In October, Diablo 4 is expecting a major overhaul with the new Season 6. The update brings new skills for all classes into play – we summarize them for you in an overview.
Blizzard is overhauling important mechanics in Diablo 4 with Season 6 and Vessel of Hatred. Diablo head Rod Fergusson said: What Season 4 was for loot, Season 6 is for progress:
- The progression system will be revamped, the new max level is 60, and the Paragon points are separated from the character levels. You can then collect a total of 300 Paragon points from level 60. The points apply to all your characters on a realm.
- The world tiers will become difficulty levels. The system had often been criticized by the community before. From Season 6 onwards, there will be four difficulty levels (Normal, Hard, Expert, Repentant) and four torment levels – that is Torment 1-4.
Furthermore, each class will receive new Uniques, a new Paragon board, an additional skill, and 5 new passive skills. The developers are also taking a look at the skill trees, revamping the paths so that you can unlock skills through various routes. Some existing skills will also be adjusted – for example, Ultimate skills will receive ranks. We will reveal what new skills are coming for the classes below.
New Skills of the Barbarians
What new skill do Barbarians get? Barbarians will get “Mighty Throw,” a new weapon mastery skill with a cooldown of 12 seconds:
- Mighty Throw: Throws your weapon, which deals 80% weapon damage upon impact and sticks in the ground. While it’s stuck in the ground, your weapon pulses and deals 35% weapon damage every second for 4 seconds.
- Improved Mighty Throw: While a thrown weapon is away, you gain 25% [+] increased attack speed.
- Mighty Throw of the Fighter: A weapon swap near a weapon you threw creates an additional pulse. Each additional pulse generates a barrier of 5% of your maximum health for 5 seconds.
- Mighty Throw of the Warrior: The impact of Mighty Throw deals 200%[x] increased damage and stuns enemies for 2 seconds.
What new passive skills does the class receive? Barbarians will receive 5 new passive skills – one of them is a central passive skill:
- Battlelust: Dealing damage to an opponent with a basic skill increases your damage by 3/6/9 %[x] for 4 seconds.
- Powerhouse: Your ultimate skills deal 15/30/45% more damage.
- Warpath: After you overpower, you deal 4% increased damage for 4 seconds.
- Unquenchable: Casting a weapon mastery skill fortifies you by 10% of your maximum health.
- Thorn Armor (central passive skill): Each time you consume 25 fury, you gain 10%[+] thorns for 8 seconds, up to 120%. Casting a skill with a cooldown makes you unstoppable for 5 seconds. During this time, you deal 100% of your thorn damage as physical damage to nearby enemies.
New Skills of the Druids
What new skill do Druids get? Druids will get “Stone Salvo,” a new earth core skill that requires 30 spirit power:
- Stone Salvo: Places stones underneath your enemies and launches them into the air, dealing 120% weapon damage. While channeling, it deals 20% weapon damage, and the affected area enlarges after 1.0 seconds up to 400%.
- Improved Stone Salvo: The damage of the last explosion of Stone Salvo is increased by 25%[x] in the initial radius.
- Ancient Stone Salvo: While channeling Stone Salvo and for 2 seconds after it ends, you gain 30%[+] attack speed.
- Raging Stone Salvo: Stone Salvo costs 66%[x] more spirit power, and the last explosion of the skill deals 50%[x] more damage.
What new passive skills does the class receive? Druids will receive 5 new passive skills – one of them is a central passive skill:
- Humanity: In human form, you deal 5/10/15% increased damage.
- Catastrophe: You deal 5/10/15% increased damage for 8 seconds after casting an ultimate skill.
- You deal 3% increased damage while in healthy condition and 3% increased damage when movement speed exceeds 100%. These bonuses are stackable.
- Rebound: You deal 4% increased damage for 5 seconds after casting a defensive skill.
- One with Nature (central passive skill): Your companion skills each gain 1 additional companion and deal 60%[x] increased damage. Gain the passive effect of Ravens, Wolves, and Poison Vine.
With Vessel of Hatred, a new class enters the game: the Spiritborn. You can see its skills in our overview:
New Skills of the Necromancers
What new skill do Necromancers get? Necromancers will receive “Soul Rending,” a new ultimate darkness skill with a 50-second cooldown:
- Soul Rending: You corrupt enemies in the surrounding area for 8 seconds, dealing 65 weapon damage per second. During this duration, you absorb the souls of up to 3 enemies every 0.25 seconds, gaining 2 essence and a barrier for 5 seconds equal to 2% of your maximum health. You absorb 3 souls from bosses at once.
- Superior Soul Rending: Each absorbed soul increases your damage by 1%, up to 30%. This bonus remains for 5 seconds after Soul Rending ends.
- Ultimate Soul Rending: Enemies from whom the soul has been ripped are vulnerable for 2 seconds. If enemies affected by Soul Rending take damage, there is a 5% chance that you absorb their soul.
What new passive skills does the class receive? Necromancers will receive 5 new passive skills – one of them is a central passive skill:
- Necrotic Strength: Lucky hits: Your damage has up to a 5/10/15% chance to create a barrier for 6 seconds for 7% of your maximum health.
- Finality: You deal 5/10/15% increased damage for 8 seconds after casting an ultimate skill.
- Fallen Titan: While fortified, you deal 6/12/18% increased damage against elite enemies.
- Precision Decay: Your lucky hit chance is increased by 5/10/15%[+].
- Debility (central passive skill): Enemies affected by vulnerability, loss of control, or shadow damage over time become infected with Debility and take 15%[x] increased damage from you and your servants. Your curse skills deal 80% shadow damage (weapon damage) to infected enemies. This damage amount is increased by 30%[x] of your damage through loss of control, vulnerability, and shadow damage over time.
Part of the new Uniques is closely tied to the new skills of the classes. In our overview, you can see all the new Uniques and Mythic Uniques that will come in Season 6 of Diablo 4:
New Skills of the Hunters
What new skill do Hunters get? Hunters will receive “Dance of Knives,” a new swift skill for assassins that has 6 charges and a 1-second cooldown:
- Dance of Knives: Channel to throw the knives at enemies in the vicinity, consuming one charge per second. Each knife deals 70% damage. You gain 20%[+] movement speed and 10%[+] evasion chance while channeling Dance of Knives.
- Improved Dance of Knives: If you move 30 meters while channeling Dance of Knives, you gain 4 charges.
- Methodical Dance of Knives: If you stop channeling Dance of Knives, you drop up to 12 flashbangs, each dealing 20% weapon damage. The duration of the channel determines how many are dropped.
- Disciplined Dance of Knives: Dance of Knives slows hit enemies by 25% for 3 seconds. Each knife has a 20% chance to pierce the opponent.
What new passive skills does the class receive? Hunters will receive 5 new passive skills – one of them is a central passive skill:
- Aiming Practice: Your critical hit chance with precision and assassination skills is increased by 3/6/9%.
- Balestra: After using Escape, you gain 4/8/12% increased damage for 4 seconds.
- Evasive: After dodging, you gain 2/4/6% damage reduction for 4 seconds.
- Until Dusk: Your ultimate skills deal 15/30/45%[x] increased damage.
- Alchemical Addition (central passive skill): If you deal 3 different types of non-physical damage, the potency of your infusion skills increases by 40% for 5 seconds. This potency is further increased by 20% of total bonus damage to poison, shadow, and cold.
New Skills of the Sorcerers
What new skill do Sorcerers get? Sorcerers will receive “Familiar,” a new summoning skill with 3 charges and a 12-second cooldown:
- Familiar: Summons an elemental familiar of your last cast skill for 8 seconds. The familiar regularly chases enemies and explodes, dealing 40% of its elemental damage in an area. You can summon 6 familiars at the same time.
- Improved Familiar: Familiar applies a passive effect based on its element to nearby enemies. Fire Familiar: Deals 40% burn damage to enemies. Cold Familiar: Deals 15% cold damage to enemies. Lightning Familiar: Stuns enemies for 1 second.
- Summoned Familiar: The elements of your familiar now follow a fixed sequence of fire, cold, and lightning when you cast a skill. While you have at least two familiars of different elements, you gain a damage reduction of 3%[+].
- Called Familiar: As long as a familiar is active, you gain 10%[x] increased damage for all skills that deal its type of damage.
What new passive skills does the class receive? Sorcerers will receive 5 new passive skills – one of them is a central passive skill:
- Summoning: Gain a 4% cooldown reduction per cursed enemy.
- Energy Focus: You generate a barrier for 6 seconds, equal to 0.5/1.0/1.5% of your maximum health, up to 30%. You lose this effect for 5 seconds after losing health.
- Moisture Layer: You gain 2/4/6% damage reduction as long as you have an active barrier.
- Elemental Synergies: Your frost, shock, and pyromancy damage are increased by 1/2/3%[x] for each skill of that type that you have equipped.
- Enlightenment (central passive skill): Casting any skills grants 1 stack of enlightenment or 15 if your previously cast skill originates from a different element. After reaching 100 stacks, you become enlightened, no longer gaining stacks, and losing 10 stacks per second. As long as you are enlightened, your bonus damage with fire, lightning, and cold is as high as your combined damage and you gain:
- 25%[x] increased damage
- 45%[+] mana regeneration
- 20%[+] attack speed
Do I have to buy the expansion to use the skills? No. The basic changes to Diablo 4 are available to all players. Therefore, the adjustments to the level system and difficulty levels, as well as the new skills, are available to everyone who has the base game.
All players can also access the new seasonal content that arrives on October 8. However, with Vessel of Hatred, features are being introduced that can only be used if you purchase the expansion, like the new class. You can find more information about the contents here: Diablo 4: Season 6 and Vessel of Hatred are releasing simultaneously – What can I play for free, what costs money?
