Blizzard Announces Diablo 4 Season 15 PTR

Blizzard has announced the dates for PTR 3.2.0 and it will be available from August 4 10:00 AM PDT until August 11, 10 AM PDT. They shared with us some new features and updates that we will get to test out in the PTR to provide feedback. They also have a note stating not everything is shown, as some things are being saved to get announced at BlizzCon. Remember to give your feedback on the Battle.net forums if you have a chance to test out some things on the PTR!

Soul Splinters are coming as a new seasonal mechanic. These are socketables which provide power with a bite to integrate into your build. They are available in Common, Magic, Rare, Legendary, and Unique, while also having the ability to be upgraded in the Horadric Cube. The splinters provide a boon/bane quality to them and they are as follows:

• Splinter of Anguish
• • 250/1750/2625/4375 Fire Resistance
  • You gain 15/20/25/35%[+] Critical Strike Chance and Attack Speed, but your Primary Resource Costs are increased by 30%.
• Splinter of Sin
• • 250/1750/2625/4375 Lightning Resistance
  • You gain 10/20/30/40%[x] Maximum Health, but your Maximum Primary Resource is reduced by 30%.
• Splinter of Lies
• • 250/1750/2625/4375 Cold Resistance
  • You gain 40/60/80/100% increased Gold Drop Rate, Crafting Material Drop Rate, and 25% Bonus Experience, but you are always Weakened and Vulnerable.
• Splinter of the Black Soulstone
• • 7/20/30/50 All Stats
  • Killing enemies absorbs a soul for 15 seconds. Each soul increases your damage by 2/3/4/5%[x], but increases your damage taken by 0.5%. This effect stacks but does not refresh.
• Splinter of Pain
• • 250/1750/2625/4375 Poison Resistance
  • You gain 10/20/30/40% Damage Reduction, but you lose 30% Movement Speed.
• Splinter of the Mother
• • 250/1750/2625/4375 Physical Resistance
  • You are Unhindered. Touching enemies makes them Vulnerable for 10 seconds. After touching 100/150/200/250 enemies, you are Stunned for 4 seconds.
• Splinter of Hellfire
• • 35/50/375/625 Resistance to All Elements
  • You deal 40/60/80/100%[x] increased damage but lose 100% Critical Strike Chance.
• Splinter of Damnation
• • 250/1750/2625/4375 Shadow Resistance
  • Killing an Elite Pack increases Monster Power by 1 for 10/15/20/25 seconds.

A new mechanic called Challenge Dungeons are appearing across Sanctuary. The encounters you experience here are built specifically to test the underlying system, and the final Season 15 experience will feature different content. Challenge Dungeons can be entered through portals that open in the Overland. Enter them to fight against a fearsome boss. In Torment difficulties, you will be able to choose how difficult you want the fight to be, up to three Torment tiers above your current difficulty. The higher the intensity, the greater the rewards.

Another new mechanic called the Overland Ambush has been added to the game. While roaming, a rare demon will begin hunting you on rare occasions. You will receive a warning that you are about to become prey, and have 30 seconds to fight or flee. This is mentioned to be a difficult encounter to test the mettle of Sanctuary's strongest warriors.

Ten legacy Uniques will be returning to Diablo IV. These are Uniques that were found in Diablo, Diablo II and Diablo III. Five of them will be usable by all classes, and five will be available to a mix of classes. This is a permanent addition available in all versions of Diablo IV.

The legacy Uniques available for all classes are as follows:

• Leoric's Crown (Helm)
• Nemesis Bracers (Gloves)
• Ring of Royal Grandeur (Ring)
• Stone of Jordan (Ring)
• Squirt's Blouse* (Chest)

*Squirt's Necklace incorporated into a Chest piece.

The legacy Uniques available for multiple classes are as follows:

• Arioc's Needle (2H Polearm) - Barbarian, Druid, Spiritborn
• Henri's Perquisition (Offhand Focus) - Sorcerer, Necromancer, Warlock
• In-Geom (1H Sword) - Barbarian, Druid, Rogue, Necromancer, Paladin, Warlock
• The Furnace (2H Mace) - Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Paladin, Warlock
• Messerschmidt's Reaver** (2H Axe) - Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Paladin, Warlock

**Coming in Season 15, not testable on the PTR.

The legacy Uniques are typical Uniques in terms of power and utility. The Unique affixes remain reminiscent of their original powers, but may be adjusted to fit in with the current itemization of Diablo IV.

Blizzard is continuing to make further improvements to Mythic Uniques and Iconic Mythics. These changes are to make the system simpler, and offer more crafting choices, giving players far more control over the major pieces that are needed to carry builds into the highest levels.

Mythic Uniques can be crafted in two ways:

• Horadric Cube: Upgrade Direct Item to Mythic
• • This will be more expensive than the recipes through the Blacksmith or Jeweler, but will also be a 1:1 transfer. The random factors have been removed, so this will be a direct transfer to a Mythic state.
  • Mythics created this way will have a Crafted tag, and you will only be able to equip one Crafted tag item.
• Jeweler: Rune Crafting > Mythic Uniques
• • Create a Mythic Unique usable by your class with a recipe combining Resplendent Sparks and Runes. You can craft a Mythic Unique by choosing a slot (such as Ring), and this will return a random class-specific Mythic Unique from that slot.
  • These will not have a Crafted tag.

Blacksmith Mythic Cache crafting recipe can now drop either Mythic Uniques or Iconic Mythics that are useable by your class and will not have the Crafted tag.

Charms will now be available in Mythic quality. Like other Mythic Unique items, Charm properties will roll at maxiumum value and the Unique property will be significantly buffed. Any Unique Charm will have a low chance to drop as a Mythic Unique, and there is no crafting method for these charms, or specific target farming.

Sixteen new Unique Charms that are based on current Uniques in game have been added that have not been represented up until now.

Rebirth is being introduced to Diablo Iv, which allows you to convert characters from Eternal to Seasonal states. Remember that this does reset your character to level 1. This allows you to not have to create a new character at the start of each season. You will be able to maintain a running tally of hours played across all that character's Rebirths.

Rebirth retains these things:

• Class, name, appearance, and state (Normal or Hardcore)
• Cosmetic preferences, including transmogs and pigments, mounts and accessories, pets, portals, and headstones
• Before using Rebirth, move all gear and items from that character into your Eternal stash for safekeeping. You will receive a warning before you click Rebirth that any retained items will be lost on Rebirth, giving you the option to remove all items or destroy them instead. You will not be able to use Rebirth until your character has no items left equipped or in personal inventory.

The Horadric post is a new way for the Diablo IV team to deliver rewards and messages directly to players. During the PTR, you will receive an early commemorative reward to help the developers test the system before Season 15.

• The Horadric Post will occasionally contain important deliveries directly to your account, carrying rewards, supplies, and commemorative items.
• This system is one-way, a blessed PO box straight from the ether.

Similar to past PTRs, Mrak the PTR Vendor will be available next to the main Waypoint in major cities. The following items are available through the PTR boosts:

Crafting & Materials

• Grant Gold
• Grant Obols
• Grant All Materials
• Unlock Masterworking
• Grant All Temper Manuals
• Grant Lair Keys
• Grant Tributes
• Grant Infernal Compasses
• Grant Nightmare Escalation Sigils

Equipment

• Grant All Runes
• Max All Aspects
• Grant Random Legendaries*
• Grant All Uniques*
• Grant Talisman Items

Note: To receive Helms and Amulets from the PTR Boost, you must be at least Level 7 and Level 15 respectively. Please level past this point to receive these specific items.*

Paragon

• Grant All Glyphs
• Max All Glyphs

Progression

• Complete Campaign & All Strongholds (Unlocks Whispers and the Artificer’s Obelisk)
• Set Level to 70
• Unlock All Waypoints & Reveal Map
• Grant Skill and Paragon Point Rewards
• Unlock and Max War Plans
• Unlock All Torment Tiers
• Set Paragon to Level 200

Seasonal

• Grant Seasonal Items (Soul Splinters)

Here are the steps to install and join the PTR:

• Open the Blizzard Battle.net App and select Diablo IV from your Games list.
• In the selector above the Play button, there is a game version drop down menu.
• • Select the Public Test Realm option
• Click Install to Install the PTR client. This becomes a Play button when ready.
• Click Play to log in to the PTR, and select any of the available Test Servers.
• Create a new test character.
• • Note: Create a Seasonal Character for any testing related to the Seasonal themes.
• Enter the game and test the 3.2.0 PTR!

Remember the PTR is PC only.

On a final note, the PTR is noted to not be showing us everything that is coming in Season 15, but just a small taste. The team is holding back some features to be able to be announced at BlizzCon, which we will be sharing the news immediately!

In the meantime, stay up to date with our Tier List, as the team will be crafting some new guides for Season 15 here.