Season 22: Shades of the Nephalem
Season 22 introduces the Shades of the Nephalem theme! During Season 22, activating a Shrine or Pylon will spawn in a shadow clone of your class. The clone's power will scale with your character and will last for one minute or until death. In addition, for the duration of Season 22, Kanai's Cube will have a fourth slot! You will have the option to choose any power for this one, but it won't stack with powers from other slots.
Season 22 begins on Friday, November 20th at 5:00pm in each region. Season 22 goes live on all Consoles world wide at 5:00pm PST, the same time as PC in North America. For timezone conversion, visit this site!
Table of Contents
- Season 22: Shades of the Nephalem
- Discord Server
- Haedrig's Gift & Seasonal Rewards
- Seasonal Conquests
- Season 22 Starter Guides
- Level With A Cause
- Challenge Rift Week 178
- Patch 2.6.10 Notes
DiabloFans Discord
Join us on our Discord server! It's the perfect place for finding people to group with, get your questions answered, and stay up to date on the latest news! You can join our server by clicking on the banner below, or by going here!
If you don't use Discord you're missing out, but you can also find people to play with by using our forums!
Haedrig's Gift & Seasonal Rewards
Completing Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the Seasonal Journey will reward you with three of Haedrig’s Gifts. Each Gift contains a few pieces from one of your Class Sets. Players can only unlock one Class Set in this manner per Season across Hardcore and Non-Hardcore, so choose wisely!
The set you will receive depends on the class of the character you’re playing when you open each Haedrig’s Gift. To collect a full Class Set, you’ll need to open all three on the same character.
Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 21:
- Barbarian – Horde of the Ninety Savages
- Crusader – Aegis of Valor
- Demon Hunter – Gears of Dreadlands
- Monk – Patterns of Justice
- Necromancer – Masquerade of the Burning Carnival
- Witch Doctor – Mundunugu's Regalia
- Wizard – Typhon's Veil
In Season 17, Blizzard began re-introducing previous Seasonal rewards to make them available to players who may have missed them the first time around. This means that for Season 22, awards originally available from Season 10 are returning to the Season Journey.
Blizzard is continuing to provide new End of Journey rewards as was introduced in Season 17, with two new cosmetic rewards for those who complete the entirety of the Season Journey. These rewards will be the Book of Cain pet and the Lost Civilization Portrait Frame.
Seasonal Conquests
Want to prepare your Conquests plans for Season 22? Here are all the conquests you'll face this season!
- Sprinter & Speed Racer
- Boss Mode & Worlds Apart
- On A Good Day & I Can't Stop
- Years of War & Dynasty
- Masters of the Universe & Masters of Sets
Season 22 Starter Guides
Any players looking to level quickly and get the best start to Season 22 should browse the selection of starter guides from various content creators below! If you're looking for a level 1 blood shard gambling guide, AlexRaEU previously posted a comprehensive spreadsheet on the r/Diablo Subreddit!
Season 22 Class Starter Guide from Bluddshed:
Ultimate Seasonal Starter Guide:
Seasonal Leveling Guides:
Master theory-crafter sVr recently uploaded a very advanced leveling strategy last season that utilizes Necromancers, Cursed Chests, and huge killstreaks to reach level 70 in just over 50 minutes. We do not suggest this method for new players, and only players looking to min-max their leveling experience with like-minded players should try this. This method was made slightly easier in Season 21 due to the increased damage to Corpse Explosion and the Grasps of the Essence. Additionally, diabloseasons.com is a great resource for any average player looking reach level 70 quickly!
Level With A Cause
Level With A Cause (#LWAC), a coalition of streamers from the Diablo 3 community, will be uniting once again for a charity fundraising event during the first three days of the Season 22 opening weekend in Diablo 3. This marks the team’s 11th event over the last few years. Several Diablo 3 community members will be holding live-streams during this weekend in support of this charity drive. During these live-streams, viewers will be able to donate to the SaveTheChildren charity organization.
Level With A Cause was founded prior to the start of Season 11 of Diablo 3 and has been a mainstay of the opening weekend of each new season since that time. The LWAC team has raised over $60,000 to date for deserving charities such as Save The Children, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Take This. LWAC hopes to continue to grow and raise even more money for charities in the future. If you are a streamer looking to participate, more info can be found on the LWAC website. As a viewer, you can simply search for LWAC within stream titles on Twitch during the November 20th to 22nd event.
In the U.S. and around the world, Save The Children gives children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, they are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. They do whatever it takes to save children, transforming their lives and the future we share.
You can donate to the Level With a Cause charity event here!
Challenge Rift - Week 178
Challenge Rift Week 178 is live! Because Season 22 begins this Friday, we advise that you DO NOT complete the challenge rift until after you've made your seasonal character! This week the Challenge Rift features three different Barbarian builds! If you are curious how Challenge Rift builds are chosen each week, you can view this official blog post!
Patch 2.6.10 Changes
Patch 2.6.10 features several balance changes, new items, and a 4th Kanai's Cube slot for the duration of Season 22!
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)
Update on November 10: Patch 2.6.10 is now LIVE!
Season 22 will begin on November 20, at 5PM (PST/CET/KST) shortly after our next Diablo III update. Read on to learn more about the brand-new Season theme, Haedrig's Gift updates, new items and tons of Legendary item changes coming in Patch 2.6.10! We are expecting this update to be released on November 10.
Table of Contents
- Season Theme
- Season Cosmetic Rewards
- Season Journey Rewards
- Season Conquests
- Haedrig's Gifts
- Patch Notes
New Season Theme
Nephalem, do you feel it? All around, the shadows of the past linger, waiting for an opportunity to channel their power once more and aid you against the minions of hell. Will you stand up to the challenge and accept the aid of these erstwhile spirits? The Shades of the Nephalem await....
During Season 22, activating a Shrine or Pylon will spawn in a shadow clone of your class. The clone's power will scale with your character and will last for one minute or until death.
In addition, for the duration of Season 22, Kanai's Cube will have a fourth slot. You will have the option to choose any power for this one, but it won't stack with powers from other slots.
Seasonal Cosmetic Rewards
Beginning with Season 17, we began reintroducing previous rewards to make them available to players who may have missed them the first time around. For Season 22, this means awards originally available from Season 10 are returning. In addition to the Head and Shoulder slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, you’ll be able to earn the Black Soulstone themed portraits and the scholarly Loremaster pennant first introduced in Season 10.
However, we know it’s nice to have something new to aim for if you’ve participated in previous Seasons. We’re continuing to provide new End of Journey rewards as introduced in Season 17, with two new cosmetic ones for those who complete the entirety of the Season journey. Prove your worth alongside the Shades of the Nephalem and complete the Season 22 Guardian Journey to earn the Book of Cain pet and the Lost Civilization Portrait Frame.
Season Journey Rewards
If you’ve been diligently slaying demons before and reached Conqueror in the Season Journey each time, you’ve surely accrued a few extra stash tabs. You’ll earn one additional tab each Season by finishing the Conqueror tier, up to a maximum of five:
- Guardian of Sanctuary: Finish a level 70 Nephalem Rift on Torment XIII difficulty within five minutes.
- Gem of My Life: Level three Legendary Gems to level 55.
- All I Do is Win: Complete two Conquests this Season.
- Life Goes On: Kill Maghda at level 70 in under 15 seconds on Torment XIII difficulty.
- Money Ain’t a Thang: Slay Greed on Torment XIII difficulty. Treasure Goblins outside of Nephalem Rifts will sometimes open portals to Greed’s domain, The Vault.
- Take U There: Reach Greater Rift Level 60 Solo. Greater Rift keystones can be obtained from any Nephalem Rift guardian.
- Power Amplification: Use Kanai’s Cube to augment an Ancient Legendary item with a level 50+ gem.
- Cubic Reconfiguration: Use Kanai’s Cube to reforge a Legendary item.
Seasonal Conquests
Seasonal Conquests are additional goals you can complete as part of our Season Journey. To earn all the cosmetic rewards, you'll need to complete at least three of the Conquests below. The challenges available in Season 22 include:
- Sprinter and Speed Racer task you with completing Acts I through V at max level in under one hour.
- Want to go fast while killing things? Boss Mode and Worlds Apart are right up your alley.
- On A Good Day and I Can’t Stop are making a return, if leveling your Legendary Gems is more your thing.
- Finally, if you’re keen to prove your mastery of various Class Sets, Years of War and Dynasty will be returning along with Masters of the Universe and Masters of Sets. Best of luck!
Haedrig’s Gift
Finally, the Class Sets rewarded for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey courtesy of Haedrig’s Gift have rotated once more. We’ve listed the available Sets below. For those new to Seasons, here’s how it works:
Completing Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the Season Journey will reward you with three of Haedrig’s Gifts. These contain a few pieces from one of your Class Sets. Players can only unlock one Class Set in this manner per Season across Hardcore and Non-Hardcore, so choose wisely!
The set you receive depends on the class of the character you’re playing when you open each Haedrig’s Gift. To collect a full Class Set, you’ll need to open all three on the same character. For the first time in Season 22, Haedrig's Gift will grant the all-new class sets introduced in the three previous Seasons:
Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 22:
- Barbarian - Horde of the Ninety Savages
- Crusader - Aegis of Valor
- Demon Hunter - Gears of Dreadlands
- Monk - Patterns of Justice
- Witch Doctor - Mundunugu’s Regalia
- Wizard - Typhon’s Veil
- Necromancer - Masquerade of the Burning Carnival
Patch Notes
Below you will find the patch notes for the upcoming update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.10.
Table of Contents:
Note: All changes apply to all versions of Diablo III, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC unless otherwise indicated.
Seasons
The shadows, they are moving, and they seem… animated. It is as though they have a will of their own. Whatever this trickery is, perhaps you can use it to your advantage. Let’s see what the demons say when you fight side by side with your own shadow!
Shadows of the Past: Activating a Shrine/Pylon will spawn in a shadow clone of your class. This clone will randomly have 1 out of 3 predetermined builds. This clone's power will scale with your character and will last for 1 minute or if your character dies. See below for the shadow clone variations that can spawn when activating.
Witch Doctor
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Grasp of the Dead - Rain of Corpses Wall of Death - Fire Wall Haunt - Poisoned Spirit Piranhas - Zombie Piranhas Firebomb - Flash Fire Spirit Barrage - The Spirit is Willing Zombie Charger - Zombie Bears Acid Cloud - Acid Rain Wall of Death - Communing with Spirits Corpse Spiders - Medusa Spiders Piranhas - Zombie Piranhas Piranhas - Zombie Piranhas Locust Swarm - Diseased Swarm Zombie Charger - Explosive Beast Acid Cloud - Slow Burn Acid Cloud - Kiss of Death Spirit Barrage - Well of Souls Grasp of the dead - Unbreakable Grasp
Wizard
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Arcane Orb - Frozen Orb Meteor - Molten Impact Arcane Orb - Obliteration Frost Nova - Frozen Mist Arcane Orb - Scorch Disintegrate - Volatility Blizzard - Unrelenting Storm Explosive Blast - Short Fuse Wave of Force - Debilitating Force Energy Twister - Raging Storm Blizzard - Apocalypse Slow Time - Exhaustion Explosive Blast - Obliterate Wave of Force - Heat Wave Energy Twister - Raging Storm Ray of Frost - Black Ice Disintegrate - Convergence Meteor - Star Pact
Barbarian
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Seismic Slam - Rumble Battle Rage - Marauder's Rage Battle Rage - Ferocity Threatening Shout - Falter Threatening Shout - Falter Threatening Shout - Falter Avalanche - Volcano Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity Leap - Launch Earthquake - Molten Fury Sprint - Run Like the Wind Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity Wrath of The Berserker - Insanity Whirlwind - Dust Devils Bash - Pulverize Ancient Spear - Boulder Toss Rend - Lacerate Hammer of The Ancients - Rolling Thunder
Monk
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Lashing Tail Kick - Sweeping Armada Fists of Thunder - Static Charge Exploding Palm - Essence Burn Seven-Sided Strike - Fulminating Onslaught Way of the Hundred Fists - Hands of Lightning Seven-Sided Strike - Sudden Assault Inner Sanctuary - Intervene Crippling Wave - Concussion Lashing Tail Kick - Spinning Flame Kick Epiphany - Soothing Mist Seven-Sided Strike - Incinerate Sweeping Wind - Fire Storm Breath of Heaven - Circle of Scorn Wave of Light - Pillar of the Ancients Wave of Light - Explosive Light Wave of Light - Empowered Wave Sweeping Wind - Cyclone Epiphany - Inner Fire
Necromancer
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Land of the Dead - Plaguelands Land of the Dead - Plaguelands Land of the Dead - Plaguelands Frailty - Early Grave Frailty - Early Grave Frailty - Early Grave Army of the Dead - Dead Storm Army of the Dead - Blighted Grasp Corpse Lance - Blood Lance Corpse Explosion - Final Embrace Corpse Lance - Ricochet Bone Spear - Shatter Bone Spear - Blood Spear Bone Spear - Blighted Marrow Death Nova - Bone Nova Death Nova - Blood Nova Death Nova - Blight
Demon Hunter
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Marked for Death - Valley of Death Marked for Death - Valley of Death Marked for Death - Valley of Death Caltrops - Jagged Spikes Rain Of Vengeance - Dark Cloud Rain Of Vengeance - Shade Fan of Knives - Assassin's Knives Cluster Arrow - Shooting Stars Cluster Arrow - Maelstrom Chakram - Twin Chakrams Multishot - Arsenal Impale - Overpenetration Vengeance - Side Cannons Vengeance - Personal Mortar Chakram - Serpentine Impale - Ricochet Elemental Arrow - Immolation arrow Elemental Arrow - Frost Arrow Crusader
Build Variation 1 Build Variation 2 Build Variation 3 Akarat's Champion - Fire Starter Akarat's Champion - Hasteful Akarat's Champion - Rally Falling Sword - Superheated Iron Skin - Flash Falling Sword - Rapid Descent Sweep Attack - Blazing Sweep Blessed Shield - Shattering Throw Heaven's Fury - Split Fury Consecration - Shattered Ground Consecration - Bathed in Light Fist of the Heavens - Retribution Bombardment - Annihilate Blessed Hammer - Limitless Iron Skin - Explosive Skin Condemn - Reciprocate Condemn - Unleashed Condemn - Shattering Explosion
Kanai’s Cube: Kanai’s Cube will have a fourth slot this season. This fourth slot will have the choices of the first 3 slots but will not stack with any of them. The intent is to provide players with creative flexibility to their character builds.
Items
General
- Haedrig’s Gifts now grants all class sets and we have a new rotation schedule. This upcoming season, depending on which class you choose, Haedrig’s Gifts will reward you with Horde of the Ninety Savages, Aegis of Valor, Gears of Dreadlands, Patterns of Justice, Masquerade of the Burning Carnival, Mundunugu’s Regalia, or Typhon’s Veil.
- Stone Gauntlets now drops for all classes.
- Paragon Bonus Gold Find has been changed to Gold Pickup Radius at 0.1 per point.
Item Changes
- New Item* Gelmindor’s Marrow Guards: Bone Spear cast from Simulacrums deal 300-400% increased damage.
- Ivory Tower: Rapid multiple blocks will now scale the damage for Fires of Heaven, up to a maximum of 2.5 times damage.
- Mantle of Channeling: Removed the 1-second start up before the power takes effect.
- The Twisted Sword: The Twisted Sword: Energy Twister damage is increased by 125-150% for each Energy Twister you have out up to a maximum of 5. The Raging Storm rune is automatically applied to Energy Twister and allows the tornado to merge with 3 additional Energy Twisters.
- Etched Sigil: While channeling Arcane Torrent, Disintegrate, or Ray of Frost, the damage of your Energy Twister is increased by 200-250%, and you also cast Energy Twister every second.
- Fragment of Destiny: Your Signature Spells attack 50% faster and deal triple damage. You gain a Spectral buff whenever you land an attack with a Signature Spell. Hydras deal 25-30% increased damage for each Spectral stack. Max 10 stacks.
- Valthek's Rebuke: Energy Twister now travels in a straight path and deals 300-400% increased damage.
- Winter Flurry: Enemies killed by Cold damage have a 25% chance to release a Frost Nova. Your Hydra deals 125-150% increased damage to enemies in a Blizzard.
- Wizardspike: Performing an attack has a 25% chance to hurl a Frozen Orb. Arcane Orb deals 300-350% increased damage.
- Delsere's Magnum Opus: 6-piece bonus increased from 8500% to 12500%.
- The Typhon's Veil: 6-piece bonus increased from 1300% to 2000%.
- Norvald's Fervor: Increased 2-piece bonus damage from 100% to 400%
- Armor of Akkhan: Increased 6-piece bonus damage from 1500% to 2000%
- Roland's Legacy: Increased 4-piece bonus damage from 13,000% to 17,500%
- Seeker of the Light: Increased 6-piece Blessed Hammer bonus damage from 12,000% to 15,000%
- Belt of the Trove: Every 4 seconds, call down Bombardment on a random nearby enemy. Bombardment deals 400-500% increased damage.
- Mortal Drama: Double the number of Bombardment impacts. Bombardement deals 400-500% increased damage.
- Thorns of The Invoker: 2-Piece bonus decreased from 350% to 90% and has a cap of 10 stacks. 6-piece bonus increased from 15,000% to 67,500% and increased attack speed bonus from 50% to 100%.
- Manajuma's Way: Angry Chicken explosion damage increased from 400% to 2000%. Manajuma's Way now includes a third legendary affix, which allows angry chicken to spawn a chicken that seeks enemies every second that deals 25% of the angry chicken's explosion damage.
- New Item* Ursua's Trodden Effigy: New Witch Doctor Legendary Mojo. Zombie Charger deals 100-150% increased damage. The Zombie Bears rune now summons 8 bears that travel farther.
- Spirit of Arachyr: Increased 6-piece bonus damage from 9000% to 17,500%.
- Helltooth Harness: Increased 6-piece bonus damage from 9000% to 17,500%.
- Scrimshaw: Reduces the Mana cost of Zombie Charger by 75% and increases its damage by 6-7 times.
- Inna's Mantra: Increased 6-piece bonus damage from 750% to 950%.
- Shenlong's Spirit: Damage bonus increased from 200% to 350%.
- Uliana's Strategem Set: Now has 77% damage reduction for 7 seconds after applying Exploding Palm.
- Gungdo Gear: Exploding Palm's on-death explosion applies Exploding Palm. Exploding Palm's damage is increased by 75-100%.
- Blade of the Tribes: War Cry and Threatening Shout cause an Avalanche and Earthquake. Avalanche and Earthquake both deal 600-800% increased damage. Consolidated Blade of the Tribes Earthquake affix into the new legendary affix so that it's no longer two affixes that buff Earthquake.
Bug Fixes and Misc Updates
- Updated game client to allow in-game entry of passwords longer than 16 characters.
- Fixed an issue with PC Win32 (32-bit) and macOS clients crashing.
- Fixed Wizardspike to more properly proc Frozen Orb.
- Simulacrums casting Grim Scythe with Haunted Visions no longer gain double benefit from Trag’Ouls Corroded Fang.
- Blessed Hammer will now destroy itself after hitting 63 targets.
- Fixed legacy items stacking with the new items: Gundo Gear, Blade of the Tribes, Scrimshaw, Belt of the Trove, Mortal Drama, Winter Flurry, Wizardspike, Etched Sigil, and Fragment of Destiny.
- Fixed Necromancer's pets doing extra damage to cursed enemies from a bug caused by the original fix for Haunted Visions + Trag'Ouls Corroded Fang.
- Fixed an issue with Trag'oul's Corroded Fang not properly applying the correct bonuses to pets.
