The fact that Blizzard is already showing off what's coming in Diablo 4 Season 9 gave me a bit of a jumpscare – time can't be zipping by that quickly, can it? Then I remembered that Season 8 was always meant to be an unusually short season. Consider my existential crisis halted, for now. It looks like it's going to be a spicy season as well, because alongside the usual influx of seasonal content, Nightmare Dungeons are getting some new features. Plus, a boss we slayed in Diablo 4's campaign is coming back with a vengeance.
All of the content coming to Diablo 4 in Season 9, titled Sins of Horadrim, will be playable on the PTR from next week, and there's plenty to get stuck into. The new season brings some dungeon-ception to the RPG thanks to Horadric Strongrooms. These are described as "potent micro-dungeons" within Nightmare Dungeons that can be randomly discovered while navigating them. Inside, you'll face off against a horde of powerful enemies that you must defeat within a time limit. Should the timer hit zero, then all the high-tier rewards on offer in a Horadic Strongroom will be sealed away for good. If you beat the clock, then they're yours for the taking.
Blizzard says there are three ways to increase your chance of finding a Horadric Strongroom during a dungeon – crank the difficulty up to Torment, upgrade your Wayfinder using Horadric Phials (the new seasonal currency), or find and use a Nightmare Dungeon Sigil with an affix that guarantees one of the rooms will spawn.
In other Nightmare Dungeon-related news, Season 9 introduces a new endgame activity for only the hardiest of Diablo players. Escalation Nightmares is a new mode that chains together three Nightmare Dungeons, each one becoming progressively harder due to more affixes being added that stack on top of the ones you were previously given. If you manage to clear the third dungeon, one final challenge awaits you: a boss battle with none other than Astaroth.
Yes, the demon we fought during Diablo 4's campaign is back. In this Escalation Nightmares encounter, Astaroth will be riding his multi-headed hell hound and at a certain point in the fight, he'll jump off to essentially give you two bosses to face at once. If you kill Astaroth's mount before you slay him, it'll go into a brief downed state, but will eventually be revived and rejoin the battle. So, targeting Astaroth first, or dealing as much damage as possible during the time his furry friend is downed, is advised.
Across the board, dungeons throughout Sanctuary are also receiving several new affixes to spice things up a bit too.
Elsewhere, Season 9 gives you the chance to create your own personalized spells. Horadric Spells, as they're known, consist of three components that you can pick and choose from. The Catalyst is essentially the core of the spell, dictating its baseline damage and effects. Infusions are elemental modifiers, letting you switch between a fire spell or a poison spell, for example. Finally, you can improve your spell with up to three Arcana, which add buffs and additional effects to your spell.
They are the major content additions coming to Season 9, but if you want to check out absolutely everything it's offering up, head to this extensive Blizzard blog post.
Diablo 4 Season 9 content will be playable on PTR patch 2.3.0 from Tuesday, May 27 through to Tuesday, June 3. The full Diablo 4 Season 9 release date is set for early July.
If you're looking to take a bit of a Diablo break before the new season arrives, then we've got plenty of alternatives sitting in our best games like Diablo and best co-op games lists.
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