Blizzard has revealed what's in store for Diablo 3's next season of content, and it's mostly looking very positive. We say mostly, as the powers offered through Season 23's gimmick look bananas, though the idea of more Set Dungeon grinding has dampened many players' enthusiasm.
Diablo 3 Season 28 is called Rites of Sanctuary and revolves around a newly found, ominous altar found deep within the woods. That's your glimpse of the story, but what that means for gameplay is that you can obtain new, season-exclusive buffs from the alter if you sacrifice the correct goods.
There are 26 new powers to obtain that do things like buff damage or increase your odds of finding a legendary item alongside several potions. Moreover, you unlock these powers in whatever order you fancy, which is certainly handy for whatever build you're putting together. Alongside a solid set of Monk skill and item changes, Diablo 3's next season looks rather meaty.
Players are less enthusiastic, however, about the idea of grinding the same ol' Set Dungeons. Unlocking a power – known as a Seal in-game – requires "rummaging across Sanctuary slaying scores of demons hellbent on preventing you from acquiring the Altar of Rites' full power". Some of that appears to require dipping into Set Dungeons to farm certain enemies, though not completing the actual thing.
Elsewhere, you've got the Seasonal Journey, which acts as an enhanced achievement tracker that suggests how you should progress through each season. It's popular to a point, but also typically leads players to Set Dungeons, which is becoming increasingly less than ideal.
"Every single [Diablo 3] season, I have tons of fun with the new season's gimmick and have a great time doing the Season Journey until it's set dungeon time," one player says. "Once I reach the set dungeon, my will to play anymore leaves my body. It's quite a shame, too, since everything else is tons of fun to do."
If you've been out of the loop, Diablo 3's Set Dungeons require you to play a particular class while wearing a specific set of armour. Each class gets four dedicated dungeons in all, and none of them is randomised, so each enemy will be where you remember it. While some players haven't been a fan from the word go, others have slowly grown tired of them over Diablo 3's long life cycle – the game's been out for quite a while, to be fair.
The PTR for Diablo 3 Season 28 is set to go live on January 31, lasting for seven days. If you'd like to find out how to get involved, you can check out the website for all the details you'll need.
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