Diablo 3 Testing Out 3 New Class Sets And New Mechanic

Diablo 3 announced that it's going to have a two-week PTR testing period for Patch 2.6.8. The PTR starts on February 6 and is going to test three new class sets. There's also a game-changing Season mechanic that is sure to excite players.

For players who join the PTR, they're going to get two buffs, which are increased Legendary drop rate and double Blood Shard drops. Players can also buy customized gear being tests from the special PTR vendor, D'jank Miem. D'jank Miem is willing to accept Blood Shards in return for class-specific bags full of Legendary items that need your testing.

New Mechanic

Season 20 is going to be the Season of the Forbidden Archives. What this means is that for the entire Season 20, all slots in Kanai's Cube can now select Legendary powers from Weapon, Armor, or Jewelry. Players can choose three Armor powers, three Weapon powers, or three Jewelry powers. They can even select any combination across all categories.

Class Sets

According to the development team, Patch 2.6.8 will add new class sets like those in the previous patch. Each of the three sets have been designed to increase long-requested skills as well as play styles. These are:

• Barbarian
  • New Class Set: Horde of the Ninety Savages
    • 2-Piece Bonus
      • Double the effectiveness of all Shouts.
      • Feared Enemies take double damage.
    • 4-Piece Bonus
      • Each stack of Frenzy reduces damage taken by 5%.
    • 6-Piece Bonus
      • Frenzy deals 1000% increased damage per stack.
• Witch Doctor
  • New Class Set: Mundunugu's Regalia
    • 2-Piece Bonus
      • Big Bad Voodoo now follows players and lasts twice as long.
    • 4-Piece Bonus
      • Gain 50% damage reduction for 30 seconds when players enter the Spirit Realm.
    • 6-Piece Bonus
      • Spirit Barrage deals increased damage equal to 50 times the player's Mana Regeneration per Second.
• Wizard
  • New Class Set: The Typhon's Veil
    • 2-Piece Bonus
      • Double the duration of Hydras and increase the number of heads on multi-headed Hydras by two.
    • 4-Piece Bonus
      • Damage taken is reduced by 8% for each Hydra head alive as long as there is one available.
      • Each time players take damage, a Hydra heads dies.
    • 6-Piece Bonus
      • Hydras deal 1000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.

Tools Improvement

The three classes that received new class sets also have their tools improved. These include:

• Barbarian
  • Undisputed Champion
    • Frenzy gains the effect of every rune and deals 300-400% increased damage.
  • Bastion's Revered
    • Frenzy now stacks up to 10 times and hits an additional time per attack.
    • Each additional hit chains to any enemies within 15 yards and the damage is split between all affected enemies.
• Witch Doctor
  • The Barber
    • Instead of dealing direct damage, Spirit Barrage now accumulates on the target.
    • When players stop casting, it explodes dealing 400-500% of the accumulated damage to all enemies within 15 yards.
  • Gazing Demise
    • Spirit Barrage gains the Phantasm rune.
    • Each active Phantasm lasts twice as long, increases the damage of Spirit Barrage by 100-150%.
    • Also increases the attack rate from Manitou specters.
    • Now always rolls with Critical Hit Chance instead of Life Per Second.
• Wizard
  • Serpent's Sparker
    • Players may have one extra Hydra active at a time and they deal 450-600% increased damage.
  • The Magistrate
    • Your Hydras now periodically casts Frost Nova and deal 450-600% increased damage.
  • Etched Sigil
    • The bonus granted by this item now occurs 1 second after channeling has begun.
  • Deathwish
    • The bonus granted by this item now occurs 1 second after channeling has begun.