Blizzard's latest Diablo IV patch drops Tuesday, January 27th, 2026, bringing fixes for Tower boss health inconsistencies, Dark Citadel loot drops, and profile viewing errors. The update arrives during heated community debate over leaderboard exploits, with documented evidence of timer manipulation and double temper bugs affecting competitive rankings.
Official Bug Fixes
Executioner Affix Returns
The Executioner Monster Affix is back. Blizzard disabled it previously due to a bug causing its sound effect to loop continuously. That's been fixed, and the affix will re-enable with this patch.
Tower Boss Health
Some Tower bosses had significantly more health than others, creating inconsistent difficulty across encounters. This patch addresses that disparity.
Boss health remains a major factor in competitive clear times. Even top-tier players currently spend three to four minutes per boss at high Tower levels, eating up a significant chunk of their runs.
Dark Citadel Loot
Zagraal in the Dark Citadel wasn't dropping loot on defeat. Players farming Dark Citadel for maximum potion capacity upgrades will find this fixed.
Leaderboard Profile Errors
Clicking on a leaderboard entry from a player with a private profile previously generated an error message. The patch resolves this display issue.
One catch: the fix addresses the error itself, not the underlying privacy system. Public profiles still only show current gear, not the equipment used during the actual leaderboard clear. Players can swap builds after a run, and their profile won't reflect what they actually used.
Masterworking Challenge Fix
Resetting masterworked gear now properly unlocks the "Recycled Works" challenge. Previously, the reset didn't trigger challenge completion.
Local Co-op Rewards
The reward for defeating all Lesser Evils simultaneously was only going to whoever opened the chest in Local Co-op. All participating players should now receive their rewards properly.
Divine Gift Experience Bug
Divine Gifts could stop gaining experience if another Divine Gift hit Rank 5. Each Gift now progresses independently regardless of other Gifts' ranks.
Cosmetic Fixes
Some cosmetics showed as locked despite being unlocked and usable. That's fixed. Various placeholder assets (those pink items appearing in the Wardrobe) have also been addressed. Players had speculated these were unreleased content, but they were simply display errors.
General Improvements
The patch includes performance, stability, and audio improvements across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
Leaderboard Exploits
The patch notes tell one story. Community documentation tells another. Multiple exploits currently affect Tower leaderboard integrity, and competitive players have been vocal about the problems.
The Timer Bug
Tower runs have a 10-minute limit. So why do 30-minute clears appear on leaderboards?
Mad Dog, a high-ranking Paladin player (previously rank one, now rank three), shared details on how the exploit works. According to his explanation, spawning the boss simultaneously with a large monster pull that causes game lag, right as the timer hits 10 minutes, can break the time limit entirely.
Once triggered, the timer apparently grants infinite time for the boss encounter. Mad Dog described the bug as inconsistent and random, not something players can reproduce reliably. Some instances may occur naturally from in-game lag rather than intentional manipulation.
The exploit has appeared in both solo and four-player clears. Community members have called for a simple fix: automatically disqualify any clear exceeding 10 minutes from leaderboard consideration.
Double Temper Exploit
This bug has history. Double tempering (getting two of the same temper on one item) appeared in Diablo IV before and was supposedly fixed. It's back.
Mad Dog's gear documentation reveals the extent of the problem:
- His pants have two separate +4 to En'Guard tempers, granting +8 total ranks from a single slot.
- His ring carries double Arbiter duration tempers. Instead of 35% cooldown reduction, he gets 70%.
- His shield stacks two +5 to En'Guard tempers for +10 total ranks.
- His amulet appears legitimate: a 4GA/5GA quality roll with four passives and +4 to En'Guard.
Combined, these items provide roughly +30 ranks to En'Guard on one character. That's a massive power spike beyond normal itemization limits.
The reproduction method hasn't been publicly detailed. Previous versions involved server-side manipulation. The bug was first documented on Necromancer characters but now appears on Paladin builds.
Pre-Stack Mechanics
Competitive Tower play involves starting runs with pre-built resources. Top players begin with 10 Arbiter stacks and 50 kills already accumulated before actual gameplay starts.
This comes from timing manipulation during the Tower countdown. Players stand still during the pre-run sequence to stack resources before the timer officially begins.
Whether this counts as an exploit or accepted tech depends on who you ask. Either way, competing at the top currently requires using these snapshot mechanics.
The Private Profile Problem
Private profiles and competitive leaderboards don't mix well. Players can hide their gear and builds while maintaining leaderboard positions, making verification impossible.
The patch fixes profile viewing errors but doesn't address the core issue. Private profiles can still appear on leaderboards.
Even public profiles have limitations. The system shows current equipment, not what was used during the recorded clear. A player could complete a Tower 140, swap to farming gear, and their profile would show completely different items than what achieved the ranking.
Some community members want mandatory public profiles for leaderboard participation. Others argue players deserve privacy for their builds. The debate continues.
Current Meta: Standstill Paladin
PXX's documented rank one Tower 140 clear shows what high-level Paladin play looks like right now. The meta has shifted away from Condemn builds toward Consecration with double auras.
Inner Calm Strategy
The build centers on staying stationary. Inner Calm, a paragon node, provides roughly 2-6x multiplicative damage while standing still. Any movement means significant DPS loss.
PXX runs Beacon and Preacher paragon boards rather than the previously popular Relentless setup. Everything supports maximum stationary damage output.
Execution
The strategy requires specific conditions. Open map layouts allow effective monster pulling without Condemn's grouping. Players fish for favorable maps before committing to serious attempts.
Power Pylons get saved for bosses. During the boss fight, players lure the boss onto the pylon spawn location. Extra targets from the pylon enable significantly higher Judgment damage, as the additional enemies feed into the skill's mechanics.
Stagger phases become critical damage windows. Staying stationary during stagger keeps Inner Calm active for maximum burst.
PXX's Clear
The documented run shows PXX starting with pre-accumulated Arbiter stacks. Inner Calm stays active throughout combat through careful positioning. The boss encounter uses the Power Pylon strategy, with added targets enabling rapid stagger and high damage during vulnerability windows.
A cut exists in the video between clear completion and gear showcase, creating some uncertainty about exact equipment matching. The displayed gear doesn't show double tempering evidence, distinguishing it from exploit-affected players.
PXX reportedly has room to improve. The Power Pylon wasn't used optimally in the recorded run.
Beta Status & Community Response
The Tower operates in beta, which shapes how the community approaches these issues. Content creators have encouraged open discussion of bugs and exploits specifically to get them fixed before full release.
What's Next
This patch represents incremental progress. Tower boss HP normalization and profile error fixes address direct gameplay issues. The exploits documented by the community remain unaddressed in these notes.
Blizzard is monitoring feedback during the beta period. Further adjustments to Tower mechanics and leaderboard systems may follow. For now, competitive integrity remains a work in progress as the community continues documenting problems and pushing for fixes.
