Diablo 4 Season 12 is Making Some Big Paladin Changes

Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 4 Season 12 is making some big changes to the Paladin, which is currently the most overpowered class in the game. These changes will first be tested in the Season 12 2.6.0 PTR for Diablo 4, before going live in the main game pending further player feedback.

The classes in Diablo 4 can be very tricky to balance. Ultimately, the game is at its best when it feels like a power trip, allowing players to destroy hordes of enemies in seconds. Yet it also needs to be a challenge for players. If it’s too easy, gamers will lose interest quickly. Whenever Blizzard releases a new class in the game, it’s standard for it to be very overpowered for a short period of time after. It happened with the Spiritborn in the Vessel of Hatred expansion, and the Paladin has been the most overpowered Diablo 4 class following its Season 11 release. Blizzard is good about making the required balance changes fairly quickly, but not so swiftly that players can’t enjoy a period of overpowered chaos with these classes.

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Diablo 4’s Paladin Changes For Season 12

In the patch notes for Diablo 4‘s 2.6.0 PTR, Blizzard confirmed that the Paladin will receive some changes for the upcoming season. Given the power of Diablo 4‘s Paladin, it would be easy to expect widespread nerfs for Season 12. However, that isn’t the case for the most part. In fact, there are a few Paladin damage sources in the 2.6.0 patch notes that have even been given some buffs.

• Heaven’s Fury: Triplicate base damage increased from 36% to 56%.
• Path of the Penitent: Damage increased from 10% to 12% per stack.
• Sunbrand: Damage increased from 30-50% to 60-100%.

These adjustments provide intended damage buffs to the Paladin, but it’s not all good news. One of the main reasons the Paladin is so overpowered right now is that some of its mechanics don’t work correctly, allowing players to exploit these issues to deal unintended damage. Season 12 will fix these issues, resulting in what is, in practice, a nerf. For example, Judgement damage was stacking far more than Blizzard intended, and this is resolved in time for the 2.6.0 PTR. Friendly NPCs inside the Holy Light Aura were also dealing far more damage than intended, so this has been adjusted. Another major change comes in how the Pronouncement of Heaven enhancement for the Spear of Heavens works. Previously, this skill summoned one spear that dealt passive damage, whereas now, it spawns three spears that deal damage over 12 seconds. These spears can be marked with Judgement, which makes the Pronouncement of Heaven enhancement less focused on passive damage.

Blizzard recently lifted the lid on Diablo 4‘s 2.6.0 PTR, also confirming that Season 12 will focus on the Killstreaks system from Diablo 3. The PTR will run between February 3 and 10, giving players a chance to check out the changes made for Season 12 ahead of time. It’s worth noting that Blizzard will also be making changes at the start of Season 12 based on the PTR feedback, so it’s possible that the aforementioned Paladin adjustments are altered even further between now and then.

Image via Blizzard

Blizzard is gearing up for yet another massive year for Diablo 4. After not releasing an expansion in 2025, the Lord of Hatred DLC drops in April, bringing the largest content drop for the game in a long time. As well as the Paladin, Lord of Hatred will also add yet another new class, which remains unknown at this time. Beyond this, Blizzard is hosting a Diablo showcase on February 11, hinting at a look at what the future holds for the broader franchise in celebration of its upcoming 30th anniversary. The showcase should offer more information beyond what’s to come in Diablo 4 Season 12 and Lord of Hatred.

Released

June 5, 2023

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact