Blizzard has given us our first glimpse into what Diablo 4’s next season is all about. Although the official name for Season 7 hasn’t been disclosed yet, we do know that it’s set to kick off on January 21. However, players eager to get a sneak peek can dive into the patch 2.1 Public Test Realm (PTR) a lot sooner than that.
Come Tuesday, December 3, PC players on BattleNet will have access to the PTR. What’s exciting this time is that the PTR isn’t just limited to gameplay tweaks—the seasonal content will be part of it too.
Season 7 brings a fresh theme centered around witchcraft, letting characters wield unique, season-exclusive powers, similar to those Vampiric abilities from Season 2. To source these powers, you’ll need to explore the world and activate altars found within dungeons.
The season’s main adversary is the Headrotten. Take them down, and they’ll drop Restless Rot. This item is key to unlocking and enhancing your characters’ witchcraft abilities. Unlike before, upgrading these powers is now much more straightforward. Players can equip up to five normal powers alongside one unique power.
Occult Gems are making a comeback this season, adding to the excitement. These specialty gems can be added to your jewelry, each bringing a unique set of witchcraft abilities.
The season’s grind revolves around boosting your reputation with the coven, which ties back into Whispers. Headhunt zones, reminiscent of Helltide, provide another avenue to hunt Headrotten while also serving as Whispers.
On that note, Blizzard has introduced some quality-of-life updates to the Whispers grind. The town encircling the Tree of Whispers now offers more services, and navigating it is a breeze. The standout feature is the new Raven of the Tree, which lets you submit your Whispers far away from the Tree itself. Look for these Ravens in the Headhunt zones.
A major gameplay adjustment in 2.1 includes a boost to Ultimate skills. Once an Ultimate hits rank 5, it’s going to pack more punch. This boost can be further amplified by selecting the right skills in the skill tree and aligning with the right nodes on the Paragon board.
On a broader scale, many classes in the game are receiving upgrades. While the Spiritborn isn’t directly getting nerfed, it’s been running with more power than intended in Season 6 due to specific issues. Fixing these will tone down its current strength.
A noteworthy addition is the Armory, which allows players to save multiple loadouts for each character and switch between them without spending Gold. Different Paragon boards can be used within each loadout. The Armory can be accessed in various places, including Sanctuary towns, near the Tree of Whispers, in training zones, and even within the Citadel.
As is tradition with a new season, the loot pool is seeing an expansion with new Uniques, and some older ones are getting recalibrated for consistency. New Legendary Aspects are set to make an entrance too, particularly ones that enhance Ultimate powers.
For those looking to catch all the details, you can check out the livestream through the link included in this story. Keep in mind, the patch notes won’t be available until Wednesday, November 27.
