Diablo Immortal has introduced its first major update: Forgotten Nightmares. This brings a new dungeon, new loot, and at the core your very own castle that you can inhabit and expand. However, you need to conquer it first, and that is where the big problem lies.
What kind of castle is this? Castle Cyrangar is located in the outskirts of Westmark and is currently inhabited by hordes of demons and undead. Once you convince the current “owners” to look for another property, you can take over the castle for yourself.
As the new owners, you will then have access to a bunch of new content that can improve you:
- Rooms of the castle that you need to clear
- If you inhabit one of these rooms, you get special bonuses for your Paragon – such as 3.5% more damage for attackers or 3.5% damage reduction for survivors.
- Once a week, you can defend the castle against 8 waves of attackers and snag a big loot chest plus experience.
- You can participate in an “Endless Mode” of defense as often as you want, where you are rewarded based on your performance. There is even a server-wide leaderboard to compare yourselves.
In the heart of the castle, you can also find the Ancient Tablet, where you can equip the new Ancient Weapons. These share some of their stats with the members of your party. And this is where the problem comes in.
What is the catch? Castle Cyrangar replaces your troop camp (“Warband Camp”). The activity is therefore purely for troops. While you can play solo as well, to get the full potential from the castle, you need up to 7 other players in your party.
Troops have been a controversial topic since the game’s release, and many players complain about them. They block content by being necessary, yet hardly anyone wants to use them alongside their clan.
Blizzard has already announced improvements for troops, but players would rather see them disappear altogether. Instead, a new activity specifically for troops comes with Castle Cyrangar. On reddit, there is appropriate anger:
They say that you can do a lot of work to improve your character, get Ancient Weapons, room buffs and other upgrades. And if your troop leader suddenly decides that he doesn’t like you, he can take all your progress away by kicking you. […] Putting individual progress into the hands of others is BAD, Blizzard.
Russish on reddit
The players’ concerns may not be entirely unfounded, as one culprit demonstrates:
At least there’s some good news: the requirement for a troop raid in the Reliquary of Hell has now been lowered to 4 players. The remaining 4 can be randoms. Nevertheless, this point bothers many fans. Fortunately, the update brings even more new content.
The first new dungeon with a new set is coming
What kind of dungeon is this? As a new activity for groups of 2 to 4 players, there is the dungeon Silent Monastery. This is located at the summit of Mount Zavain and is intended for players at level 60 and above.
The special thing about the temple is that an Endless Night envelops it in darkness. To find your way around, you must make statues glow. This simultaneously weakens the demons in the dungeon.
Once all statues are activated, you can face the final boss, the Shadow of the Ancient Nightmare. The fight consists of several phases, during which the environment is also supposed to change.
Want to try a different class for the new update? Here’s how to switch:
What kind of set is this? Set items are only available in certain dungeons, and thus the monastery comes with a new set as well. Gloomguide’s Prize enhances your mobility skills (“Dashes”), allowing you to change position more frequently in battles:
- 2 pieces: Increases your damage by 15% for 3 seconds after you use a dash.
- 4 pieces: Increases your critical hit chance by 22.5% for 3 seconds after you use a dash.
- 6 pieces: When your dash ends, you unleash a wave of fear that causes damage and makes nearby enemies flee in fear. The wave is only triggered when enemies are nearby and cannot occur more than once every 40 seconds.
In addition to the set, there will be some new legendary items and more content.
New raid boss, legendaries, and cosmetics
What’s in the update? In addition to the Ancient Weapons, there will be “Invocation Gear”. This adds a trigger that can activate the effect of the Ancient Weapons, such as: chance to deal lightning damage nearby (ancient effect) whenever you deal damage (invocation).
Additionally, 3 new legendary gems will be implemented into the game:
- Blessed Pebble (1 star): Increases the duration of buffs on you by 12% and your movement speed by 8% for 3 seconds after you receive a buff.
- The Abiding Curse (2 stars): Attacks have a 15% chance to curse enemies. Cursed enemies have their attack and movement speed reduced by 35% for 8 seconds and take 10% more damage. Enemies can only be cursed once every 20 seconds.
- Frozen Heart (5 stars): When you take damage, a Frigid Shield activates for 6 seconds, chilling enemies and absorbing damage equal to 360% of your base damage + 1,458. The shield gives you a 60% chance to chill enemies with attacks. Can only occur every 20 seconds.
Legendary gems are a major point of criticism for Diablo Immortal. In the video, we explain how they work:
In the Reliquary of Hell, Izilech will be added as a new boss. To fight him, you should have a combat rating of 6,175. This is currently far above what you need for Hell 5 and is likely to require some time grinding, even if you’ve already progressed far.
A new event called “Scouring the Darkness” will come into play, where you and your troop will need to complete tasks to earn rewards. Additionally, the Hunger Moon event (LINK) returns.
Furthermore, there will be a new battle pass with cosmetics and a new skin set in the shop. Also, the recently revised emblems will be improved again. Now, for example, you can buy a legendary emblem for 1,600 platinum each week.
More content and improvements can be found in the official blog post from Blizzard.
When is the update coming? On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, Forgotten Nightmares is scheduled to go live. The servers are expected to come back online around 4 AM German time after maintenance.
We can’t say how big the update will be yet. However, it is said to be “the largest update to date”.
By the way, the Eternal Tokens will also be revised. For the cheaper packages, you will now receive a few more tokens than before. Now, one purchase is sufficient to receive legendary emblems. There has recently been a major drama surrounding the tokens:
