Blizzard launched Diablo III's Season 22 (Shades of the Nephalem) at the end of November. Here we review the features in this update, particularly the Haedrig's Gift updates, and give some tips on how to best utilize the additional features available in Season 22.
Nephalem, can you sense it? Everywhere you look, the remnants of a forgotten past are in wait. Waiting for the chance to focus their strength one more time to help you defeat the demons from hell. Are you brave enough to accept the help of these souls? The Shades of the Nephalem await....
We think the biggest feature in Season 22 is that triggering a Shrine or Pylon will generate a shadow clone of your class. The clone's power will last for a minute or until it is killed and will scale with your character.
You can see an example of the spawning process in the animated GIF below.
Also, in Season 22, Kanai's Cube there's a 4th slot. You have the choice of any power for this additional slot, but it won't stack with powers from your other slots.
Since the start of Season 17, Blizzard started making rewards from previous Seasons available to players who might not have utilized them the first time they were introduced. In Season 22, some cosmetic rewards from Season 10 are available once again. This means you can earn Season 10 favorites such as Head and Shoulder slots (see the left hand side of the image below) of the exclusive Conqueror Set. Also, you can earn the Black Soulstone-themed portraits and the scholarly Loremaster pennant (right hand side in the image below) first seen in Season 10, and now available in Season 22.
Blizzard are also rewarding players with End of Journey Rewards, which were first introduced in Season 17 - the Season of Nightmares. . In this season, new End of Journey rewards are available, with two new cosmetic prizes for those who complete the Season journey from start to finish. If you complete the Season 22 Guardian Journey (let us know if you do) you will win the Book of Cain pet and the Lost Civilization Portrait Frame (see the image below).
If you've been working hard killing demons in the past and have reached the level of Conqueror in each previous season journey, you will have acquired a few additional stash tabs, which are helpful for storing bounty. In Shades of the Nephalem, you can earn and extra tab for each Season by completing the Conqueror level, but up to a maximum of five tabs:
As you probably know, Seasonal Conquests are additional goals you can complete as part of your Season Journey. To earn all the cosmetic rewards in Season 22, you'll need to complete at least three of the Conquests below. The challenges available in Season 22 include:
Finally, the Class Sets rewarded for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey courtesy of Haedrig's Gift have rotated once more. 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 of Haedrig's Gifts. These contain 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 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. For the first time in Season 22, Haedrig's Gift will grant the all-new class sets introduced in the three previous Seasons:
Here are the sets granted by Haedrig's Gift:
Below you will find the patch notes for the upcoming update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.10.
Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.
We love Blizzards accompanying text; "The shadows, they are moving, and they seem... animated. It is as though they have a will of their own. Whatever this trickery is, perhaps you can use it to your advantage. Let's see what the demons say when you fight side by side with your own shadow!"
Shadows of the Past: Activating a Shrine/Pylon will spawn in a shadow clone of your class. This clone will randomly have 1 out of 3 predetermined builds. This clone's power will scale with your character and will last for 1 minute or if your character dies. See below for the shadow clone variations that can spawn when activating.
Witch Doctor
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Grasp of the Dead - Rain of Corpses | Wall of Death - Fire Wall | Haunt - Poisoned Spirit |
Piranhas - Zombie Piranhas | Firebomb - Flash Fire | Spirit Barrage - The Spirit is Willing |
Zombie Charger - Zombie Bears | Acid Cloud - Acid Rain | Wall of Death - Communing with Spirits |
Corpse Spiders - Medusa Spiders | Piranhas - Zombie Piranhas | Piranhas - Zombie Piranhas |
Locust Swarm - Diseased Swarm | Zombie Charger - Explosive Beast | Acid Cloud - Slow Burn |
Acid Cloud - Kiss of Death | Spirit Barrage - Well of Souls | Grasp of the dead - Unbreakable Grasp |
Wizard
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Arcane Orb - Frozen Orb | Meteor - Molten Impact | Arcane Orb - Obliteration |
Frost Nova - Frozen Mist | Arcane Orb - Scorch | Disintegrate - Volatility |
Blizzard - Unrelenting Storm | Explosive Blast - Short Fuse | Wave of Force - Debilitating Force |
Energy Twister - Raging Storm | Blizzard - Apocalypse | Slow Time - Exhaustion |
Explosive Blast - Obliterate | Wave of Force - Heat Wave | Energy Twister - Raging Storm |
Ray of Frost - Black Ice | Disintegrate - Convergence | Meteor - Star Pact |
Barbarian
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Seismic Slam - Rumble | Battle Rage - Marauder's Rage | Battle Rage - Ferocity |
Threatening Shout - Falter | Threatening Shout - Falter | Threatening Shout - Falter |
Avalanche - Volcano | Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity | Leap - Launch |
Earthquake - Molten Fury | Sprint - Run Like the Wind | Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity |
Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity | Whirlwind - Dust Devils | Bash - Pulverize |
Ancient Spear - Boulder Toss | Rend - Lacerate | Hammer of The Ancients - Rolling Thunder |
Monk
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Lashing Tail Kick - Sweeping Armada | Fists of Thunder - Static Charge | Exploding Palm - Essence Burn |
Seven-Sided Strike - Fulminating Onslaught | Way of the Hundred Fists - Hands of Lightning | Seven-Sided Strike - Sudden Assault |
Inner Sanctuary - Intervene | Crippling Wave - Concussion | Lashing Tail Kick - Spinning Flame Kick |
Epiphany - Soothing Mist | Seven-Sided Strike - Incinerate | Sweeping Wind - Fire Storm |
Breath of Heaven - Circle of Scorn | Wave of Light - Pillar of the Ancients | Wave of Light - Explosive Light |
Wave of Light - Empowered Wave | Sweeping Wind - Cyclone | Epiphany - Inner Fire |
Necromancer
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Land of the Dead - Plaguelands | Land of the Dead - Plaguelands | Land of the Dead - Plaguelands |
Frailty - Early Grave | Frailty - Early Grave | Frailty - Early Grave |
Army of the Dead - Dead Storm | Army of the Dead - Blighted Grasp | Corpse Lance - Blood Lance |
Corpse Explosion - Final Embrace | Corpse Lance - Ricochet | Bone Spear - Shatter |
Bone Spear - Blood Spear | Bone Spear - Blighted Marrow | Death Nova - Bone Nova |
Death Nova - Blood Nova | Death Nova - Blight |
Demon Hunter
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Marked for Death - Valley of Death | Marked for Death - Valley of Death | Marked for Death - Valley of Death |
Caltrops - Jagged Spikes | Rain Of Vengeance - Dark Cloud | Rain Of Vengeance - Shade |
Fan of Knives - Assassin's Knives | Cluster Arrow - Shooting Stars | Cluster Arrow - Maelstrom |
Chakram - Twin Chakrams | Multishot - Arsenal | Impale - Overpenetration |
Vengeance - Side Cannons | Vengeance - Personal Mortar | Chakram - Serpentine |
Impale - Ricochet | Elemental Arrow - Immolation arrow | Elemental Arrow - Frost Arrow |
Crusader
Build Variation 1 | Build Variation 2 | Build Variation 3 |
Akarat's Champion - Fire Starter | Akarat's Champion - Hasteful | Akarat's Champion - Rally |
Falling Sword - Superheated | Iron Skin - Flash | Falling Sword - Rapid Descent |
Sweep Attack - Blazing Sweep | Blessed Shield - Shattering Throw | Heaven's Fury - Split Fury |
Consecration - Shattered Ground | Consecration - Bathed in Light | Fist of the Heavens - Retribution |
Bombardment - Annihilate | Blessed Hammer - Limitless | Iron Skin - Explosive Skin |
Condemn - Reciprocate | Condemn - Unleashed | Condemn - Shattering Explosion |
Kanai's Cube: As mentioned, Kanai's Cube has a fourth slot this season. This fourth slot offers the choices of the first 3 slots but will not stack with any of them. Blizzard say that the idea is to provide players with creative flexibility to their character builds.
General
Item Changes