An ancient evil threatens to engulf Sanctuary in darkness, and new heroes have been called upon to face challenges the world has never seen before.

True to the franchise’s roots, Diablo IV will deliver visceral combat, gruesome and varied monsters, an epic hunt for legendary loot, and endless playability and progression. Players will find a lifetime’s worth of adventure scattered across a land rooted in unique ecologies and inhabited by dangerous new foes. They’ll delve into randomized dungeons packed with unpredictable adversaries and unimaginable treasures. While continuing to fully support solo and coordinated party play, Diablo IV will also provide opportunities for groups of players to encounter each other in the same shared world—whether to tackle bigger challenges . . . or possibly even slaughter one another in player-vs.-player combat.

In Diablo IV, players will attempt to bring hope back to the world by vanquishing evil in all its vile incarnations—from cannibalistic demon-worshipping cultists to the all-new drowned undead that emerge from the coastlines to drag their victims to a watery grave. For the first time in the series, Sanctuary will be a contiguous, seamless landmass comprising diverse regions ranging from the burning desert of Kejhistan, to the verdant werewolf-infested forests of Scosglen, to the harsh and rugged wilderness of the Dry Steppes.

Set immediately following the events of Diablo IV, Vessel of Hatred continues the dark story as you fight to save Neyrelle from Mephisto's tightening grip on her soul, still reeling from the choice she made to contain him. The search for Neyrelle takes you deep into the ancient jungle as she grapples with the imprisoned Prime Evil. Attempt to unravel Mephisto’s dark plot while new foes encircle your every move, planning your demise. The fate of Neyrelle’s soul—and her ability to stop this Prime Evil from destroying Sanctuary—rests in your hands.

Vessel of Hatred also has huge updates for all Diablo IV players with new class skills, paragon boards, legendary glyphs, dungeon types, Tree of Whispers activities, and more.

Blizzard revealed the next season for Diablo IV: Season of Witchcraft, starting January 21, 2025.

Heads have been stolen from the Tree of Whispers, and the Witches of Hawezar require aid to track them down… and the culprit, too. In exchange, they will bestow the wonders of Witchcraft upon you as you fight mighty new foes.

• WITCHCRAFT: From the teachings of the Witches of Howezar, players can channel the power of the Swamp. Explore three different schools of Witchcraft Powers to find the ability combination that suits your playstyle, whether you seek supernatural strength, are a practitioner of connected mind and spirit, or wish to balance healing and harming skills. By finding and equipping the new Seasonal Legendary Gems, Occult Gems, you can harness devastating and iconic abilities, some of which harken back to Diablo III.
• HEADROTTEN BOSSES: Cut from the Tree of Whispers, the Stolen Heads have mutated into ghastly abominations, desperate to become whole and human again. New Headrotten Bosses and enemies await as you follow the Whispers of the Dead. By completing the new endgame Headhunts, players can hunt down Headrotten and claim their heads in exchange for Occult Gems. If you’re lucky, you might find a “Headed” Headrotten Boss, a rare boss variant that grants even more valuable rewards.
• ARMORY: The long awaited new armory feature allows players to quickly save and swap complete character loadouts. Save and overwrite different builds for your heroes as you please; all Gear, Skill Points, and Paragon Points will be automatically applied when swapping.
• SEASONAL REWARDS: Season of Witchcraft adds additional Uniques and Legendaries to the loot pool. Vessel of Hatred players can also experience three new Runes and many updates to existing Runes. Those who seek more drops can ascend tiers of the Coven’s Favor, earn rewards like a Raven Pet via the Season Journey, or progress through the Battle Pass.

Master the Occult in Season of Witchcraft

The Tree of Whispers’ most prized possessions are missing: the many Heads which pay their endless debt amongst its gnarled limbs. Uncover the source of this malevolent plot to discover incredible power. Starting on January 21, at 10 a.m. PST, embark on a new Seasonal Questline to unlock powers of Witchcraft, slay the rogue Headrotten, and uncover the secrets behind this haunting mystery.

Witchcraft Powers will be your gateway to wonderful new abilities, augmenting and empowering your existing skills. You’ll earn them as you uncover the mystery of the Coven, a group of heady Witches deep from within the bogs of Hawezar who are eager to serve the Tree of Whispers. As you ally with the Tree of Whispers, you’ll progress and enhance these wild powers throughout Season of Witchcraft.

This update also brings changes to all realms with the Armory, which lets you swap between your favorite builds with ease. Vessel of Hatred owners can search out and wield both new and updated Runes. Plus, there’s new Uniques and Legendary Aspects to earn and master, an all-new Pet in the Season Journey, and more.

Thank you to everyone who participated in December’s 2.1 Public Test Realm. We want you all to know that we’ve integrated feedback throughout this blog, but some feedback that was given will be used to help shape and inform future seasons.

Thank you to everyone that participated in our 2.1 Public Test Realm (PTR) for PC and Battle.net. Throughout the article, any text or section marked in red denotes a change made based off feedback from our latest PTR.

Ally with the Coven

Heed the call of the Witches of Hawezar, a Coven that is bound by the deep magic oozing from the swamps they call home. The Coven are the protectors of the Tree of Whispers, who discovered its many captive Heads are missing. The Tree forgets no oaths and forgives no debts, and these Heads have dues to pay till the end of days. However, these missing Heads have been set loose—free to carry out their own hunt—travelling across Sanctuary to seek bodies and reclaim what was once theirs.

Summoned by the Witches of Hawezar, unravel the mystery of the missing Heads and expose the culprit in an all-new Questline. Within the Questline, you’ll uncover the tantalizing secrets to learn and harness seasonal Witchcraft Powers.

Help them to return the Heads to the Tree, and solve the mystery of who is stealing the Heads and why, and the Coven will reward you with the secrets of their awesome incantations.

To begin the questline, head to Gea Kul and speak with the Witch Gelena.

Master Powers of Witchcraft

A strange sorcery has risen from the crags and bogs of Sanctuary—a sparkle is in the air and the ground thrums with the presence of dark magic.

Embark on the Seasonal Questline, unlock the wondrous powers of Witchcraft, and unleash these newfound horrors to melt the bones of the unwilling. There are three schools to learn and master:

• Eldritch—Wield magic that harnesses destructive energies.
• Psyche—Wield defensive powers of the mind and spirit to create visions, focus your attacks, and induce madness in your enemies.
• Growth & Decay—Wield living magic that both heals and harms, boosting Life, Resource. These incantations can create horrific diseases and disruptions.

Plus, discover rare Lost powers of Witchcraft unkown to both the Coven and the Tree. Each school of Witchcraft gives you the chance to experiment between new styles of power. Tinker with your build to create something strange and terrible to dismember your many formidable foes.

To learn Witchcraft, earn Seasonal reputation with the Coven from completing new Whisper bounties and defeating hulking Headrotten enemies to earn Restless Rot. At specific Tiers, you’ll unlock the ability to learn more Witchcraft Powers at Witches’ Altars near the Tree of Whispers.

To earn your Witchcraft Powers, do as the Witches ask by hunting down the Headrotten and returning the Heads where they belong to earn Restless Rot. This will grant you favor amongst The Coven.

Once you’ve earned favor with the Coven, upgrade the Altars underneath the Tree of Whispers to unlock new Witchcraft Powers. To unlock Lost powers, you’ll need a Forgotten Altar. Forgotten Altars are elusive, so keep an eye out for them within random dungeons throughout Sanctuary.

Witchcraft Powers can be upgraded directly in your inventory using the Restless Rot you’ve earned. Slaying Headrotten in higher difficulty tiers will earn you more Restless Rot.

Eldritch Powers

Firebat Servants

• A deadly swarm of Firebats swarm enemies every 3 2 seconds, inflicting 20% 15% total Fire damage over 1 total attack.
• At Higher Ranks: Enemies are Stunned for 3 seconds after being hit 5 times by your Firebat Servants.

Abyssal Resonance

• Every 250 Resource spent, release an explosion dealing 400% 300% Shadow damage. Each explosion triggered within 10 seconds of the last increases the size and damage by 130%. Stacking up to 3 times.
• At Rank 10: The third explosion pulls enemies towards you before detonating.

Wave of Woe

• Release a Wave of Woe when damaging an enemy with your skills. Wave of Woe deals an additional X Shadow damage and echoes this damage to all other nearby enemies of the same type.
• At Rank 5: Damage is increased by 15% each time damage is echoed and is guaranteed to echo at least 5 times. May strike the same target multiple times.

Purging Touch

• Eldritch Effects X increased damage against Headrotten.
• At Rank 10: This damage bonus now extends to all monsters.

Shaken Soul

• Eldritch Effects apply Vulnerable to enemies for X seconds.
• At Rank 10: Damage from Psyche and Growth & Decay Effects will also apply Vulnerable at half the duration.

Hex of Flames

• Lucky Hit: You have up to an X chance to apply Hex of Flames. Hex of Flames deals 40% 10% additional Fire damage each time you deal damage to the target.
• At Rank 7: Hex of Flames explodes dealing damage to all nearby enemies when you land a Critical Strike.

Doom Orb

• An ominous orb of pure Eldritch energy circles you, damaging any enemy it touches for 400% 300% Fire damage. Doom Orb may launch itself at distant enemies before returning.
• At Rank 5: Kills or damage to Bosses empower the orb’s damage by 5%. After 100%, the orb explodes dealing 5,200 damage to nearby enemies before reforming 3 seconds later.

Psyche Powers

Life Link

• Automatically link your life force with up to 3 nearby enemies. X of the damage you take is shared with the linked targets as physical damage. Cannot Life Link to enemy Players.
• At Rank 15: For 10 seconds after using a Defensive, Macabre of Subterfuge Skill, any linked damage will be a guaranteed Critical Strike.

Hex of Shattering

• Damage done by your Witchcraft Effects afflicts enemies with Hex of Shattering causing them to deal X reduced damage for 5 seconds.
• At Rank 8: When any Hex Effect is applied to Headrotten, all damage will be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds.

Aura of Misfortune

• Enemies near you have X chance for their attacks to be interrupted. Does not work on bosses.
• At Rank 5: Aura of Misfortune increases your Movement Speed by 5% and Slows enemies by 30%.

Aura of Lament

• When you first strike an enemy, it is afflicted with an Aura of Lament that Slows it and other nearby enemies by 70%. For each enemy inside Aura of Lament, you gain 3 1 Primary Resource each second. If the initial enemy dies, Aura of Lament is passed onto another nearby enemy retaining the duration. Lasts X seconds.
• Only 1 enemy may be afflicted at a time. May only occur every 30 seconds.

Vengeful Spirit

• Every 19 Seconds, a Vengeful Spirit Servant appears for X seconds. While active, all damage taken is instead taken by the spirit. Vengeful Spirit Servant deals 750% 500% damage.
• At Rank 5: When the Vengeful Spirit’s Life is fully depleted, it rushes towards up to 8 enemies dealing 2,000 Shadow damage.

Twilight Warding

• Every X seconds, gain a Barrier for 5 seconds absorbing 100 damage.
• At Rank 12: Twilight Warding reflects enemy projectiles while active.

Growth & Decay Powers

Poison Frog Servant

• Summon a Poison Frog Servant that attacks and Poisons enemies for 150% to 400% damage over 3 seconds. On death, the frog explodes violently dealing X Poison instantly damage to nearby enemies. This explosion will always Critically Strike.
• At Rank 5: Poison Frog attacks will pull enemies towards itself and Taunt enemies for 1 second.

Soul Harvest

• Feed upon the life force of nearby enemies whenever you use a skill with a cooldown, increasing your primary stat by 3% per monster for X seconds.
• At Rank 9: Soul Harvest does not lose duration so long as enemies are nearby.

Hex of Whispers

• Dealing damage to an enemy afflicts them with Hex of Whispers that deals X Shadow damage the next time damage is dealt. Afterwards, Hex of Whispers will jump to another enemy up to a maximum of 6 times. Hex of Whispers may only be applied once every 5 seconds.
• At Rank 7: After bouncing onto 6 enemies, the hex bounces back to you granting 15% 60% Fortify and removing all crowd control and negative status effects.

Decay Augmentation

• Your Witchcraft Effects deal X of the damage dealt over 5 seconds. The damage type is based on your class.
• At Rank 10: When your damage-over-time effects exceed 85% of the target’s total Life, they immediately die.

Grow

• After casting an Ultimate Skill, your Servants, Minions, and Companions are empowered with dark magics. Growing larger in size and dealing X bonus damage. Lasts 15 seconds.
• At Rank 11: Your Servants, Minions and Companions gain 100% Critical Strike Chance while enlarged.

Aura of Siphoning

• Conjure an aura of decay that deals 80% 50% Poison damage to enemies every second.
• At Rank 10: Each time Aura of Siphoning deals damage, you are healed for 1% of Maximum Life.

The Cycle

• Dealing any damage with your skills has a 15% chance to grow a flower from the ground. When an enemy is near, the flower deals X Poison damage to that enemy over 5 seconds. If an ally is near, the flower Heals for 6% Maximum Life. The flower withers away after use. A flower may grow once every 2 5 seconds per enemy.
• At Rank 5: The damage and healing affects all enemies or allies near the flower.

Lost Powers

Breath of the Coven

• Dealing damage or applying a Crowd Control effect with any of your Witchcraft Effects increases your Attack Speed by X for 10 Seconds, stacking once per unique Witchcraft Effect.
• Witchcraft Effects are Eldritch, Psyche, and Growth & Decay.
• At Rank 8: Gain 40% Lucky Hit chance while bonuses from Eldritch, Psyche, Growth & Decay are active at once.

Hex Specialization

• Increase the potency of your Hex Effects by X.
• At Rank 10: Increase the Critical Strike Chance by 10% against enemies afflicted by your Hex Effects.

Aura Specialization

• The size of your Aura Effects are increased by X.
• At Rank 10: Increase the Critical Strike Damage by 50% against enemies inside your Aura Effects.

Piranhado

• When an enemy is afflicted by both a Hex and an Aura Effect, a Piranhado is summoned pulling enemies towards it and dealing X Physical damage over 12 seconds. May occur once every 20 seconds.
• At Rank 5: Piranhado moves itself towards nearby enemies.

The Tree of Whispers Grows

Since the Heads once dotting the macabre canopy have disappeared, The Tree of Whispers has invigorated their bounties with a renewed fervor. Set out to track down these rogue Heads and bring this chaos to heel.

There are many new Whisper bounties to seek out and complete to appease the enraged tree. During Season of Witchcraft, there’s a chance the Tree will offer an Ancestral Collection as your reward, guaranteeing at least 1 Ancestral item within.

Hunt the Headrotten

The Heads missing from the Tree of Whispers have become even more ghastly, true abominations. They are desperate to claim new bodies for themselves, to be whole and human again. But without the Tree they are incomplete, fragmented and mad. They spread a terrible rot to anyone they touch.

Multiple Headhunt zones will appear across Sanctuary which signal that vicious Headrotten are skulking the zone, eager to carry out their disembodied Heads’ command. These Headhunt zones are perfect for completing Whisper bounties. During Season of Witchcraft, you’ll be able to return your Whispers at a new additional location: the Raven of the Tree, a friendly Raven found within Headhunts.

Completing Whisper bounties within a Headhunt zone will reveal Exposed Roots, and gives a rare chance to spawn an Uprooted Cocoon. Uprooted Cocoons will spawn the elusive and deadly Headrotten Bosses. These Headrotten Bosses will appear often as Headless Husks, headless creatures that have lost their controlling Fugitive Head.

In rare cases, this Headrotten Boss will appear with the Fugitive Head still attached. Killing one of these abominations will grant you a Head to return to the Coven, to their wicked delight and grand reward.

Complete Whisper bounties within Headhunts to earn Favor with the Coven, and progress through the Coven’s Tiers to earn rewards such as a Resplendent Spark. You’ll also earn the Materials needed to craft Occult Gems, which provide disturbingly powerful enhancements to your Witchcraft Powers.

Rootholds

While completing Whisper bounties within Headhunts, keep a keen eye for any Rootholds. These seasonal dungeons have bonus challenges and rewards to aid your quest to support the Coven. To access, collect Whisper Wood sigils found in Whisper Caches and Silent Chests.

 

Craft Powerful Occult Gems

These powerful Seasonal socketables are crafted with materials earned from completing Whisper bounties and returning Fugitive Heads from Headhunts. Meet with Gelena at the Tree of Whispers, who crafts Occult Gems in exchange for Fugitive Heads, Restless Rot, and Gem Fragments. If you manage to slay a Headrotten possessed by a Fugitive Head, you’ll be able to trade this reclaimed Head for Materials needed to craft Occult Gems.

These powerful Gems provide additional affixes, strongly complement Witchcraft Powers, add Witchcraft tags to your Skills, and more. It is rumored Occult Gems had once even been used to cheat death, if you believe the legend.

You can craft powerful higher tiers of Occult Gems with the following Materials: Fugitive Heads, Restless Rot, Gem Dust, and other Occult Gems.

Each Occult Gem provides 160 Armor and 8% Resist All. Craft the following Occult Gems at Gelena:

Wicked Pact

• Your Non-Unique Eldritch Witch Powers gain 25% Potency.

Heart of Anima

• Your Non-Unique Psyche Witch Powers gain 25% Potency.

Toadling's Wish

• Your Non-Unique Growth & Decay witch Powers gain 35% 25% Potency.

Phantom String

• You deal 15% 40% more Overpower damage to Hexed enemies.

Elder Sigil

• Your Agility, Corpse, Incarnate, Mastery, Weapon Master, and Wrath Skills deal 25% increased direct damage to Hexed enemies. This Skill now has a Potency skill tag instead of Potency.

Killing Wind

• While you have three or more Eldritch Witch Powers slotted, gain 25% Movement Speed and 15% Critical Strike Chance.

Witching Hour

• While you have three or more Eldritch Witch Powers slotted, every 1 5 seconds, the next Core Skill you cast gains the Eldritch tag.

Raging Enigma

• Your Unique Witchcraft Powers deal 40% more damage.

Voice of the Stars

• While you have an Aura active, your Ultimate Skills gain each Grimoire tag and deal 10% more damage.

Mind Wreath

• While you have three or more Psyche Witch Powers slotted, your Defensive, Macabre, Trap Skills gain 20% Cooldown Reduction.

Spiral Coin

• While you have three or more Psyche Witch Powers slotted, gain 30% Control Duration and 20% Lucky Hit Chance.

Cornucopia

• While you have three or more Growth % Decay Witch Powers slotted, you generate 30% more Barrier, gain 30% more Fortify and have 30% more Thorns.

Vulture Talon

• While you have an Aura active, you deal Damage Over Time 50% 35% faster.

Pointed Finger

• Your Summons deals 15% 25% more direct damage to Hexed Elites.

Vile Phylactery

• While you have a Witch Power with the Summon tag slotted, if you would take fatal damage, instead prevent that damage. Then gain a Barrier equal to 100% of your Maximum Life and disable your Witchcraft Powers with the Summon tag for 6 seconds. This can only occur once every 75 seconds.

Friend of the Bog

• While you have three or more Growth & Decay Witch Powers slotted, you gain 10% primary stat, 10% Maximum Life and you are always Unhindered.

Moonlight Ward

• For each rank in your slotted Unique Witchcraft Power, you gain 3% Damage Reduction and 0.5% 1% Maximum Resistance to All Elements.

Dust Stone

• For each of your Auras and Hexes an enemy is afflicted by, they take 2.5% 4% increased damage from you.

Hungering Void

• While you have an Aura active, pull Nearby enemies toward you every 8 seconds.

New Legendary Aspects and Unique Items

New powerful Unique Items and Legendary aspects arrive to enhance your renowned demon crushing prowess.

Barbarian

Mantle of the Mountain’s Fury Unique Chest Armor

Affixes

• Inherent: 100% 50% Hammer of the Ancients damage for 5 seconds after an Earthquake explodes
• 251-444 Armor
• 3-6 Skill Ranks to Hammer of the Ancients
• 2-4 Skill Ranks of Defensive Stance
• 16-22.5% Chance for Earthquake to Deal Double Damage

Power

• Hammer of the Ancients also forms a seismic line that deals its damage and Slows enemies hit by 60-80% for 4 seconds. Earthquakes it passes through explode for their total damage and are consumed.

Of Incendiary Fissures Legendary Aspect

• Your Earthquakes deal 40-60% 35-50% increased damage and their damage is converted into Fire.

Druid

Malefic Crescent Unique Amulet

Affixes

• Inherent: 25% Resistance to All Elements
• 8-11% Willpower
• 155-200% Werewolf Critical Strike Damage
• 8-15% Movement Speed while Shapeshifting into a Werewolf
• 1-2 Ranks of Feral Aptitude

Power

• The value of your Lupine Ferocity's consecutive Critical Strike Damage is increased to 150-200% 100-150%[x] against enemies when consecutively Critical Striking.

Of Wolf’s Rain Legendary Aspect

• Casting Hurricane also spawns a smaller hurricane on your Wolves for 8 seconds. These hurricanes deals 5-15% of Hurricane’s damage for each active Wolf.

Of Electrified Claws Legendary Aspect

• Shapeshifting into a new animal form causes a Lightning Bolt to strike a Nearby enemy dealing Lightning damage. Your Lightning Bolts deal 20-40% increased damage and Stun for 2 seconds.

Necromancer

Indira's Memory Unique Pants

Affixes

• Inherent: Casting Bone Spear Reduces Blood Wave's Cooldown by 2 Seconds
• 16-25% Maximum Life
• 82.5-115% Overpower Damage
• 18.5-30% Damage Reduction While Injured
• 2-3 Ranks of Tides of Blood

Power

• Blood Wave is also a Bone Skill that spawns a Bone Prison at its end point and increases your Blood Skill damage by 40-80% for 8 seconds when cast.
• Bone Spear is also a Blood Skill and will drain 10% Maximum Life each cast after hitting an enemy to consume a surrounding Corpse and launch one new Bone Spear from it.

Kessime's Legacy Unique Pants

Affixes

• Inherent: Casting Blood Wave Fortifies You For 70% of Your Maximum Life
• 187-300% Ultimate Damage
• 9.5-2% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• 16-25% Blood Wave Cooldown Reduction
• 23.5-35% 16-25% Chance for Blood Wave to Deal Double Damage

Power

• Blood Wave now forms a wave on each side of you. Both waves converge at your feet, Pulling In surrounding enemies and exploding for x damage.
• Each time an enemy is hit by a wave, they take 5-10% increased damage from your Blood Waves, up to 150-300% in total.

Of Distilled Anima Legendary Aspect

• While Soulrift is active, you are Unhindered and gain 1% increased Movement Speed per absorbed soul, up to 30-60%. This lasts for 5 seconds after Soulrift ends.

Bone Duster's Legendary Aspect

• Bone Spear is guaranteed to Overpower enemies within Bone Prison and deals 30-50% increased damage to them. Bone Spear is guaranteed to Critically Strike enemies within Bone Prison and deals 20-40% increased damage to them.

Rogue

Assassin’s Stride Unique Boots

Affixes

• Inherent: Casting a Mobility Skill grants +100% Movement Speed for 2 seconds
• 35-50% Shadow Resistance
• 10-2% Mobility Cooldown Reduction
• 2-4 1-2 Skill Ranks to Mobility Skills
• 3-4 2-3 Skill Ranks to Shadow Imbuement

Power

• Mobility Skills are always Shadow Imbued with 40-80% increased potency. Lucky Hit: Damaging an Elite or Boss with a Mobility Skill has up to a 40-80% chance to instantly triggers a free Shadow Imbuement explosion.

Slice and Dice Legendary Aspect

• Twisting Blades' initial hit cleaves. Twisting Blades return 25-45% faster.

Bitter Infection Legendary Aspect

• Enemies infected by Shadow Imbuement take 30-70% 30-50% of its damage every second. Shadow Imbuement deals 30-70%[x] 30-50%[x] increased damage.

Sorcerer

Strike of Stormhorn Unique Focus

Affixes

• Inherent: Chance for Ball Lightning Projectiles to Cast Twice is Now Chance to Cast a Super Ball Lightning
• 67.5-108.5% Critical Strike Damage
• 155-250% Ball Lightning Projectile Speed
• 1-3 1-2 Skill Ranks of Ball Lightning
• 13-17.5% Chance for Ball Lightning Projectiles to Cast Twice

Power

• Ball lightning splashes on contact for 60-100%[x] increased damage and Stunning enemies for 1 second if it reaches its Maximum Range.
• Super Ball Lightnings are larger, deal 125% 100% more damage, have a higher Lucky Hit Chance, and its Stun duration is increased to 3 seconds.

Okun’s Catalyst Unique Focus

Affixes

• Inherent: Ball Lightning Can Be Cast While Moving
• 24-35% Attack Speed for 5 seconds After Casting a Defensive Skill
• 0.5-1.5% Damage Reduction for Each Active Ball Lightning
• 1-3 Skill Ranks of Ball Lightning
• 13-17.5% Chance for Ball Lightning Projectiles to Cast Twice

Power

• Ball Lightning orbits you, creating a static field that damages all enemies within for 140-180% of Ball Lightning’s damage per active ball, and granting Unhindered while the field is active.

Of Mind’s Awakening Legendary Aspect

• Casting a Pyromancy Skill Immobilizes enemies hit for 0.5-1 seconds. Casting a Shock Skill grants a burst of 15-30% Movement speed for 1 second. Casting a Frost Skill grants a Barrier for 3-6% Maximum Life. While Enlightened, each Skill grants all benefits.

Spiritborn

Sustained War-Crozier Unique Quarterstaff

Affixes

• Inherent: 45% Block Chance
• 132-188 Dexterity
• 610-1142 Maximum Life
• 21-35% Chance for Potency Skills to Deal Double Damage
• 2-4 Skill Ranks to Focus Skills

Power

• Your Focus Skills benefit from all their Upgrades, and they increase the damage of your Potency Skills by 10-20% for 8 seconds, up to 100-200%.

Endless Talons Legendary Aspect

• Razor Wings hitting an enemy increases your Eagle Skill damage by 1%[x] for 4 seconds, up to 30-50%[x]. Razor Wing Critical Strikes grant 3 stacks.

Eternal Updates: The Armory, and More

The Armory

The Armory is here to stay! The ability to effortlessly swap between saved builds in town has arrived and will remain a feature in both Eternal and Seasonal Realms after Season of Witchcraft.

The Armory is a brand-new feature which gives you the option to Save, Load, and Name your favorite builds and the option to select those builds to change your Characters current loadout. The buttons to select each will are named after their function. The Armory is Character bound; you’ll have 5 Loadout slots per character.

At a glance from your Loadout, you’ll be viewing Equipment, Skills, selected Paragon Nodes and Glyphs that make up your saved build. Note: changing between Loadout slots with differing Paragon loadouts does not cost Gold.

To use the Armory, start by selecting an empty slot and save your build to begin. Saving your loadout will capture the following: Equipped Items, Paragon Board and Glyphs, Skill Selections, and Class mechanic. The Armory can be accessed across each major city in Sanctuary, and end-game hubs such as the Citadel, Tree of Whispers, and Training Grounds in Kyovashad.

If an item saved in your armory loadout is no longer available—whether from selling, trading, or salvaging—an icon will indicate the item is missing on the Loadout preview.

The Welcome Back Booster is Here to Stay

We’ve made some incredible updates for players on the Eternal Realm, first of which is that the Welcome Back Booster is here to stay. The ability to instantly boost an eternal realm character to Level 50, complete with Legendary Items, and pre-set class skills will now remain as a permanent feature in-game. For more details on the Welcome Back Booster, read our blog here.

Tree of Whispers and General Updates

The Tree of Whispers has a new and improved layout for Season of Witchcraft, which will remain past the Season’s end.

Additionally, each Class mechanic quest completion is now account bound. Once you’ve completed the Class specific quest once, it’ll be completed for any new Character of the same class. You’ll unlock your specific Class mechanic at the Level where the Class mechanic quest would have become available. For example, after completion of the “True Potential” quest for the Rogue, upon reaching Level 15 on your next Rogue character, you’ll automatically unlock the Specialization mechanic.

For those savvy buildcrafters looking for the perfectly rolled item across Sanctuary, unique items with Greater Affixes are improving. When a unique item has more Greater Affixes, the minimum roll of the unique power will be increased per Greater Affix. This better aligns with the overall power of the item, which makes items with 3-4 Greater Affixes feel really impactful.

New and Updated Runes

For Vessel of Hatred players to employ, the Alchemists of Sanctuary have been toiling to craft new sources of arcane power, use these potent sources of magic for dastardly deeds or enlightened benefaction.

Check the Season of Witchcraft patch notes on January 16 to see all balance updates to Runes.

New Ritual Runes

Nagu Legendary Rune

• 100 Offering generated.
• Maintain at least 1 active Summon for 5 seconds, gaining Offering for each up to 6 Summons.

Igni Legendary Rune

• 25 Offering generated.
• Stores offering every 0.3 seconds. Cast a non-Basic Skill to gain the stored offering. (Up to 500 Offering).

New Runes of Invocation

Chac Rare Rune

• Costs 20 Offering
• 220% weapon damage
• Invoke Druid Lightning Bolts, striking a nearby enemy
• Overflow: Spawn more Lightning Bolts

Unlock Rewards with the Season Journey and Battle Pass

As you cleanse Sanctuary’s soil with the constant flow of demon blood, you’ll earn rewards from the Season Journey and Battle Pass.

The Season Journey is broken into Chapters with tasks to complete. As you progress through the Journey, you’ll earn rewards befitting a defender of Sanctuary such as a Resplendent Spark. The Journey also provides Favor—the resource used to climb through the Battle Pass’ Tiers— earnable simply by playing aspects of the game. Completing the Season Journey will give you Dorian the Raven as a Pet to use in-game, our first avian Pet!

Revitalize Your Soul with New Finery

The Season of Witchcraft Battle Pass begins on January 21, 10 a.m. PST and hosts 90 Reward Tiers (28 Free Tiers and 62 Premium Tiers).

Smoldering Ashes earned from the Free Tiers can be spent on Season Blessings that provide helpful bonuses to beat back Hell’s armies. There are 3 new Blessings for Witchcraft:

• Urn of Whispers: Boost the chance to receive a Greater Collection from Whisper rewards.
• Urn of Masterworking: Boosts the chance for existing sources to drop additional Obducite.
• Urn of Rot: Boost the amount of Restless Rot dropped by slain Headrotten. Use Restless Rot to upgrade your Witchcraft Powers.

The bonuses gained from the 5 Season Blessings only last until Season of Witchcraft ends.

If you get the Premium Battle Pass, not only will the rewards of the Free Tiers be yours to wield, but Grand High Witch Armor Set, Platinum, and more also await you, including the Nightwinder Mount and Nightwinder Mount Armor, which unlock at Tier 90. The Accelerated Seasonal Battle Pass also contains 20 Tier Skips and the Magic of Mushrooms Emote.

Acquire Fabled Threads from Tejal’s Shop

We’re dialing up the heat in the Shop with new Equipment, Armor, Accessories, Mounts, and Mount Armor bundles that will have you slaying in style. Starting on January 21 at 12 p.m. PST, visit Tejal to browse her wares—remember to check back often, as she’ll update her stock throughout Season of Witchcraft.

One such rarefied find from the far reaches of Sanctuary is the Daemon Knight bundle for Spiritborn, which contains the Daemon Knight Armor Set, Soulsreap Glaive cosmetic, Exobane Quarterstaff cosmetic, and Diabolical Anthem Marking for all your Spiritborn characters. This bundle can be purchased from Tejal's Shop for 2,800 Platinum.

Community Guides for Season of Witchcraft

If you need sage guidance in your character’s journey throughout the season, look to our Community guides for tips and insights on builds for every class. From early game levelling, all the way to end-game builds, they’ve got you covered!

Visit our trusted Community resources here:

• Maxroll
• Icy Veins
• Wowhead
• PureDiablo
• Mobalytics

Tune in to the Next Developer Update Stream

Our next Developer Update stream begins on January 16 at 11 a.m. PST and details everything for Season of Witchcraft. Join members of the development team as they go through learnings from the December Public Test Realm, system updates, and more.

Visit our official Diablo Twitch, YouTube, X, and TikTok channels to watch live! Following the Stream’s conclusion, we’ll post another article with a video of the chat so you can catch up on the details if you miss them.

May the Witches of Hawezar deem you valiant enough to harness their wicked ways.
—The Diablo IV Team

Diablo IV is developed using modern technology that pushes the franchise to dark, new depths. This technology is at the heart of everything players will see, hear, and feel—delivering much higher fidelity and a more engrossing experience. It opens up countless possibilities for the Diablo series, from smooth character animations, such as the Druid’s fluid shapeshifting, to the seamless, vast overworld players will travel across in search of the next loot-filled underground dungeon. Ultimately, Diablo IV grounds players in a grittier and deadlier world.

Diablo IV is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC (Steam).