Diablo 4 Season 9 is going to be all about the Sins of the Horadrim, and will feature Astaroth, a boss we last fought in the base campaign. As the trailer suggests, Dolan, one of the last remaining Horadrim has fallen, in some way, to hell.
While there's not much information available about the story, the new season will feature a lot of new changes including Horadric Spells, higher difficulty Nightmare Dungeons, and more. So, here's everything you can expect from the new season.
Diablo 4 Season 9 Release Date
As mentioned in their official blog, Diablo 4 Season 9 is releasing on July 1. So, you only have a few days to complete whatever you have remaining. Fresh reliquaries will be replaced with new seasonal ones, so be sure to claim any remaining cosmetics that you have.
Before the new update goes live, expect to see some server downtime. During this period, you won't be able to log into Diablo 4. Once Blizzard releases the new patch, you'll need to ensure that you download it before heading into the new season.
What to Expect in Diablo 4 Season 9
Horadric Spells
Horadric Spells seem to be the seasonal gimmick for Diablo 4 Season 9. Just like the Witchcraft or the Boss Powers, this will occupy a separate tab in your character sheet. These spells are made up of three parts:
- Catalyst
- Infusion
- Arcana
To build a Horadric Spell in Diablo 4 Season 9, you need one Catalyst, one Infusion and three Arcanas. The list of all available items are as follows:
Catalysts
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Celestial Surge (Astral Magic) | - Awaken an Oracular Rune that Pulls In all surrounding enemies. A torrent of stars follow that randomly strike the area 20 times for damage each. - Cooldown: 15 seconds (11.2 seconds at Rank 20). - Lucky Hit Chance: 18% - Rank 10: Stars periodically fall around you and are guaranteed to crash around a Nearby enemy for the same damage. |
| Disintegrate (Arcane Magic) | - Form an Arcane Conductor that emits a persistent beam between itself and you, dealing a steady blitz of damage over 8 seconds. - Cooldown: 10 seconds (5.3 at Rank 20). - Lucky Hit Chance: 9% - Rank 10: Enemies within the beam are Slowed by 50%. |
| Propulsion (Arcane Magic) | - Generate a Mana Blast that delivers damage and Knocks Back all foes. Enemies that collide take another damage. - Cooldown: 8 seconds (3 at Rank 20). - Lucky Hit Chance: 15%. - Rank 10: The Knock Back is gargantuan and enemies slammed into terrain by it form a Lesser Mana Blast the first time it happens to them. |
| Cosmic Anomaly (Astral Magic) | - Passive: Manifest up to 5 Anomalies that emit particles which deal damage over 4 seconds. - Active: Command your Anomalies to converge and implode, dealing damage per detonation. - Spawn Rate: Every 5 seconds. - Lucky Hit Chance: 20% - Rank 10: While at 5 Anomalies, you are Unstoppable and the next implosion will deal double damage. |
| Astral Pillar (Astral Magic) | - Shape an Ethereal Column that Taunts for 3.0 seconds. Piercing waves flow from it and deal damage, until you create another one or move too far away. - Cooldown: 7 seconds. - Lucky Hit Chance: 12% - Rank 10: The Taunted enemies become Vulnerable and move faster. |
Infusions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Smoldering Ember | - Your Spell Catalyst now deals Fire and or Burning damage. - Bonus: It destroys enemy structures and has a 10% chance to ignite the ground beneath enemies, dealing 450% Burning damage over 5 seconds. While equipped, your Fire Damage Bonus is equal to that of your highest Damage Type Bonus. - Rank 5: Deactivates monster Chilling Winds effects for |
| Nebulous Extract | - Your Spell Catalyst now deals Shadow and or Corrupting damage. - Bonus: Enemies hit by it deal 5-10% reduced damage for 7 seconds. While equipped, your Shadow Damage Bonus is equal to that of your highest Damage Type Bonus. - Rank 5: Deactivates monster Summoner effects for |
| Glacial Nimbus | - Your Spell Catalyst now deals Cold and or Frostbiting damage. - Bonus: Enemies damaged by it are Chilled for 15-25%. This effect happens once per enemy every 1 second. While equipped, your Cold Damage Bonus is equal to that of your highest Damage Type Bonus. - Rank 5: Deactivates monster Explosive effects for |
| Corrosive Vapor | - Your Spell Catalyst now deals Poison and or Poisoning damage. - Bonus: Enemies damaged by it take 320% Poisoning damage over 4 seconds. This effect can only happen on each enemy every 3 seconds. While equipped, your Poison Damage Bonus is equal to that of your highest Damage Type Bonus. - Rank 5: Deactivates monster Vampiric effects for |
| Thunderous Particle | - Your Spell Catalyst now deals Lightning and or Sparking damage. - Bonus: Enemies damaged by it arc 320% Lightning damage to a surrounding enemy. This effect can only happen on each enemy every 3 seconds. While equipped, your Lightning Damage Bonus is equal to that of your highest Damage Type Bonus. - Rank 5: Deactivates monster Suppressor effects for 8 seconds. |
Arcana
- Magic Arcana
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Tendrilous Bundle | Lucky Hit: Damage from your Catalyst has up to a 35% chance to Immobilize for 5 seconds (+5% each rank). |
| Tranquil Stone | Invoking your Catalyst grants Unstoppable for 3 seconds whenever it activates (+0.4 each rank). |
| Shifting Powder | Your Catalyst increases your Movement Speed by 30% during its effect and for 5 more seconds after it ends (+8% each rank). |
| Luminous Gem | Your Catalyst will Daze enemies it damages for 2 seconds (+1 each rank). |
| Murky Essence | Invoking your Catalyst grants Stealth for 2 seconds whenever it activates (+0.4 each rank). |
| Invigorating Helix | Once per enemy every 5 seconds, damage from your Catalyst will Fortify and Heal you for 5% of your Maximum Life (+1% each rank). |
| Bottled Wind | Invoking your Catalyst grants a Barrier equal to 30% of your Maximum Life for 4 seconds. After it dissipates, its essence is bottled back up (+4% each rank). |
| Jagged Bramble | Lucky Hit: Damage from your Catalyst has up to a 50% chance to deal |
| Reactive Ooze | After your Catalyst activates, you gain 5% Maximum Resource Generation per second for the next 10 seconds (+3% each rank). |
| Volatile Crystal | After your Catalyst activates, it grants 10% Resistance and Maximum Resistance to the Element of your Infusion for 10 seconds (+2% each rank). |
Rare Arcana
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Gleaming Conduit | The effect size of your Catalyst is increased by 10% (+8% each rank). |
| Fractured Core | Your Catalyst deactivates monster Damage Resistance Aura effects for 2.5 seconds, but you take 10% more stacking damage for the same time (+0.5 each rank). |
| Sapping Crux | Your Catalyst applies Vulnerable for 3 seconds (+1 each rank). |
| Potent Alloy | Your Catalyst destroys enemy Barriers and Knocks them Down for 1.0 seconds after the removal (+0.8 each rank). |
| Sharpening Gizmo | Lucky Hit: Damage from your Catalyst has a 50% chance to deal 200% Physical damage. Your Catalyst Lucky Hit Chance is doubled. (+30% each rank). |
Legendary Arcana
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Floaty Bobble | Your Catalyst gains a specialized blink effect that grants Unhindered for 2.0 seconds. (+0.4 each rank). Floaty Bobble creates the following effects for each Catalyst: - Celestial Surge: Blinks you to the center of its Oracular Rune when it forms and grants Unhindered. - Disintegrate: Blinks you to your target but leaves its Arcane Conductor behind. You are Unhindered while the beam is active and for 2.0 seconds afterwards. - Propulsion: Blinks you to the center of the blast and makes you Unhindered for 2.0 seconds. The melee variant blinks you to the Knocked Back enemies. - Astral Pillar: Blinks you to your focused destination and grants Unhindered for 2.0 seconds while dropping the flare at your previous spot for ranged variants. - Cosmic Anomaly: Blinks you to its implosion, grants Unhindered, and cleanses all your negative effects. |
| Nightmare Orb | Your Catalyst gains a specialized Fear effect that lasts 4.0 seconds. (+0.4 each rank) Nightmare Orb creates the following effects for each Catalyst: - Celestial Surge: Stars Fear unaffected enemies for 4.0 seconds. After the Fear ends, there is a 50% chance for another star to fall. - Disintegrate: Fears unaffected enemies and deals 100% increased damage to them while they are Feared. - Propulsion: Removes enemy Vulnerable effects to Fear them. While Feared, those enemies randomly form Lesser Mana Blasts. - Astral Pillar: Every 9th wave Fears. Enemies close to it are Taunted and have their Fear removed. - Cosmic Anomaly: Anomalies Fear and apply an 90% Slow to unaffected enemies they come into contact with for 4 seconds. |
| Frigid Heart | Your Catalyst gains a specialized Freeze effect that lasts 3.0 seconds. (+0.4 each rank) Frigid Heart creates the following effects for each Catalyst: - Celestial Surge: The Oracular Rune from Celestial Surge explodes and Freezes enemies. A second one forms after the star strikes end. - Disintegrate: Your Disintegrate beams Freeze all affected enemies for 3.0 seconds after you Evade and also grant 15% Dodge Chance for double that duration. - Propulsion: Enemies that collide twice are Frozen for 3.0 seconds. - Astral Pillar: The flare Freezes surrounding enemies for 3.0 seconds when removed. Each Freeze increases your Lucky Hit Chance by 10% for 5 seconds, up to 25%. - Cosmic Anomaly: Anomalies have a 30% chance to preserve themselves instead of imploding and Freeze surrounding enemies. |
| Pressurized Steam | Your Catalyst gains a specialized Stun effect that lasts 1.0 seconds (+0.4 each rank). Pressurized Steam creates the following effects for each Catalyst: - Celestial Surge: The stars have a 25% chance to Stun and are guaranteed to Critically Strike Stunned enemies. - Disintegrate: After being invoked, Disintegrate Stuns each enemy it damages one time. This Stun applies 100% more Stagger to Bosses. - Propulsion: Enemies slammed into terrain by Propulsion are Stunned and have a chance to miss their next 2 attacks. - Astral Pillar: Waves have a 30% chance to Stun for 1.0 seconds and are guaranteed to Overpower Stunned enemies. - Cosmic Anomaly: The particles from your Anomalies deal their damage instantly and have a 25% chance to Stun. |
| Bloody Charm | Your Catalyst gains a specialized Execute effect for non-Boss enemies with 10% or less Life. (+2% each rank) Bloody Charm creates the following effects for each Catalyst: - Celestial Surge: The moon's impact Executes non-Boss enemies with 10% or less Life. Successful Executions reduce your Cooldowns by 2 seconds. - Disintegrate: Non-Boss enemies with 10% or less Life are immediately Executed. This threshold is doubled for non-Elite enemies. - Propulsion: The Mana Blast from Propulsion will Execute non-Boss enemies. Successful Executions grant 70% Movement Speed for 5 seconds. - Astral Pillar: Will launch additional waves towards Executable non-Boss enemies to Execute them. - Cosmic Anomaly: Executes non-Boss enemies with its implosion. Successful Executions increase your Attack Speed by 20% for 8 seconds. |
Horadric Strongrooms
Similar to the rootholds from Season 7, Horadric Strongrooms are mini-dungeons that you can find in almost every Nightmare Dungeon. As you progress through the seasonal questline, you earn the Horadric Wayfinder, an object that helps you realise these Horadric Strongrooms within the Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4 Season 9.
Whenever you complete these Horadric Strongrooms, you get Horadric Tomes with which you can craft special Horadric Jewels, that you can socket on your gear. These jewels confer special abilities to your build, which can drastically enhance how your Horadric Spells perform.
Escalating Nightmare Dungeons
This is a new endgame activity that reuses one that you can already participate in. Escalating Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4 Season 9, are a group of three dungeons. As you complete one, you're teleported into the next. Despite being more difficult than the previous one, the debuff affixes stack too.
However, the more dungeons you complete, the better the rewards get. If you complete all three, you'll face the Exalted version of Astaroth. Needless to say, you can also get uniques and mythics from this activity, should you defeat Astaroth in Diablo 4 Season 9.
And if you're just getting started and don't want to be alone, here's how to get your first Pet in Diablo 4 here on Pro Game Guides.
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