Diablo 4 patch 1.1.1 brings a flurry of changes
Diablo 4 patch 1.1.1 brings a flurry of changes to the game's endgame grind, with the most important among them being a notable increase in monster density in Nightmare Dungeons and Helltides. This change alone makes leveling up a lot smoother as you'll find more monsters to slay, more gear to farm, and more XP to earn as you progress through the game's many Adventure Zones.
The full Diablo 4 1.1.1 patch notes
The full Diablo 4 1.1.1 patch notes are seemingly endless, but they do a good job of highlighting the most important changes. The density increase means you'll have less downtime between killing monsters, which means you'll be able to farm for XP and Paragon board Glyphs more smoothly.
Nightmare Dungeons have seen a 50% increase in enemies, meaning you won't have to spend as much time just standing around waiting for enemies to spawn. The increase in enemy density is also good for farming rare items, which drop more often when there are more enemies.
Helltides have also been improved, as you won't have to spend so much time running around looking for the specific gear you want to upgrade. Raxxanterax, who creates high-quality Diablo 4 content on their YouTube channel and Twitch channel, tested the new changes and created a tier list of the best Nightmare Dungeons to level up in.
The density changes are great not just for XP, but also for farming rare items and leveling up your Paragon board Glyphs. As for Helltides, while they're not as rewarding in terms of XP, they offer valuable crafting materials and gear rewards.
Blizzard continues to improve Diablo 4 by addressing previous issues. The game's loot system was often criticized as being too grindy, but the increase in monster density pairs well with Season 1's powerful Malignant Gems, which boost your XP and legendary item drop rates as you clear Nightmare Dungeons.
The Diablo 4 1.1.1 patch notes also mention a new "Malthazar's Favor" bonus for completing Helltide runs with a full stacked Helltide Gem, as well as a new bonus for completing Nightmare Dungeon runs on Torment difficulty without dying.
As someone who has spent far too much time farming Helltides for the best upgrades, I'm glad to see them become more rewarding. I'm also looking forward to leveling more of my Paragon board Glyphs, as the XP bonuses they offer are one of the most helpful upgrades in the game.
However, I do hope Blizzard adds a way to save builds as presets in a future update, as the endgame is still a grind even once you've got the best Diablo 4 weapons and armor.
