The new Diablo season called Sins of the Horadrim begins in a few days. This actually brings a whole host of new features to the game, but for many that’s not enough
It’s time to take on the hosts of hell again. Because in just a few days, the next season ofDiablo 4 will kick off, this time focusing on the sins of the Horadrim.On the websiteBlizzard recently listed all the new content that awaits you in Season 9 in enormous detail.
The blog entry is huge and lists numerous new season mechanics and permanent reworks to Diablo 4. However, the sheer mass of content is probably not enough to pacify the generally very critical Diablo community.In the social mediathe negative comments are already piling up before the release.
We summarize everything about Season 9 hereA short summary with the most important informationcan be found on the next page.
Table of Contents
The highlights of Season 9
The Horadrim and their powerful magic are the focus of Season 9. This can be seen in the new quest line as well as the most important season mechanics
The new quest
The new quest line revolves around the return of one of the coolest bosses from the main game’s campaign:Astaroth and his snappy, three-headed lapdog.You must track down and cleanse corrupted relics as you progress. Above all, you will also get to know the new seasonal mechanics.
Craft your own spells
The most important new feature of the next season concerns Horadric spells. This allows you to go to the workbench and create spell effects that best suit your current class. Each spell is made up of three components:
- Catalysts:This component lays the foundation for your spell. It determines whether your spell is a beam, an explosion or an area effect.
- Infusions:This further defines your spell. For example, you use it to specify the damage type.
- Arcana:Arcana modify your spell and make it even more powerful, depending on its quality level, by providing unique side effects.
To enhance your spells even further, you can also have new Horadric Jewels cut and inserted into your ring bases.
Permanent innovations
Some of the endgame innovations will now remain in the game permanently. These include so-called Horadric vault chambers. These are mini-dungeons that you can track down in nightmare dungeons and contain valuable loot – apart from some powerful mummified enemies
The season also brings a new endgame activity to the game permanently: the Escalating Nightmares. Here you have to complete three nightmare dungeons in a row, with the affixes from the previous dungeon remaining in place. So everything gets harder and more chaotic. A new boss fight against Astaroth awaits at the end
Further criticism
The community surrounding Diablo 4 is nowpermanently divided Although the game is still being played very actively, which speaks for a still satisfied base, there is excessive criticism on social media. Season 9 is not being received particularly warmly here either. The community criticizes the following problems in particular:
- Many consider the seasons in Diablo 4 to be too formulaic. Blizzard has a few fixed components that they use over and over again. For example, a new power, a few changes to the endgame and a new boss.
- In the case of Season 9, many players also dislike the numerous nerfs to the classes, which significantly weaken some of their builds.
- In Season 9, there is also the fact that the season has already come in for some criticism on the test server. On the one hand, because the changes were disappointing, but also because a lot of things still felt technically very rough here – the latter is not unusual on a test server, however.
On July 1st you can try out for yourself whether you like Season 9 or not. Feel free to let us know in the comments what you think and what mistakes you think Diablo 4 has made – or where it shines! On the next page you’ll find a brief overview of all the important facts about Season 9
Diablo 4: Season 9 – All info on start times and content
We briefly and clearly summarize the most important details and patch notes for Season 9 of Diablo 4
Start times of Season 9
- Start:July 1 at 7 pm
- End:Expected in September 2025
Content of Season 9
Theme
Season 9 revolves around the sins of the Horadrim. You experience the return of Astaroth and must help the druid Bryona protect her home in a new quest series. To do so, you will explore the magical secrets of the Horadrim
New mechanics
- Horadric Spells:You can create your own spells and need three components to do so: Catalysts, Infusions and Arcana. These determine the area in which the spell works, the damage it causes and the side effects it triggers.
- Horadric jewels:From skill level 1, you can find tomes in vault chambers, which you can use to create special jewels. The gems improve your Horadric spells, but can also have additional effects.
Permanent innovations
- Horadric Vault Chambers:You can discover and enter these mini-dungeons in Nightmare Dungeons with the help of a Horadric Wayfinder. Whether there is a chamber also depends on the difficulty level. In the chamber you have to perform a ritual and defeat monsters, at the end a big reward awaits you.
- Escalating Nightmares:This new endgame activity lets you complete three nightmare dungeons in a row, whereby the affixes of the previous dungeon are retained and the difficulty increases further as a result.
- Astaroth:The new boss awaits you at the end of an Escalating Nightmare. This time he dismounts from his mount called Amalgam, so you have to fight both at the same time.
New content
- New Nightmare Dungeon Affixes:There are now three new positive affixes in the game that you can find on Nightmare Seals.
- New unique items:Each of the six classes in the game now has a new unique item. The Spiritborn item is of course only available if you own Vessel of Hatred.
Seasonal Journey
- Completion:If you complete Chapter 6 of the Seasonal Journey, you will be rewarded with Dante the Dog as your new companion.
- Seasonal Blessings:
- Curiosity Urn:Increases the chance to receive a second item when shopping at the Curiosity Merchant.
- Glyphs’ Urn:Grants a chance for an additional upgrade when upgrading glyphs.
- Urn of Escalation:Increases the chances of finding additional equipment in Astaroth’s rewards.
- Urn of Relics:Increases the number of Horadric Vials that can be found in a Horadrim’s medallion.
- Urn of Vault Chambers:Increases the chance of finding an additional Escalation Seal in Horadric Vault Chambers.
Battle Pass
With Season 8, the Diablo 4 Battle Pass has been fundamentally revised and translated into so-called Reliquaries. Each of them contains thematically different content that you can unlock or purchase. The following content is available here:
Free Battle Pass
- Mount Eventine
- Nightslayer’s Pink Armor Mount Armor
- Gate of the Iron Demon City Portal
Deluxe Battle Pass
- Instant unlock of the Iron Demon armor set for every class
- Wings: Iron Demon Chains for each class
- Companion: Scapegoat
- Access to the weapon, beast and armor reliquaries
This should bring you up to speed on what to expect in Season 9. Blizzard will publish detailed patch notes on June 27. Until then, you can decide whether you want to take a look at Season 9 at all or whether you’re less interested in the planned theme
