Diablo III is developed as the definitive action role-playing game, and a true continuation of the Diablo series. Players will create a hero from one of five distinct classes, such as barbarian or witch doctor, each equipped with an array of spells and abilities. As these heroes adventure through rich and varied settings, unraveling an epic storyline and engaging in combat with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses, they’ll grow in experience and ability and acquire items of incredible power.

The game takes place on Sanctuary, a world of dark fantasy. Unbeknownst to most of its inhabitants, Sanctuary was saved some twenty years ago from the demonic forces of the underworld by a few brave and powerful heroes. Most of those warriors who directly faced Hell’s armies -- and were fortunate enough to survive -- went mad from their experiences. And most of the others have buried their haunted memories and pushed the horrors from their thoughts. In Diablo III, players will return to Sanctuary to confront evil in its many forms once again.

Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen.

Prepare yourselves for a journey to mysterious ruins deep in the Festering Woods with Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary going live on February 24 at 5 p.m. PST/CET/KST. 

Rites of Sanctuary holds the distinction of being one of the biggest seasonal updates to Diablo III ever and has had more engagement by players during the public testing period than we have ever had in years prior. 

“Last week we wrapped up the PTR period for Season 28 which saw 5 times more concurrent users on PC compared to our previous PTR testing periods. We’ve seen phenomenal responses from our players and it’s clear that the excitement for Diablo III is on the rise! With all the content that arrived in the last several patches and will be arriving in our upcoming season, there couldn’t be a better time to try – or return to – Diablo III.” - Matthew Cederquist, Senior Game Producer I

Along with loads of new updates and rewards, players will experience an all-new journey in the Rites of Sanctuary. After stumbling upon the Altar of Rites, brave Nephalem may unlock Seals and Legendary Potions to claim their powers... after a sacrificial offering of course. Those that unlock all Seals and Potions will then be rewarded with the Wings of Terror Cosmetic.

More rewards abound this season with new Season Cosmetic and Journey Rewards, as well as the return of rewards originally available from Season 16. In addition, there will be a new rotation of Conquests and all new Class Sets that will be rewarded after completing certain chapters in the Season Journey.

Power from the days of yore rests silently across Sanctuary, waiting to be uncovered once more. To what ends is for you to decide, Nephalem. 

For an in-depth look at the seasonal theme, rewards, and the balance changes made between the end of the Patch 2.7.5 PTR and now, take a gander below.

SEASON 28 THEME

“Oh, the pursuit of coin makes you do the most foolish things, but mining is profitable. Our search for ancient Nephalem artifacts forces us to enter a mangled mass of corroding foliage and decaying flora. We chipped away at stone after stone until my tool made a hardy thunk into the rock and the foulest stream of gas spewed out. The other miners helped me dig out the biggest artifact I've ever seen—an ominous-looking altar. As we began to investigate this curious find, a faint whisper infiltrated my thoughts. It was not one voice, but a collective. Who they are I'm unsure of, but I can be certain that we must share our discovery with others. We began the long haul back to New Tristram with our prized discovery. A few days passed, many townsfolk came to view the Altar and left. Then, the Nephalem marched into town and requested to see the Altar. . .”
-New Tristram Miner

Season 28 introduces Rites of Sanctuary, our new seasonal theme. Using the ancient Altar of Rites, curious Nephalem can follow the instructions, sacrificing various materials for unspeakable power that lasts the entire season.

Developer's Note: Our aim with this Season Theme was to enhance the journey players experience each season by tying material goals to meaningful choices. As we look towards Diablo IV's release, we wanted to celebrate its arrival with a feature that emphasizes progression as well as offer some interesting details about Sanctuary. We hope you enjoy the Rites of Sanctuary as much as we do.

SEASON COSMETIC REWARDS

Beginning with Season 17, we began reintroducing previous rewards to make them available to players who may have missed them the first time around. For Season 28, this means rewards originally available from Season 16 are returning. In addition to the Helm and Shoulder slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, players can earn a brand-new series of portrait frames themed around the clarion call of adventure. For the most devoted cosmetic collectors, we have a pair of wings fit for a monarch. The Wings of Lempo draw inspiration from some of the noblest creatures in Sanctuary, and aside from a cosmically rare drop, few other wings are quite as lovely.

As in past seasons, two new End of Journey cosmetic rewards will be obtainable during Season 28. Gaze upon the Taennin the Tiny pet as she shimmers among the stars, leaving ripples of the purest light behind, and tap into your wild side with the Primal Hunter portrait.

SEASON JOURNEY REWARDS

If you’ve been diligently slaying demons to reach Conquerer in the Season Journey previously, you’ve surely accrued extra stash tabs. You’ll earn one additional tab each Season by finishing the Conquerer tier, up to a maximum of five:

• Guardian of Sanctuary: Finish a level 70 Nephalem Rift on Torment XIII difficulty within five minutes.
• Gem of My Life: Level three Legendary Gems to level 55.
• All I Do is Win: Complete two Conquests this Season.
• In For the Kill: Kill Azmodan at level 70 in under 30 seconds on Torment X difficulty.
• Money Ain’t a Thang: Slay Greed on Torment X difficulty. Treasure Goblins outside of Nephalem Rifts will sometimes open portals to Greed’s domain, The Vault.
• Take U There: Reach Greater Rift Level 60 Solo. Greater Rift keystones can be obtained from any Nephalem Rift guardian.
• Power Amplification: Use Kanai’s Cube to augment an Ancient Legendary item with a level 50+ gem.
• Cubic Reconfiguration: Use Kanai’s Cube to reforge a Legendary item.

SEASONAL CONQUEST

Speaking of Conquests, we’re rotating those, too! Here’s all the conquests returning for Season 28:

• Speed Demon and Need for Speed (Hardcore) - Complete a Nephalem Rift at max level on Torment X within 2 minutes.
• On a Good Day and I Can't Stop (Hardcore) - Level three Legendary Gems to level 65.
• Boss Mode and Worlds Apart (Hardcore) - Kill the following bosses at max level on Torment X within 20 minutes of the start of the game.
• Curses! and Stars Align (Hardcore) - Kill 350 or more monsters in a Cursed Chest event at level 70 on Torment X difficulty.
• Years of War and Dynasty (Hardcore) - Reach Greater Rift Level 55 Solo without the bonuses of six of the following Class sets.

HAEDRIG’S GIFT

Finally, the Class Sets rewarded for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey courtesy of Haedrig’s Gift have rotated once more. We’ve listed the available Sets below. For those new to Seasons, here’s how it works:

Completing Chapters II, III, and IV of the Season Journey will reward you with three of Haedrig’s Gifts. These contain a few pieces from one of your Class Sets. Players can only unlock one Class Set in this manner per Season across Hardcore and Non-Hardcore, so choose wisely!

The set you receive depends on the class of the character you’re playing when you open each Haedrig’s Gift. To collect a full Class Set, you’ll need to open all three on the same character.

Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 28:

• Barbarian – Horde of the Ninety Savages
• Crusader – Aegis of Valor
• Demon Hunter – Gears of Dreadlands
• Monk – Patterns of Justice
• Witch Doctor – Mundunugu’s Regalia
• Wizard – Typhon’s Veil
• Necromancer – Masquerade of the Burning Carnival

PATCH NOTES

Below you’ll find the patch notes for the upcoming update to Diablo III: Patch 2.7.5. This patch goes live on February 21 at 11:30 a.m. PST.

Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.

Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary

For Season 28, Rites of Sanctuary, we’re travelling deep into the mysterious ruins of the Festering Woods. Amid a mining expedition, citizens hailing from New Tristram stumbled across an ominous Altar carved from an archaic material bearing cryptic markings. Shaken to their core by the eldritch aroma of the monolith, they’ve enlisted the assistance of brave Nephalem willing to investigate this sinister discovery that was once left to time—the Altar of Rites.

Home to power thought to be extinct from Sanctuary, the Altar of Rites will bestow these mystic forces upon worthy Nephalem. . .after a sacrifice is offered. You can begin interacting with the Altar of Rites at Level one.

Upon arrival at the Altar of Rites, players will see 26 icons called Seals and three Legendary Potion Powers. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the elements below.

Seal and Legendary Potion Powers

Seal	Power
A	Your Kill Streak timer duration and reward bonus are doubled.
B	Pools of Reflection last for the entire Season and are not removed by death.
C	Items have no level requirement.
D	+200 Damage
E	+25% Missile Damage Reduction
F	+25% Movement Speed (Uncapped)
G	Increase damage against elites by 15%.
H	Picking up Health Globes grants a shield for 5% of your maximum health for 7 seconds. Max stacks 5.
I	+25% Melee Damage Reduction.
J	Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%.
K	Increase damage against elites by 20%.
L	+10% Damage +20% Damage
M	Double the amount of Death's Breaths that drop.
N	Critical hits grant resource: Mana: 15, Hatred: 5, Wrath: 5, Arcane Power: 3, Fury: 3, Spirit: 5, Essence: 5.
O	Double the amount of Bounty Caches that drop from completing bounties.
P	Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up. Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up within 60 yards.
Q	Reduces the damage taken from elites by 25%.
R	15% Damage +30% Damage
S	Gain immunity to crowd-controlling effects.
T	Gain passability.
U	Pets pick up Death's Breath.
V	Elite packs drop one additional progress orb.
W	Increase damage done to Bosses by 25%.
X	Pets pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items.
Y	Increase your chance to Dodge by 15%.
Z	Double the chance to find a legendary item purchased from Kadala.
Potion AA	When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction.
Potion AB	When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage.
Potion AC	When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or pylon effect. When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or the Dimensional Power pylon effect.
AD	When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well.

Developer's Note: We wanted the seasonal theme to be powerful and rewarding, but Conduit pylon completely broke the game. So, we made some adjustments to keep the power level high, while having your character's progression still matter. We have removed all pylons from the final potion power and replaced them with a 16-second Dimensional Power pylon. To compensate for the power decrease, we buffed several damage Seals elsewhere in the tree.

How Seals and Potions Work

As you can see, after unlocking the first Seal, the order in which you unlock additional Seals and obtain their powers is entirely up to you and which powers align with your character’s build the most. Once a Seal or Legendary Potion Power is unlocked, you’ll immediately receive that Seal or Potion’s power and will have the ability to unlock connected Seals or Potions once you have the required materials. All Seals and Potions can be unlocked by players and the powers apply to all your characters—these powers last for the entirety of Season 28.

How to Unlock Seals and Potions

Unlocking Seals and Potions will be no easy feat, especially after multiple sacrifices—you’ll find yourself rummaging across Sanctuary slaying scores of demons hellbent on preventing you from acquiring the Altar of Rites’ full power.

Players must gather materials listed in the Altar of Rites menu and sacrifice them in order to gain a Seal or Potion’s power. In addition to receiving the power after unlocking, you’ll notice the generic text previously displayed has been swapped with a small story scrap about Sanctuary’s tumultuous past.

To unlock a Seal, the one preceding it must be unlocked first (this does not apply to Seals R, S, and T because of how they’re positioned within the Altar). For example, if you want to unlock Seal B or C, Seal A must already be unlocked. There is no limit to how many Seals or Potions can be unlocked within a given time period, if you have the required materials to sacrifice to the Altar. Regardless of the order in which you unlock Seals and Potions, the cost will increase as shown below.

Study the cost of each sacrifice and theorize where within Sanctuary you can find some of these rare materials.

Costs to Unlock a Seal or Legendary Potion Power

#	Cost
1	10 Reusable Parts
2	1 Flawless Diamond (or greater), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Resuable Parts
3	1 Greater Rift Key, 10 Death's Breaths
4	Any Class Specific Set Helm
5	20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Khanduran Runes, 10 Caldeum Nightshade, 10 Arreat War Tapestry, 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Westmarch Holy Water
6	1 Leoric's Regret, 1 Vial of Putridness, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Fright
7	Reaper's Wraps
8	30 Forgotten Souls
9	1,100 Bloodshards
10	1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Death's Breaths, Ring of Royal Grandeur
11	1 Flawless Royal Emerald, 30 Khanduran Runes, 30 Caldeum Nightshade, 30 Arreat War Tapestry, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Westmarch Holy Water
12	20 Greater Rift Keys, 1 Ramaladni's Gift
13	1,300 Bloodshards
14	Petrified Scream
15	Challenge Rift Cache
16	250 Forgotten Souls
17	1,400 Bloodshards
18	Ancient Hellfire Amulet
19	One Never Ending Questions Four Tome of Set Dungeon Pages from your class. See the chart below for more information.
20	Ancient Puzzle Ring, 50 Khanduran Runes, 50 Caldeum Nightshade, 50 Arreat War Tapestry, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Westmarch Holy Water
21	500 Death's Breaths, 300 Forgotten Souls
22	1,500 Bloodshards
23	Whisper of Atonement Rank 125
24	Any Augmented Weapon
25	Staff of Herding
26	1,600 Bloodshards
Potion 1	55 Primordial Ashes
Potion 2	110 Primordial Ashes
Potion 3	165 Primordial Ashes

Completing this sacrifice does so for all other character classes on your account.

• Barbarian:
  • 12, 14, 18, 22
• Crusader:
  • 31, 35, 37, 40
• Demon Hunter:
  • 52, 56, 60, 63
• Monk:
  • 71, 74, 78, 83
• Necromancer:
  • 85, 86, 90, 92
• Witch Doctor:
  • 93, 97, 101, 106
• Wizard:
  • 112, 121, 126, 130

Developer's Note: We agree that obtaining Never Ending Questions was more difficult than desired. We decided to direct players to collect the necessary sets to enter Set Dungeons and provide proof at the Altar of Rites.

Uncover an Ancient Legend—Unlock All Seals

After you’ve conquered the armies of Hell and acquired the needed materials to unlock all 26 Seals and three Potions, you’ll receive a reward truly fitting of an unstoppable force—the Wings of Terror Cosmetic, Seal AD. We recommend you unlock all Seals and Potions within the Altar of Rites, not only to inspire terror within your foes, but also to piece together the fragments of Sanctuary’s past.

PRIMORDIAL ASHES FEATURE

Acquiring Primal Items is no small task. That’s why we are adding a new Primordial Ashes feature with this patch to aid in your quest. At the Blacksmith, you can now salvage a Primal Item for 55 Primordial Ashes.

We have also added a Primal Item recipe to Kanai’s Cube, allowing you to upgrade any non-crafted legendary item to a Primal Item for 100 Primordial Ashes. Only one upgraded Primal Item may be worn at a time and upgraded Primal Items do not retain the properties of the Legendary Item that was used. New affixes are rolled for all upgraded Primal Items.

BUG FIXES

Altar of Rites

• The power description for Seal N has been updated for increased clarity.
• Pets will no longer pick up and salvage other players’ common, magic, and rare items because of the power from Seal X.
• Fixed an issue where Seal V caused more progress orbs to drop than intended.

MONK SKILL CHANGES

• Combination Strike Passive Skill:
  • Each Spirit Generator you use increases the damage of your other Spirit Generators by 100% for 10 seconds.
• Crippling Wave Skill:
  • Every third hit also dazes enemies within 11 yards, slowing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds.
    • Concussion Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds.
    • Breaking Wave Rune: Enemies hit by Crippling Wave take 10% additional damage from all attacks for 10 seconds.
• Deadly Reach Skill:
  • Foresight Rune: Every third hit also increases the damage of all your attacks by 15% for 10 seconds.
• Way of the Hundred Fists:
  • Assimilation Rune: Each enemy hit with the third hit increases your damage by 5% for 10 seconds.

ITEM CHANGES

Barbarian

• Horde of the Ninety Savages (6-piece bonus):
  • Frenzy deals 2,000% increased damage per stack.

Demon Hunter

• Chanon Bolter:
  • Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them and deal 150-200% increased damage. Enemies may be taunted once every 10 seconds.
• The Demon’s Demise:
  • Each blast from Spike Trap will damage all enemies again after 1 second and deals 150-200% increased damage.
• Natalya’s Slayer:
  • Increases Spike Trap Damage by 10 -15%.
• Natalya’s Vengeance (2-piece bonus):
  • Hitting an enemy summons a Spike Trap if it is on your action bar. Each Spike Trap detonation restores 1 Discipline.
  • Spike Trap deals 100% increased damage to enemies affected by Caltrops. Spike Trap now instantly refreshes charges on use, no longer cost resources, and each detonation restores 2 Discipline.
• Natalya’s Vengeance (4-piece bonus):
  • Laying a Spike Trap grants 60% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds.
  • Spike Trap explosions will blast affected enemies towards the nearest set Caltrops. Laying a Spike Trap grants 75% damage reduction. The duration of this bonus is always equal to the number of already laid traps in seconds.
• Natalya’s Vengeance (6-piece bonus):
  • Spike Traps deal 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive blast from the detonation chain reaction will deal 10% more damage than the previous blast.
  • Spike Trap deals 10,000% increased damage, and each consecutive explosion from the detonated chain reaction will deal 25% more damage than the previous blast.

Developer's Note: After listening to the community’s feedback about the Natalya's changes, we wanted to move Natalya's away from Gears of Dreadlands, giving it a unique identity. We hope Natalya's playstyle gives players more control over the explosions they set off while navigating the battlefield.

• Gears of Dreadlands:
  • Your primary skills deal 15,000% increased damage.
  • Your primary skills deal 27,500% increased damage.

Developer's Note: We've taken away the Strafe ability from Natalya's, but still want to support the players enjoying Strafe builds.

• The Shadow’s Mantle (2-piece bonus):
  • While equipped with a melee weapon, the damage of your Bolas, Chakram, Fan of Knives, and Impale is increased by 6,000%.
  • The Shadow’s Mantle 2-piece bonus no longer benefits Spike Trap.
• Trag’oul Coils:
  • Spike Traps gain the Scatter Rune, are deployed twice as fast, and deal 150-200% increased damage.
• Unhallowed Essence (6-piece bonus):
  • Hatred generators, Vengeance attacks, and Multishot deal 1700% increased damage per point of discipline the Demon Hunter currently has.

Monk

• Patterns of Justice (6-piece bonus):
  • Hitting with Tempest Rush while Sweeping Wind is active increases the size of Sweeping Wind as well and increases all damage dealt by 20,000.
• Raiment of Thousand Storms (4-piece bonus):
  • Dashing Strike spends 25 Spirit but refunds a Charge when it does.

Necromancer

• Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (6-piece bonus):
  • Bone Spear deals 9,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus.

Witch Doctor

• Spirit Barrage:
  • Manitou Rune: Summon a specter that hovers over you, unleashing spirit bolts at nearby enemies for 6,000% 14,000% weapon damage as Cold over 20 seconds.

Developer's Note: Witch Doctors have S-tier solo builds, but their farming builds aren’t as easy to play as other classes. To help, we’ve buffed the Manitou Rune on Spirit Barrage. We hope to give players an improved speed farming build, while also buffing one of their best solo pushing builds in a significant way, producing faster boss kills.

Wizard

• The Typhon’s Veil (6-piece-bonus):
  • Hydras deal 4,000% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.