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Diablo 4's Age of Hatred story arc, which began with the base game's launch back in 2023 and included several seasons and two distinct expansions, has come to a close with the recent Lord of Hatred DLC, and the first new season of the next era of the action RPG kicks off next week.
Blizzard announced the aptly grim Season of Death Awakening on its official website, teasing a characteristically macabre story involving ruptures spawned from dark rituals across Sanctuary. Three different types of ruptures comprise the new season's endgame activity, sending out waves of new Gravehound monsters with a chance to summon the enormous Realmwalker boss. Kill that and you'll gain entry to the Deathtoll Chamber mini-dungeon where, you guessed it, more baddies await your sword, but here's where you'll find the lair keys you need to access this season's Lair Boss Hoard.
Anyway, it's a new Diablo season. If you've been around the block at all, you know generally what to expect. New enemies to kill, new loot to get, a new seasonal battle pass, a freaky new pet to collect for free. All good stuff, but fairly standard fare. That said, there are a few things coming with Season of Death Awakening that break from the usual Diablo 4 seasonal mold.
For one, Blizzard says it heard your feedback from the PTR about that change to Mythics. Instead of getting rid of the guaranteed stats that synergized with a Mythic Unique's powers, which was the controversial plan that led to widespread blowback from the PTR, Blizzard now says Mythics will have two guaranteed bonuses, "preserving what makes it distinctive while opening new possibilities for build diversity." Everything else will still roll randomly, but this new change will let you swap exactly one of them out to your liking.
Following the Paladin free trial from back in March, Diablo 4 will soon let you try out the new Warlock class from Lord of Hatred free of charge, for a limited time. From June 30 to July 7, all Diablo 4 players on all platforms will be able to sample the demon-summoning ways of the Warlock class up until level 25, and naturally, your progress will carry into the full game if you buy the Lord of Hatred DLC. I'm more of a Paladin guy myself, but I hear Warlocks offer a little more to chew on for buildcrafters.
Finally, Blizzard is doing the inverse of Overwatch's recent Diablo crossover with Overwatch-themed items in Diablo 4. Right at the start of the season, you'll be able to earn Eye of the Overwatch currency from elite and champion monsters and use it to unlock themed cosmetics, which will also be available in Diablo 4's cash shop. This is also the first time we actually see Overwatch characters in Diablo, and I have to say, the bright, colorful look of the hero shooter clashes pretty starkly with Diablo 4's grimdark world. It's neat seeing characters like Reinhardt, Genji, Reaper, Mercy, Brigitte, Moira, Roadhog, and Kirkio in a Diablo setting, but the promotional image below makes this look more like Diablo 3 than 4:
Diablo 4: Season of Death Awakening kicks off June 30.
