Diablo 4 Season 4 is due to start on May 14, so if you were expecting it to launch in April then you'll have missed the announcement that things have been delayed by a month. There are huge changes planned for the next season of this action RPG, and these are so far-reaching that Blizzard needed to set up a Public Test Realm in Diablo 4 to test them all out, which is what lead to the release being pushed back to May. If you're looking for information on what those significant changes are and when we can expect Season 4 of Diablo 4 to arrive, then read on for everything we know about it so far.
Diablo 4 Season 4 release date and time
The Diablo 4 Season 4 release date is currently set for May 14, after being delayed from the previously announced date of April 16 so that there would enough time to implement feedback from the Public Test Realm sessions taking place in early April. It is likely that the release time will be 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST, with an update patch released an hour or so beforehand. As with previous updates, your existing Seasonal characters will be migrated to the Eternal Realm when the game shifts to Season 4, so make sure you've taken care of any outstanding business from the Season of the Construct before that time.
How to access Season 4 in Diablo 4
As is becoming a familiar process, you don't need to have completed the main Diablo 4 campaign on the Eternal Realm before accessing the fresh content for Season 4. After beginning the campaign on the Seasonal Realm for Season 4 and progressing through the Prologue to the point where you complete the Missing Pieces quest, you'll be presented with the option to skip the rest of the campaign so you can get straight in to Season 4. This also opens up the next Diablo 4 battle pass, which is expected to include the regular 90 tiers of rewards divided into 28 free tiers and 62 premium tiers to unlock cosmetics and more.
Diablo 4 Season 4 biggest changes
As can be seen from the full Public Test Realm overview, there are hugely significant changes being made across Sanctuary that will come into play for Diablo 4 Season 4, and while they aren't all finalized just yet we can provide a broad look at what alterations are expected to be made.
Items are receiving a large overhaul under the banner of "quality over quantity", meaning you'll be juggling fewer items, resources, and upgrades but they'll be more meaningful. Sacred items will only appear in World Tier 3, with Ancestral Items limited to World Tier 4, but some Diablo 4 Uniques will start dropping in World Tier 1 and 2 while all of them can now drop in World Tier 3.
Crafting is also being updated, with a new Tempering system that lets you add affixes to items via the Blacksmith with a reusable item called Temper Manuals. Those manuals are retained for unlimited use, giving you much greater control over upgrading your items. A fresh late-game crafting system named Masterworking is also being introduced, which will use high-level materials to upgrade your affixes for even greater effect.
Helltide events have also been revamped, so you'll now generate Threat as you progress through them and your Threat Tier will determine the frequency and danger of monster ambushes you encounter. At maximum Threat an ambush frenzy will be triggered, followed by the spawn of a hugely powerful Hellborne based on one of the five Classes. Should you die at any point during a Helltide event, or reach the final Hellborne ambush, your Threat is reset.
Another big change for Diablo 4 Season 4 is the introduction of The Pit of Artificers, which will be available in World Tier 4. By collecting Runeshard, late-game players will be able to activate the Obelisk in Cerrigar and be transported to The Pit, where you must slay as many monsters as possible in 10 minutes and each death significantly reduces that timer. Slay enough monsters and a portal will appear to transport you to a boss arena, and should you kill that boss before the timer runs out you'll earn Masterworking materials and unlock the next tier of The Pit, with additional tiers unlocked if you have more than 4 or 6 minutes to spare. There are hundreds of tiers of difficulty in The Pit, so this should keep high level players busy for quite some time.
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