[UPDATE] Blizzard working to correct exploit for wizard class, penalties for abusers not yet known; hotfix now available that remedies recent bug.

A bug allowing Diablo III players to make their characters invulnerable has been in use by players for at least a day, and Blizzard is still working on a fix for the issue. The exploit, which can be triggered by a wizard using a combination of skills and skill-modifying runes, renders the player fully invulnerable to damage for an indefinite length of time.

As if wizards weren't smug enough already.

Diablo III's official forums have exploded with criticism from players, questioning why Blizzard has not sent out a fix or shut down servers to curb negative effects on both the game and its accompanying real-money auction house (several reports indicate players easily "farming" the game's most difficult areas and modes). "We're working on the bug, just no announcement of when we're fixing it yet," said one Blizzard quality assurance employee in response to forum complaints.

[UPDATE] After the publication of this story, Blizzard issued a statement on the matter, confirming that a hotfitx for the invulnerable wizard bug is presently rolling out.

"We are currently rolling out a hotfix for a recent bug regarding invulnerable Wizards," reads a line from the statement. "We will continue to carefully monitor this issue and welcome anyone with information about bugs or hacks to submit a detailed report to our Hacks Team."

It is not yet known how or if players who use the exploit will be reprimanded, or how any problems it causes with the real-money auction house will be rectified. GameSpot has reached out to Blizzard for comment on the matter and is awaiting an official response.

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