The official Season 1 patch for Diablo 4 went live on July 18, and that means we can see all of the major changes to each class just before the Malignant Hearts run rampant. One of the most heated topics has been about Siphoning Strikes, and in this guide, I’ll go over the changes to the key skill and whether it was really a nerf.
Siphoning Strikes Received a Major Nerf in Diablo 4
In Diablo 4 Season 1, the Siphoning Strikes passive was nerfed hard, and all it took was a change to what causes the healing to activate. For the strikes to start healing your Rogue now, you have to land a Lucky Hit with a 75% chance on top of it. Before the latest patch, there was no need for a Lucky Hit at all and the ability was entirely based on Critical Strike chance.
As of the July 18 patch for Diablo 4, the Siphoning Strikes passive has already been updated with a new description. “Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes against Close enemies have up to a 75% chance to Heal you for 3% of your Maximum Life.” By themselves, Lucky Hits have a fairly low chance of activating, which is intentional to limit powerful skills.
Related: Season 1 Diablo 4 1.1 Patch Notes Listed (July 18)
However, this is one of the few passives that the Rogue had to stay alive in tougher content such as Nightmare Dungeons on higher tiers. Rogues have been at the top of the meta for builds like Twisting Blades, but they aren’t easy to use by any means, and they require plenty of setup or maneuvering.
On my own Rogue, I certainly relied on Siphoning Strikes to stay alive in packs of enemies, especially when I had no barrier active. With such a massive nerf to the heal chance, I can tell you I’ll be rolling a fresh class for sure in Season 1 of Diablo 4.
To see how other classes took the patch, read through our guide on all the Class changes in Diablo 4 Season 1.
