Diablo 4 Season 4: Everything You Need to Know

Season 4 Updates

Season 4: Loot Reborn is bringing great improvements to itemization and Helltides, but also new challenges for us to enjoy! In addition to the new crafting systems, Tempering, and Masterworking, the developers did a great job of addressing player feedback about the complexity and endgame motivation of Diablo 4. Season 4 is the perfect time to give the game a new chance and discover the meaning of valuable loot!

Season 4 Start Date

Season 4 launch: May 14th, 2024!
If you are a new player, check out our Season Checklist for interesting tips and tricks on how to tackle the start of a new season:

What are Seasons?

If you are stepping into the vast realm of Diablo for the first time, you might be wondering, “What exactly is a Season in Diablo 4?” Well, a Season is a chance for all players to begin from scratch and start new adventure, immersing themselves in new content and an interesting season theme that lasts for about three months.

Seasons in the Diablo universe serve to breathe new life into the existing gaming loop experience. At the start of a season, you will create a brand-new seasonal character who, as the season wraps up, seamlessly transitions into a non-seasonal character. Here is the exciting part: if you have completed the campaign at least once with any character, whether seasonal or non-seasonal, you are free to skip the campaign and plunge straight into the season grind.

Furthermore, new seasons shake up the established meta, adding a breath of fresh air to the gameplay, especially after the initial launch period. Speaking of established metas, you might want to check out our class build tier lists:

Seasonal Characters

How do Seasonal Characters work?

• Once you have completed the story of Diablo 4, you can create a seasonal character, allowing you to skip the campaign right from the start.
• Additionally, any mounts unlocked on previous characters will be available from the get-go.
• All Altars of Lilith and previously discovered areas will be unlocked, and you will receive the Renown for them if you have successfully unlocked them in the past (on any other character).

As the season concludes, your seasonal characters and the contents of your seasonal stash seamlessly transfer to the Eternal Realm. This is the realm where all your non-seasonal characters currently reside.

Season Start

We recommend completing the main campaign, exploring the map, discovering all Altars of Lilith, and maxing your renown before the season begins. However, this only applies if you have not played any previous seasons or have not discovered all Altars, etc.

If you have finished the campaign and choose to skip it at the start of the season (which we strongly recommend), you will begin in Kyovashad at Level 1. From there, you can immediately dive into the season story.

By following our suggestions, you will kick off the season with enough Renown to start with 4 extra points and 4 additional skill points.

Remember, your existing characters will remain in the Eternal Realm. You can still play them, benefiting from class updates and exploring the new Uniques and Legendary aspects. However, access to season-specific content will be restricted for these characters.

Season 4

Season 4: Loot Reborn features an overhaul of Gear Itemization, Helltide updates, new endgame crafting systems, and a seasonal questline with the Iron Wolves.

Seasonal Questline: Iron Wolves

The seasonal questline has you join the Iron Wolves, a mercenary company tasked with fighting demons to protect Sanctuary, on an investigation mission. Members of their ranks have been disappearing under suspicious circumstances. Your objective is to locate Soudeh the Anvil, their commander, and assist the group in identifying the instigator behind these disappearances. 

Completing this questline will reward you with important Tempering Manuals required to improve your endgame gear!

New With Season 4

Itemization Overhaul

Item affixes have been changed to make it easier to understand different pieces of gear, as well as comparing the best item for each build. The number of affixes has been reduced, and the affixes themselves have been modified for improved effectiveness.

The consequence of this change is that the loot is more valuable than it used to be. However, the drop rate has also decreased. The goal is to find more interesting gear and spend less time sorting the stash! A further addition to this season is the option to trade legendaries and uniques with other players, as long as they have not been modified.

World Tier now impacts the rarity of the items dropping. For example, World Tier 3 drops Sacred Items, and World Tier 4 only drops Ancestral Items. Uniques can drop from any World Tier.

Additionally, there were significant UI improvements to the Codex of Power. Aspects are no longer stored in your inventory; they are automatically added to the codex after salvaging an item. Finally, gems have been streamlined with an overhaul of their affixes and crafting levels.

Check out our updated Itemization Guide for further information on different rarities and affixes.

The item complexity now belongs to the new endgame crafting systems such as Tempering and Masterworking.

Tempering and Greater Affixes

Tempering is an endgame crafting system that allows you to add up to 2 affixes to a Rare or Legendary gear piece. Temper Manuals are required for this process; they may be found across the world and allow you to learn Temper Recipes to register them in the Codex of Power. This system allows you to influence 2 affixes on your Legendaries, which range from different categories such as Offensive, Defensive, Utility, etc. It will significantly impact your endgame gear and improve your builds.

Furthermore, items can now drop with Greater Affixes. These affixes are more powerful and only drop on Ancestral Legendaries or Unique items in World Tier 4.

Learn more about Tempering in our dedicated guide:

Masterworking

Masterworking is the final touch to the itemization overhaul. The endgame crafting system provides a way to increase all your affixes on your close-to-perfect pieces of gear. Despite its high costs, the system may reward the luckiest among us by greatly improving an affix up to 50% or 75% on a piece of gear. It is undeniable that Masterworking will significantly boost your powers and allow you to face bigger challenges.

Can you reset Masterworking? How much does it cost? And what are the requirements? Find all the information you need in our guide below.

Helltide Reborn

It is worth noting that the Helltide changes affect both the Seasonal and Eternal Realms.

When participating in Helltide, you will now generate Threat. There are three threat levels, increasing the danger and the frequency of monsters’ attacks when roaming in a Helltide zone. Complete the third threat level and become Hell-Marked to span a powerful Hellborn. The threat level resets once the Hellborn appears or you are defeated.

Additionally, a new event can be started during Helltides, called the Accursed Ritual. Earn Baneful Hearts and use them to start the ritual, then slay enemies and defeat the last Blood Maiden to receive valuable rewards.

A new item, the Profane Mindcage, has also been added to this season specifically. The item increases the level of all monsters by 10 and boosts the Abberant Cinder drop rate. This item will only be available until the end of Season 4. If you play with friends, the item will only be active for the player who used it, not the whole party.

Read more in our updated guide:

The Pit of the Artificers

The Pit of the Artificers is a timed endgame challenge comparable to Diablo 3’s Greater Rifts. To open the portal to the boss arena, you must defeat enough monsters within 10 minutes. Defeating the boss quickly, and in time, unlocks the next tier of The Pit.

The Pit also rewards unique crafting materials needed for Masterworking.

Check out our dedicated guide below.

Season 4 Endgame Boss

This season will feature Andariel, The Maiden of Anguish, as a new Uber Boss. Andariel will share the same loot table as Duriel and will have a higher chance to drop Uber Uniques as well.

To face Andariel, travel to the Hanged Man’s Hall in Kehjistan, located near Tarsarak. The summoning ritual involves specific parts that can be obtained from the Beast in the Ice and Lord Zir. For additional information about Andariel, including boss mechanics and rewards, read our guide here:

Tormented Echoes

In addition to Andariel, all Boss Ladder Bosses will now be available as Tormented Echoes. Tormented Echo variants are Level 200 and cost more materials to summon. Of course, they also drop more gear and offer bigger chances for Uber Uniques.

Seasonal Rewards

New Uniques and Aspects

There will be a few new Uniques and several new Legendary Aspects coming with the launch of Season 4.

New Uniques

• Tyrael’s Might – Uber Unique Chest Armor
  • While at full Life, your Skills unleash a divine barrage dealing damage.
• Yen’s Blessing – Unique Boots
  • Casting a Skill has a 40-60% chance to cast a Non-Mobility, Non-Ultimate Skill that is currently on Cooldown. This effect can only occur once every 8 seconds.
• (Barbarian) Arreat’s Bearing – Unique Pants
  • Ancients you summon with Call of the Ancients are empowered.
  • Korlic creates an Earthquake that deals Physical damage over 4 seconds when he leaps.
  • Talic leaves behind Dust Devils that deal damage while he whirlwinds.
  • Madawc ignites the ground Burning enemies for an additional damage over 4 seconds when he upheaves the ground.
• (Barbarian) Twin Strikes – Unique Gloves
  • After casting Double Swing 4 times, your next Double Swing will hit 2 additional times, each dealing 10-25% increased damage.
• (Druid) Earthbreaker – Unique Ring
  • Landslide causes the ground to erupt in tectonic spikes which continue to deal 0.6-0.9 damage over 2 seconds. Casting Landslide in this area has a 20-30% chance to cause additional Landslide pillars to spawn within.
• (Druid) Wildheart Hunger – Unique Boots
  • When you Shapeshift into a Werewolf or a Werebear, you gain Wildheart for 5 seconds. Wildheart grants you 1%-1.5% increased damage with Shapeshifting Skills every 2 seconds, stacking 20 times.
• (Necromancer) Ebonpiercer – Unique Amulet
  • Blight also shoots 4 smaller projectiles that pierce enemies and deal Shadow damage over 3 seconds.
• (Necromancer) Cruor’s Embrace – Unique Gloves
  • Blood Surge consumes Corpses to cause mini novas, dealing damage. Damage is increased by 10% per target drained by the initial cast, up to 50%. Damage is also increased by 20% for each Corpse consumed.
• (Rogue) Scoundrel’s Kiss – Unique Ring
  • Rapid Fire now lobs exploding arrows that deal 15%-25% increased damage.
  • Scoundrel’s Kiss projectile pattern is now more predictable.
• (Rogue) Saboteur’s Signet – Unique Ring
  • Casting Flurry has a 15-30% chance to release Stun Grenades that deal Physical damage and Stun enemies for 1 second. Your Grenade Skills have a 2% Lucky Hit Chance.
• (Sorcerer) Fractured Winterglass – Unique Amulet
  • Casting Frozen Orb has a 35-50% chance to spawn a random Conjuration when it explodes. Lucky Hit: Your Conjurations have up to a 50-70% chance to launch a Frozen Orb at Nearby enemies.
• (Sorcerer) Flameweaver – Unique Gloves
  • Casting Fire Bolt through your Firewall causes it to split into 4 bolts, each dealing 80-100% more damage.
  • Flameweaver now splits Firebolts to 3 instead of 4, and damage buffed to 30-70% from 10-30%.

New Legendary Aspects

• Aspect of Frosty Strides
  • While below 45-60% Life, Evade Freezes Close enemies for Cold Damage and applies Vulnerable to them for 3 seconds.
• Aspect of Concussive Strikes
  • Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy has up to a 20% chance to Daze them for 2 seconds. You deal 5-20% increased damage to Dazed enemies.
• (Barbarian) Aspect of Fierce Winds
  • Your Shout Skills create 3. Dust Devils that deal damage to enemies along their path.
  • Your Dust Devils are 5%-20% bigger and deal 1% increased damage for each 1% their size is increased.
• (Druid) Aspect of Fevered Mauling
  • When you hit at least 1 enemy with Maul, increase its Attack Speed by 1%-2.5% and you gain 1%-3% Damage reduction for 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times.
• (Necromancer) Aphotic Aspect
  • Skeletal Priests empower your Skeletal Warriors’ attacks to deal Shadow damage and have a 5%-20% 5%-15% chance to Stun enemies for 1.5 seconds.
• (Rogue) High Velocity Aspect
  • Barrage arrows now pierce through 1 enemy.
  • Barrage has 10%-20% increased Attack Speed.
• (Sorcerer) Aspect of Tenuous Destruction
  • Deal 25-40% increased damage while you have no Defensive Skills on your Action Bar.
• (Sorcerer) Flamethrower’s Aspect
  • Incinerate splits into 3 beams, each dealing 70-85% of normal damage.

For a ranking of the new items from our writers, check out our guide here:

Additionally, for more information on how to farm Uniques from bosses, check out our guide below.

Season 4 Battle Pass

The Season 4: Loot Reborn Battle Pass comes with 90 Reward Tiers (28 Free Tiers and 62 Premium Tiers).

Each season will introduce three tiers of the battle pass: a free tier, a premium tier (priced at around $9.99 USD), and an accelerated premium battle pass (approximately $24.99 USD) with an exclusive cosmetic. For those opting not to purchase the battle pass, the free track provides gameplay-related benefits, while the premium tiers focus solely on cosmetic rewards.

Season 4’s Battle Pass will feature new cosmetic rewards.

This season, as a Premium Battle Pass holder, you will be rewarded with the Awoken Demigo Armor Sets, Mount Armor, and the Purified Demigod Thoroughbred Mount, as well as the Divine Banner Mount Trophy, which unlocks at level 90.

Smoldering Ashes

A major reward from the free battle pass is Smoldering Ashes, a special currency used to unlock and boost Season Blessings. Furthermore, these blessings remain active for all your characters throughout the whole season. While the Season Blessings are shown below, you can have a more in-depth look at our comprehensive guide for more insights on Season Blessings by clicking on the following link:

These three blessings are new with Season 4: Loot Reborn:

• Urn of Nightmares: Boost Paragon Glyph XP from Nightmare Dungeons.
• Urn of Iron: Boost Iron Wolves reputation earned from Helltide activities.
• Urn of Burning Obols: Boost the amount of Obols found in Helltide chests.

Season Journey

Just like in Diablo 3 and other similar ARPGs, seasons in Diablo 4 follow a familiar structure. Progress through chapters, fulfill various objectives, and unlock rewards to advance the season story. The ultimate aim is to complete all 7 chapters to unlock every reward. For guidance on which objectives to prioritize in order to successfully complete the Season Journey, check out our recommendations by clicking the link below!

The season 4 Journey will reward players with a set of gear optimized for one specific build per class:

• Barbarian: Dust Devils
• Druid: Pulverize
• Necromancer: Minion Army
• Rogue: Barrage
• Sorceress: Incinerate

Seasonal Tips & Tricks

Diablo 4: Season 4, the Season of Loot Reborn, introduces a new Helltide, the Iron Wolves mercenary, and a fresh set of seasonal objectives. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the game, here are a few tips and tricks to help you make the most of this season.

• Farm Helltides for fast XP: Go to any active Helltide zone and farm as many Abberant Cinders and Baneful Hearts as possible, then head to the Accursed Rituals and defeat the Blood Maiden. If there are many players at the same location, it is one of the best methods to gain a significant amount of experience points in a short period of time.
• Use Helltides to level up in World Tiers 1 and 2. It is faster than grinding dungeons.
• Tempering and Masterworking are useful ways to make your gear even more powerful and complementary to your build.
• The Pit is excellent replayable endgame content for greater gear and Masterworking materials.
• As with the previous seasons, it is likely that several builds will emerge as strong contenders for Season 4, each excelling in specific areas. We will update this list with a few recommendations as the season progresses.
  • Barbarian: Bash Cleave
  • Druid: Tornado
  • Necromancer: Summoner
  • Rogue: Rapid Fire
  • Sorceress: Frozen Orb

If you are unsure of what to tackle during a new season, have a look at our suggested season checklist.