For many, Diablo 4 really felt like it came into its own in Season 4, so we’re really excited to see what Blizzard has in store for us next.
If you’re yet to try out Diablo 4, you can play it for no additional cost as part of Xbox Game Pass. Keep in mind, though, that Game Pass is getting more expensive, but you won’t need to pay extra to play Diablo 4 Season 5.
You will need to pay for the upcoming expansion DLC, Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, however.
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But with so much content and so little time, we won’t keep you waiting. Read on to get the lowdown on Diablo 4 Season 5!
When is Diablo 4 Season 5 coming out? Release date
The release date for Diablo 4 Season 5 is 6pm BST on 6th August 2024.
You could actually have tried out Season 5 a little early by joining the public test realm (PTR), with players being able to have a go on an early version of the update between 25th June and 2nd July, but we’re unfortunately well past that point.
The good news is that we don’t have much longer to wait, and soon we will be back in Sanctuary getting up to all sorts of demon-smashing nonsense.
As for what to expect, well then, read on and we will dish out the details!
What to expect in Diablo 4 Season 5
Diablo 4 Season 5 is bringing loads of new content in terms of items, quests and story. The Season 5: PTR campfire chat above goes over it all, while the official blog post for the new season describes it as such:
“Season 5 features a new story where enemies are cut down, alliances shift, and unlikely friends emerge from the shadows.
“The PTR features a new Questline that takes place after the events of the Main Questline and is available on both Seasonal and Eternal Realms, and will remain on the Eternal Realm once Season 5 has concluded.”
To start this new quest, Blizzard states that you must do the following:
“Head to Hawezar in World Tier III and investigate a disturbance amongst the cityfolk there. Completing this Questline will allow you to battle the Infernal Hordes, the new gameplay activity coming with Season 5.”
Infernal Hordes will see you killing wave after wave of demons in 90-second rounds with the hordes getting stronger each day. After defeating the hordes, you will then have to face an even more dangerous enemy, the Fell Council.
This is what the blog post lists out:
Slay the Infernal Hordes
Helltides were only the beginning of the horrors lying in wait. Confront seemingly endless waves of Hell’s Legions in the Realm of Hatred, as the Infernal Hordes grow more powerful with each passing day.
- The Infernal Hordes is an activity where you slay hordes while earning Burning Aether to unlock powerful weapons and rewards. Successfully slay the Hordes and you’ll be able to fight the powerful Fell Council.
- Enter the Realm of Hatred by using an Infernal Compass.
- Hell Compasses can be found by defeating Endgame Bosses, Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons and Whispers.
- A Hell Compass will be granted to you upon completing the newest Eternal quest.
Infernal Hordes
- Infernal Hordes has time-limited waves, lasting 90 seconds each.
- Collect Burning Aether during a wave to spend at the end of a successful Infernal run.
- At the end of the 90 seconds, kill the remaining enemies and decide between three Infernal Offers. Once selected, the next wave will begin.
- Successfully slay all waves in the Tier you are attempting to advance to the Well of Hatred then battle the Fell Council. Upon defeating the Fell Council, spend your Burning Aether on Spoils of Hell.
Infernal Offer
Upon defeating each wave, Hell will tempt you with an Infernal Offer.
- The Infernal Offer gives you a choice of three different Boons & Banes that modify your run. Select one!
- Ex: Elite damage increased, Elites grant increased Burning Aether.
- Choose wisely—Infernal Offers will stack across the duration of your Infernal Hordes run. Many can be active at the same time!
- Infernal Offers are your chance to increase the difficulty in order to earn more Burning Aether, or select a more modest Infernal Offer if the intensity is too great.
Burning Aether
- Earn Burning Aether by slaying Aether Fiends and Aether Lords, or by destroying Soulspires and Aetheric Masses.
- Burning Aether is earned individually, regardless of playing solo or in a group. This lets you decide how to spend it at the end of your run.
Spoils of Hell
- On a successful run, you’ll use Burning Aether to unlock Spoils of Hell. There will be four different Spoils of Hell available on completing your Infernal Hordes run.
- Spoils of Equipment.
- Spoils of Materials.
- Spoils of Gold.
- Spoils of Greater Equipment.
- This Spoil of Hell guarantees an item with a Greater Affix!
Infernal Compass
- There are eight Tiers of Infernal Compasses, which scale in difficulty and World Tier.
- Each Infernal Compass Tier increases the number of waves starting at five for Tiers I-III, increasing until a maximum of 10 waves with a Tier VIII Infernal Compass. It also increases the starting difficulty of Monsters, and increases the potency of your rewards while decreasing your number of revives.
- Abyssal Scrolls can be earned and used to upgrade your Infernal Compass by upgrading their Tier. Infernal Compasses will only drop at Tiers I-III; Abyssal Scrolls will be needed to increase their level to a Max of Tier VIII.
Infernal Compasses can be used at the following levels and World Tiers:
- Tier I
- Available at World Tier III.
- Tier II
- Available at World Tier IV.
- Includes Bonus Affixes which increase crafting materials, and Legendary and Unique Drop rates!
- Tier III
- Available at Level 100.
- Includes Bonus Affixes.
- Includes Spoil of Greater Equipment.
Battle Fell Priests
- If you manage to survive the Infernal Hordes, the Fell Council await. Originally meant to protect us from the Prime Evil Mephisto during the events in Diablo II, these noble priests were corrupted and became Champions of the very demon they swore to oppose.
- There are five Fell Council Members in total, each equipped with different unique abilities. Every time you face the Fell Council, there will be three different members to fight you – each three will be selected to fight you at random. Be wary of their unique abilities in the various combinations you’ll encounter them.
- Once you inflict enough damage on the Fell Council, the Priests will become more frenzied in their attacks. Stay on your guard if you wish to live.
- Upon defeating the Fell Council, you can spend your Burning Aether on the Spoils of Hell.
New Weapons and Items
The forges in the Burning Hells burn the fiercest, leading to incredible possibilities for the weapons they produce.
- Season 5 introduces new Legendaries, Uniques, and items.
- These new Legendaries and Uniques can be earned by slaying enemies across Sanctuary, but have the best chance of appearing when playing the Infernal Hordes.
Quality-of-Life Updates to Endgame Bosses and more
We are making some overall quality-of-life improvements to the way endgame boss fights are accessed.
Endgame Bosses
- You no longer need to reset the dungeon to replay the same boss. Upon killing them, the summoning Altar reappears and allows you to use more resources to play them again.
- Summoning Varshan now only requires Malignant Hearts. Trembling Hands, Blackened Femurs, and Gurgling Heads have been removed from the game.
- Endgame Bosses now drop additional gold instead of Rare items.
Beast in Ice
- The Beast in Ice boss fight now functions as a standard dungeon; you no longer have to craft a sigil to enter the fight.
- Any leftover Beast in Ice sigils held by previous Seasonal Realm or Eternal characters can be used to summon Beast in Ice instead of using Summoning Materials.
- The boss fight is now much closer to the entrance, so you’ll no longer need to progress through the Dungeon before the fight.
- Sigil Dust has been removed as a material cost to summon.
Helltide and Whispers
- We’ve significantly reduced the time it takes to complete Whisper bounties. We’ve now made it so that there are always enough Whispers to earn 10 Grim Favors within a given Helltide, should now take significantly less time to complete. Additionally, icons have been updated to be consistent with other Whispers.
- Increasing your Threat now consistently scales with the health of slain Monsters.
- We’re adjusting Baneful Heart drop rates as they were dropping too frequently to feel valuable.
- Chance to get one from a Tortured Gift starts at 13 per cent, and increases each time you fail to get one. Once you are rewarded a Baneful Heart, the chance resets to 10 per cent.
- Hellborne and the Helltide Assassin starts at 1 per cent chance to drop a Heart, and also increases each time you fail to get one. It now resets to 2 per cent.
- The Cull Demons Whisper Bounty now includes Fallen, Cull Fallen Whisper Bounty now replaced with Cull Cultists.
Loot Rewards
- Resplendent Spark awards for defeating Tormented bosses can now be earned separately on both Hardcore and non-Hardcore.
- Resplendent Sparks and Scattered Prisms will no longer be automatically picked up. Additionally, these items can now be found in the lost items Stash if forgotten when they drop.
- Unique and Mythic Unique Items can now be acquired through Whisper Caches, the Purveyor of Curiosities, and Tortured Gifts in Helltide.
- The chance to find Mythic Uniques through all non-boss drop locations has been increased.
Treasure Goblins
- The loot Quality from Treasure Goblins has been improved. They can now drop 1-3 Legendary Items and 2-6 Rare Items. The higher the number of Legendary Drops, the lower the number of Rare Drops. The opposite is also true e.g. if two Legendary Items drop, then four Rares will drop in addition.
- Now drop 1-2 Elixirs and are guaranteed to additionally drop Common Ore, Herbs, Leather, and Gem Fragments.
- Increased the amount of Gold that drops.
- Examples:
- Level 1 in World Tier I: 40k Gold.
- Level 100 in World Tier IV: 150k Gold.
- Examples:
- In World Tiers III and IV, Treasure Goblins also drop Forgotten Souls.
- Additionally, they now have a 10/20/30 per cent chance to drop 1-2 Scattered Prisms in World Tiers I and II/World Tier III/World Tier IV respectively.
Weapons
- We’re now allowing more classes to use different weapon types. This includes updating innate affixes to be more useful across classes and adjusting their conditional requirements.
- For instance, Sorcerers will now be able to use One-handed Swords and Maces.
There’s even more in the patch notes so be sure to read the whole thing to get yourself up to speed.
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