Blizzard Quote [source]
Sanctuary’s heroes and villains continue to invade the Nexus, and we’re celebrating their arrival with wondrous rewards you can earn by playing each game!
Immediately following the next Heroes patch, any player with a Diablo III license on their Battle.net account will receive the Diablo Hero in Heroes of the Storm for free. Simply log in to Heroes of the Storm to claim the Lord of Terror and start unleashing hell on your foes. Don’t wait though— this offer ends at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 8!
The cross-universe rewards don’t end there. Diablo III players who reach level 12 in Heroes of the Storm will also receive a unique pennant and portrait frame in Diablo III for PC and Mac. In addition, reaching level 70 with a Seasonal Hero in Season 4 and beyond gives you the shadowy Malthael’s Phantom mount in Heroes of the Storm!
All of these goodies can be yours, nephalem—but are you brave enough to take on both Sanctuary and the Nexus? There’s only one way to find out! We’ll see you in the Nextuary (see what we did there?).
Blizzard Quote [source]
Patch 2.3.0 is currently on the Public Test Realm, and there are a slew of new items are available to play with. Here’s your first look at some of the awesome new loot coming soon with the release of Patch 2.3.0!
New and Updated Sets
We’ve added three new sets and updated two old ones! In Patch 2.3.0, you’ll be able to adorn your Crusader in the Seeker of the Light set, and unleash limitless Blessed Hammers upon your enemies after descending upon them with Falling Sword. The gods strike through your Monk’s Seven Sided Strike with Uliana’s Stratagem while turning your enemies into living weapons with Exploding Palm. The Spirit of Arachyr will let your Witch Doctor unleash the frightening potential of Hex and Corpse Spiders as they ensnare and poison those who stand before you.
Some of the older sets have been updated as well! For instance, you can revisit the Witch Doctor’s Helltooth Harness set to subjugate your foes with debilitating necrosis, or wield the unbridled power of Archon when your Wizard dons Vyr’s Amazing Arcana.
New and Updated Legendary Items
Patch 2.3.0 will also have new and updated Legendary items to help slay your enemies with brutal precision. Here is but a taste of what’s to come!
Last, but not least, join us in Season 4 to find exclusive Seasonal Legendary items! We’ve got a handful incoming, including (but not limited to) one item for each class as well as a new Legendary Gem.
These items and more are on their way in Patch 2.3.0, but you can test them right now by joining us on the PTR!
Blizzard Quote [source]
Patch 2.3.0 is headed your way soon, loaded with cool new features for Diablo III. Among all the excitement over what’s ahead for the game, we’ve seen many players ask important questions about what they should expect in Season 4, which we’ll be addressing in the following guide.
As before, those who play in Season 4 will have access to Season-exclusive Legendary items, cosmetic rewards and transmogrification effects. We’ll highlight these below, plus the GLOOOORIOUS new Season Journey interface. Ready or not, it’s time to see what’s in store for you in Season 4!
Table of Contents:
Season Journey Interface
Your journey through Sanctuary is unique, nephalem. In order to better celebrate your accomplishments, as well as guide newcomers through Sanctuary and help players compare their progress from one Season to the next, we’ve added the Season Journey.
This helpful tool is easily found on the main menu screen in Patch 2.3.0 when a Seasonal hero is selected, and helps you track and plan your Season progress easily. Upon opening the interface, you’ll find the game’s challenges categorized into Chapters and Tiers separated by degrees of difficulty.
Chapters include challenges designed to be within reach of most players, and should you finish all of them in Season 4, you’ll be awarded a brand new cosmetic pet and portrait. Meanwhile, Tiers represent a true test of your mettle, and grant you exclusive portrait frames upon completion, perfect for showcasing your Seasonal accomplishments.
New Legendary Items
Season 4 also brings exciting new Season-exclusive Legendary items for you to enjoy. These include the Legendary Gem, Bane of the Stricken, along with class-specific items like Dishonored Legacy and Sacred Harness. We won’t spoil the surprise of finding them all, but we’ve included a few of these below, including the purr-fectly crafted new Witch Doctor mojo—Henri’s Perquisition.
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New Conquests and Achievements
Conquests have returned in Season 4, and include a mix of challenges both updated and new. Among these are On A Good Day / I Can’t Stop and Boss Mode / Worlds Apart, both of which now reflect the brand-new Torment X difficulty. We’ve also upped the ante on Divinity / Lionhearted, which are achieved when you reach solo Greater Rift 60. Finally, for the true theorycrafters among you, we’ve added the intriguing new challenge The Thrill / Superhuman, which requires you to reach Greater Rift 40 without benefiting from Class Set item bonuses. As with Conquests in past Seasons, you’ll be able to see how well you completed these epic feats compared with other players on the Leaderboards.
If you’ve somehow managed to chew through these and find yourself hungry for even more challenges, we’ve also added several Achievements requiring you to complete certain objectives when facing bosses. Can you kill The Savage Behemoth and The Undying One within 5 seconds of each other in the Realm of Turmoil? Now, you’ll be able to prove it!
New Cosmetic Rewards
For those who missed out on the Conqueror’s transmogrification set from past Seasons, you’ll have a shot at obtaining a few pieces once more. The head and shoulder parts from this set will be available in Season 4 to those who reach level 70 with at least one Seasonal hero.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When does Season 4 start?
A: Season 4 begins August 28 at 5 p.m. PDT in North America, 5 p.m. CEST in Europe, and 5 p.m. KST in Asia.
Q: How long will Season 4 last?
A: While we don’t have a specific timeframe to share for Season 4, we anticipate that it will be at least three months long.
Q: When are the Leaderboards being wiped for Season 3?
A: Leaderboards will be cleared once the Season comes to a close. Though the leaderboards are eventually cleared, they will be preserved both in-game and here on our website if you wish to review your Season 3 accomplishments.
Q: When are the non-Seasonal Leaderboards being wiped?
A: Non-Seasonal Leaderboards are tied to what we call “Eras.” We currently anticipate the next wipe to coincide with the transition to Season 4, although this may not be the case for future Seasons.
Q: Will Seasons be coming to console?
A: Some features on console are best designed for that platform, and the same is true for the PC version of the game. A large part of the fun of Seasons is the entire community rerolling heroes together at the same time. Because the offline and disconnected nature of console does not support this style of play, we do not currently have plans to implement Seasons on console.
Are You Ready?
There’s so much to look forward to in Season 4, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve. With brand new Set items and Kanai’s Cube to shake up the game, this may be our best Season yet!
Have you already picked the build you’ll be using in Season 4, or are you planning to see what you can achieve using an old favorite? How far will you go in your Season Journey, and how much power will you wield by the time the Season ends? Share your plans below—and best of luck in the new Season!
Blizzard Quote [source]
Patch 2.3.0 brings a huge number of changes to Diablo III. From new features to an entirely new zone, there is plenty to discover for the first time. However, we’re not stopping there. We also have some quality of life and system changes coming to Adventure Mode, designed to make both leveling and maximum level play more smooth and streamlined experiences.
Crafterpiece Theater
Let’s start with the basics: crafting. Crafted items have fallen into a strange place where they feel too expensive to craft and, aside from a few select pieces, often not worth the effort. We’re aiming to fix that in Patch 2.3.0.
First off, we’ve removed an entire tier of crafting materials, including Common Debris, Exquisite Essences, Iridescent Tears, Demonic Essences, and Fiery Brimstones. This leaves one remaining tier of crafting materials, making items salvaged at any level always useful.
We’ve also trimmed the fat away from the list of crafting recipes for both the Blacksmith and the Jeweler. There is now a much smaller pool of recipes at each artisan level, and while there should still be a good mix of different types of gear to craft, each unlocked level should feel like a meaningful stepping stone that’s worth the crafting materials you spend. Disparities in crafting material abundance have been evened out, both in terms of how often they drop and how often you’ll require them for crafting: no more 72 Arcane Dust bracer recipes!
Crafting costs in general have been reduced across the board, especially for gear that’s intended for use while leveling or to help you gear up when first hitting level 70. Crafted Legendaries, for example, no longer require Forgotten Souls to craft (though they also no longer provide Forgotten Souls when salvaged). Instead, they will now require new Act-specific crafting materials that can be obtained at any level by completing bounties. This should make these items feel like a viable option for starting out whether you’re a new player or starting a new Season.
Bountiful Bounties
In addition to adding a new zone with its own new bounties to tackle, the rewards gained from bounties have been revised. Nephalem Rifts no longer require Rift Fragments to enter, so we needed to change the incentive behind completing bounties. In addition to being the only way to obtain the new Act-specific crafting materials used with Kanai’s Cube, we’ve shifted the reward from bounties to focus on being the primary source for gold and crafting materials. It’s also a great way to complete your crafting recipe collection as each cache guarantees at least two crafting recipe drops if you are missing any. If you want to craft a bunch of stuff, bounties are now the place to go to get started!
Bonus bounties are bound to be beneficial.
We’ve also changed up the bonus Act mechanic. You’ll find there is now only one bonus Act active in a game at a time. Each player in a game who completes the active bonus Act will receive a Bonus Cache, stuffed to the brim with crafting goodies. Once the bonus Act has been completed, it will automatically rotate to a new Act, eliminating the need to start a new game to receive this benefit. Rather than navigating game menus, we want you to spend more time doing what matters: fighting the good fight and destroying demons.
Rifting It Forward
Nephalem and Greater Rifts both have a huge number of changes coming intended to draw a clearer line between the two. Nephalem Rifts are aimed at being a more relaxed version of a loot run while Greater Rifts are where you go to strut your stuff and push the limits of your nephalem heroes.
Let’s start with the biggest change that you asked for: the Realm of Trials has been removed from the game. To accommodate this huge change, we’ve reduced the number of Greater Rift keys down to a single, universal type. These new keys are used at the Nephalem Obelisk to enter any level Greater Rift, up to one higher than the highest level you have previously completed (though if you totally crush a Greater Rift, you can still move up to 3 ranks at a time). In addition, we’ve removed Rift Fragments from the game. Nephalem Rifts are now open to players of all levels and difficulty, requiring no special key to access.
Greater Rift tiers are even labeled with their approximate difficulty equivalent.
Greater Rift keys are now able to drop from Rift Guardians at any difficulty level, including Normal through Torment I. This chance scales up to 100% at Torment VI and there is an additional scaling chance for a second key to drop in the new Torment VII-X difficulty levels. Greater Rift keys are now only usable for one level and can no longer be upgraded. Instead, when you successfully complete a Greater Rift, you’ll automatically get the Legendary Gem upgrade screen. Please note you will no longer get the gem upgrade screen if you fail to complete a Greater Rift. Our concern is that players might tackle a Greater Rift well beyond their ability just for a chance at upgrading. This experience would feel sluggish and miserable and isn’t something we want to incentivize.
There have been several other balance changes made to Rifts, including tweaks to Rift Guardian mechanics, enemy health, and the progress meter to even out the amount of time you spend clearing regular enemies versus fighting the Guardian. For more information, we recommend checking out the full PTR patch notes or simply giving the PTR itself a go!
Infernal Machinations
Last but certainly not least, the Infernal Machine event is getting a few minor but meaningful tweaks. The largest piece of feedback we’ve heard regarding the Hellfire Amulet and its counterpart Ring is that these items often felt too gated by multiple levels of luck. The time investment was high and, even after dedicating that amount of time, the payoff wasn’t guaranteed.
While we still want the Hellfire items to be an investment, we’ve slimmed down the process to make it less time intensive to complete. To start, there is no longer a need to craft Hellfire Machines; the recipes have been removed from the game and each Keywarden now has a chance to drop an appropriate Infernal machine. The chance for an Infernal Machine to drop remains the same, though now appropriately continues to scale into Torment VII-X.
We're cutting out that middle man, Haedrig. His interest rates were terrible anyway.
In addition, the Hellfire Amulet is now guaranteed to roll with a socket. This removes a layer of luck to acquiring that perfect complement to your gear and should, overall, make the time invested into crafting one of these items feel well spent.
Less Mode, More Adventure!
Adventure Mode has been an extremely popular addition to Diablo III. You love spending time there, and we want that experience to continue being fresh, rewarding, and fun. These changes are currently live on PTR for testing, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on them.
Which change are you most looking forward to? Have you given any of these changes a try? What did you think? Let us know in the comments and we hope you’re looking forward to Patch 2.3.0 as much as we are!
Blizzard Quote [source]
The Horadric Cube is one of the Diablo series’ most iconic items. Introduced in Diablo II, this quest item was an important part of the story and offered a slew of handy transmutation functions, from combining gems to upgrading items. But where did the Cube’s power originate? The Horadrim were vague when it came to the history of this powerful item. Today, we reveal its lineage as the upcoming 2.3.0 feature—Kanai’s Cube.
Lost and Forgotten
The precursor to the well-known Horadric Cube, Kanai’s Cube is a powerful artifact containing immeasurable transmutation power. Originally simply known as “the Cube,” the Horadrim created it as a tool to aid them in the Hunt for the Three. However, its creation was marred by dark methods and disastrous results, resulting in the order quickly determining that it was too dangerous for anyone to continue using. Creating the weaker Horadric Cube in its stead, they entrusted the first Cube to a secret organization of barbarians on Mount Arreat, who kept it safe from everyone, including the rest of their tribe.
Throughout the years, these barbarians served as guardians over the Cube, keeping it safe from prying eyes and those who would use its powers for evil. The last of these guardians, the great Chief Elder Kanai, perished when the demon lord Baal destroyed Sescheron during the events of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. The barbarians have always believed their warriors must be put to rest on the slopes of Mount Arreat but, after the destruction of the Worldstone and the mountain that housed it, Kanai’s spirit was unable to rest. Now doomed to stand eternal vigil over his home and greatest treasure, he awaits a powerful and honorable individual to whom he might pass on his task.
One insidious individual has once again found his way amongst the living (sort of) and would love to get his ethereal hands on the artifact his order so foolishly discarded. Of course, he knows only one such individual who might impress the mighty Kanai . . .
Power Untold
So what exactly is Kanai’s Cube going to do for your nephalem hero? The short answer is all the things. This is a huge new feature that will fundamentally change the way you look at an item when it drops. Think of it as the handyman’s (handynephalem’s?) tool for item customization. Not only does it add another layer of character power at your fingertips, but also introduces a structured collection element to the huge item game at the core of Diablo III.
One of the first, most frequent powers you’ll utilize is the ability to extract a Legendary power from an item. This will add the power to your collection list, a comprehensive history detailing the vast amount of powers you’ve amassed. This also allows your hero to equip a Legendary power without having the item equipped, clearing up your stash of all those items you’ve been keeping “just in case.” You’ll be able to equip one power each from three categories:
- Weapons
- Includes all main hand and off-hand items, including Shields, Mojos, Quivers, and the like
- Armor
- Virtually everything else; Hands, Legs, Feet, Chest, Belt, Wrists, Shoulders, and Head
- Jewelry
- Rings and Amulets
Characters may only equip powers from items that their class can normally equip. Powers are also extracted at their most potent value, making it a tough decision between equipping a well-rolled item or melting it down to utilize a maximized power. Powers can be extracted from any level Legendary. Finally, don’t worry if you get tired of a particular ability—you’ll be able to swap freely between the powers you’ve collected at any time by visiting Kanai’s Cube.
Let’s say you’ve hunted down that amazing Legendary that totally makes your build, but it’s rolled less than desirable. If only it had that missing stat, it would have been saved from Haedrig’s anvil. Maybe you regret an enchant you made or you wish that rare Furnace you found was Ancient. With a little effort and a lot of luck, you can rectify these situations. Kanai’s Cube will be able to reforge a Legendary, completely randomizing every roll on the item as though it had dropped brand-new and removing any existing enchants. This includes the chance to roll as Ancient, but be forewarned; if you choose to reforge an Ancient item, there’s no guarantee it will stay Ancient.
There are also several other quality of life functions Kanai’s Cube can perform, such as removing the level requirement from an item, converting gems and crafting materials from one type to another, and converting a set item to a different piece of that set. We’ll leave you to ponder the best ways to utilize these new features!
Not Just a Legend, But a Tribute
There is more to Kanai’s Cube than lore and functionality. While we always knew that we wanted to implement a form of the Horadric Cube into Diablo III, we never anticipated the events that would lead to it becoming Kanai’s Cube.
Kevin Kanai Griffith was a beloved member of the Blizzard family and a longtime Diablo fan. He joined Blizzard as an artist on the World of Warcraft team in 2005 and his work can be seen in the Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Mists of Pandaria expansions, as well as the World of Warcraft trading card game. As the Diablo III team came together, Kevin joined and made his mark on the original game, crafting a plethora of diverse and moody environments that you’re certain to recognize.
Kevin continued producing gorgeous environments and Diablo holiday art throughout the launch and beyond the release of Reaper of Souls. You might also remember him from footage of his Diableard being shaved live on stage at the 2011 launch of Diablo III, his Artist’s Stage Demo at BlizzCon 2013, or our second anniversary livestream. He was always an active member of the community both inside the company and out, whether it was by organizing weekly sketch groups, or encouraging his friends to team up and play games together. Kevin was an amazing mentor to everyone around him and a wonder to work with: you couldn’t help but get passionate and pumped about your job when he was in the room.
Tragedy struck in February of 2012 when Kevin was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer known as Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS). Kevin kept his spirits high throughout the grueling treatment process and continued to work on Diablo III as much as he was able, pioneering environmental features such as the weather and night/day cycles experienced in Adventure Mode. Though he fought valiantly, we lost our coworker and dear friend on October 17, 2014. His spirit and legacy will always live on in the many games he’s touched with his stunning art, as well as the hearts of every individual who had the honor of knowing him.
We miss you, Kevin. This Cube is for you.
Kanai’s Cube Calls…
Kanai’s Cube is a huge feature of Patch 2.3.0, set to change the foundation of Diablo III as we know it. We’re excited to share the intimate background behind this powerful system and in-game dedication to a man who was truly a king amongst mortals.
Which part of Kanai’s Cube has you the most stoked? What kind of Legendary powers are you looking forward to combining the most? Let us know in the comments or, if you haven’t already, hop onto our PTR today and give it a try! We can’t wait to hear your feedback.