0.4 is promised to have more class balancing, so until then we’re likely to see small tweaks and fixes.

    We will be performing scheduled maintenance for Diablo III starting tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. PDT in order to deploy patch 1.0.3a. We anticipate that maintenance will conclude and that all services will be available by approximately 7:00 a.m. PDT. Patch notes are available below.

    The latest client patch notes can be found here.
    Visit our Bug Report forum for a list of known issues.
    The most recent hotfixes can be found here.

    Classes

    • Witch Doctor
      • Bug Fixes
        • Zombie Charger
          • Skill Rune – Zombie Bears
          • Fixed a bug where Zombie Bears were unable to attack targets on slopes
          • Zombie Bears should no longer become stuck on objects with which they shouldn’t have collision

    Items
    General

    • Equipped items will now take “wear-and-tear” durability damage at half the previous rate
    • Please note that durability loss as the result of normal combat is different from the 10% durability loss characters will incur when they die. Equipped items have always suffered durability loss while fighting, and we are simply slowing the rate at which the loss occurs.

    Bug Fixes

    • Fixed a bug that was causing Unique monsters to not drop the appropriate amount of loot when slain
    • Fixed a bug with linking items with 3 gem sockets
    • It is no longer possible to create fake achievement links

    Bug Fixes
    General

    • Fixed a bug that was causing the “Switch Hero” button to occasionally disappear after leaving a game while in town
    • Fixed several gold and leveling exploits
    • Fixed several game and service crashes (for Mac and PC)


    Related blue posts past the fold.

    Drop rate changes won’t be making this patch, and both Lylirra and Bashiok have sited the quick turn-around as for these updates as the source. After admitting that drop rates were reduced in later acts to compensate for the new bands that came with 1.0.3, many began to question the change. We’re more likely to see the adjustment in 1.0.3b.

    Patches have a longer development and testing process than I believe many expect them to. For instance, 1.0.3a was already in development before 1.0.3 was released, and some ‘room’ on it (which really means time for development, implementation, testing and localization) was left for any extreme bug fixes should they crop up very shortly after 1.0.3’s release. It’s more efficient to not wait for a patch to launch before starting work on the next one. Changing item drop rates was something that took some time to discuss and decide how we were going to address it, and thus it wasn’t something we could make in time for tomorrow’s patch.

    We know drop rates are one of the main changes you guys are looking for, and we’re working to get it into the game as soon as possible. It doesn’t mean we chose the changes for 1.0.3a over drop rate changes, it’s just a matter of timing and them lining up with the next release.

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