In a livestream, Blizzard revealed how they want to bring fresh wind into the endgame of Diablo 4. The new features are set to be permanently introduced with Season 9 – and you can try them out right now.
How does Blizzard plan to shake up the endgame? In the “Campfire Chat” livestream, Blizzard provided insights into new features that will be permanently introduced in Diablo 4 with Season 9. Specifically, the Nightmare dungeons are getting an update, as: Escalating Nightmare dungeons, “Horadrical Treasure Rooms,” and a few quality-of-life improvements are being added:
- Horadrical Treasure Rooms: These mini-dungeons appear in Nightmare dungeons and feature powerful enemies and strong loot. However, to complete the dungeons, you only have limited time.
- Escalation Nightmare Dungeons: You will be sent through a chain of three connected Nightmare dungeons, where the affixes stack. But not only does the difficulty increase, so do the rewards. You receive the seals for the dungeons from treasure room chests. At the end, you will reunite with Astaroth, a well-known boss from the campaign.
- Quality of Life Update: From Season 9, you can directly activate the next Nightmare dungeon within the dungeon and continue without detours. This saves time and loading screens.
- New Affix Types for Nightmare Dungeons: The seals for Nightmare dungeons also receive new affixes – including “Horadrical Reserves.” This provides access to special chests full of gold, obuls, gem fragments, and other resources.
Below you can see the screenshots from the English-speaking YouTube livestream from May 22, 2025:
When can I test the new features? You can test the new features and the changes to the base game on the PTR (Public Test Realm) for Season 9 from May 27, 2025 to June 3, 2025. You can find the PTR in your Battle.net client as a dropdown menu for Diablo 4. At the NPC Mrak, you can boost your player characters and pick up various items and materials.
You can also test the seasonal features with Mrak – including the new mechanics related to Horadrical Powers and brand new Jewels. You can find the complete patch notes for the PTR on page 2 of the article – we will update them as soon as the German version is available.
The “Sins of the Horadrim”
What seasonal features can I test on the PTR? Season 9 revolves around the “Sins of the Horadrim,” as shown in the roadmap for 2025. You will receive “Horadrical Powers”, which essentially consist of three building blocks:
- Catalysts are the base of your spells.
- Infusions change the type of elemental damage.
- Arkanas change the basic mechanics of the spell.
You can equip a Catalyst, a supportive Infusion, and three Arkanas to shape your spells. Each component brings unique effects, providing you with numerous combinations. On the PTR, you receive the powers from Mrak and then in Season 9 as usual through a seasonal quest series – and Arkanas by exploring Nightmare dungeons.
Additionally, starting from Qual 1, you can find so-called Volumes in the Horadrical Treasure Rooms – these can be used to craft new, socketable jewels. These Horadrical jewels further enhance your spells and provide additional strong bonuses. They are used in amulets and rings.
Alongside all the new features, Blizzard is once again tweaking the balance. A mechanic that currently dominates the tier list in Diablo 4 and is the key to OP builds is set to be nerfed in Season 9. According to the developers, it currently overshadows too many other builds – you can already check out exactly what’s changing on the PTR.
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