Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo 4’s fifth season of content feels a little smaller in scale, but that could be by design.
Diablo 4’s Season of the Infernal Hordes feels like a victory lap for Blizzard Entertainment following last season’s well-received loot rework and balance changes. Season 5, which launched earlier this month, is set to span just two months of content updates, adds a highly-replayable game mode, and a host of gameplay changes, almost all of which have immediately struck a chord with players.
Diablo 4 is now in the best shape it has ever been, and these strong foundations leave it well-prepared for a massive content drop coming this October with the Vessel of Hatred expansion.
What’s new in Diablo 4 Season 5?
Diablo 4 Season 5’s big ticket item is a new wave-based game mode called Infernal Hordes. In this mode, you run through a dungeon slaying all manner of wicked beasties until you’re given an Infernal Offering. Infernal Offerings give you the option of making the next wave of enemies more difficult in exchange for better rewards, such as Burning Aether which is used to unlock special chests. Once you beat the mode's final wave, you’ll have to fight minibosses from the Fell Council.
Only after making it through all of these hurdles can you unlock the Spoils of Hell using Burning Aether, giving you rewards like items with guaranteed Greater Affixes and more. Naturally, this mode only gets more difficult with each 60-second wave, but you really only have to survive. With the right gear and build, it’s more than doable. Oh, and there’s another version of the Butcher to contend with here. Yay!
You can also try this season's new Hellbreach Dungeons, which offer a more linear take on the Infernal Hordes mode. In these dungeons, you can choose an Infernal Offering before taking on the final boss, and be rewarded with Burning Aether for completing the challenge. These dungeons also contain special chests that can be unlocked using Burning Aether, giving players another way to scoop up the season’s new items. There are over 50 new Uniques and Legendary items, all of which will stick around after this season ends.
This season also has a new questline building towards the events of the Vessel of Hatred expansion. Mephisto’s schemes will take players to Nahantu when the expansion drops, but for now, he’s just riling up a bunch of monsters into a frenzy in Sanctuary. Where previous seasons have introduced new characters pulling the Wanderer into their personal quests, this season offers a thinner, and far more transparent attempt to tutor players on the Infernal Hordes mode. For a short two-month expansion, it’s serviceable.
How do the new balance changes fare?
Where Diablo 4 Season 4 offered a big loot rework, Season 5 offers a slightly less ambitious - but nonetheless appreciated - overhaul to Unique items. Not only can these rarer items be obtained from more sources, like Whisper Caches, Purveyors of Curiosity, and Tortured Gifts in Helltides, but all of them have been buffed up to be more impactful to builds. This allows a few weaker Uniques to stand out compared to previous seasons, but all Uniques have simply become easier to find and more fun to use.
Season 5’s balance changes also finally allow Sorcerer enjoyers - like myself - some time to shine thanks to a new series of buffs. The glass cannon nature of this class can often deter players from trying it out for a new season, as bosses and more challenging activities can be a real pain unless you have other players helping you out. This season, however, the Lightning Spear Sorcerer build proved to be so powerful right out of the gate, that Blizzard had to nerf it because it was crashing servers. The build is still worth trying out though, as it can still absolutely eat through endgame mobs.
This season’s round of balance updates also allow Druids to shine in much the same way as Sorcerers, so it’s a great time to play as some of the game’s typically less-viable classes while you still can. Sadly, Necromancers haven’t had their due yet, but there’s always next season. I typically stay away from playing Druids and Sorcerers in particular, despite loving the idea of both classes in theory. This season has done a lot to keep the game feeling fresh and exciting to me, from the types of Uniques I now have access to, to the new builds I can use to decimate the seemingly unending forces of hell.
Verdict
Diablo 4 Season 5 will be a breath of fresh air for anyone who stopped playing a few seasons back, whether it was due to the game’s lack of endgame content or frustrating balance changes. This game has certainly seen its fair share of peaks and valleys, but Season 5 thankfully sees it stay at a peak. If you can get past the fairly shallow new story content, now is a great time to jump into the game, try some new builds and experience the widespread Unique changes.
Season 5 also feels incredibly well-timed on Blizzard's part. With Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion launching on October 8, the game is in the best shape it’s ever been and ready for a major new content drop to really shake things up.