I just read the preview of patch 1.03, and I’m thoroughly impressed, though it isn’t quite as good as it could be. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Drop rates in Inferno Act I go up to an 18 percent chance for item level 61 gear, 8 percent for iLevel 62, and 2 percent for iLevel 63.

A one in fifty chance of something being worth using is better than it used to be before. The rates go up even more dramatically in later acts, as well.

They are also making Legendary items worth using as well, making them better than magical items.

They are nerfing boss drops at 60 a little, making it where you are only assured of one rare item per boss with five stacks of nephalem valor. Hopefully it doesn’t get gimped too horribly in the end.

They are also dropping the damage done by monsters in multiplayer games, so they only hit as hard as if you were in a single player game. Friggin’ brilliant! Now I can be as squishy with my friends as I am on my own, and I don’t have to worry about getting one-shot, as opposed to bein four-five shot. Pretty sweet.

I think they are also making the difficulty curve into an actual curve, rather than a sharp cliff with dangerous pointy bits everywhere. I like this.

Unfortunately, they are also increasing the repair costs once you hit 60, to somewhere between four to six times. Oh boy. That’s going to be somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 gold for me.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed in this blog are the opinions of Robert Bolton and do not reflect the opinions or views of any other Pioneer employees.

To contact Robert Bolton, email onlinewriter@occc.edu.