Blizzard has launched the Inferno Legacy Season for Diablo IV to commemorate the series’ 30th anniversary. This update will take players on a journey through Diablo’s history, with familiar locations and enemies reimagined as part of seasonal quest lines.
The plot will center on Deckard Cain. His lost soul returns, bearing warning that three dark wanderers have reappeared in the sanctuary. Players will follow in their footsteps as they battle avatars of Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto in the catacombs of Tristram Cathedral, Mount Arreat, and the Prison of Hatred.
After defeating three incarnations, the player will receive three evil needles and can choose one of them. This choice will determine associated activities and seasonal reputation, and will also grant the character additional combat power. Diablo’s Needle is tied to Hellstrikes and Hell Horde and deals fire damage, Baal’s Needle affects Undercity and Lair bosses and deals cold damage, Mephisto’s Needle is tied to Abyss and Nightmare Dungeon and deals physical damage. Only use one needle at a time.
Another part of the season will be a nightmare, with developers recreating events and locations from past games. The scariest nightmares to wake up to are multi-level dungeons containing historical battles against the incarnation of the source of evil. Normal variants will replicate familiar locations, such as the evil lair from Diablo II, while smaller nightmares will be randomly generated in the open world. In it, players will encounter opponents like the giant spider queen Alana and familiar predators.
Soul Needles will also be added this season. These gems are tied to demons and artifacts from the past and provide characters with additional abilities, but at a cost. There are nine options in total, related to Andariel, Azmodan, Belial, Duriel, Lilith, Nak’rul, Skarn, and the Dark Soul Stone. Up to three needles can be placed into jewelry at a time, and higher quality versions can be created using the Horadric Cube.
In the final stages of the game, Blizzard redesigned several systems. Fighter Reputation progress is now shared between characters on the same account with the same world, mode, and hero type settings. These changes also affected the creation of landmark and unique items. When improved directly via a Horadric Cube, the item’s original properties are retained, but such items receive a special marking, and only one instance created in this way can be used at a time.
The game will also include nine unique items inspired by relics from past Diablo games. These include Leoric’s Crown, Jordan Stone, Jump Shirt, Ingim, Crucible, and Messerschmitt Thief. Some items are designed for certain categories, and some can be found in the form of unique amulets.
For everyday gameplay, Blizzard has added some new mechanics. Horadric mail will send messages and rewards directly to your account, while the resurrection system will allow you to transform your eternal characters into seasonal ones. His level is reset to first, but the hero’s class, name, appearance, and status are retained.
From September 15th (21:00 UTC) to September 29th (20:59 UTC), players can receive the decorative two-handed ax “Cutdown” by watching the “Diablo IV” live broadcast on Twitch for two hours. Xbox Game Pass subscribers will also receive over 50 cosmetic items across all categories when linked to Battle.net.
