The release of Diablo 4 update 2.4.1 provides some much-needed fixes to several pieces of Season 10 content. In the recently released patch notes, Diablo 4 is confirmed to be solving the problem with the Druid’s Aspect of Wildrage stacking Poison Creeper’s damage infinitely and reworking A Beast Cornered so that players using the Chaos Perk don’t immediately drain all their health. In addition to squashing bugs and patching unintended interactions, Diablo 4 update 2.4.1 also buffs some underpowered Chaos Perks and Uniques, like the Barbarian’s Single-Minded Fury Chaos Perk and the Rogue’s Orphan Maker Unique.
While it’s great to see some of the season’s biggest issues being addressed with this patch, one of the most annoying parts of the Season of Infernal Chaos is bound to continue troubling players. Some players are still likely going to struggle with Infernal Hordes after the update, as the changes to Soulspires don’t address the heart of the controversy surrounding their Season 10 functionality. As a result, Diablo 4 may need to take another shot at the feature in a future patch.
Diablo 4's Infernal Hordes Soulspires Still Miss the Mark After Patch 2.4.1
As part of Diablo 4 Season 10’s overhaul of Infernal Hordes, some of the mode’s mechanics have been adjusted to make them more chaotic and challenging. To this end, Soulspires were adjusted at the start of the season to require players to stand within their small radius and a certain number of enemies also within the circle to complete the event. Previously, Soulspires only required players to be within the Soulspire’s radius themselves while slaying monsters, regardless of whether these enemies were in the circle.
After update 2.4.1, Soulspires in Infernal Hordes have been adjusted according to the patch notes released by Blizzard:
- The range of Soulspires was increased, and Monsters will frequently ambush players inside.
Developer’s Note: We believe this change leans into the frenetic feel of Infernal Hordes while still retaining Soulspires’ role as a high-investment, high-payout Infernal offer.
Why Soulspires Have Been Controversial in Diablo 4 Season 10
The controversy with Soulspires in Diablo 4 Season 10 largely stems from the fact that many builds struggle to group enemies in close quarters, and the limited range of Soulspires adds to this difficulty. While update 2.4.1 expands the radius of Soulspires and has the chance to spawn monster ambushes, players with Diablo 4 builds dependent on continuous movement or with emphasis on ranged combat will still have trouble maintaining spacing if they’re required to stay within the Soulspire’s radius along with the enemies they are trying to kill. Builds like Ball Lightning Sorcerer that trade limited defensive capabilities for powerful ranged attacks are put at risk when having to fight at close range within Soulspires.
How Diablo 4 Can Redeem Soulspires in Season 10
Soulspires aren’t completely irredeemable in Diablo 4 Season 10, but the way update 2.4.1 addresses complaints about their increased difficulty misses the mark. While it’s understandable that Soulspires were changed to make them more chaotic during the Season of Infernal Chaos, reverting them back to their previous functionality would be an easy solution. If players simply needed to stand within range of the Soulspires while killing any monsters, the door would be open for ranged builds to become viable again while also allowing builds like Pulverize Druid to benefit from large AoE attacks without having to worry about ensuring the enemies they are slaying are within the Soulspire’s radius.
A more dramatic option would be to remove Soulspires entirely until a better solution can be reached. Diablo 4 is no stranger to removing controversial pieces of content, with features like The Gauntlet and Conduit Shrines being taken out of the game after player backlash. It would be unfortunate for Soulspires to see the same fate, but direction patch 2.4.1 takes the mechanic seems like it will do little to ease player frustrations.