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Diablo 4 Season 6: Everything You Need to Know

Everything you need to know about the Season of the Infernal Hordes!

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Neviriah

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Season 6 Updates

The Season of Hatred Rising is starting at the same time as the release of Vessel of Hatred. The seasonal content will be available to all players, even if you did not purchase the expansion. Season 6 will bring new content, such as:

  • Realmwalkers and Seething Realms, world event
  • Seething Opals, seasonal consumables
  • Zakarum lore, dedicated seasonal questline and reputation rewards
  • Progression changes such as new World Difficulties, new max level of 60, Paragon and Glyph updates, changes to Nightmare dungeons, and The Pit
  • New skills and passives for each class
  • and various Quality of Life updates, such as, favorite waypoints, new inventory and stash tabs, world tier status in new places, new party finder etc.

If you own Vessel of Hatred, you will also have access to the new campaign, the Spiritborn class, Mercenaries, and Runewords, as well as endgame activities such as the Dark Citadel or Kurast Undercity. For more information, head to the Vessel of Hatred guide:

Vessel of Hatred

Season 6 Start Date

Season 6 launch: October 7th, 2024 at 04:00 pm PDT / October 8th, 2024 at 01:00 am CEST!
If you are a new player, check out our guide on seasons and how to create your seasonal character:

What are Seasons?

Look at our Season Checklist for interesting tips and tricks on how to approach the start of a new season:

Season Checklist

New with Season 6

Season 6: Hatred Rising features a new questline, the world event Realmwalkers, as well as an update to the overall player progression.

Seasonal Questline: “Creeping Hatred”

In the Seasonal Realm, head to Zarbinzet and speak to Crusader Damond to begin the Seasonal Questline Creeping Hatred. The quest will introduce you to the seasonal world event and its rewards. In order to access this questline, you must have completed the final quest in the base game campaign Legacy of the Horadrim, or have chosen the option to skip the base game main questline.

The seasonal questline will enable a reputation-based reward system with the Zakarum Remnants, providing you with great caches as you level up and perform more activities within Sanctuary. Using a Seething Opal during your activities will grant you more reputation with the Zakarum Remnants.

Realmwalkers

Realmwalkers is a world event offering a chance to enter the Seething Realm, where players can choose their path and clear dungeons to earn valuable Seething Opals.

Realmwalkers appear in one of the base regions every 15 minutes. Once per hour, an additional Realmwalker will spawn in Nahantu, making it possible to see two of them spawn at once. When you encounter a Realmwalker, it will initially be invulnerable, steadily making its way toward a ritual site. Your task is to defeat the Bloodbound Guardians guarding it, as each Guardian you slay removes portions of the Realmwalker’s health.

If the Realmwalker reaches the ritual site or you reduce its health sufficiently, it will summon Hatred Spires. Dismantling these spires is critical to making the Realmwalker vulnerable, allowing you to finally slay it.

Seething Realm

Once the Realmwalker is defeated, a portal to the Seething Realm will open. This new dungeon is populated with infested monsters, including a new Goblin type which will jump from one portal to another, making it extremely difficult to conquer.

Inside, you will navigate through the dungeon, eventually reaching the realm gate where you can select the challenge you wish to face. Your choice will influence the rewards you receive, including the type of Seething Opal awarded at the end.

Find out more in our Realmwalker guide:

Realmwalker and Seething Realm

Seething Opals

Seething Opals are seasonal consumables that provide powerful buffs. These opals can affect what type of loot drops from monster kills or from endgame activities like The Pit or Infernal Hordes.

They also provide an additional boost of experience and reputation gain with the Zakarum Remnants. It can be stacked with other consumables, such as incense and elixirs. 

There are 6 different Seething Opals. Keep in mind that you can only obtain the Seething Opal of Torment while playing in Torment difficulty, and you can only obtain the Seething Opal of Socketables if you have already purchased Vessel of Hatred. Here are some examples of the most common Opals:

New World Difficulties

With the launch of Season 6: Hatred Rising, significant changes have been made to the World Tier system. The traditional World Tiers 1 through 4 have been replaced with a new set of difficulty levels. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect:

  • Normal and Hard: These two modes are unlocked by default.
  • Expert: Unlocks after completing the prologue of the base game.
  • Penitent: Unlocks after completing the base game or by skipping the main questline. If you have played previous seasons and create a new character for Season 6, Penitent will be available immediately.
  • Torment I: Unlocks at level 60 after completing Pit Tier 20.
  • Torment II: Unlocks after completing Pit Tier 35.
  • Torment III: Unlocks after completing Pit Tier 50.
  • Torment IV: Unlocks after completing Pit Tier 65.

Normal is a slower-paced experience designed for players seeking a lighter challenge. Whereas Hard and Expert increases the difficulty for those looking to progress more quickly and take on greater challenges. Penitent is extremely difficult from the start, designed to test even seasoned players.

Once you reach Torment difficulty, the true endgame begins. Each level of Torment introduces severe penalties to both armor and resistances, with Torment 4 imposing a staggering – 1000 Armor and – 100% All Resistances penalties. At these higher tiers, strategic gameplay and careful planning become essential for survival.

Additionally, monsters now scale to the difficulty you select, which ensures that each level provides a distinct and growing challenge.

Progression and Paragon Updates

Characters can now reach a maximum of Level 60. Once you hit this cap, you will transition into earning Paragon Levels, with a total of up to 300 Paragon Levels available to unlock.

A key change in this update is that you can only use 5 Paragon Boards in total. This limitation adds a strategic element to how you develop your character, as each board you choose will have a significant impact on your build. Careful planning is important for your build and choices to succeed. We recommend you refer to our newly updated class builds to help you.

Nightmare Dungeons and The Pit

The Pit has undergone some changes, now directly tied to the new world tier difficulties. To unlock each Torment Difficulty, you will need to clear the corresponding Pit Tiers. Additionally, the Pit no longer drops Masterworking materials; instead, it is now focused on leveling up your glyphs. Glyphs have been slightly modified, with two radius upgrades – one at Level 15 and another at Level 46, where they evolve into Legendary Glyphs, gaining an additional affix.

In contrast, Nightmare Dungeons no longer level up glyphs but will now drop Masterworking materials.

Gear Update

  • Stat Squish: Overall numbers on items and content have been reduced.
  • Sacred Items Removed: Sacred items no longer exist in the game.
  • Normal and Legendary Gear: Cap at item power level 750. Rare items have only one tempering slot while non Ancestral Legendaries have two, and cannot have Greater Affixes.
  • Ancestral Legendaries: Now only drop after reaching Torment I, with item power 800, and at least one Greater Affix and two tempering slots.
  • Masterwork Limits: Item power 750 gear can be masterworked to Rank 8. Only Ancestral Legendaries and Uniques can be fully masterworked to Rank 12.
  • Gem Updates: Gem effects have been adjusted.

Season 6 also brings new Uniques and Aspects. This gives you a great opportunity to test new builds and find new synergies. Please check our guide to see all the new items here:

New Uniques and Aspects

Additionally, for more information on how to farm Uniques from bosses, we recommend visiting our respective guide below.

How to Farm Uniques from Bosses

New Skills and Passives

Each class as received balancing updates, as well as 1 new skill and 5 new passives. Here are the new talents available in the skill tree:

Barbarian: Mighty ThrowMighty Throw, BelligerenceBelligerence, Heavy HitterHeavy Hitter, WarpathWarpath, IrrepressibleIrrepressible, and Barbed CarapaceBarbed Carapace

Druid: Stone BurstStone Burst, HumanityHumanity, CatastropheCatastrophe, Feral AptitudeFeral Aptitude, BacklashBacklash, and One With NatureOne With Nature

Necromancer: SoulriftSoulrift, Necrotic FortitudeNecrotic Fortitude, FinalityFinality, Titan's FallTitan’s Fall, Precision DecayPrecision Decay, and AfflictionAffliction

Rogue: Dance of KnivesDance of Knives, Target PracticeTarget Practice, BalestraBalestra, EvasiveEvasive, Unto DawnUnto Dawn and Alchemical AdmixtureAlchemical Admixture

Sorcerer: FamiliarFamiliar, EvocationEvocation, Energy FocusEnergy Focus, Dampen LayerDampen Layer, Elemental SynergiesElemental Synergies, and EnlightenmentEnlightenment

Other Season 6 Changes

  • Paragon points are now shared across all realms.
  • Tempering affixes have received minor adjustments.
  • Ultimate skills can now rank up like other abilities.
  • The Harlequin Crest will no longer boost Ultimate skills unless you have invested points into them.
  • You can now set Waypoints as favorites, making it easier to teleport to a specific one when returning to town.
  • A new inventory tab and additional stash tabs have been added for better organization.
  • World-tier statues have been placed outside of town for easy access.
  • A new Party Finder and Marker System feature is available for multiplayer activities.

Seasonal Rewards

Season 6 Battle Pass

The Season of Hatred Rising Battle Pass comes with 90 Reward Tiers (28 Free Tiers and 62 Premium Tiers).

Each season will introduce three tiers of the battle pass: a free tier, a premium tier (priced at around $9.99 USD), and an accelerated premium battle pass (approximately $24.99 USD) with an exclusive cosmetic. For those opting not to purchase the battle pass, the free track provides gameplay-related benefits, while the premium tiers focus solely on cosmetic rewards.

Season 6’s Battle Pass will feature new cosmetic rewards.

This season, as a Premium Battle Pass holder, you will be rewarded as you progress until Tier 90 with the following content:

  • Soul Drinker’s Armor Sets
  • Curse of Viz-Jun Present Mount Armor
  • Steed of Curse of Viz-Jun Present Mount
  • Ravenous Soul Mount Trophy

Smoldering Ashes

A major reward from the free battle pass is Smoldering Ashes, a special currency used to unlock and boost Season Blessings. Furthermore, these blessings remain active for all your characters throughout the whole season. While the Season Blessings are shown below, you can have a more in-depth look at our comprehensive guide for more insights on Season Blessings by clicking on the following link:

Season Blessings

These three blessings are new with Season 6 of Hatred Rising:

  • Urn of Opals: Boost the chance of receiving an additional Seething Opal reward after completing a Seething Realm.
  • Urn of Remnant: Boost the rate at which you increase your reputation with the Zakarum Remnants.
  • Urn of Curiosities: Boost the chance of receiving a second item when purchasing from the Purveyor of Curiosities.

Season Journey

Just like in Diablo 3 and other similar ARPGs, seasons in Diablo 4 follow a familiar structure. Progress through chapters, fulfill various objectives and unlock rewards to advance the season story. The ultimate aim is to complete all 7 chapters to unlock every reward. For guidance on which objectives to prioritize in order to successfully complete the Season Journey, check out our recommendations by clicking the link below!

Season Journey Recommendations

The Season 6 Journey will reward players with a Resplendent SparkResplendent Spark and a set of gear optimized for one specific build per class.

Seasonal Tips & Tricks

Diablo 4: Season 6, the Season of Hatred Rising introduces a new endgame activity and new uniques and legendaries, giving you the opportunity to improve and vary your builds and gameplay. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the game, here are a few tips and tricks to help you make the most of this season.

  • Farm Realmwalkers and Seething Realms: Participate in this world event to gain valuable experience and increase your reputation with the Zakarum Remnants. Engaging in this event whenever it is available will also allow you to collect Seething Opals.
  • Use Seething Opals: Make sure to stack Elixir, Incense, and Seething Opal buffs to boost your experience gain. Seething Opals can also be used to target specific loot, including gear, materials, and boss summoning items for endgame content.
  • Tempering and Masterworking are useful ways to make your gear even more powerful and complementary to your build. Adding Tempers to your items can boost your character power immensely, especially early on!
  • Infernal Hordes and The Pit are excellent replayable endgame content for greater gear and Masterworking materials.
  • As with the previous seasons, it is likely that several builds will emerge as strong contenders for Season 6, each excelling in specific areas. We will update this list with a few recommendations as the season progresses.
    • Barbarian: <coming soon>
    • Druid:<coming soon>
    • Necromancer: <coming soon>
    • Rogue: <coming soon>
    • Sorceress: <coming soon>

If you are unsure of what to tackle during a new season, have a look at our suggested season checklist.

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