Shadow Clones Effects and Mechanics in Diablo 3 Season 33

Originally introduced in Season 22 and now brought back for the duration of Season 33, Shadow Clones of your class will be summoned every time you pick up a Shrine or a Pylon. The Shadow Clone's relative power scales with your own, providing a sizable source of additional damage throughout their 1-minute duration. Shadow Clones can spawn with one of several pre-determined builds, as outlined in this official post by Blizzard.

Moreover, the Shadows of the Past theme adds a fourth slot to Kanai's Cube. This slot can hold any power type (weapon, armor, or jewelry), and will not stack if duplicated.

Irrespective of your class and build, Shadow Clones you summon will share certain common traits:

• Shadow Clones come with a pre-determined set of abilities, chosen at random between three variations per class (consult the official post.
• You summon Shadow Clones when picking up Shrines and Pylons.
• Shadow Clones increase in power roughly relative to your own, but start at a much higher power floor than you — making them uniquely useful in the initial leveling and gearing process (see below).
• Shadow Clones will not travel between Rift floors, staying at the level where they were summoned.
• When grouped up, a Shadow Clone will scale in power according to the person that clicked the Shrine/Pylon.
• When grouped up, members need to be roughly within 2-3 screens to be eligible for a clone spawn.
• Shadow Clones last for 60 seconds, but provide no visible UI indication for their uptime.
• If you die, Shadow Clones perish along with you. In groups, they are unsummoned if the member who summoned them at the Shrine/Pylon dies.

Shadow Clones are extremely potent during the early game process and will remain relevant all the way into the low GR speed farming difficulties (GR 120-ish). Make sure you make the most of their uptime by altering your gameplay slightly, i.e. delaying Pylon pickups until a big pull of enemies is made.

One of the most prominent uses of Shadow Clones is during the 1-70 process, where they can comfortably carry you on difficulties up to Torment VI for extremely fast leveling (~40 minutes with some luck and a good route).

To execute this leveling strategy, all you need to do is check for shrines at specific waypoints in Adventure Mode — ones that are relatively safe and will not risk your character's life. Once you find the clone, simply run around the zone and let him wreak havoc, leveling you up with a tremendous speed in the process. Note that the Shadow Clones scale with your equipment, so you can check vendors to supplement their damage with some very basic equipment.

The following is a list of relevant waypoints (note that they are not fixed spawns, so move down the list if you do not find one):

• Act I - Southern Highlands (down from WP and to the left before the bridge);
• Act I - Leoric's Manor Courtyard (several spawn points, explore the area a bit);
• Act II - Howling Plateau (run up from the waypoint, along the upper rim of the map);
• Act II - Road to Alcarnus (run through the area; spawn point near Maghda entrance);
• Act III - Bridge of Korsikk (at the waypoint itself; other spawns in the Fields of Slaughter optional);
• Act III - Rakkis Crossing (right at the waypoint; optionally run up the bridge);
• Act III - Tower of the Cursed Level 1 (along the upper and lower rim of the first section of the map, near WP);
• Act III - Tower of the Damned lvl 1 (along the upper and lower rim of the first section of the map, near WP);
• Act IV - Realm of Fractured Fate (explore the area near the waypoint, multiple spawn chances);
• Act IV - Lower Realm of Infernal Fate (explore the area near the waypoint, multiple spawn chances);
• Act IV - Gardens of Hope lvl 1 (near Rakanoth; check right above and right below the waypoint);
• Act IV - Gardens of Hope lvl 3 (explore area near waypoint; wells do not work like shrines for shadow clones!)