Diablo 4 Season 9 Campfire — Overpower gets a massive nerf, and Blizzard addresses player feedback on the Reliquary

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In the past three weeks, Diablo 4 Season 8 has just begun, but it’s a brief season. Surprisingly early, Blizzard launched a seasonal stream (which might be more appropriately named a Developer stream now that they’ve removed Campfire from the game menu, though I’m getting ahead of myself).

With Season 8 still resonating in players’ memories and Season 9 ‘Sins of the Horadrim’ fast approaching, Diablo 4 developers gathered to unveil the new season theme, significant modifications to Nightmare dungeons, a substantial reduction in the effectiveness of a widely used damage type, and more during today’s stream.

Here are all the details you require.

The State of Diablo 4 so far

In Season 8’s PTR, progression was significantly reduced, but adjustments were made due to feedback before launch. However, this change exposed another problem: a lack of diverse activities during leveling up. For instance, Apparition Incursions, a key part of the Season 8 theme, might come across as obligatory tasks that players feel they must complete to advance.

Moving forward, the team is considering introducing more variety in leveling experiences and endgame activities, as well as addressing player burnout from repeatedly fighting Lair Bosses. Ultimately, the aim is to motivate players to participate in a range of events rather than focusing excessively on one specific activity.

Season 9 will be tested with PTR 2.3.0

In Season 9, the central theme is ‘The Sins of the Horadrim’, a detail we’ve known from the Diablo 4 roadmap, but today, we get a clearer understanding of what this entails. Instead of story content, the Public Test Realm (PTR) will be concentrating on testing new game mechanics. Specifically, Season 9 is set to enhance dungeon experiences by introducing additional features.

Nightmare dungeon updates

This concealed area, known as a Horadric Strongroom, is nestled within the Nightmare dungeon. As a challenging gameplay zone, it now serves as an alternative to the eliminated ‘Gauntlet’, allowing players to test their strategies in a new setting.

Throughout your journey, you’ll gather Horadric ‘tuning’ by defeating enemies. This tuning enhances the chest rewarded upon vanquishing the mini-boss. Various interactive gadgets scattered around the Strongroom can help boost your tuning (these seem to share similarities with the Kurast Undercity mechanics).

Progressing through this system allows you to confront a sequence of three nightmarish dungeons consecutively, with additional affixes being introduced in each one, making it progressively harder but also more rewarding. The climax involves a boss battle that can only be accessed using an ‘Escalating Nightmare Sigil’. These sigils are obtained from Strongrooms in Torment 1 and above.

Astaroth returns!

In the principal battle of Diablo 4’s main storyline, we’ll be facing off against Asteroth once more in the upcoming Season theme. Get ready for a repeat encounter, but don’t expect a carbon copy of the original fight; there will be numerous fresh twists and elements incorporated.

However, this doesn’t imply that Asteroth will immediately appear on the Boss Ladder. The team is devising innovative methods to incorporate bosses in various ways moving forward.

Personally, I’m thrilled about this development as Asteroth was a cherished fight from the main campaign and I can’t wait to give him another good thrashing. It feels like it’s been an eternity!

Horadric Spells

Previously, Diablo 4 has faced criticism for its excessive use of powers borrowed from other sources. Regrettably, it appears they are maintaining this theme for Season 9 with Horadric Spells. However, what makes them unique is that you can create these spells yourself, offering endless possibilities (although it’s likely the community will figure out the meta within a few days).

Despite the initial criticisms, the more details we received about these spells, the more intrigued I became by the concept and the high degree of customization available.

You start with a Spell Catalyst, which you use to enhance your spell’s strength and reduce its cooldown. The catalyst determines the spell’s shape and function.

The user interface includes a bar that mirrors an action bar, allowing you to assign these spells to your basic actions (such as binding the catalyst to the Dash skill if you are a Rogue).

For example, developers demonstrated a Rogue using Celestial Surge, a new Horadric Power, bound to their smoke bomb. This resulted in a shower of stars being directed at enemies. It certainly looks impressive.

In this game, it’s up to the player to decide how to bind the catalyst to their skills for a personalized feel. The catalyst’s behavior changes based on whether it’s connected to melee or range combat. You’ll have the ability to alter the elemental damage with Infusion and include small, intricate Arcana effects. In total, you can incorporate 3 Arcana into your custom spells. During the PTR (Public Test Realm), all the available spells will be disclosed and tested.

Q&A note: During the stream, developers mentioned they’re thinking about enabling players to adjust visual settings based on other players’ preferences, specifically for Horadric powers.

In the game, as you progress, the Horadric Jewels embedded in your equipment can enhance your Horadric Spells up to a rank of 5. This enhanced rank enables you to disengage certain enemy abilities represented by affixes. For instance, Fire spells can nullify Chilling Winds, which is very useful when combating the Ice Beast. This feature offers more flexibility and control in gameplay for players.

It seems plausible that the blend of spells, magical knowledge (arcana), and catalysts will likely result in a chaotic state within the game when it comes to balance. I’m eagerly anticipating observing their performance on the Public Test Realm (PTR).

Class Balance

Our team generally feels that the class balance is doing well and has a wide range of build options (except when discussing Torment 4 with a Minion Necromancer build, which our Editor Jez Corden might not approve).

However, it’s important to note that achieving class balance is an ongoing effort. With each new season, we strive for further enhancements in the general class balance.

In the Public Test Realm (PTR), players can anticipate adjustments for all classes this season.

  • Nerfs to Overpower as it’s currently dominating the builds, expect this to be nerfed around 80%.
  • Basic Skills will see their damage increased, typically by 2 to 3 times.
  • Overall balancing changes will be applied to additive damage.
  • The cap for Maximum Resistance will be raised to 75%.
  • Key Passives will undergo adjustments, averaging a 75% boost to damage output.

Then here are the changes coming for each individual class:
Barbarian

  • The Earthquake Skill will be redesigned with a new mechanic.
  • A new Unique item will enable players to add a Cleave effect to the Bash ability.

Druid

  • Cataclysm and its modifiers will be toned down to encourage diversity in build choices.
  • Aspects related to Grizzly Rage and Poison mechanics will be revamped to improve their appeal.

Necromancer

  • Soul Rift will no longer grant a Barrier.
  • Blood Wave-related Unique items will be weakened.
  • The new Unique item, The Hand of Naz, will allow summoning additional empowered Skeletal Arch-Mages.

Rogue

  • Unique items tied to Death Trap will see reductions in power.
  • The Infiltrators and Bursting Venoms Legendary Aspects will be enhanced.
  • To encourage ranged Rogue playstyles, the Eaglehorn Bow will receive a significant boost.
  • A new Unique item will let Rogues use Health as a resource once Energy is depleted.

Sorcerer

  • Lightning Spear will be adjusted for better balance.
  • Burning Skills will receive a 25% damage boost across the board.
  • A new Unique item will summon a 3-headed Hydra, with each additional head above three increasing both size and damage.

Spiritborn

  • The Deflection Aspect will now provide multiplicative damage to Razor Wings.
  • The Hunter Ultimate reset will undergo a redesign.
  • A new Unique item will allow Spiritborn characters to transform Thorns damage into Poison damage.

Updates to Seasonal activity variety

From Season 9 onwards, both Elites and Bosses within the game will grant players Seasonal Reputation as rewards. This way, players can make progress throughout the game, not just on seasonal-specific activities, allowing them to enjoy a more flexible and less pressure-filled gaming experience.

New Nightmare Sigil Affixes

In the world I’m observing, fresh enhancements, found in differing scarcities, are set to grace Nightmare Dungeons. These additions promise thrilling advantages to bolster players, as they brave these formidable labyrinths. To maintain balance and foster variety, unfavorable affixes will cease to focus on particular elements or playstyles.

Furthermore, gamers will now be granted instant travel to a different Nightmare Dungeon straight from their existing one. This change is applicable for both the Eternal and Seasonal dimensions.

Other changes coming to Diablo 4 in Season 9

  • Improved loot rewards for lower World Tiers.
  • An increased drop rate for Legendary Runes.
  • Enhanced rewards for several Whisper Caches.
  • A general boost in Legendary Rune drop frequency.
  • The Tribute of Harmony now grants additional Rune drops.
  • All Undercity Tributes will guarantee a Rune drop.
  • Whisper Caches will provide more resources overall.
  • Reduced costs for Jewelry Caches.
  • Infernal Hordes will now drop more Gems.
  • Mouse and keyboard support for console will be added, but this won’t be testable in the PTR (as it’s a PC only server)

The new Reliquary has been controversial, but change is coming

We’re working on updates that will bring more goodies to The Reliquary.” While they didn’t specify if this would be in Season 9 or beyond, their aim is to add more content to this feature.

A Diablo die-hards thoughts

This season, for the first time, I didn’t immediately dive into a new Diablo 4 season on its release day. It’s not that Blizzard has made any mistakes, but rather because the last few weeks have been filled with significant game launches, and I’ve been thoroughly engrossed in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 instead.

This week, I started watching Season 8 and found it decent so far, but the Accursion events have been a bit tedious for me. Fortunately, I’ve learned that they won’t be crucial later on in the season’s progression, allowing me to persevere towards the upcoming Lair Boss battles, particularly battling Belial in his colossal new form.

Despite this, the recent developer livestream and the extensive customization options for the Horadric theme in Season 9 have piqued my interest, making me strongly consider waiting until its launch to fully dive in. (However, I must admit that my resistance will likely crumble once I unlock Iris the cat.)

You can check out the full Patch notes from Blizzard here.

How to play Diablo 4 Season 9 PTR

The Maintenance Period for Update 2.3.0 on Battle.net will take place from May 27, 2025, through June 3, 2025, meaning you’ll need to have your gaming setup on a PC during that time if you want to participate in the testing process.

  1. Open the Battle.net launcher.
  2. Navigate to Diablo 4.
  3. In the bottom left corner, select the dropdown and you’ll find Public Test Realm.
  4. Click Install.
  5. Click Play and select a test server.
  6. Create a test character (create a Seasonal one for anything related to the Seasonal themes)
  7. Skip Campaign

Should you be an Xbox Game Pass user on a computer, you can reach the Public Test Realm (PTR) via the Xbox application and follow the identical instructions given previously.

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2025-05-23 00:10