Blizzard has delivered on its promise to reveal all the remaining details for Diablo IV with Season 5: Hellfire’s Legion. The upcoming season was officially revealed earlier this week, but it wasn’t until the developer update livestream that we got concrete information about the core design changes.
In addition to releasing a full, massive changelog for Patch 1.5.0 (which kicks off the new season next week), the developers also delved into class changes, big buffs to Uniques, tweaks to Infernal Hordes, and more.
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First up, Blizzard is turning its attention to the game’s unique and mythic unique items. Season 5 will introduce 50 new legendary and unique items, and given that Diablo IV’s loot has been improved across the board since Season 4: The Spoils of War, it makes sense to increase the power of unique items to be on par with legendary items.
More specifically, Uniques have become less fun to obtain as nearly every other piece of gear has become more powerful. New systems like Tempering and Masterworking also give players more freedom in creating the perfect item, further diluting the thrill of chasing Uniques.
In version 1.5.0, Blizzard added some powerful properties to Uniques, which not only enhanced their already amazing power, but also created a place for them in loot spawns. The developers hope that players will once again build around the Uniques’ carefully crafted properties, which will hopefully make chasing them a worthwhile goal again.
Of course, Armies of Hell is the premier new end-game activity for Season 5, and one that has been a favorite since its PTR release. The wave-based mode has been made significantly more difficult to access, thanks to the increased drop rate of the compasses used to enter the mode.
During the Hellfire Horde round, you’ll also find that bosses are less powerful and will experience mini-events more frequently. The spawn rate of monsters has also been increased, so you won’t feel overwhelmed at the beginning of each wave.
Likewise, Hellfire Horde rewards have been increased, particularly Burning Ether.
The update also brings a number of buffs to different classes, unrelated to gear changes. Interestingly, all classes’ core attributes have been adjusted so that you can get more damage by lowering your core attributes. For example, a rogue will get 1% more damage for every 9 points of agility instead of 10.
You’ll get to experience all of this when Diablo IV Season 5 kicks off on Tuesday, August 6. 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm UKwhich is also when patch 1.5.0 was released.
