Over the weekend we announced the details of our upcoming Breach Challenge League and 2.5.0 Content Update. As a result of this and the recent 2.4.2 Content Update we've noticed some recurring community questions that we want to address.

With the new chat UI, server messages are sticking around too long. What is the plan?

There are some chat UI improvements in tomorrow's 2.4.3b patch. We're not intending for server messages to remain visible for more than five minutes unless they're very important server announcements.

I've had some issues since the 2.4.2 Content Update, what are you doing about this?

We have some fixes in tomorrow's 2.4.3b patch and many more coming in the following days. We are actively monitoring all reports of crashes and other bugs associated with the performance update in Content Update 2.4.2. We are working to find solutions for these as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please report any bugs you encounter in the Bug Reports section of the forum.

In 2.4.2 the following was changed: "Warbands members now drop their signature items already identified." Is it possible to incorporate these mods into an item filter?

With a filter using 'Identified true', Normal rarity items are not shown and Identified Magic, Rare and Unique items are shown. Unidentified Magic, Rare or Unique items are not shown. Items that don't have a rarity are not shown

With 'Identified false' set, the opposite of the above occurs.

How do you feel about the balance of Blight, Blade Flurry and Scorching Ray?

We're going to review these skills over the next two weeks, and adjust them accordingly. Some improvements may take longer to implement, so we may see further changes again at the end of the league.

Do the cast times on the channeled skills indicate how long it takes to reach a new stage? If so, do Blight layers accumulate faster than Scorching Ray?

That's right, yes.

Why does Scorching Ray specify that it cannot go above -24%, when that's the maximum possible from 8 stages?

This is so that if you have multiple players or totems using Scorching Ray, it can't exceed -24%. Each Scorching Ray debuff on an enemy can have 8 stages. An entity can be affected by multiple Scorching Ray debuffs at a time (from different beams). They’ll all apply their damage over time based on their individual stages, but the total Fire Resistance penalty from all of the debuffs on a particular enemy cannot exceed -24%.

Would you be able to tell us how Blade Flurry works while dual wielding? Does each "hit" alternate weapons, use only the main hand, or hit with both weapons?

The skill alternates between the main hand and the offhand for each hit.

Is there a visual indicator for being at max stages/layers on a target for Scorching Ray or Blight?

With Scorching Ray, it has a more intense visual burning effect on the target with visible black smoke. Blight doesn't, because it's not common to reach the maximum number of layers and you'll need to keep casting to maintain it.

The Blade Flurry gem description does not indicate that it can't be used with Multistrike? How's that going to work?

Just like how channeled spells can't work with Spell Echo, Blade Flurry and other future channeled attacks can't work with Multistrike. Channelled skills inherently cannot be repeated.

Unlike regular skills which take a defined amount of time, a single cast/attack of a channelled skill takes as long as you hold the mouse/key down for.

Repeating would mean they’d then need to start again after that, and there’s no reasonable way to say how long the repeat should be channelled for, since by definition you’re no longer holding down the mouse/key.

What other microtransactions will be affected by the new physics system in future?

We are currently just in the beginning of experimenting with physics, so there is no specific plans for what will be upgraded. We are taking a safe approach where we will only "backport" physics when we know it is safe and problem-free.

Will it ever be possible to use cloaks with other back attachments?

The short answer here is that this is unlikely given that the current back attachments were made before we knew we would be able to get physics and cloaks to work. We would like to solve this but would need to spend a lot of effort changing how things work at a more fundamental level. This effort may be better spent improving other things.

Are there balance changes coming with 2.5.0? Can you give us some clues as to what will be addressed?

We can't reveal the details of many of these changes just yet but we're making small tweaks to a few systems, like melee weapon range and Essences. We'll be announcing them over the next two weeks leading up to the release of Content Update 2.5.0.

Will Breaches open when you click on them or when you run near them?

When you run close enough to them, they'll begin to open.

On the Breach announcement page you showcased a unique with a new mod, "Cover Enemies in Ash when they hit you". What does this mean?

This causes enemies to take increased Fire Damage and have less movement speed. Specifically:
20% less Movement Speed
20% increased Fire Damage Taken

Will there be any major passive tree changes for the next league?

We don't have any major changes planned for the passive tree in 2.5.0, but it's very likely that we will for the 3.0.0 expansion that comes after it.

The Lioneye's Watch Podcast

Senior Game Designer, Rory, was a guest on The Lioneye's Watch podcast earlier today. If you'd like some more insight into what's coming up in development, we recommend checking out the discussion!