During yesterday's official live stream, Blizzard revealed that the much anticipated Season 4 of Diablo IV will be released on May 14 across all platforms. Titled Loot Reborn, the new season makes major changes to how players can obtain and improve equipment. So far, the community's feedback on the Public Test Realm has been very positive.
The itemization changes are so wide-ranging that they won't be limited to the Seasonal Realm, so even players in the Eternal Realm will be affected. To start with, the developers have significantly decreased the amount of items that drop whenever you slay monsters, which is definitely a blessing, as it will allow players to spend more time actually playing instead of sorting through useless items on the inventory page.
To compensate, item drops will now be more valuable. The materials gained from salvaging and crafting have been adjusted to reflect this change. In addition, Forgotten Souls can now be earned from Whisper bounties and are a rare drop from all Elite foes. The gold cost for re-rolling items when enchanting has been capped, and the materials needed to perform all activities while at the blacksmith have been reduced.
To make it easier for Diablo IV players to figure out when they've just dropped an upgrade, the number of affixes has been reduced, too, to three on Legendary quality and two on Rare quality. However, the affixes will be stronger.
The chosen World Tier difficulty setting directly influences the rarity of items players can drop. Sacred items or higher only appear in World Tier III, and only Ancestral items will appear in World Tier IV. Furthermore, Legendary items dropped from Level 95+ enemies will have a guaranteed value of 925 Item Power. However, some Unique items can now drop even in World Tier I and II, and Uber Uniques can begin dropping as soon as the players kill monsters that are Level 55 at max Item Power level.
The Codex of Power has been improved, too. Aspects extracted from Legendary items won't take inventory space anymore; players will find them in the Codex of Power library, where they can be used indefinitely.
In Season 4: Loot Reborn, Diablo IV players will find the brand new Tempering manuals. These can be used by blacksmith NPCs to improve existing items, adding powerful affixes. Do note that there is a Tempering Durability stat to consider, which indicates how many times you can Temper an item. The Tempering manuals also expire at the end of a Season, but only when you're on the Seasonal Realm.
In addition to Tempering, Blizzard also introduced Masterworking. This new endgame crafting system utilizes resources scavenged from The Pit of Artificers, which is unlocked at World Tier IV after completing a priority quest to complete a Tier 6 Nightmare Dungeon. Afterward, players will start collecting Runeshards from Helltide Chests, World Bosses, Legion Events, Nightmare Dungeons, and Whisper Bounties.
With enough Runeshards, the obelisk in Cerrigar can be activated, allowing you and a group of up to three other players to enter The Pit of Artificers. The objective is to kill enough monsters in 10 minutes to summon a final boss. Players' deaths remove time from the clock: the first death removes 30 seconds, the second death removes 60 seconds, and the third and subsequent deaths remove 90 seconds.
After enough monsters have been slain, a portal materializes to transport you to the boss's arena. Again, defeating the boss before the timer runs out will provide those coveted Masterworking materials while also unlocking the next level of The Pit (there are 200 in total). If you can kill the boss with time left on the timer, the rewards improve. With 4-6 minutes to spare, you will skip a level and unlock an additional tier of the Pit. If you kill the boss with 6 or more minutes left, you will unlock two additional tiers.
When entering with a group, the player who spends the runes to open the Pit receives the most materials. Also, only the player who opens the Pit will have a chance to receive the Stygian Stones, which are used to summon Tormented Echoes - level 200 variants of the summonable bosses found in Diablo IV. As you descend into the levels of The Pit, these Stygian Stones will appear more frequently.
Masterworking strengthens all affixes on your weapon, and every fourth tier provides a big enhancement to one of them in particular. The affix that gets the bonus will turn Blue. If the same affix is improved again, it will change to Yellow, and in rare cases, it will turn Orange if improved a third time. This process can be reset after hitting the maximum level of Masterworking on a weapon in case the player is unsatisfied with the improvements.
Other noteworthy changes to itemization include the Greater Affixes, more powerful versions of regular Affixes that will only be found on Ancestral Legendary and Unique items. In World Tier III and IV, each Affix on an item can be a Greater Affix, though you cannot enchant an Affix into a Greater Affix. Gems have also been streamlined and made more effective.
When it comes to content, Diablo IV Season 4: Loot Reborn will see the addition of enhanced Helltides. As a starter, Helltides will now be found in World Tier I and II as well. Moreover, as players smash foes during these events, they will fill a new Threat meter that rises with the difficulty of the monsters slain and the frequency of them opening Tortured Gifts. There are three levels of Threat, and each increases the frequency and danger of ambushes players will have to suffer. At max Threat level, the player becomes Hell-Marked, which will spawn a horde of monsters directed at them. If the player survives, they'll then have to face a powerful Hellborn foe, which can embody one of the player classes.
Helltides have also been expanded to include Accursed Rituals. These Rituals may be started once the player has gathered three Baneful Hearts (from defeating Hellborns or opening Tortured Gifts). A demonic ambush will ensue, with the powerful Blood Maiden as the final boss.
Blizzard is introducing a new elixir called Profane Mindcage, a guaranteed drop after slaying a Hellborn. The elixir increases the level of Helltide Monsters by 10 and boosts Cinder drop rates. While the aforementioned changes will affect both Seasonal and Eternal Realms, the Profane Mindcage will only be available until the end of Diablo IV Season 4.
Helltides now also feature new events, including encounters with the Iron Wolves that will persist beyond the season. The Iron Wolves, a noble band of mercenaries from the South, are at the center of the season's plot. Players must seek their field commander, Soudeh the Anvil, in Khejistan to discover the source of the slaughter of several members of the band. Completing these quests will earn players several Tempering manuals.
Last but not least, Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish, will join the boss ladder at the same tier as her brother Duriel. Players can look forward to the same Uber Unique drop rate. Andariel can be summoned east of Tasarak, in Hanged Man’s Hall, provided you've gathered the required materials from Lord Zir and Beast in Ice.
All summonable bosses are now available as Tormented Echoes at level 200. Summonable with their regular materials alongside the Stygian Stones found deep within The Pit of Artificers, these bosses cost more to summon but drop far more rewards. To summon a Tormented Echo, players must go to its typical summon location and select the Tormented Echo variant. You'll need to craft a different Nightmare Dungeon Sigil to summon the Ice Beast. All items dropped by Tormented Echoes are at level 925. A player defeating their first Tormented Echo will drop a Glowing Spark as a first-time reward.
Season 4: Loot Reborn is just one step toward a journey that Blizzard hopes will last for many, many more years, thanks to annual expansions and continuous updates. Later this year, Diablo IV will receive its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, which will move players to the jungle region of Nahantu and add a brand new class. While BlizzCon 2024 has been canceled, Blizzard will undoubtedly be featured on the Xbox Games Showcase as well as later this Summer at Gamescom.
