Blizzard Quote [source]

Season 13 begins soon! For those among you who enjoy the fresh start a Season brings, we wanted to give you a glimpse of what to expect before you race out the gate.

New Cosmetic Rewards

As per tradition, Season 13 will introduce new cosmetic rewards, obtainable by progressing through the Season Journey.

In addition to the Helm and Shoulders slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, a brand-new series of portraits themed around Imperius will be available. Those who enjoy collecting pets will also be pleased to see a new arrival—Blaine’s Bear! While traveling together, you may be tempted to ask him why he’s covered in blood, or try removing the sharp objects he carries around. We strongly advise against this.

Season Journey Rewards

If you’ve been playing the past few Seasons diligently and reached Conqueror in the Season Journey each time, you’ve accrued a few extra stash tabs. Players who have not yet earned a total of four stash tabs via the Season Journey can still unlock an additional one by completing the following tasks at the Conqueror tier:

• Complete a Torment XIII Rift in under 5 minutes
• Complete Greater Rift 60 solo
• Kill Greed on Torment XIII
• Kill Cydaea on Torment XIII in under 15 seconds
• Reforge a Legendary or Set item
• Augment an Ancient item with a Level 50 or greater Legendary Gem
• Level three Legendary Gems to 55
• Complete two Conquests

Seasonal Conquests

Speaking of Conquests, we’re rotating those, too! Love going fast? Sprinter and Speed Racer will be making a return. Enjoy testing your mettle in Greater Rifts? Divinity and Lionhearted are also coming back. If you’d rather max out your kill count with Cursed Chests, Curses! and Stars Align will be right up your alley. Those who enjoy seeing how far they can go without Set Items will get a kick out of The Thrill and Super Human. Finally, if you’re keen to show off your mastery of Set Dungeons, Masters of the Universe and Masters of Sets will be available once more.

Haedrig’s Gift

Finally, just as before, you’ll get a shiny new Class Set courtesy of Haedrig’s Gift for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey. We’ve listed the available Sets below. For those new to Seasons, here’s how it works:

Completing Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the Season Journey will reward you with three Haedrig’s Gifts. Each Gift contains 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 will 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 13:

• Barbarian – Might of the Earth
• Crusader – Thorns of the Invoker
• Demon Hunter – The Shadow’s Mantle
• Monk – Monkey King’s Garb
• Necromancer – Grace of Inarius
• Witch Doctor – Raiment of the Jade Harvester
• Wizard – Firebird’s Finery

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When does Season 13 start?

A: Season 13 begins Friday, February 23 at 5:00 p.m. PST in North America, 5:00 p.m. CET in Europe, and 5:00 p.m. KST in Asia. For time zone conversion, see this site.

Q: When are the non-Seasonal Leaderboards being wiped?

A: Non-Seasonal Leaderboards are tied to what we call “Eras,” each of which lasts about 6–12 months. The most recent era began November 9. For more information on Eras, please see this post.

Q: What will happen to older Seasonal and Era records?

A: Starting with Season 10, we removed old personal bests from Season 1. When Season 13 arrives, we will remove old personal bests from Season 4, and so on. We will be doing the same for personal bests from the previous Era when the next one goes live.

Seasonal Leaderboard records are not being cleared and will remain archived both in game and on our website.

Season 13 is almost here! What are your goals for this Season? Is there a build you want to give your full attention, or do you have another goal lined up?

Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll see you for the start of Season 13!

Blizzard Quote [source]

We are working on some behind-the-scenes updates. Since some of these involve a fair amount of risk, we need your help testing them before we deploy them to the live servers!

Join us starting today, January 16, for a special PTR that includes these updates. Along with this, we are looking for reports of issues that occur when players attempt to start or join a multiplayer game, or communicate with other players through in-game chat.

We encourage players of all types to participate, so what are you waiting for? Download that PTR and hop right in!

A few important notes:

• There is no new content included on this PTR.
• While you will be able to copy your existing characters, we will also be activating the 2000% Legendary Find buff to encourage participation.
• As a reminder, any progress made on the PTR does not transfer over to your live account.
• Since this PTR is exclusively focused on identifying and fixing bugs related to the issues noted above, we will only be opening the Bug Report forum during the testing period.
• Over the course of the PTR, server performance may vary.
• This PTR will only be available for a limited time, and we’d greatly appreciate all the help we can get in testing it quickly and with as many participants as possible!

We hope you have some time to help us out. If you need more information on how to participate on the PTR, visit our FAQ or see below for details.

• How to Participate
• PTR Character Copy

Thank you, nephalem, and we’ll see you in Sanctuary!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

To participate in the public test, you must have a Diablo III game license attached your Battle.net account in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been suspended or banned). In addition, you will also need to download and install the Battle.net desktop app if you have not already done so.

Step 1: Create a PTR account. To create a PTR account, log in to Battle.net Account Management and double-click on your Diablo III game license; this will bring you to the game management page. On this page, click "Create a PTR account." 

If you've participated in any previous Diablo III PTR (including the Reaper of Souls beta), the "Create PTR account" button may not appear. This is because you've already created a PTR account and can therefore skip this step.

Step 2: Once you have created a PTR account, installed the Battle.net desktop, and logged in with your Battle.net credentials, select "Diablo III" from the main menu on the left-hand side of the application.

Step 3: On the Diablo III screen, there is a drop-down menu right above the "Play" button (note that this may say "Install" if you do not have Diablo III currently installed). Select "PTR: Diablo III" from this drop-down menu before proceeding.

Step 4: You should now have the option to install and play the PTR.

ThePTR is available in all supported languages, and accounts from all regions are eligible to participate.

PTR CHARACTER COPY:

The option to copy your existing Diablo III characters from your live account to the PTR will be available and can be done directly through the PTR client. However, only one region per account can be copied at a time. So, if you choose to copy characters from your account in a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost.

Step 1: Log into the live game and then log out.

Step 2: Log into PTR client and create a level 1 character. After you're done, return to the main character screen.

Step 3: Click on the "PTR Copy" button located in the upper right-hand corner. (The PTR Copy button will not appear in-game until you have created a new level 1 character.)

Step 4: Select your region.

Step 5: Click "Copy." This will copy all characters on your account from the selected region.

Step 6: You will be disconnected from the PTR client.

Step 7: Log back in. Your copied characters will be available for play.

Please note that you can only copy characters from one gameplay region at a time. If you choose to copy characters from a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost. In addition, you can only copy characters over to your PTR account once every 24 hours. Attempting to copy characters before this cooldown is up will result in an error.

Blizzard Quote [source]

Diablo’s anniversary is right around the corner, along with the Darkening of Tristram event! Whether you’re a series veteran craving nostalgia, or a newcomer hungry for your first taste of the franchise’s past, this loving homage to the earliest days of Diablo is for you.

Read on for more, including a closer look at the anniversary dungeon and its unique rewards.

Stop the Cultists

Your journey begins on the trail of a group of mysterious cultists causing trouble in Sanctuary. As you hunt them down in Adventure Mode, you’ll uncover clues leading to a portal into Tristram’s past, and the terrifying darkness that took hold of the town so many years ago. . . .

Explore the Cathedral

Follow the clues and you’ll soon find yourself in a realm of glorious RetroVision™, where an all-too-familiar cathedral looms. Explore the depths and you’ll discover familiar enemies and iconic items, all brought to life in the Diablo III engine. Meanwhile, deep beneath the catacombs, the Dark Lord himself awaits any intrepid adventurer who dares to challenge him. . . .

Discover Precious Loot

What is a Diablo game without shiny new loot to call your own? Completing activities in the anniversary event yields unique transmogrification effects, achievements, portraits, pets, and more.

While some rewards are easy to find, others may have you scouring every nook or unlocking every achievement before you can get your hands on them. Can you earn them all? There’s only one way to find out!

Your Journey Begins…

Exclusive rewards and challenging enemies await you, but they won’t last forever! The cultists will appear starting December 31 at 4 p.m. PST, and the portal opens January 3 at the same hour. Both parts of the event end January 30 at the same time.

Enter the dungeon, reap your rewards, and survive the evils within—or die in the process, never to be heard from again. . . .

Blizzard Quote [source]

Edit: Our apologies—the original dates published for the PlayStation 4 sale were incorrect. These have been updated.

There’s something in the air this time of year, and we think we know what it is: fire and brimstone! Give your dearest friends the gift of demon-slaying with savings of up to 50% on Diablo III on select platforms.

PC/Mac

Sale begins December 20 and ends January 2:

• Diablo III ($9.99)
• Diablo III: Reaper of Souls ($9.99)
• Diablo III: Battle Chest ($19.99)
• Rise of the Necromancer ($9.99)

PlayStation 4

PlayStation 4 sale begins January 2 and ends January 9:

• Diablo III: Eternal Collection ($35.99)
• Rise of the Necromancer ($11.49)

Xbox One

Xbox One sale begins January 2 and ends January 8:

• Diablo III: Eternal Collection ($29.99 w/ Xbox Gold Subscription)
• Rise of the Necromancer ($9.74 w/ Xbox Gold Subscription)

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 sale begins January 2 and ends January 8:

• Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ($15.99 w/ Xbox Gold Subscription)

These deals are only available for a limited time, so head on over to the Blizzard store or your preferred digital sales front for more information. Happy Hellidays!

Blizzard Quote [source]

Challenge Rifts give players the opportunity to try out challenges with a class and build they might not have ever used. Never played one? Read on to learn about what they are, how to play them, and the rewards you can earn!

What’s a Challenge Rift?

Challenge Rifts are exact copies of a Greater Rift that has been previously completed by another player. To create the weekly Challenge Rift, we pull a “snapshot” of a Greater Rift directly from a given player’s account. We recreate that player’s exact character for the Challenge Rift, including their equipment, paragon levels, and skill loadout.

When you play through a Challenge Rift, you’re effectively going through an exact copy of the Greater Rift the player completed with that very same character. The enemies, pylons, and the level layouts you encounter will all be exactly the same. The first time you beat the original runner’s time each week, you’ll get a satchel full of rewards, including crafting materials and Blood Shards.

Challenge Rifts rotate every Monday afternoon, in the following class order: Demon Hunter, Necromancer, Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Witch Doctor, and Crusader.

How Do I Play a Challenge Rift?

Challenge Rifts are a separate, self-contained game mode. You can select it on the same screen where you choose to enter Story or Adventure mode. Don’t worry about picking a character before you enter a Challenge Rift—everyone has access to the same one, down to the gear, gems, and paragon points. Once you load in to the Challenge Hub, you can check out the tools at your disposal by visiting the Soul Mirror.

There are a few other tools available to help you get familiar with the build you’ve been given. On the left side of the Challenge Hub, you’ll find a single, beefy, constantly-respawning Punisher who’s more than willing to take the worst punishment you can dish out—so feel free to test your single-target damage capabilities. To the right, you’ll find a group of Revenant Soldiers waiting to endure your most powerful area-of-effect attacks.

When you’re ready to give the Challenge Rift a shot, just click on the Challenge Obelisk in the center of the Hub to get started.

Once inside the Rift, you’ll find it’s very similar to a typical Greater Rift, only this time, you’re racing the clock to beat the original runner’s completion time. Can you complete the Rift before they did? There’s only one way to find out!

What Else Should I Know About Challenge Rifts?

Challenge Rifts are a unique experience in Diablo III—they’re an opportunity to compete against your friends and the rest of the community in a totally static, completely level playing field. All players have the same gear and skill loadouts and paragon points, and they’re all running through identical Greater Rift layouts, right down to the monsters. Completing the Challenge Rift as fast as possible is a testament to your knowledge of the game, your skill with that class, and your ability to analyze situations and make the best of them.

It may be worth taking time to mark down elite packs, pylons, or other important layout information.

Still, not everyone is down for competition, and it’s totally fine if that includes you. Most Challenge Rifts are easily completable within the first few tries, and beating the original time will get you a tidy bag of crafting materials. You can earn this reward once per week, and it resets each Monday afternoon, when the newest Challenge Rift is made available.

If you want to get in, get your rewards, and go back to your seasonal character, but feel that this week’s Monk build just isn’t your cup of tea, consider gathering a group of friends to tackle the Rift with you. You’ll find it’s a quick process when you divide and conquer, and it can be a lot of fun racing each other to the next juicy pack of minions.

Finally, don’t be surprised if you see some strange builds and gear loadouts pop up in Challenge Rifts from time to time. Maybe the original player hastily swapped characters and was missing a Legendary Gem or two when we captured their snapshot. Or perhaps that week’s challenge is a freshly-leveled seasonal character, with the sort of hodgepodge gear loadout you’d expect. Just go with it. It’s okay to try something a little wacky and “off the meta.” Diablo III is, after all, a game of progression and we’ve all been there. Now, go forth and conquer those challenges!