Blizzard has revealed Diablo 4 Season 11, the Season of Divine Intervention, bringing one of the largest system updates since launch. The season goes live Thursday, December 11 at 8:30 p.m. PST with reworked Tempering and Masterworking, a revamped defense system, smarter monster AI, and all four Lesser Evils invading Sanctuary's endgame activities.
The release timing stands out immediately. Previous seasons launched on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. PST, but Season 11's Thursday evening debut lines up exactly with The Game Awards 2025 conclusion. Developers strongly hinted during interviews that players should watch the show, all but confirming a major Diablo announcement (likely the second expansion reveal).
Tempering Changes
The Tempering system now lets players choose exactly which affix they want from a recipe. No more random rolls hoping for the right stat. The trade-off: items can only have one tempered affix instead of multiple.
Ancestral items get an extra bonus here. Their tempered affixes have a chance to upgrade into Greater Affixes. Tempering Charges also restore indefinitely now, so experimentation costs nothing.
Masterworking Rework
Masterworking operates on a new Quality metric ranging from 0-20 (reduced from 25 after PTR feedback). Each Masterwork attempt adds 1-3 Quality levels randomly, and every Quality level provides a 1% boost to all affix values. The cost scales with your item's current Quality.
Once an item hits max Quality, one final roll grants a Capstone Bonus that converts a random non-Greater affix into a Greater Affix. Players can re-roll this specific affix using Obducite and Neathiron without losing Quality progress.
One change affects every drop in the game: non-unique items now roll with four base affixes instead of three.
Monster AI Overhaul
Enemy behavior received a major overhaul. Monsters react more dynamically to player actions, and each type now has a distinct combat role. Packs spread out more often, making AoE strategies less effective than before.
Affixed monsters hit harder and demand priority targeting. Over 20 new monster affixes have been added, and Elites now spawn with minions that inherit some of their affixes. Older resistance-based affixes moved to Torment difficulties, making room for these new threats in earlier content.
Boss health has been reduced by up to 60% across the board. PTR testing revealed 10-minute Tower runs where players spent 6 minutes fighting a single boss, prompting this adjustment.
Defense System Changes
Armor and Resistances now function as rating systems with diminishing returns. Armor reduces all damage types (both Physical and Non-Physical), and a new Physical Damage resistance type has been added. The Armor and Resistance penalties per Torment difficulty are gone.
A new Toughness stat appears under Attack Power in the character sheet. It shows how much raw damage of each type a character can absorb after all mitigation. Hovering over it displays a breakdown by damage type, and item tooltips now compare Toughness values.
Potion Changes
Base Potion capacity drops to 4 regardless of Renown progress. Potions now heal instantly for 35% of max health instead of over time. One Potion regenerates automatically every 30 seconds.
The Alchemist no longer upgrades Potions since healing scales with max health now. To compensate, Life on Hit returns as a potential item affix, and Life Regeneration, Life on Kill, and Healing % values have all been increased.
Fortify Redesign
Fortify no longer provides damage reduction. Instead, it acts as a secondary health pool that heals players over time. Gaining Fortify stacks it up to max health. While Fortify remains below max health, players heal for a percentage of max health per second while consuming an equal amount of Fortify. Any amount of Fortify counts as being Fortified.
Lesser Evils Invasion
Each of the four Lesser Evils has taken over a different endgame activity in Season 11. The angel Hadriel descends from the High Heavens to help players fight back.
Azmodan: New World Boss
Azmodan joins the permanent World Boss rotation across both Seasonal and Eternal realms. His magma attacks and earthquakes require learning new patterns.
Players can also summon him at a special location near Zarbinzet in Hawezar. Three Summoning Altars exist there, each calling Azmodan with powers borrowed from one of the other Lesser Evils. Supporting monsters spawn with affixes matching their altar's theme: Belial's adds create blinding eyeballs, Duriel's summon maggot eggs that must be destroyed quickly.
Azmodan's resistances have been buffed to prevent instant kills, and his fight now appears in the Party Finder. Chests in the summoning area open with Corrupted Essence after defeating him.
Duriel: Helltide Takeover
Duriel replaces the Blood Maiden in Helltide. His summoning cutscene has been removed to reduce motion sickness.
At max threat level, Pangs of Duriel spawn instead of Hellborne. Killing them drops Baneful Hearts for summoning Duriel. Maggot-family monsters now infest Helltide packs, including new Portent of Pain mega-maggots. The Hellwyrm spews maggots, and meteors rain down maggot packs.
Belial: The Pit
Belial's Eyes spawn randomly throughout The Pit and burst when players approach. Destroying them stuns nearby enemies and summons Belial Apparitions that count toward Pit progress.
Destroying enough Eyes during a run replaces the final boss with Belial himself. PTR feedback led to faster death animations for Belial. His influence also creates enemy clones throughout the dungeon.
Andariel: Undercity
Andariel corrupted the Kurast Undercity's Spirit Beacons. These Tormented Spirit Beacons are more dangerous but grant far more attunement.
Three new Andariel-specific Tributes guarantee her as the final boss while boosting rewards. They also add dungeon affixes to the run. Shades of Andariel lurk in the Undercity with time-draining attacks.
Her transition phase has been sped up significantly, and dying during her fight no longer resets her health. Enemies throughout the Undercity can carry Wailing Spirits that launch homing attacks.
Divine Gifts
Hadriel grants Divine Gifts as seasonal powers. Each has three components: a Reward bonus, a Corrupted Gift (harder activity, same reward), and a Purified Gift (easier activity, double reward).
The Divine Gifts panel lets players slot gifts in the interior for Purified effects or exterior for Corrupted effects. Corrupted slots unlock automatically. Purified slots unlock through Divine Favor ranks:
- Rank IV: Duriel
- Rank VI: Andariel
- Rank VIII: Azmodan
- Rank X: Belial
Killing a Lesser Evil for the first time drops their Corrupted Essence. Returning it to Hadriel unlocks that boss's two Divine Gifts. Leveling each gift requires killing the associated Lesser Evil or their minions while the gift is equipped.
Duriel's Gifts (Helltide)
Essence of Pain: Pangs of Duriel drop Socketables (doubled when Purified). Upgrades provide better Runes and Gems. Purified grants max Barrier after becoming Injured (20s cooldown). Corrupted makes Pangs ambush more often while attacks shatter Barriers and Fortified Life.
Essence of Squalor: Maggots drop Experience Globes (doubled when Purified). Upgrades provide more potent Experience Globes. Purified refills a Potion every 20 seconds. Corrupted spawns maggots from meteors with attacks that consume 1 Potion.
Belial's Gifts (The Pit)
Essence of Lies: Chance for extra Pit upgrades with higher upgrade chance through upgrades. Purified grants Fortify 1% of max health per second. Corrupted makes Belial's Eyes fire beams dealing 10% max health per second.
Essence of Shadows: Gold from Pit completion (doubled when Purified). Purified grants Unstoppable when Crowd Controlled (12s cooldown). Corrupted allows Apparitions to Daze for 3 seconds or Knock Back.
Azmodan's Gifts (World Bosses)
Essence of Sin: Activity Keys from World Bosses (doubled when Purified). Rank 2 grants many Activity Keys from weekly cache. Rank 5 increases Compasses and Tributes drops everywhere. Purified provides +20% Armor. Corrupted makes you Vulnerable during World Boss fights.
Essence of Hellfire: Lair Boss Keys from World Bosses (doubled when Purified). Rank 2 and 5 increase Lair Boss Key drops. Purified grants 10% chance to Stun enemies for 1 second on direct damage. Corrupted adds meteors during World Boss fights.
Andariel's Gifts (Undercity)
Essence of Anguish: Obols from Undercity (doubled when Purified). Rank 5 may spawn Curious Murl Treasure Goblin. Purified provides +30% Movement Speed. Corrupted causes Manifestations to attach lightning siphons that Slow by 70%.
Essence of Screams: Salvage Materials from Undercity (doubled when Purified). Rank 5 may spawn Odious Ector Treasure Goblin. Purified grants +20% Resistance. Corrupted creates pulling explosions and electrified ground (12% max health per second).
Sanctification
Sanctifying an item can apply a bonus Legendary power, upgrade an affix to Greater, add a special Sanctification affix, or replace an existing affix with a Sanctification one. The item becomes locked afterward, so this should be the final upgrade.
Value ranges have been tightened toward higher rolls. Generic Offensive Legendary Aspects now appear in the pool, and Mythic powers can potentially appear on sanctified items.
Developer feedback confirmed that Indestructible has been removed from possible Sanctification outcomes. Mythic Uniques like Harlequin's Crest are less likely (or completely protected from) having stats like Cooldown Reduction removed.
In pre-Torment content, defeating a Lesser Evil grants a rare chance to sanctify at the Heavenly Anvil. Miss this chance and it's gone until the next invitation. Heavenly Sigils (Torment-only drops) let players sanctify Ancestral items on demand.
Season Rank System
The Season Journey has become Season Rank. Each Rank requires completing a Capstone Dungeon to progress, and Renown no longer exists in the Seasonal Realm.
Skill Points unlock at Ranks 1, 2, and 3. Paragon Points unlock at Ranks 3, 4, 5, and 6 (12 new points total across Season Rank). Several reward caches include Heavenly Sigils.
Completing the Rank 5 Capstone Dungeon and reaching Rank 6 awards the Alefta Pet. Players don't need to finish all Rank 5 objectives to claim it.
Renown remains permanent in the Eternal Realm, which also received 12 new Paragon Points. Extra Potion capacity has been replaced with a different bonus. Altars of Lilith and Tenets of Akarat still grant Experience and minor rewards.
Season Blessings
Smoldering Ashes earned through Season Rank objectives unlock these blessings:
- Urn of Divine Favor: More Divine Favor from all sources
- Urn of Reckoning: Elites and Champions drop additional items
- Urn of Calamity: Extra gear from World Bosses
- Urn of Ancestral Whispers: Higher chance for Ancestral Cache from Whispers
- Urn of Sanctification: Extra Heavenly Sigil drops
Capstone Dungeons
Five Capstone Dungeons gate progression through difficulty tiers. They don't scale with player level.
- Vault of the Crucible - Level 30, Hard
- Hellish Descent - Level 50, Penitent
- Enclave of Darkness - Level 60, Torment I
- Den of the Apostate - Level 60, Torment II
- Breach of Sin - Level 60, Torment III
The Tower and Leaderboards
The Tower won't launch with Season 11. It arrives in Patch 2.5.2 in early 2026 as a multi-stage timed dungeon designed for competitive play.
Players unlock The Tower by completing Season Rank 2 after Patch 2.5.2 drops. Entry is through the Obelisk in Cerrigar at any Pit difficulty level already unlocked. The Tower can now unlock difficulty tiers independently.
Several bosses with problematic behavior have been cut: the Vampire boss wraith and Fallen Shaman Boss Sower of Decay.
Leaderboard Categories
Leaderboards track Tower completion times. The Artificer's Obelisk in Cerrigar displays standings, also accessible through the Collections menu. Players who opt out of cross-platform play have limited access. Hardcore and Normal have separate boards.
Categories include: Solo Barbarian, Solo Necromancer, Solo Sorcerer, Solo Rogue, Solo Druid, Solo Spiritborn, Party of 2, Party of 3, and Party of 4.
Displayed info includes Rank, Player Name, Tier Completed, Time, and Date. Filters allow viewing All Platforms or PC only, Hardcore/Normal, Friends, and Clan. The next Leaderboard reset targets Patch 2.5.2.
New Unique Items
Six new Uniques arrive, one per class.
Barbarian: Chainscourged Mail (Pants) - Casting a damaging Brawling Skill disables it. When all Action Bar Brawling Skills are disabled, they re-enable with refreshed Cooldowns. Brawling Skills deal 50-100% increased damage per disabled Skill.
Druid: Khamsin Steppewalkers (Boots) - Damaging 100-200 enemies with Storm Skills grants a charge. Casting any Defensive Skill grants max Movement Speed and Unhindered for 1 second per charge. While charged, enemies run into are Immobilized for 1 second.
Rogue: Death's Pavane (Pants) - Dance of Knives drops knives from hit enemies. Picking them up grants 1 Charge and 10-20% Dance of Knives damage for 6 seconds, stacking 3 times.
Necromancer: Gravebloom (One-handed Mace) - Raise 3 smaller Golems dealing 40-60% normal damage with 30% increased Attack Speed. Golems respawn 50% faster. Necromancers can now roll Offensive Aspects on Shields.
Sorcerer: Orsivane (One-handed Mace) - For each Defensive Skill not on the Action Bar, deal 20-40% increased damage and gain its Enchantment Effect.
Spiritborn: Path of the Emissary (Boots) - Every 4-12 meters moved, invoke a Core Skill from the primary Spirit Hall.
Additional Changes
Cooldown Reduction now appears on rings and gloves. Combined with four-stat items, this opens up significant build flexibility.
Melted Heart receives nerfs in Season 11. Specific numbers weren't disclosed, but builds using it will lose power.
Class Balance adjustments make every class feel 5-10 Pit tiers stronger than PTR testing. Certain multipliers like Adaptability have been uncapped.
Welcome Back Booster moves to the Training Ground. New accounts after Season 10 won't receive one. Players who log in before Season 10 ends keep permanent access.
Battle Pass and Cosmetics
The free Battle Pass includes the Gildenvein Mount, Brimstone Crusader Barding Mount Armor, and Celestial Iris Town Portal.
The Deluxe Battle Pass (2,800 Platinum) grants the Celestine Templar armor set for all classes, Wings of the Celestine Templar Back Trophy with reactive effects, Nimbus Winged Fox Pet, and access to Weapons, Beast, and Armor Reliquaries.
Tejal's Shop updates December 11 with new Equipment, Armor, Accessories, Mounts, and Mount Armor. The Springmoon Stag Prestige Pet bundle includes the Mezzalune Pet, Nocturne of Bone Mount Trophy, and Waxing of the World Emblem.
Twitch Drops
December 3 (Developer Livestream): Watch any drops-enabled Diablo IV stream for 30 minutes to earn the Unhilted Strike One-handed Sword.
December 12-26: Watch 2 hours of eligible content to earn the Barbute Hacker One-handed Barbarian cosmetic.
Battle.net and Twitch accounts must be linked. Owning the game isn't required for drops. Unclaimed rewards expire 7 days after claiming if no Battle.net account is linked.
Release Timeline
- December 3: Developer Update Livestream at 11 a.m. PST (patch notes expected)
- December 5: Diablo 3 Season Start
- December 11: Season 11 launches at 8:30 p.m. PST, coinciding with The Game Awards
- December 12: Path of Exile 2 launch; Diablo 4 China launch
- Early 2026: Patch 2.5.2 with The Tower and Leaderboards
What's Next
Season 11 marks a turning point for Diablo 4 two years after launch. Popular Season 10 features like Chaos Perks and Chaos Armor are gone, but the permanent itemization and defense changes establish new foundations for future content.
The Game Awards timing strongly suggests additional announcements, potentially including expansion details. Competitive players will wait until early 2026 for The Tower and Leaderboards, but Season 11 delivers plenty for everyone else.
Community theorycrafters are already working on tier lists and build guides from PTR data. Support builds like zDruid show promise for group leaderboards, while Golem Necromancer and Crackling Energy Sorcerer performed well in testing. Expect full meta breakdowns once Season 11 goes live.
