Fans are still waiting for a full reveal of what can be expected from Diablo IV Season 4, but today during their latest “Campfire Chat,” Blizzard revealed some of the nitty gritty things players need to know about the season. First off, Season 4 will be arriving later than expected, as Blizzard wants to make sure that feedback from Diablo IV’s first public test realm will be fully incorporated. So, instead of coming out on April 16 as previously promised, Season 4 will arrive on May 14.
As for the changes we can expect, well, there’s a lot to cover. If you’ve got around two hours to spare (yes, two hours) you can check out the full Campfire Chat below, or you can scroll on for our rundown of some of the key points.
Itemization
Some big changes are coming for Diablo IV’s itemization, with Blizzard pursuing a new “quality over quantity” ethos when it comes to drops. Less loot is going to drop going forward, but more of it will consist of higher-quality items applicable to your current character. Base stats for items will be improved with items having few affixes — Legendaries affixes will drop from 4 to 3 and Rare affixes will drop from 4 to 2. While the number of affixes in the game will be reduced, the idea is to make each more meaningful and powerful. Unique items will also start dropping earlier in the game.
A new “Tempering” system will also allow you to add new affixes to Legendary items at a blacksmith, provided you find a Tempering Manual, which will be dropped from most content in the game. Those exploring the endgame may be find new “Greater Affixes” which boost the power of regular affixes by 1.5x. A new endgame level 100 “Masterworking” system will also let you further upgrade your gear and affixes.
Endgame
Speaking of the endgame, there’s some more stuff coming for that as well. The big addition is “The Pit,” which you can access after completing your first level 45 Nightmare Dungeon. The Pit is a challenging randomized dungeon with over 100 difficulty tiers to master. This will be where you’ll find most of your materials for the endgame Masterworking system. In addition to The Pit, those hungry for a challenge can also look forward to Andariel being added to the Boss Ladder. Meanwhile, Helltides are actually being opened up for more players and will now be available on World Tier 1 and 2.
We’re really only scratching the surface here – again, if you want to really dive into the nitty-gritty details grab some popcorn and check out the video above. Players will get to try out these Diablo IV changes when the PTR kicks off on April 2 on PC via Battle.net. It will run for a week until April 9.
Diablo IV can be played on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5. As mentioned, Season 4 kicks off on May 14. Blizzard is promising more information on it soon.
