Season 12 is getting all the flashy headlines — Kill Streaks, Bloodied loot, become the Butcher, DOOM crossover, the usual “absolutely normal Diablo week” stuff.
But buried in Patch 2.6.0 is a smaller update that actually matters a lot for Paladin players: Blizzard is cleaning up several class bugs right before the new season and the upcoming free Paladin trial window.
The biggest fix: Ward of the White Dove
One of the more notable fixes in Blizzard’s official patch notes addresses Ward of the White Dove.
Blizzard says it fixed an issue where the buff from Ward of the White Dove could disappear if a skill was used too quickly after consuming the final stack.
That may sound tiny on paper, but for anyone actually playing around that unique, it is exactly the kind of bug that makes a build feel inconsistent in the worst possible way.
More Paladin fixes are tucked into 2.6.0
The patch notes also include other Paladin-specific fixes, including:
-
Judgement of Auriel’s damage reduction bonus not being doubled properly.
-
Judgement of Auriel triggering on all versions of Arbiter form activation when it should not.
-
An issue where the Arbiter Wing Strikes double damage tempered affix would snapshot after happening once.
That is not “headline trailer” material, but it is exactly the kind of pre-season cleanup you want before a class gets extra attention.
Why the timing matters
This lands at a pretty convenient moment.
Blizzard’s Season of Slaughter post also confirms a free Paladin trial up to level 25 starting March 11, which means a lot more players are about to touch the class at once.
So yes, these fixes are patch-note-sized. But they matter more than usual because Blizzard is about to put the Paladin in front of a much bigger crowd.
The takeaway
Patch 2.6.0 is not just a Season 12 systems patch. It is also Blizzard doing some necessary housekeeping before more players jump into Paladin.
And honestly, that is exactly when you want these bugs fixed — before the free trial starts, not after everyone has already discovered them the hard way.
