On Wednesday, September 16, Diablo IV's 15th season, Season of Hell's Legacy, was finally revealed. This season serves as a complete gift set for fans, looking back on the storied history of the Diablo franchise step by step. Let's take a look at the Season of Hell's Legacy content and changes that were not shown during the PTR.
Stay a while and listen...
The Horadrim Deckard Cain has made an appearance in Diablo IV as well. Deckard Cain asks players for help, stating that the three Dark Wanderers from past entries are causing trouble in Sanctuary.
Once players recover the Spikes of Malice held by the Dark Wanderers, they can choose one of the Spikes of Malice to become a Dark Wanderer themselves. As a Dark Wanderer, players gain access to the iconic abilities of the Prime Evils, as well as additional modifiers in specific content.
First, Diablo's Spike of Terror erupts jets of flame from the player and grants additional effects in Helltides and Infernal Hordes. Baal's Spike of Destruction emits ice explosions dealing Cold damage along with small projectiles, gaining bonuses in Undercity and Lair Bosses. Finally, Mephisto's Spike of Hatred receives extra effects in The Pit and Nightmare Dungeons, periodically projecting phantoms of hatred from the player to deal Physical damage.
You can only possess one Spike of Malice at a time, with each spike offering a distinct reputation track and rewards. If you want to switch to a different Spike of Malice, you must collect resources through the new seasonal dungeon, 'Waking Nightmare'.
New Seasonal Content: Waking Nightmares
Waking Nightmares are dungeons that recreate memorable moments from across the Diablo franchise. Iconic locations from Diablo 1, 2, and 3, as well as Diablo 1's unofficial expansion Diablo: Hellfire and the mobile title Diablo Immortal, have all been recreated in Diablo IV's graphics engine.
There are three types of Waking Nightmares. The first is Capstone Dungeons, where you battle the Prime Evils directly. Accessible upon reaching Torment difficulty, players engage in direct combat with Prime Evils such as Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto.
The second type consists of standard dungeons found at fixed locations throughout the open world. These feature various themes, such as the Den of Evil from Diablo II and Search for Caldeum from Diablo III, offering a length similar to regular field dungeons.
The last type appears without warning during gameplay. Similar to the 'Challenge Dungeons' featured on the PTR, stepping into a portal transports you to a single room where you can battle past series bosses or hold off waves of attacking monsters to claim rewards.
A Massive Addition of New Items
In addition, a massive wave of new items has arrived. First up is the seasonal item, 'Soulspike'. Soulspikes can be socketed into jewelry gem slots, offering powerful stat bonuses coupled with severe drawbacks. You can also fuse two identical Soulspikes using the Horadric Cube to upgrade them into a higher-tier Soulspike.
Alongside these, 'Legacy Unique' items have been introduced. A total of 9 pieces of equipment paying homage to iconic items from past games have been added. Unlike seasonal mechanics, Legacy Uniques are added permanently to the game.
Furthermore, various items including 'Runeword' Uniques and the 'Annihilus Charm', which were wildly popular in Diablo II, have also been included. Goblins opening portals to Whimsyshire even make an appearance. If you enjoyed past entries in the series, playing through the reinterpreted Diablo universe in Season 15 is highly recommended.
Account-Wide War Plans Finally Implemented!
Numerous other improvements have also been made. First and foremost, account-wide War Plans—a feature long requested by players—has been implemented. Previously, War Plans progressed on a per-character basis, placing a heavy burden on leveling alt characters. Starting this season, the barrier to leveling alt characters has been drastically lowered.
In addition, Mythic Unique items can now be crafted deterministically. Players can upgrade Unique items to Mythic rank while preserving both the item type and stats. Furthermore, whenever a Unique Charm drops, there is a low chance for a Mythic Charm to drop instead.
Two new recipes have also been added to the Horadric Cube: Attribute Refactoring, which rerolls remaining affix values while leaving Greater Affixes (commonly known as 'GAs') and stats altered via Tempering, Enchanting, or Transmutation untouched; and Horadric Refactoring, which allows players to modify attributes on Sigils and Charms.
Major Quality-of-Life Overhaul
Starting this season, you can transfer existing characters into the season using the 'Rebirth' feature. Utilizing Rebirth moves the character to the Seasonal Realm and resets their level to 1, allowing you to level them fresh while retaining cumulative playtime, transmogs, and cosmetic appearances.
If you are attached to an existing character, don't want to make a new one because you already have a character of that class, or have a full character selection screen requiring character deletion to start the season, Rebirth is a great option to consider.
In addition, a new system called the 'Horadric Post' has been introduced. Players can receive mail containing essential items such as rewards, supplies, and commemorative items. Several souvenirs have arrived to celebrate the launch of the season, so returning players should be sure to check their mailboxes upon returning to Sanctuary.
