Diablo 4’s Upcoming Season: Play as a Witch, Enhance Your Ultimates, and Enjoy New Character Loadouts

Blizzard has spilled the beans on what we can expect in the upcoming season of Diablo 4. Season 7, although it remains untitled for now, is set to kick off on January 21. However, eager fans won’t have to wait that long to get a glimpse of what’s coming. The 2.1 Public Test Realm (PTR) will be available much sooner.

This PTR will be accessible from Tuesday, December 3, but it’s exclusively for PC players on BattleNet, as is tradition. But there’s a twist this time around: the PTR will not only showcase the usual core gameplay updates but also introduce some of the seasonal content itself.

This season revolves around witchcraft, presenting players with magical abilities to wield in battle. Mirroring the Vampiric powers seen in Season 2, these newfound abilities can be acquired temporarily and will vanish when the season concludes. Interestingly, some of these powers aren’t just handed to you—they’re hidden in the world, waiting at altars in dungeons to be discovered and activated.

The season’s main adversary? The menacing Headrotten. Defeating these foes will yield Restless Rot, a crucial component for unlocking new abilities for your characters. Blizzard has made the entire process of upgrading your witchcraft powers more user-friendly compared to what’s seen in previous seasons. You can expect five regular powers along with one special ability at your disposal.

Returning this season are the unique time-limited gems. Known as Occult Gems, they can be equipped on your jewelry, providing their own magical enhancements.

To build your reputation with the in-game coven, the Whispers mechanic remains central to your seasonal progression. Another means to confront the Headrot lies within Headhunt zones, reminiscent of Helltide events but inherently tied to the Whispers ecosystem.

Blizzard is also refining the grind for Whispers with quality-of-life improvements. The hub surrounding the Tree of Whispers is getting a facelift, making it more user-accessible with additional services. But possibly the most significant enhancement is the Raven of the Tree feature, which offers the convenience of redeeming Whispers without the trek back to the Tree, available in Headhunt zones.

Gameplay-wise, Ultimate skills are getting a major overhaul in update 2.1. Once an Ultimate reaches rank 5, its impact will either significantly increase, or its damage bonuses will see a noticeable boost. To capitalize on this, strategic skill selection and node placements on the Paragon board will be key.

Across the board, several classes will see buffs, with adjustments affecting passive abilities in particular. The Spiritborn class won’t face direct nerfs; however, adjustments are coming due to unintended boosts seen in Season 6 that elevated its power.

An exciting new feature to look out for is the Armory, which provides the ability to save and switch between multiple loadouts for each character without the need to spend Gold. These loadouts can even feature different Paragon boards. The Armory will be readily accessible throughout the game’s environment, found everywhere from Sanctuary towns to the Tree of Whispers, various training areas, and even the Citadel.

As expected with a new season, there will be an influx of new Uniques alongside adjustments to make some of the existing ones more reliable. Players can also anticipate new Legendary Aspects, particularly those that enhance Ultimates.

For more in-depth details, you can catch up with the live stream via the embedded link in this article. However, the eagerly awaited patch notes aren’t set to release until Wednesday, November 27.