Diablo IV Unleashes Power of the Occult Forces in Upcoming Witchcraft Season

Blizzard Entertainment announces Diablo IV’s Season of Witchcraft, set to launch on Jan. 21, 2025, at 10 a.m. PST. 

The season introduces players to a new questline, new witchcraft powers, and quality-of-life improvements. Developers are bringing back season-specific mechanics after almost a year from the latest implementation of unique seasonal mechanics.

Tree of Whispers is a significant unit in Diablo 4, which serves as a central hub for endgame activities and rewards. Located in the northeastern region of Hawezar, within The Writhing Mire, it becomes accessible after players complete the main campaign.

In the upcoming Season of Witchcraft the Tree of Whispers takes on an even more prominent role. This season introduces a unique storyline where players ally with a coven of witches to protect the Tree by hunting down new adversaries known as the Headrotten. These enemies are scattered across Sanctuary, and defeating them aids in restoring the Tree’s lost heads.

As part of the season, while season-specific mechanics were missing starting from the third season, players will gain access to Witchcraft Powers that temporarily augment their characters with abilities ranging from summoning explosive, poisonous frogs to unleashing a piranhado, a swirling vortex of ravenous piranhas.

There will be three schools to learn and master: 

• Eldritch — Wield magic that harnesses destructive energies;
• Psyche — Wield defensive powers of the mind and spirit to create visions, focus your attacks, and induce madness in your enemies;
• Growth & Decay — Wield living magic that both heals and harms, boosting Life, Resource. These incantations can create horrific diseases and disruptions.

Beyond the thematic additions, Season of Witchcraft delivers key improvements, including a long-requested Armory feature, allowing players to save and swap between character build loadouts seamlessly. 

Some updates are coming alongside the new season like new Uniques and Legendary Aspects.

Barbarian

Mantle of the Mountain’s Fury Unique Chest Armor

Affixes:

• Inherent: 100% 50% Hammer of the Ancients damage for 5 seconds after an Earthquake explodes
• 251-444 Armor
• 3-6 Skill Ranks to Hammer of the Ancients
• 2-4 Skill Ranks of Defensive Stance
• 16-22.5% Chance for Earthquake to Deal Double Damage

Power:

• Hammer of the Ancients also forms a seismic line that deals its damage and Slows enemies hit by 60-80% for 4 seconds. Earthquakes it passes through explode for their total damage and are consumed.
  

Of Incendiary Fissures Legendary Aspect

• Your Earthquakes deal 40-60% 35-50% increased damage and their damage is converted into Fire.
  

Druid

Malefic Crescent Unique Amulet

Affixes:

• Inherent: 25% Resistance to All Elements
• 8-11% Willpower
• 155-200% Werewolf Critical Strike Damage
• 8-15% Movement Speed while Shapeshifting into a Werewolf
• 1-2 Ranks of Feral Aptitude

Power:

• The value of your Lupine Ferocity’s consecutive Critical Strike Damage is increased to 150-200% 100-150%[x] against enemies when consecutively Critical Striking.
  

Of Wolf’s Rain Legendary Aspect

• Casting Hurricane also spawns a smaller hurricane on your Wolves for 8 seconds. These hurricanes deals 5-15% of Hurricane’s damage for each active Wolf.
  

Of Electrified Claws Legendary Aspect

• Shapeshifting into a new animal form causes a Lightning Bolt to strike a Nearby enemy dealing Lightning damage. Your Lightning Bolts deal 20-40% increased damage and Stun for 2 seconds.
  

Necromancer

Indira’s Memory Unique Pants

Affixes:

• Inherent: Casting Bone Spear Reduces Blood Wave’s Cooldown by 2 Seconds
• 16-25% Maximum Life
• 82.5-115% Overpower Damage
• 18.5-30% Damage Reduction While Injured
• 2-3 Ranks of Tides of Blood

Power:

• Blood Wave is also a Bone Skill that spawns a Bone Prison at its end point and increases your Blood Skill damage by 40-80% for 8 seconds when cast.
• Bone Spear is also a Blood Skill and will drain 10% Maximum Life each cast after hitting an enemy to consume a surrounding Corpse and launch one new Bone Spear from it.
  

Kessime’s Legacy Unique Pants

Affixes:

• Inherent: Casting Blood Wave Fortifies You For 70% of Your Maximum Life
• 187-300% Ultimate Damage
• 9.5-2% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• 16-25% Blood Wave Cooldown Reduction
• 23.5-35% 16-25% Chance for Blood Wave to Deal Double Damage

Power:

• Blood Wave now forms a wave on each side of you. Both waves converge at your feet, Pulling In surrounding enemies and exploding for x damage.
• Each time an enemy is hit by a wave, they take 5-10% increased damage from your Blood Waves, up to 150-300% in total.
  

Of Distilled Anima Legendary Aspect

• While Soulrift is active, you are Unhindered and gain 1% increased Movement Speed per absorbed soul, up to 30-60%. This lasts for 5 seconds after Soulrift ends.
  

Bone Duster’s Legendary Aspect

• Bone Spear is guaranteed to Overpower enemies within Bone Prison and deals 30-50% increased damage to them. Bone Spear is guaranteed to Critically Strike enemies within Bone Prison and deals 20-40% increased damage to them.
  

Rogue

Assassin’s Stride Unique Boots

Affixes:

• Inherent: Casting a Mobility Skill grants +100% Movement Speed for 2 seconds
• 35-50% Shadow Resistance
• 10-2% Mobility Cooldown Reduction
• 2-4 1-2 Skill Ranks to Mobility Skills
• 3-4 2-3 Skill Ranks to Shadow Imbuement

Power:

• Mobility Skills are always Shadow Imbued with 40-80% increased potency. Lucky Hit: Damaging an Elite or Boss with a Mobility Skill has up to a 40-80% chance to instantly triggers a free Shadow Imbuement explosion.

Slice and Dice Legendary Aspect

• Twisting Blades’ initial hit cleaves. Twisting Blades return 25-45% faster.

Bitter Infection Legendary Aspect

• Enemies infected by Shadow Imbuement take 30-70% 30-50% of its damage every second. Shadow Imbuement deals 30-70%[x] 30-50%[x] increased damage.

Sorcerer

Strike of Stormhorn Unique Focus

Affixes:

• Inherent: Chance for Ball Lightning Projectiles to Cast Twice is Now Chance to Cast a Super Ball Lightning
• 67.5-108.5% Critical Strike Damage
• 155-250% Ball Lightning Projectile Speed
• 1-3 1-2 Skill Ranks of Ball Lightning
• 13-17.5% Chance for Ball Lightning Projectiles to Cast Twice

Power:

• Ball lightning splashes on contact for 60-100%[x] increased damage and Stunning enemies for 1 second if it reaches its Maximum Range.
• Super Ball Lightnings are larger, deal 125% 100% more damage, have a higher Lucky Hit Chance, and its Stun duration is increased to 3 seconds.

Okun’s Catalyst Unique Focus

Affixes:

• Inherent: Ball Lightning Can Be Cast While Moving
• 24-35% Attack Speed for 5 seconds After Casting a Defensive Skill
• 0.5-1.5% Damage Reduction for Each Active Ball Lightning
• 1-3 Skill Ranks of Ball Lightning
• 13-17.5% Chance for Ball Lightning Projectiles to Cast Twice

Power:

• Ball Lightning orbits you, creating a static field that damages all enemies within for 140-180% of Ball Lightning’s damage per active ball, and granting Unhindered while the field is active.

Of Mind’s Awakening Legendary Aspect

• Casting a Pyromancy Skill Immobilizes enemies hit for 0.5-1 seconds. Casting a Shock Skill grants a burst of 15-30% Movement speed for 1 second. Casting a Frost Skill grants a Barrier for 3-6% Maximum Life. While Enlightened, each Skill grants all benefits.
  

Spiritborn

Sustained War-Crozier Unique Quarterstaff

Affixes:

• Inherent: 45% Block Chance
• 132-188 Dexterity
• 610-1142 Maximum Life
• 21-35% Chance for Potency Skills to Deal Double Damage
• 2-4 Skill Ranks to Focus Skills

Power:

• Your Focus Skills benefit from all their Upgrades, and they increase the damage of your Potency Skills by 10-20% for 8 seconds, up to 100-200%.

Endless Talons Legendary Aspect

• Razor Wings hitting an enemy increases your Eagle Skill damage by 1%[x] for 4 seconds, up to 30-50%[x]. Razor Wing Critical Strikes grant 3 stacks.

The season also promises an all-new Pet raven named Dorian that can be earned by completing the Season Journey.

Blizzard is also addressing class balance, starting with nerfs to the Spiritborn, a class introduced in the previous expansion that quickly overshadowed others with its record-breaking damage potential. 

According to community estimates, Spiritborn’s damage output was approximately 100.000 higher than any other class in the game. It is expected that adjustments to the new season will create a more balanced and competitive playing field. 

The season launches following feedback from December’s Public Test Realm (PTR), where player input helped shape this update and will affect future seasons. Blizzard has promised additional insights into the update, including class changes, during a developer livestream on Jan. 16, 2025.

While Blizzard didn’t disclose the exact number of copies sold, estimates suggest that Diablo IV sold between 9 to 10 million copies during the first five days of its release. By September 2024, Diablo IV’s total revenue had surpassed $1 billion.