Diablo IV — the correction: no Death Trap nerf, and a surprise second patch
Two weeks running we flagged a Death Trap hotfix as the most likely tier-shaker. We were wrong twice — and this week owns it plainly: Death Trap was not nerfed. 3.1.1 shipped July 14 with the itemization pass we described, but nothing touched the Rogue interaction, and Blizzard then pushed a surprise 3.1.1a on July 16 that made the class stronger by removing the one-crafted-Mythic equip limit for the rest of Season 14. Maxroll still lists Death Trap as Rogue's best overall build with its mobility untouched. The Pit-150 era we kept predicting an end to is simply ongoing, and the double standard the community named — Barbarian's infinite-Fury exploit disabled in days, Rogue's left alone for a third week — now has our own repeated bad calls attached to it.
What 3.1.1 did deliver landed as promised: the bug blocking Mythic drops from Lair Bosses is fixed, naturally-dropped Mythics roll Iconic more often, Mythic crafting dropped to 4 Pandemonium Fragments, and El'druin joined the Blacksmith's Cache. Then 3.1.1a went further on supply — Corrupted Reaper now drops up to two Fragments scaling with Torment, and the crafted-Mythic equip cap is gone entirely. The real casualty was still Druid, whose Storm Shepherd's Call toggle fix cut its power measurably; our #001 note on Druid's build variety survives, its clear-third standing likely does not. Warlock stays last a third straight week, Lunatic the best of a weak hand. The board reflects all of this within 24 hours. Full mode-by-mode rankings on the D4 board →
Marathon — Vault Breaker is live, and it is the best two weeks the game has offered
Vault Breaker went live July 21 with Update 1.1.5 — Marathon's first PvE-only mode, and it delivered on the sealed-economy design we described. Solo, duo or trio Runners push progressively harder vaults through Cryo Archive against UESC forces, on a fixed free Sponsored Kit, with only Vault Data leaving the mode. It runs until August 4 only. One correction to our own preview: we described "Cradle Evolution" as shipping alongside — the 1.1.5 notes don't include it, so scratch that; the balance work stayed at weapon level (the KKV redistributed off headshot reliance, D54 pulled back, WSTR adjusted again).
The mechanic worth knowing is how Vault Data splits: Tier 1 comes from solving vaults (exfil required) or killing a UESC Commander — and the Commander pays out even on a failed run, the one route coverage keeps missing and the correct play when a run goes sideways. Tier 2 comes only from consecutive clears plus exfil, the greed currency. Spend it on kit upgrades or on Armory gear that carries into the main game. We shipped a full Vault Breaker guide this week; as we said before, loadout tier lists don't apply inside a fixed-kit mode by design. The bigger swing is still Season 3 on September 22 — permanent PvE, a new shell, and the Perimeter rework. Current Runner shell and weapon rankings →
Path of Exile 2 — the reset is at the door, and the reveal decides its shape
Seven weeks into Runes of Aldur the meta is still where it sat — Shield Wall Titan and Twister Monk headline, Ice Shot Deadeye owns the on-ramp — but the calendar is the story. 0.5.5 is expected in late July: a one-month event league of balance corrections and a soft economy reset, no new core content, timed just after PoE1's reveal on July 24 — two days out as we publish. We're holding it as provisional until GGG confirms, but one detail has firmed since last week: sources now indicate GGG plans at least two economy-reset events before 1.0, not the single 0.5.5 we implied. Either way the spend logic holds — the closer the reset, the more renting beats owning, and big-ticket purchases now carry a shelf life.
The durable signal is unchanged: GGG has openly acknowledged the ascendancy gap — Martial Artist, Spirit Walker and Gemling Legionnaire dominate while Infernalist, Invoker and Amazon sit under 5% — with broad buffs on the pre-1.0 runway. ExileCon lands November 7–8; 1.0 remains pointed at year's end, at which point the game goes free-to-play. Price your build against the live economy with Mirrorcheck →
The week ahead — what we're watching
PoE2: July 24's PoE1 reveal, then official word on 0.5.5 — if the soft reset confirms, we publish spend-or-hold guidance for Runes of Aldur wallets that day. Marathon: the first tested Vault Breaker farming routes as the community maps the mode, and whether the PvE-curious actually turned up — the number Bungie is really measuring before September. Diablo IV: whether Death Trap finally draws a nerf in a later hotfix now that 3.1.1a has instead buffed the class, and where Druid settles after the Storm Shepherd fix. Every board updates within 24 hours of any of these breaking.