Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop AppDiablo 4’s Season 9 launches on July 1st, and the first wave of patch notes just dropped. The initial feeling I got? A good one.
For context, the developers often take a heavy-handed approach during their Public Test Realm (PTR) phases, intentionally overdoing buffs or nerfs to assess how changes impact the game.
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This guide was written by Cliptis.
Season 9 introduces some brand new mechanics to both the Seasonal and Eternal Realm. While Seasonal characters can experience the best of both worlds, Eternal characters still get plenty to explore. Here's a quick look at what's coming!
The new Seasonal Questline is based around obtaining powers via Horadric Spellcraft and Horadric Jewels. Players will be able to create a variety of spells by combining three different elements known as Catalysts, Infusions, and Arcana.
A spell is created with one Catalyst, one Infusion, and three Arcana which augment the spell. You'll acquire these materials through the Seasonal Questline, as well as by exploring the new Horadric Strongrooms.
Horadric Strongrooms are micro-dungeons found within Nightmare Dungeons. On Torment I or higher, players will have the chance to find Horadric Tomes which are used to craft Horadric Jewels.
While not every Nightmare Dungeon will contain a Strongroom, some Nightmare Dungeon Sigils may have an affix which guarantees its appearance. Players can also look forward to seeing additional Nightmare Dungeon Affixes as well.
Escalating Nightmares is the other main addition, giving players the chance to take on three back to back Nightmare Dungeons. Throughout each one, every affix will carry over, scaling the difficulty and escalating the rewards as you go.
Players who manage to defeat all three dungeons on Torment I or higher will come face to face with the Exalted Astaroth. Upon defeating this boss, you'll have a rare chance to obtain a Horadric Jewel.
In order to take on the challenge, you'll need to obtain an Escalation Sigil, which you can get from the Seasonal Reputation track or via Horadric caches in Strongrooms (Torment I+).
Escalating Nightmares can be done on Pre-Torment difficulty tiers, but won't offer the same scaling, nor will it end with the Exalted Astaroth fight.
After a buggy PTR, it was hard to get a solid read on where Season 9 would land on the power spectrum. The seasonal powers felt underwhelming, the changes to damage and meta shifts were noticeable, and Pit clears felt slightly harder. So, what sparked the optimism after the notes dropped?
This season, each class is receiving a brand-new unique item. All but one of the six new uniques were buffed—most notably, the Druid’s new two-handed mace. In a twist of fate, this mace guarantees that Pulverize will Overpower at increased damage. Unfortunately, Blizzard also introduced a significant nerf to how much Overpower damage you gain from Life and Fortify. While it appears to be a buff on the surface, we’ll have to see how it plays out once the season launches.
As mentioned, only one unique was nerfed: the new pants for the Spiritborn. The Spiritborn entered Diablo 4 with a bang as the most powerful class to date. However, over the last two seasons, it left players underwhelmed when comparing top Pit clears on community leaderboards. On the PTR, the Spiritborn felt strong thanks to a new Thorns build generated by the pants, which caused each attack to damage a nearby enemy for up to 300% of the character’s Thorns damage. This was cut down by 50%, reducing the effect to 150% per attack.
The new Horadric Powers system introduces a customizable spell mechanic with a variety of options depending on player needs. These powers have three components:
Several Infusions received major buffs, some increasing from 150% to 350% damage. While this doesn’t increase the character’s own power directly, it shows the developers are leaning toward increasing overall effectiveness compared to the PTR.
Although the Catalysts didn’t change much, the Infusions got quality-of-life improvements. Beyond the buffs, each Infusion now disables specific monster affixes (e.g., Wallers or Damage Reduction elites). The duration of these disables increased from 5 to 8 seconds—a much-needed improvement. At high levels of the Pit, 5 seconds was often not enough to eliminate targets before the debuff wore off, forcing repositioning mid-fight.
One unfortunate change was a nerf to the popular Arcana, Siphoning Gizmo. It previously interacted with damage over time, but now only affects Infusion damage. While this is a nerf, it’s also a fix—this Arcana was a key part of a bug that enabled infinite Barbarian damage.
Meanwhile, the Spiritborn got a partial refund on its Thorns nerf: the Jagged Bramble Arcana was buffed from 100% to 150% increased Thorns damage, softening the blow.
My personal favorite change—and something many were hoping would survive the PTR—was a build around The Blood Charm Arcana. It originally read:
The Mana Blast from Propulsion will Execute non-Boss enemies with 10% or less Life. Successful Executions reset it.
Now it reads:
Propulsion: The Mana Blast from Propulsion will Execute non-Boss enemies. Successful Executions grant 70% Movement Speed for 5 seconds.
Used with Propulsion, this allowed players to teleport infinitely and deal damage as long as they could execute enemies. While it wasn’t very strong, it was incredibly fun—but sadly, it did not make it out of the PTR.
Finally, a new Horadric Jewel was introduced at the last minute, offering a much-needed option for physical-damage builds. The PTR was very focused on elemental scaling, so this addition brings balance. The jewel adds 40%(x) increased damage for 6 seconds after dealing physical damage. It’s unclear whether the buff lasts only 6 seconds during boss fights or if there are ways to extend it throughout the encounter.
For any hardcore players out there, the developers removed the ability to craft or drop the Liminal Echo Jewel. The jewel makes it so if you would take fatal damage, instead prevent that damage, invoke Propulsion, and become Invulnerable for 3 seconds. This can only occur once every 75 seconds. The reason for this and to quote the developers “Developer’s Note: It’s important to us as Developers to maintain the integrity and spirit of Hardcore. We welcome any feedback regarding what that means to the community!”
One notable change that was made to the based off of player Feedback from the PTR was to add another source for the Jewels to be obtained. At the end of the Escalating Nightmare Dungeons, a new mechanic added to the base game of Diablo 4, you will fight a new (old) boss; Astaroth. You’ll have a small change to obtain Jewels as loot if you’re strong enough to kill him.
Overall, I’m happy with the direction the patch notes suggest. Game-changing abilities like teleport builds—when they don’t break damage scaling—are a fantastic addition. If the buffs keep coming, Season 9 could be a strong entry for Diablo 4. I'm ready to dive in, slay some demons, and atone for the Sins of the Horadrim.
