Thanks for your constant efforts to improve the game, Blizzard. Unlike some of the community, I think the addition of sundered charms was beneficial to the game overall. With the inclusion of Terror Zones, some classes and builds would simply not be able to touch the latest Terror Zone without the charms, meaning they would not be able to take part in this important endgame system. Ensuring Terror Zones are available to everyone is a good goal.
Melee/physical combat needs a buff at the internal game systems level
However, the latest patch does not go far enough in achieving that goal. Specifically, the historic problem of Diablo 2 melee/physical builds being less powerful than casters has actually been exacerbated by Terror Zones and sundered charms. In terms of the historic problem, melee/physical builds can miss entirely (casters can’t miss); melee/physical builds have to take damage to deal damage (casters can simply nuke out of range); ladder adds a direct melee nerf – increased monster armor – that casters don’t have to deal with; melee/physical builds have an extreme lack of AoE options (versus casters who have a ton); most importantly, melee/physical builds are almost entirely dependent on gear to deal adequate endgame damage, whereas casters simply just need to dump points into a skill and are fine with mediocre gear.
With the introduction of Terror Zones, mobs have now become even more difficult to hit, difficult to kill, and deal more damage than before. Casters have now been given an additional tool to deal with this – sundered charms. The charms allow casters to have wider areas of farming available, and also allow skills like Conviction, Lower Resistance, and Cold Mastery to work at 100% effectiveness instead of 20% effectiveness like before. I actually think this all is great. This caster buff is not the issue.
The issue is that melee/physical builds got no such buff. In fact, Terror Zones were a massive nerf to melee/physical builds. Everything does more damage than before (affects melee more than casters), everything got much harder to kill (not an issue for casters since sundered charms allow -resistance debuffs to count more than before), and most importantly, everything got much harder to actually hit. Melee/physical builds have no new tools to counter these things. We’re still left with the same game systems and tools as before, and the physical damage sundered charm doesn’t actually address any of the historic issues nor the new issues brought by Terror Zones. Clear speeds for casters are nearly unchanged (or even improved), but melee/physical builds are now even farther behind than before.
This is clearly an issue with the fundamental, base systems of the game, and something needs to be done to address it before October 6th. There are actually some extremely simple things that can be done before then. Things like:
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Dramatically buff the effect of attack rating. Casters can nearly remove enemy resistances. Melee/physical classes need to be able to counter the ability to miss.
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Adjust the scaling of melee/physical skills so they do a lot more damage at lower levels but still cap out at roughly the same damage as now, thereby making them less item dependent as they attempt to level and gain gear.
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Add some form of AoE to melee attacks, perhaps varying in effect or size per weapon type.
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Get rid of the armor and block penalties when moving – penalties that affect melee/physical builds far more than casters.
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Eliminate the armor buff to monsters in ladder.
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Make two-handed weapons do more damage by changing how much strength adds to their % damage.
Those are just a few simple systems changes I came up with in 5 minutes. You guys are the pros; I bet you can do even better!
Increase Terror Zone density and add boss mobs
Terror Zones don’t feel terrifying. They feel pretty bland and uninspiring. Part of the supposed reason for this is as an attempt to keep melee competitive since they lack AoE compared to casters. However, if you fix melee/physical builds as per above, there’s no reason to keep Terror Zones in their bland state as they are now. Instead, you can make them as scary as they should be.
Double monster density. Maybe even triple it. I’m not kidding. It would make TZs actually terrifying, especially in hardcore, and would make them a lot more engaging and entertaining than they are now. In fact, right now, they almost feel like a chore. “Oh, I have to go do this really boring place because I’ll fall behind if I don’t.” Density would help fix this.
Also add boss mobs. Develop a list of 5-10 boss mobs that can spawn in a Terror Zone, and have one spawn randomly per zone. This is important because TZs currently feel flat as you finish clearing them. There is no feeling of closure or fulfillment. Finding some dclone-level boss mob each time would completely change that. There would be a goal to accomplish, and a feeling of satisfaction with each clear.
Ok, that’s it. Do it. You know you want to. 
