The Public Test Realm for Patch 2.3.0 is right around the corner! Are you ready to feast your eyes on all the new goodies that await you in the world of Sanctuary? There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.
Table of Contents

    New Zone: Ruins of Sescheron
    New Artifact: Kanai’s Cube
    Crafting System Updates
    Adventure Mode Updates
    New Feature: Season Journey
    New Difficulty Levels
    New Legendary and Set Items
    Combat Changes

As always, please note that this is only a preview. The below information does not reflect all changes available in Patch 2.3.0 and is subject to change. Some images represent works in progress, and may not be representative of the final product.

New Zone: Ruins of Sescheron

In Patch 2.3.0, the frozen wasteland that is the Ruins of Sescheron will open for exploration. Here you’ll face off against strange new enemies and perilous environmental hazards, all while unearthing new mysteries from the lore of the mighty Barbarians. Those brave enough to make it through in one piece will discover curious new points of interest, including the lost Tomb of King Kanai and his ultimate treasure—Kanai’s Cube.



New Artifact: Kanai’s Cube

Those who played Diablo II might remember the Horadric Cube, a unique device which allowed you to combine items. Useful as it was, it was easily surpassed in power by the item from which it originated, Kanai’s Cube. In Patch 2.3.0, players will be able to discover this powerful ancient relic and utilize its incredible potential, including the ability to break down Legendary items and equip their special effects as passive skills, convert crafting materials from one type to another, and so much more.



Crafting System Updates

For those who eagerly gather crafting materials on their journey to level 70, we’ve got good news you’ll especially enjoy. Starting in Patch 2.3.0, the same crafting mats you use at max level will be available as you level up! We’ve also crunched down the number of crafting recipes, making the process easier and more fluid than ever as your results now dynamically adjust to your character’s level. Whether you’re bashing skulls on the highest difficulty or have just started your career and killed your first Champion or Elite pack, your crafting mats will never go to waste.



Adventure Mode Updates

This patch also includes changes designed to improve the pacing of Adventure Mode while encouraging players to explore Bounties across a variety of Acts. In addition to removing the Realm of Trials, we’re improving Bounty rewards by adding new Act-specific crafting mats to Horadric Caches. Completing Bonus Acts in Adventure Mode games will also now grant a bonus Horadric Cache stuffed with crafting materials, gold, and additional Act-specific crafting mats.



New Feature: Season Journey

Every player’s Seasonal journey is different—and so are their accomplishments. Starting in Season 4, you'll be able to track your individual progress through the Season Journey interface. This helpful feature is divided into Chapters, which include major milestones that are achievable by most players, and Tiers, which are designed for advanced players. Completing Tiers unlocks new portrait frame rewards, and the highest Tier includes challenges which will take effort to achieve for even the most powerful nephalem.



New Difficulty Levels

As players continue to discover powerful new gear, the current hardest difficulty level—Torment VI—can begin to feel less challenging. To help keep hardened battle veterans on their toes, we’re adding four new Torment levels with appropriate reward rates, including Torment X. We’ll be iterating on these new difficulties and rewards as the PTR progresses, so we look forward to hearing your feedback!



New Legendary and Set Items

For all you dedicated loot hunters, we’re also adding lots of shiny new Legendary and Set effects to the game. Aside from doing this through introducing new items, we’re also revamping special effects on some existing items, and granting new effects to some items which don’t currently have one. As in other patches, changes to Legendary items are not retroactive, so you’ll need to find them once more to use their updated form. Overall, this should result in more build options for you to explore.

Combat Changes

Several changes to monsters are coming to the game as well. Along with reducing the amount of crowd control the game’s tougher monsters will tolerate, we’ve adjusted the experience and Rift progress granted by killing monsters so they better reflect the effort required to kill them. For example, monsters that take more time or effort to kill now provide more experience, and those that are especially easy to kill will provide less. We’ve also made changes that create a better balance between the time you spend exploring and clearing Nephalem or Greater Rifts, and the time you spend facing the Rift Guardian. With these changes, more of the emphasis will be on your journey as you explore and clear the Rift. 

Prepare Yourself!

New zone, new Cube, new items, new difficulty levels, new Adventure Mode changes—the list goes on and on! We hope you’re looking forward to trying out all these new features and leaving your valuable feedback once the PTR hits.

Out of all that you’ve seen above, which of these changes are you most excited to experience for yourself? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll see you on the Public Test Realm!

Season 1 has been a great opportunity for us to introduce new gameplay mechanics to Diablo III, and we explored adding new challenges and content for you to tackle. We learned a lot from our first Season, and today, we've got some details on our next Season to share that reflect on those lessons.

---

New Season, New Stuff!

As we mentioned when we first introduced Seasons, plenty of new items and rewards are coming with Season 2. But that's not all! Patch 2.1.2 will introduce new features that will certainly have an impact on your Seasonal experience. 

For now, let's focus on what the Season itself is introducing and go over what you can expect from the first day of Season 2.

---

New Seasonal Legendaries

As we announced with our very first Season preview, we’ll be introducing several new Legendary items with each Season. What would a Season preview be without a look at of a few of these upcoming goodies?

Just a few examples of upcoming Seasonal Legendaries!

Note that some of the new items we're implementing are previously-existing Legendary items that lacked powerful, game changing affixes. As we add affixes to them and they become Seasonal Legendaries, these items will no longer drop in non-Seasonal games. Once the Season ends, these items will roll over to the regular loot pool for all game types, complete with their shiny new Legendary affix!

---

New Conquests:

Some Conquests in Season 1 provided great gameplay experiences. On the flip side, some also drove gameplay that was less than desirable and, more importantly, not very fun. In Season 2, this observation has guided which Conquests are returning, which are not, and how we implemented new Conquests.

You'll see the return of Conquests that encourage long-term goals, such as It’s a Marathon and Sprinter. Reaching a specific Greater Rift level or rushing through Campaign mode from Act I to Act V are activities that encourage a variety of gameplay, some of which is outside the norm.  In addition, while they offer a clear goal, they also encourage you to push harder for better results.

You can see this ideal in our new Conquests: Avaritia, Worlds Apart, and Language. These are difficult tasks to achieve and might take some out-of-the-box thinking. Be prepared to challenge yourself—not just through a quest for gear, but through experimentation and trial and error. We hope you're looking forward to taking a crack at these Conquests just as much as we are!

For the same reason we haven't provided Paragon leaderboards, we'd like Seasonal gameplay to be interesting and varied. Leveling achievements encourage the exact opposite style of play. We found that Race to the Top and Living Dangerously produced these unwanted results, so these Conquests will not be returning in Season 2. 

---

New Rewards:

Participants of Season 1 might be familiar with our Conqueror's transmogrification set. Reaching level 70 in any Season will award you with two pieces of these exclusive accoutrements. Season 1 introduced transmogrifications for Helms and Shoulders, and for Season 2, you'll be closer to completing the set with Boots and Pants!

So . . . Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes?

That's not all. We've raised the bar this Season by introducing a new Seasonal reward. Players who participate in the Season will also receive an exclusive full Banner set, including Shape, Pattern, Sigil, and Accent. Each piece of this set is unlocked by acquiring Seasonal achievement points. For each 100 points you acquire, you'll unlock a new piece as follows:

• 100 Points: Shape
• 200 Points: Pattern
• 300 Points: Accent
• 400 Points: Sigil

As always, any rewards you earn during the Season are immediately unlocked for use in both Seasonal and Non-Seasonal play.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When does Season 2 start?
A: While we don’t yet have a date to announce for Season 2, we will be notifying the community of the end of Season 1 no less than 30 days in advance. Season 2 should start shortly thereafter. Stay tuned for more information in the future!

Q: How long will Season 2 last?
A:  While we don’t have a specific time frame to share at this time, we’ve heard a lot of feedback on the length of Season 1. We’ll be taking this feedback into consideration going forward.

Q: When are the Leaderboards being wiped for Season 1?
A: Leaderboards will be cleared once Season 1 comes to a close. We will be notifying players no less than 30 days in advance of when this will occur. While the leaderboards will be cleared, they will be preserved both in-game and here on our website if you wish to review your Season 1 accomplishments.

Q: When are the non-Seasonal Leaderboards being wiped?
A: Non-Seasonal Leaderboards are tied to what we call “Eras.” We have not yet determined when the end of our first Era will be, but we currently anticipate it coinciding with changes for the next Season.  We’ll provide an update when we announce an end date for Season 1.

Q: Will Seasons be coming to console?
A: Some features on console are best designed for that platform, and the same is true for the PC version of the game. A large part of the fun of Seasons is the entire community rerolling heroes together at the same time. The offline and disconnected nature of console does not support this style of play.  As a result, we do not currently have plans to implement Seasons on console.

---

The Season is Coming...

We have a lot in store for Season 2, as well as Seasons to come. We hope you've enjoyed this peek at what lies ahead! Season 2, as well as features coming in Patch 2.1.2, will be available for testing very soon on the PTR. We look forward to sharing these changes with you and hope you'll join us to test them thoroughly!

What aspect of Season 2 has you the most pumped? Are you eager for another fresh start, or did a new Seasonal Legendary catch your eye? Is there a Conquest you can’t wait to tackle? Let us know in the comments and get ready—the new Season will arrive before you know it!