Blizzard Disables Diablo 4 Power After Damage Exploit Discovery

Blizzard has taken immediate action to disable the Decay Augmentation Witchcraft Power in Diablo 4 following the discovery of players utilizing the ability to deal unprecedented damage levels. The issue emerged shortly after the introduction of Witchcraft powers in Season 7, which launched in January.

Adam Fletcher, Diablo’s global director of community, addressed the situation through an official announcement on the Blizzard forums. According to Fletcher, the ability was linked to several issues causing certain builds and classes to produce “very egregious numbers” that exceeded the development team’s intended parameters.

While the ability remains available for purchase within the game, Fletcher has advised players against acquiring it. The power cannot be equipped until Blizzard implements a forthcoming hotfix to address the damage calculation issues. This temporary measure aims to maintain game balance while the development team works on a permanent solution.

Related Class Issues and Updates

The Decay Augmentation isn’t the only ability requiring attention in Season 7. Blizzard has identified several class-specific issues requiring fixes, including inconsistent damage output from the Barbarian’s Mantle of Mountain’s Fury, which received an initial hotfix but requires further adjustment. The Necromancer class is also experiencing problems with minion builds related to the Ring of Mendeln, with a fix planned for Update 2.1.2.

Meanwhile, the Cataclysm Druid build has demonstrated exceptional performance in Season 7, with one player achieving success in Pit 150, the game’s highest endgame activity level. The unprecedented damage output appears to stem from a scaling bug affecting Cataclysm calculations, resulting in increased damage multipliers.