Season 4: Loot Reborn is on its way directly from Diablo 4‘s first Public Test in April to bring a better experience based on player feedback. Several additions are coming to the game following the general theme of overhauling items, including end-game content and new systems.
All new content and changes coming with Diablo 4 Season 4
The new Diablo 4 season will bring several new mechanics to the game trying to “refresh how items are earned, how they function, and how they improve as you level through World Tiers,” according to Blizzard, after a five-day Public Test Realm.
The item drop system was overhauled, there are now two crafting systems called Tempering and Masterworking, the Helltide has new features, players can enjoy more end-game content with the Pit of Artificers, and a new quest is ready for players to complete and get started with the new season.
We’ll focus on the major changes coming with the new season, so if you wish to learn about the details you can read the Season 4: Loot Reborn preview now and check the patch notes for all the specific updates once it’s available on May 2.
Itemization overhaul, crafting systems, and Codex of Power
As the season‘s name suggests, the new content focuses on what Blizzard calls “Itemization changes.” The loot system received an overhaul to make it more impactful and easier to understand at the same time. Be prepared to receive fewer item drops when killing Monsters, but get more valuable ones, and when they drop, it will be clearer which items are upgrades. All the item complexity was moved to the new crafting system: Tempering and Masterworking.
Tempering introduces Tempering Manuals to use with Blacksmiths and upgrade your weapons or armor with affixes. The Manuals are regular items, and once learned, they can be used indefinitely. Masterworking is the next level of Tempering. It’s an end-game system that uses materials from the Pit of Artificers to upgrade weapons, making the affixes you already have equipped stronger.
The devs also added a new system to save space in your inventory called the Codex of Power. When you extract Aspects from Legendary items, they will now be stored in the Codex of Power. It will upgrade automatically to the most-powerful extracted version and you can use it as many times as you’d like.
Helltide Reborn: Threat levels, Hell Marked, and Accursed Ritual
As you take part in a Helltide, you’ll go up in Threat levels based on the monsters you slay and how often you open Tortured Gifts. Each level raises the difficulty and once you reach level three, you become Hell-Markerd. When you get the mark, you’ll be attacked by “a frenzy of densely packed monsters,” according to Blizzard.
Your reward for surviving is facing a Hellborn—one of Sanctuary’s warriors representing one of the classes in Diablo 4—and receiving Baneful Hearts. When you activate the Hellborn ambush or die, you and your Threat level can continue until the event ends.
Finally, the last addition to Helltide is the possibility to perform the Accursed Ritual. You can use the Baneful Hearts from defeating Hellborn and opening Tortured Gifts to begin the ritual. You’ll need three to spawn a swarm of enemies and the Blood Maiden. Blizzards promises this demon “offers great reward upon her death.”
End-game content: The Pit of Artificers
When completing end-game content, you’ll receive Runeshards that can take you to The Pit after activating the Obelisk in Cerrigar. You’ll have 10 minutes to beat the monsters and summon the final boss, but player deaths eat away time from the clock, so you’ll have to be prepared. The first death penalizes 30 seconds, the second removes 60 seconds, while the third onward will remove 90 seconds.
If you and your group—of up to four players—defeat the boss before the time runs out, you’ll earn Masterworking materials and unlock the next tier of The Pit. The more time remaining on the clock, the better the reward. There are 200 levels in total, so there is enough challenge for the whole season.
New quest: The Iron Wolves
You can complete a new quest to discover why members of the mercenaries—The Iron Wolves—are dying. The Iron Wolves aim to protect the people of Sanctuary and if you help them, you can gain favor with their group. Go to Khejistan to meet Soudeh to begin the quest. You’ll receive several Tempering Manuals for completing it and enjoy the new crafting system.
