IGN is reporting that Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson spoke at the DICE Summit this week and ended by sharing a few Diablo updates:
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Official Post)
The long-awaited celestial journey has returned! From February 4, 10 a.m.–February 18, 10 a.m. PST players in both Seasonal and Eternal Realms can bask in the moonlight of the Lunar Awakening limited-time event. A mysterious phenomenon is manifesting throughout the shrines of Sanctuary, enchanting them with immense and prosperous power. Celebrators attribute this behavior to their Ancestors blessing them from beyond the grave in commemoration of this joyous occasion.
Activate any Shrine found in Sanctuary (Nahantu included) to earn 100% bonus experience (multiplicative) for 2 minutes and an enhanced power, all while earning Ancestral Favor Reputation.
Lunar Awakening has Dawned
To fully enjoy the revelry of Lunar Awakening, travel to Ked Bardu and head to the Northern section of town. Once there you’ll meet Ying-Yue, the leader of the Lunar Night Market. This market is your central hub for Lunar Awakening, where you’ll redeem your Ancestral Favor Reputation for Unceasing Gifts from the Ancestors caches and decorative Lunar Renewal-themed rewards.
Lunar Shrines are spread throughout Sanctuary. Fight your way through both dungeons and the wilderness, activating Lunar Shrines and slaying monsters to earn copious amounts of Ancestral Favor Reputation.
Lunar Shrines and Ancestors Favor
Lunar Shrines hum with the auspicious powers granted to them by the returning spirits of ancestors. During Lunar Awakening, all Shrines have been replaced with Lunar Shrines—which bestow a 100% experience bonus when activated—with an updated appearance to honor the year of the snake! Lunar Shrines function similarly to typical Shrines, but they have been augmented for an extra punch to celebrate this festive event. These shrines also have a unique Map icon, so you can spot them from a distance.
Lunar Shrines provide an exciting bonus effect on top of their regular Shrine power; the Lunar Shrine effects are listed below.
Augmented Lunar Shrine Effects:
- Artillery Shrine – Casts have a chance to summon a holy bomb.
- Blast Wave Shrine – Each explosion summons a cluster bombardment.
- Channeling Shrine- Increased attack speed and chance to reset cooldowns.
- Conduit Shrine – Summon frequent, powerful, shocking strikes.
- Greed Shrine – Chance to summon a Treasure Goblin. While the Shrine is active, kills summon a Treasure Goblin.
- Lethal Shrine – Chance to instantly execute a struck monster, causing Fear on surrounding monsters. Note: this includes Elites, but excludes Bosses and other Players.
- Protection Shrine – You reflect all incoming damage. Damage reflected scales with Level and Difficulty.
On top of these powerfully amplified effects, Miserly Spirits spawn immediately when a Lunar Shrine is activated, allowing you to immediately capitalize on the Shrines’ specific gameplay augmentation.
Conquer Reputation Levels to Earn Rewards
There are 10 Ancestral Favor Reputation Levels in total to earn with rewards such as a Resplendent Spark, and 6 different Lunar-themed cosmetic rewards to unlock, including the new Trag’Oul’s Consort mount*. Once you’ve climbed through the reputation levels, continue earning additional rewards in the form of Unceasing Gifts from the Ancestors.
*Previous Lunar rewards such as the Lunar Scepter, Dragon’s Courage, Moonshot Bow, Dragon’s Tapestry, Moon’s Bounty, and Trag’Oul’s Consort cosmetics can only be earned once.
Opulent Garments Await
Lunar Awakening themed garments will also be available in Tejal’s shop. Head over to adorn your wanderer in elegant Armor Cosmetics like the Scholar of the Lonely Moon for the Sorcerer, and spruce up your trusty steed with the Dragon of the Lonely Moon mount armor.
Celebrate with Ying-Yue and bask in the soft glow of Lunar Awakening when it arrives on February 4!
Blizzard posted the Season of Witchcraft gameplay trailer!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Official Post)
On January 16, we held a Developer Update livestream that revealed what to expect in Season of Witchcraft, which begins on January 21 at 10 a.m. PST. Members of the Development Team sat down to discuss the mystery of the missing Heads in a new Seasonal Questline, new Uniques and Legendary Aspects, the Armory, and more.
The team dove into upcoming balance changes, quality-of-life changes, feedback learnings from our recent Public Test Realm, and more.
If you’d like to watch the full Developer Update livestream to catch up on all the details, see the video below..
To read our 2.1. Patch Notes in full, you can read those here, while our blog detailing Season of Witchcraft is available here.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Official Post)
Sanctuary needs you to answer its call for aid in Season 34: Light’s Calling. Starting on January 24 at 5 p.m. PST/CET/KST, Nephalem can harness the power of the Light’s Calling theme, which first debuted with Season 27. For an in-depth look at what’s coming, take a gander below. Also, Season 33 will officially come to an end on January 19.
Season Theme
Looking to turn the tide of an unremitting war between light and darkness, the Angels of the High Heavens have embedded a token of their righteousness in Sanctuary. Cunning Nephalem seeking an advantage in combat will undergo an angelic trial, crystallizing a symbol of their morality into pure, otherworldly perfection. The specific celestial force imbued within by the divine is unknown—an answer waiting to be sought on the battlefield. Go forth, Nephalem!
Season 34 reintroduces Light’s Calling. Valiant Nephalem who recover Angelic Crucibles, a new consumable item, may use them to Sanctify any equippable Legendary item, infusing it with one of three new class-specific powers at random. We wanted to use Angelic Crucibles to lean into the expertise of each class, further exemplifying its respective prowess, but through a nuanced lens. The High Heavens are home to ethereal splendor, bursting with boundless radiance—we wanted to provide players with a taste of untainted power as doled out from Heaven itself.
Season Cosmetic Rewards
In Season 34, 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 34 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 Conquest
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 34 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. In this season, Haedrig's Gift will grant all-new class sets introduced with previous Seasons.
Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 34:
- 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
