Sorcerers were doing too much magic for Diablo 4's servers to handle, so Blizzard nerfed their most popular build

GamesRPGDiablo 4Sorcerers were doing too much magic for Diablo 4’s servers to handle, so Blizzard nerfed their most popular buildWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

PIT157 Clear Shockuna Lightning Spear - S5 Diablo 4 - YouTubeWatch On

PIT157 Clear Shockuna Lightning Spear - S5 Diablo 4 - YouTube

A chaotic new sorcerer build in Diablo 4’s latest season was so strong it was killing more than demons. The servers, it seems, couldn’t handle players filling their screens with lightning bolts and frozen orbs, so Blizzard had to step in yesterday and fix it.

Thanks to a new legendary power in season 5, sorcerers can now zap monsters for loads of damage with their lightning spear skill, but you need the unique Fractured Winterglass amulet to summon a bunch of them at once. Every time you cast a frozen orb with the amulet on, it can spawn a magical pet, or conjuration, that casts its own frozen orbs which reduce lightning spear’s normally long cooldown. With the right gear, an army of these little guys throwing snowballs at enemies lets you spam tons of lightning spears in seconds.

But the amount of spells flying around caused servers to lag andcrash in some cases, especially for high-end players like Mekuna, who achieved theworld recordfor finishing the hardest dungeon in the game less than 24 hours before Blizzard nerfed the build.

“In rare instances, [the aspect of Splintering Energy] alongside Fractured Winterglass could cause detrimental server performance issues,” a Blizzard community managerwroteon the Diablo 4 forums. “To solve for this, we’re reducing the frequency of it arcing to additional enemies, and increasing its damage to compensate. Additionally, the amount of Frozen Orbs that can be launched from Conjurations while using Fractured Winterglass has been adjusted in these rare instances.”

Although Blizzard increased the amount of damage each lightning spear can do, they don’t hit as many enemies anymore, which is a problem in high tiers of the Pit, where you only have 10 minutes to carve through the toughest enemies in the game.

“I lost like 50% damage lol,” Mekuna told PC Gamer. Despite noticing some of the lag going away, he isn’t a fan of the trade-off. “I used to clear the trash [enemies] in two to three minutes, now it takes me seven minutes,” he wrote onX. “But the nerf shouldn’t be noticeable if you aren’t pushing the Pit.”

And he’s right, most players are having trouble even trying the build because of its extremely specific gear requirements. I’m using it this season and haven’t noticed a huge difference, but I’m also not beating my head against anything as difficult as Mekuna.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Blizzard has previously pledged to not nerf overperforming builds in the middle of season unless they’re causing technical issues, and fair enough, I think this qualifies. As someone who loves how ridiculous the build feels to play, I also think its solution is a smart way to fix a serious issue without gutting the build for most people. In fact, it’s a buff that closes the gap between the build’s devastating AOE damage and mediocre boss damage, saving you from having to watch a health bar slowly trickle down at the end of every dungeon.

TOPICSActivision BlizzardBlizzard Entertainment

TOPICS

More about rpgWe may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►

More about rpg

We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’

Path of Exile 2 showing the Warbringer ascendancy class bludgeoning his way through a pack of hyenas

We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funny

Adam Jensen with his head in his hands.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

Today’s Wordle being played on a phone

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

See more latest►

Most PopularTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel RivalsLenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in JuneNvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummetAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listIf you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300

Most Popular

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Old meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process

‘I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Lenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in June

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummet

After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

If you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals