Diablo 4 PvP matters again, and the Aberrant Cinders drop rate is back to normal thanks to latest hotfix

There's a new Diablo 4 hotfix, and no, it's not the one that addresses the torrent of criticism of the pre-season patch. But, it's a good hotfix nonetheless, as it tackles two somewhat major issues the game has been suffering from - one of which was introduced in the latest patch.

Hotfix 1 is the first to be released after the massive 1.1.0a patch, which includes - among other things - some heavy-handed nerfs to all classes/crit damage, and a slowdown of the XP gain and level up curves.

It also adds Season of the Malignant content to the game ahead of the season's proper start later today, but the excitement has been overshadowed by what's gone down as one of the game's worst-received patches.

The hotfix makes two changes. First, it restores the Hatred’s Chosen buff, which Blizzard disabled earlier this week, making it almost useless to go after other players in Diablo 4's PvP zones. The buff is back, but don't expect to collect the large numbers of Seeds of Hatred you could before (which is why it was disabled in the first place). This is especially true for Necromancer minions, and Druid pets.

One unfortunate bug that added to the poor reception of the pre-season patch has been a significant decrease to the drop rate of Aberrant Cinders, which is the currency of the time-limited Helltide events. Blizzard intentionally increased the prices of chests players can use this currency on, so everyone assumed the drop rate has also been nerfed.

The good news is that it was a bug, and Aberrant Cinders should now drop about as often as you'd expect, which is something, I suppose. This latest hotfix is available now across all platforms.

Before you start a new seasonal character (which is necessary to experience seasonal content), you should absolutely take a few minutes to do this one thing. It's going to set you up nicely for the start of the season.