Diablo III v2.2.0 Patch First Look, Microtransactions Explored

Blizzard has released a first look blog post on patch 2.2.0 for Diablo III, which is going to include new legendary items and powers, new Rift layouts, new bounties and a number of quality of life improvements. Noticeably, the patch won’t include major changes to class balance. A few highlights:

New Rift Layouts:

If you’ve been playing lots of Nephalem or Greater Rifts, you may feel like you’ve seen them all. Starting in the patch 2.2.0, however, you’ll begin seeing some new Rift tilesets based on the Fields of Misery and Festering Woods from Act I, Stinging Winds from Act II, and Fields of Slaughter from Act III. Their map layouts are randomized as well, so they’ll look different each time you explore them. Below, you can see two of these new layouts; the first image is a randomization of the Stinging Winds, and the second is based on the Festering Woods.

New Bounties:

If you’re a fan of Adventure Mode, you’ll be happy to hear that you’ll soon have over 20 new bounties to discover in Acts II, IV, and V. We’re also introducing a brand new type of bounty to the game: Exploration. As the name implies, these new bounties involve exploring an area and finding people who need to be rescued (if they’re good guys) or slain (if they’re not). You’ll see 14 bounties of this type across all Acts in the game.

…

New Cosmetics Window:

Want to take your Spectral Hound for a romp around Sanctuary without worrying about taking up valuable inventory space? Well, now you can! Starting in patch 2.2.0, any cosmetic items you own can be easily selected from a new interface, so all your visual goodies will be a click away. This includes items whose effect is only for looks and which don’t directly affect gameplay, like wings, pets, portrait frames, and pennants.

Interestingly, Blizzard also informed players on the forums that microtransactions are being actively explored, going as far as anticipating data miners and listing a number of features that will be referenced in the patch’s files. The developers are not planning to adopt this model in America or Europe at the moment, though:

Specifically, the following features will not apply to the Americas:

• A new currency called “Platinum”
• Timed experience boosts
• New cosmetic items including wings, non-combat pets, and character portraits
• References to stash space and character slot expansions
• A new UI interface that references the above information

…

We recognize that many players have expressed an interest in microtransactions being added to Diablo III. While we may explore this model in some regions, we have no immediate plans to implement such purchases or the aforementioned features anytime soon for the Americas region.