Diablo 3 Update 1.44 Patch Notes

Diablo 3 Update 1.44 Patch Notes

Diablo 3 is still going strong, update 1.44 is bringing in version 2.7.4 and Season 28. Here are all the details you need to know.

22nd Feb 2023 11:25

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Diablo 3 update 1.44 is here, bringing in version 2.7.5 and Season 28, Rites of Sanctuary. Diablo 3 is still going strong ahead of the upcoming launch of the next game in the series, Diablo 4. A new game on the way clearly isn't slowing down Diablo 3, as there is still plenty of life in the old game. Here are all the details from the Diablo 3 update 1.44 patch notes.

Diablo 3 Update 1.44: Season 28 Rites of Sanctuary

Diablo 3 Update 1.44: Season 28 has begun

The theme for Season 28 is Rites of Sanctuary. The goals of the season are to tie material goals, gain loot, power, and so on, with meaningful choices. Also, to let players learn a bit more about the world of Sanctuary leading into the release of Diablo 4.

Season 28 will begin on 24 February. You will be able to use the new Altar of Rites as part of this season to sacrifice items in order to gain power. According to Blizzard, this will grant "unspeakable power that lasts the entire season".

There will also be plenty of items to chase down, including returning cosmetic items from Season 16. Those who fight their way through the season will be rewarded with the Taennin the Tiny pet and the Primal Hunter portrait.

Diablo 3 Update 1.44: Full Patch Notes

Diablo 3 someone shooting laser beams

Below are the full patch notes as provided by Blizzard. These are all the changes coming in version 2.7.5, when it goes live on 21 February at 11:30 a.m. PST.

Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.

Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary

For Season 28, Rites of Sanctuary, we’re travelling deep into the mysterious ruins of the Festering Woods. Amid a mining expedition, citizens hailing from New Tristram stumbled across an ominous Altar carved from an archaic material bearing cryptic markings. Shaken to their core by the eldritch aroma of the monolith, they’ve enlisted the assistance of brave Nephalem willing to investigate this sinister discovery that was once left to time—the Altar of Rites.

Home to power thought to be extinct from Sanctuary, the Altar of Rites will bestow these mystic forces upon worthy Nephalem... after a sacrifice is offered. You can begin interacting with the Altar of Rites at Level one.

Upon arrival at the Altar of Rites, players will see 26 icons called Seals and three Legendary Potion Powers. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the elements below.

Seal and Legendary Potion Powers

Seal Power
A Your Kill Streak timer duration and reward bonus are doubled.
B Pools of Reflection last for the entire Season and are not removed by death.
C Items have no level requirement.
D +200 Damage
E +25% Missile Damage Reduction
F +25% Movement Speed (Uncapped)
G Increase damage against elites by 15%.
H Picking up Health Globes grants a shield for 5% of your maximum health for 7 seconds. Max stacks 5.
I +25% Melee Damage Reduction.
J Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%.
K Increase damage against elites by 20%.
L +20% Damage
M Double the amount of Death's Breaths that drop.
N Critical hits grant resource: Mana: 15, Hatred: 5, Wrath: 5, Arcane Power: 3, Fury: 3, Spirit: 5, Essence: 5.
O Double the amount of Bounty Caches that drop from completing bounties.
P Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up within 60 yards.
Q Reduces the damage taken from elites by 25%.
R +30% Damage
S Gain immunity to crowd-controlling effects.
T Gain passability.
U Pets pick up Death's Breath.
V Elite packs drop one additional progress orb.
W Increase damage done to Bosses by 25%.
X Pets pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items.
Y Increase your chance to Dodge by 15%.
Z Double the chance to find a legendary item purchased from Kadala.
AA AA When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction.
AB When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage.
AC When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or the Dimensional Power pylon effect.
AD AD When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well.

Developer's Note: We wanted the seasonal theme to be powerful and rewarding, but Conduit pylon completely broke the game. So, we made some adjustments to keep the power level high, while having your character's progression still matter. We have removed all pylons from the final potion power and replaced them with a 16-second Dimensional Power pylon. To compensate for the power decrease, we buffed several damage Seals elsewhere in the tree.

How Seals and Potions Work

As you can see, after unlocking the first Seal, the order in which you unlock additional Seals and obtain their powers is entirely up to you and which powers align with your character’s build the most. Once a Seal or Legendary Potion Power is unlocked, you’ll immediately receive that Seal or Potion’s power and will have the ability to unlock connected Seals or Potions once you have the required materials. All Seals and Potions can be unlocked by players and the powers apply to all your characters—these powers last for the entirety of Season 28.

How to Unlock Seals and Potions

Unlocking Seals and Potions will be no easy feat, especially after multiple sacrifices—you’ll find yourself rummaging across Sanctuary slaying scores of demons hellbent on preventing you from acquiring the Altar of Rites’ full power.

Players must gather materials listed in the Altar of Rites menu and sacrifice them in order to gain a Seal or Potion’s power. In addition to receiving the power after unlocking, you’ll notice the generic text previously displayed has been swapped with a small story scrap about Sanctuary’s tumultuous past.

To unlock a Seal, the one preceding it must be unlocked first (this does not apply to Seals R, S, and T because of how they’re positioned within the Altar). For example, if you want to unlock Seal B or C, Seal A must already be unlocked. There is no limit to how many Seals or Potions can be unlocked within a given time period, if you have the required materials to sacrifice to the Altar. Regardless of the order in which you unlock Seals and Potions, the cost will increase as shown below.

Study the cost of each sacrifice and theorize where within Sanctuary you can find some of these rare materials.

Costs to Unlock a Seal or Legendary Potion Power

# Cost
1 10 Reusable Parts
2 1 Flawless Diamond (or greater), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Reusable Parts
3 1 Greater Rift Key, 10 Death's Breaths
4 Any Class-Specific Set Helm
5 20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Khanduran Runes, 10 Caldeum Nightshade, 10 Arreat War Tapestry, 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Westmarch Holy Water
6 1 Leoric's Regret, 1 Vial of Putridness, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Fright
7 Reaper's Wraps
8 30 Forgotten Souls
9 1,100 Bloodshards
10 1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Death's Breaths, Ring of Royal Grandeur
11 1 Flawless Royal Emerald, 30 Khanduran Runes, 30 Caldeum Nightshade, 30 Arreat War Tapestry, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Westmarch Holy Water
12 20 Greater Rift Keys, 1 Ramaladni's Gift
13 1,300 Bloodshards
14 Petrified Scream
15 Challenge Rift Cache
16 250 Forgotten Souls
17 1,400 Bloodshards
18 Ancient Hellfire Amulet
19 Four Tome of Set Dungeon Pages from your class. See the list below for more information.
20 Ancient Puzzle Ring, 50 Khanduran Runes, 50 Caldeum Nightshade, 50 Arreat War Tapestry, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Westmarch Holy Water
21 500 Death's Breaths, 300 Forgotten Souls
22 1,500 Bloodshards
23 Whisper of Atonement Rank 125
24 Any Augmented Weapon
25 Staff of Herding
26 1,600 Bloodshards
Potion 1 55 Primordial Ashes
Potion 2 110 Primordial Ashes
Potion 3 165 Primordial Ashes

 Completing this sacrifice does so for all other character classes on your account.

  • Barbarian:
    • 12, 14, 18, 22
  • Crusader:
    • 31, 35, 37, 40
  • Demon Hunter:
    • 52, 56, 60, 63
  • Monk:
    • 71, 74, 78, 83
  • Necromancer:
    • 85, 86, 90, 92
  • Witch Doctor:
    • 93, 97, 101, 106
  • Wizard:
    • 112, 121, 126, 130

Developer's Note: We agree that obtaining Never Ending Questions was more difficult than desired. We decided to direct players to collect the necessary sets to enter Set Dungeons and provide proof at the Altar of Rites.

Uncover an Ancient Legend—Unlock All Seals

After you’ve conquered the armies of Hell and acquired the needed materials to unlock all 26 Seals and three Potions, you’ll receive a reward truly fitting of an unstoppable force—the Wings of Terror Cosmetic, Seal AD. We recommend you unlock all Seals and Potions within the Altar of Rites, not only to inspire terror within your foes, but also to piece together the fragments of Sanctuary’s past.

Primordial Ashes Feature

Acquiring Primal Items is no small task. That’s why we are adding a new Primordial Ashes feature with this patch to aid in your quest. At the Blacksmith, you can now salvage a Primal Item for 55 Primordial Ashes.

We have also added a Primal Item recipe to Kanai’s Cube, allowing you to upgrade any non-crafted legendary item to a Primal Item for 100 Primordial Ashes. Only one upgraded Primal Item may be worn at a time and upgraded Primal Items do not retain the properties of the Legendary Item that was used. New affixes are rolled for all upgraded Primal Items.

Bug Fixes

Altar of Rites

  • The power description for Seal N has been updated for increased clarity.
  • Pets will no longer pick up and salvage other players’ common, magic, and rare items because of the power from Seal X.
  • Fixed an issue where Seal V caused more progress orbs to drop than intended.

Monk Skill Changes

  • Combination Strike Passive Skill:
    • Each Spirit Generator you use increases the damage of your other Spirit Generators by 100% for 10 seconds.
  • Crippling Wave Skill:
    • Every third hit also dazes enemies within 11 yards, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds.
      • Concussion Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds.
      • Breaking Wave Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave take 10% additional damage from all attacks for 10 seconds.
  • Deadly Reach Skill:
    • Foresight Rune: Every third hit also increases the damage of all your attacks by 15% for 10 seconds.
  • Way of the Hundred Fists:
    • Assimilation Rune: Each enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 5% for 10 seconds.

Item Changes

Barbarian

  • Horde of the Ninety Savages (6-piece bonus):
    • Frenzy deals 2,000% increased damage per stack.

Demon Hunter

  • Chanon Bolter:
    • Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them and deal 150-200% increased damage. Enemies may be taunted once every 10 seconds.
  • The Demon’s Demise:
    • Each blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after 1 second and deals 150-200% increased damage.
  • Natalya’s Slayer:
    • Increases Spike Trap Damage by 10 -15%.
  • Natalya’s Vengeance (2-piece bonus):
    • Spike Trap deals 100% increased damage to enemies affected by Caltrops. Spike Trap now instantly refreshes charges on use, no longer cost resources, and each detonation restores 2 Discipline.
  • Natalya’s Vengeance (4-piece bonus):
    • Spike Trap explosions will blast affected enemies towards the nearest set Caltrops. Laying a Spike Trap grants 75% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds.
  • Natalya’s Vengeance (6-piece bonus):
    • Spike Trap deals 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive explosion from the detonated chain reaction will deal 25% more damage than the previous blast.

Developer's Note: After listening to the community’s feedback about the Natalya's changes, we wanted to move Natalya's away from Gears of Dreadlands, giving it a unique identity. We hope Natalya's playstyle gives players more control over the explosions they set off while navigating the battlefield.

  • Gears of Dreadlands:
    • Your primary skills deal 27,500% increased damage.

Developer's Note: We've taken away the Strafe ability from Natalya's, but still want to support the players enjoying Strafe builds.

  • The Shadow’s Mantle (2-piece bonus):
    • While equipped with a melee weapon, the damage of your Bolas, Chakram, Fan of Knives, and Impale is increased by 6,000%.
    • The Shadow’s Mantle 2-piece bonus no longer benefits Spike Trap.
  • Trag’oul Coils:
    • Spike Traps gain the Scatter Rune, are deployed twice as fast, and deal 150-200% increased damage.
  • Unhallowed Essence (6-piece bonus):
    • Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 1700% increased damage per point of discipline the Demon Hunter currently has.

Monk

  • Patterns of Justice (6-piece bonus):
    • Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage dealt by 20,000.
  • Raiment of Thousand Storms (4-piece bonus):
    • Dashing Strike spends 25 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does.

Necromancer

  • Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (6-piece bonus):
    • Bone Spear deals 9,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus.

Witch Doctor

  • Spirit Barrage:
    • Manitou Rune: Summon a specter that hovers over you, unleashing spirit bolts at nearby enemies for 6,000% 14,000% weapon damage as Cold over 20 seconds.

Developer's Note: Witch Doctors have S-tier solo builds, but their farming builds aren’t as easy to play as other classes. To help, we’ve buffed the Manitou Rune on Spirit Barrage. We hope to give players an improved speed farming build, while also buffing one of their best solo pushing builds in a significant way, producing faster boss kills.

Wizard

  • The Typhon’s Veil (6-piece-bonus):
    • Hydras deal 4,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.

That is it for the Diablo 3 Update 1.44 patch notes. For more on the series, check out all things Diablo on GGRecon.

Dave McAdam

About The Author

Dave McAdam

Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.

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