Lord of Hatred Launch Week Hotfixes - Everything That's Changed So Far
It's been a busy first few days for Lord of Hatred. Blizzard has pushed four hotfixes since launch on April 28, disabled a Spiritborn skill variant, and confirmed that War Plans co-op improvements won't arrive until Season 14. Here's a full recap.
Spiritborn Skill Variant Disabled
Blizzard has temporarily disabled the Spiritborn's Armored Hide - Trampled Under Foot variant due to unintended interactions. No timeline has been given for when it will return. Blizzard's full statement: "We appreciate your patience on this. Lord of Hatred can be hard to keep up with."
If you were running a build that relied on this variant, you'll need to respec for now.
War Plans Co-Op - Improvements Coming in Season 14
War Plans has been one of the most praised new systems in Lord of Hatred, but co-op play has been a consistent pain point. The core issue: War Plans are individual, not shared. When you group up with friends, your boards and objectives don't sync, making party play feel awkward and disconnected.
Blizzard has confirmed they're working on a solution called Party Plans, which will let players sync their War Plans boards and progress together. However, these improvements won't arrive until Season 14. For now, the Hotfix 3 changes (see below) are the only party play improvements available.
Hotfix 4 - April 30
Pit/Tower exit portal removed. The QoL portal that spawned after completing a Pit or Tower run has been taken out. Blizzard acknowledged the intention was good but said it "missed the mark."
Nemesis boss lair exploit fixed. An issue where players could infinitely farm Nemesis boss lairs by grouping up and swapping difficulties has been patched.
Quest fix. Fixed a progression blocker in The Soil, The Seed, The Fruit when multiple players interacted with chains simultaneously.
Hotfix 3 - April 29
This was the biggest hotfix so far, tackling several high-profile balance issues ahead of the first Tower rotation.
War Plans Party Fix
The War Plans co-op cache bug has been resolved. When you join a friend's War Plans node, you now properly receive a base loot cache. Additionally, meta progression XP for helpers has been increased from 80% to 100%, and the final cache rewards have been improved.
Balance Fixes
- Cowl of the Nameless was causing Poison Imbuement to deal far more damage than intended - fixed
- Sorcerer's Blizzard scaled way more than intended with skill point investment - fixed
- Druid's Lightning Storm with the Omnibolt variant could have infinitely scaling damage - fixed
- Necrotic Carapace Aspect was granting additional Necromancer minions unintentionally - fixed
- Iron Skin, Toxic Skin, and Sigil of Flames could damage allied players - fixed
- Heir of Perdition's stolen buff could last longer than intended - fixed
- Sepazontec talisman charm wasn't consistently triggering its third basic skill attack effect - fixed
- Equipping a new Seal would cause Charm affixes to stop applying until re-equipping - fixed
Hotfix 2 - April 28
Two targeted fixes on launch day:
- Schadenfreude variant for Iron Maiden and the Bramble variant for Bone Prison were dealing far more damage than intended - fixed
- Various monsters including Pangs of Duriel and Infernal Prison had much higher health than intended - fixed
Hotfix 1 - April 28
Two quest-blocking fixes pushed within hours of launch:
- The Soil, The Seed, the Fruit quest progression could get blocked - fixed
- Completing The Last of the Horadrim quest in a party only credited one player and didn't unlock the Talisman tab for other party members - fixed (this was a big one)
The Takeaway
Four hotfixes in three days is aggressive but expected for a launch this size. The balance fixes in Hotfix 3 are the ones most players will feel - Blizzard moved fast on the Blizzard/Lightning Storm/Cowl of the Nameless issues that were clearly overperforming. The Talisman unlock bug in Hotfix 1 was particularly nasty since it locked party members out of an entire expansion system.
The War Plans co-op delay to Season 14 is going to sting for group players, but at least the cache and XP fixes from Hotfix 3 help in the meantime.
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