Blizzard originally announced an immediate adjustment to the powerful neck item from Ula'tek, but quickly changed course. The Aqirbane Reliquary adjustment will now arrive with the next weekly maintenance on August 25, which means the change should reach European servers with the August 26 reset.
Until then, the item remains unchanged.
Season 2 has apparently reached the stage where even the nerfs need a release schedule.
Aqirbane Reliquary Is Changing How It Handles Secondary Stats
The important change concerns Aqirbane Reliquary's secondary-stat effects.
Its current version provides a large amount of Critical Strike through its special effect. After the upcoming adjustment, Blizzard says the Reliquary will instead provide a smaller quantity of all secondary stats.
Its second on-equip effect is changing as well.
Instead of always increasing Critical Strike while reducing the other secondary stats, it will increase a random secondary stat while decreasing the other three.
The item's first on-equip effect is not being changed.
That makes the new version less specifically obsessed with Critical Strike and considerably more interested in spinning the secondary-stat roulette wheel.
The Nerf Was Originally Supposed to Happen Immediately
The timing is almost as interesting as the adjustment itself.
Blizzard initially announced that the change would arrive through a hotfix that same day. Community Manager Kaivax then updated the announcement to move the adjustment to the August 25 maintenance.
That gives players the entire opening raid week with the current version of Aqirbane Reliquary.
It also avoids changing the item underneath players in the middle of the first week of Venomous Abyss progression.
That matters more than it might sound.
Guilds have already been planning loot distribution, gearing routes and future Bonus Roll targets around the Season 2 item pool. We recently covered how Blizzard changed several Venomous Abyss loot tables just days before the raid opened.
Now another piece of raid gearing is moving again.
The Reliquary Drops From Ula'tek
Aqirbane Reliquary comes from Ula'tek, the final boss of the Venomous Abyss.
That immediately makes the item more significant than an ordinary early-raid neck because Ula'tek sits at the end of Season 2's main raid progression path.
The final boss is already carrying some unusually desirable rewards. We recently looked at how Ula'tek drops the Slumbering Coil Curio tier omnitoken, giving successful players another highly flexible gearing reward.
Aqirbane Reliquary adds another reason for players to scrutinise the boss's loot table.
Or at least it does until Blizzard scrutinises it first.
This Fits Season 2's Aggressive Item Tuning
Aqirbane Reliquary is hardly the first item Blizzard has adjusted around the Season 2 launch.
Only days ago, a substantial Season 2 item tuning pass changed numerous raid and dungeon trinkets, including buffs to several new Venomous Abyss rewards and further reductions to older standouts.
The pattern is becoming difficult to miss.
Season 2 launched with a large pool of new gear, cantrip effects, raid rewards and unusual item interactions, and Blizzard is still actively adjusting the values as players begin using them on live servers.
That is particularly important for anyone building a best-in-slot list from PTR numbers.
The item you planned around last week may not be the item you are wearing next week.
Bonus Rolls Make Late Raid Loot Even More Important
The timing also overlaps with Season 2's new targeted loot system.
Raid Bonus Rolls now cost only one Nebulous Voidcore, something we covered when Blizzard cut the Season 2 raid Bonus Roll cost in half.
That makes highly desirable boss drops especially important because players have more control over where they spend their limited targeted loot attempts.
Before throwing Voidcores at Ula'tek specifically for Aqirbane Reliquary, however, players should remember that the item they are targeting after the next reset will not behave exactly like the version available today.
Sim the new version for your character.
Then sim it again after Blizzard remembers another item exists.
You Have Until the Next Reset With the Current Version
The practical takeaway is simple.
Aqirbane Reliquary is not being changed during the current Season 2 week.
The adjustment is scheduled for the next weekly maintenance on August 25 in North America and the corresponding August 26 reset in Europe.
After that:
- Its first on-equip effect remains unchanged.
- Its secondary-stat quantity becomes smaller.
- It provides all secondary stats rather than a large amount of Critical Strike.
- Its second effect boosts a random secondary stat instead of always boosting Critical Strike.
If you obtain the neck this week, enjoy the current version while it lasts.
If you are planning your longer-term Season 2 gear around it, plan around the version arriving next reset.
And if your spreadsheet has started quietly sobbing in the corner, give it some space.
It has been a difficult launch week.
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