Blizzard is going all in on Diablo 4’s Season of Divine Intervention, and this isn’t just another seasonal theme with a gimmick questline. They are attempting to get it out the gates right before Path Of Exile 2, with the new update launching on December 11th at 8:30 p.m. PST, Season 11 brings back the Lesser Evils, crowns Azmodan as the game’s first new world boss, introduces a full itemization overhaul, revamps defenses with a new Toughness stat, and replaces Seasonal Renown with a more demanding Season Rank system.
On top of that, players will ally with a rogue angel from the High Heavens, chase Divine Gifts, push new endgame content, and earn fresh Twitch Drops and Battle Pass cosmetics.
This is Diablo 4’s biggest systems update to date. Read the WHOLE entire lengthy list of changes and updates down below.
Item Journey Reworked: Tempering, Masterworking & More Affixes
The entire upgrade path for items is changing in Season of Divine Intervention.
Tempering: No More RNG Tax
- Tempering is now fully targeted:
- You choose which affix you want from a Tempering Recipe
- Items can now have one tempered affix (but it’s guaranteed)
- Tempered affixes on Ancestral items can upgrade into Greater Affixes
- Tempering Charges can be restored indefinitely, encouraging full buildcrafting
It’s a shift away from gambling and toward intentional customization.
Masterworking: Quality-Based Progress & Capstone Bonus
Masterworking now revolves around a new Quality stat:
- Each Masterwork upgrade adds 1–3 Quality levels, up to a cap of 25
- Every Quality level gives +1% to all affix values and buffs base damage/armor/resists
- Costs scale based on current Quality
- Once an item hits max Quality, you get a Capstone roll that upgrades a random affix into a Greater Affix. You can re-roll that Masterworked affix using Obducite and Neathiron without resetting Quality.
On top of that, non-unique items now roll four base affixes instead of three, giving far more room for powerful combinations.
Monster Combat Evolved: Smarter Packs, Deadlier Affixes
Enemy behavior is being upgraded across all of Sanctuary:
- Monsters now have clearer roles and more dynamic reactions in combat
- Packs group up less predictably, making them harder to delete in a single nuke
- 20+ new monster affixes for Elites, with better visual clarity
- Elites now spawn with minions that inherit some affixes
- Older, more annoying affixes have been moved to higher Torment levels
- Nightmare Dungeon affixes that buff Elites now also apply to Champions, and Champion rarity has been reworked into proper champion packs.
Translation: expect to take real damage again and expect to think about your positioning even more.
Defense Overhaul: Toughness, Armor & Healing Reworked
Season 11 introduces a new defensive philosophy centered around Toughness.
Toughness: Your New Survivability Snapshot
Toughness is a new stat shown under Attack Power. It represents how much raw damage you can take after all mitigation. Hovering it shows your effective defenses vs each damage type. Item tooltips allow Toughness comparison between pieces.
Armor and Resistances now behave as rating systems with diminishing returns, and Armor reduces all damage types, not just physical.
Damage Reduction sources from Skills and Paragon nodes now grant multiplicative bonuses to Armor or All Resistances, rather than stacking generic DR lines.
Healing & Potions
Potions are now more impactful and more limited:
- Base potion capacity is 4 for everyone
- Potions now heal 35% of your max Life instantly
- You regenerate one potion every 30 seconds
- Life on Hit is improved and returns as an item affix
- Life Regen, Life on Kill, and Healing % have all been buffed and are more available
- Potion tier upgrades are gone, since healing is now percentage-based
Fortify Rework
Fortify is no longer just DR:
- Fortify is now an extra Life reservoir that is drained over time to heal you
- As long as you have any Fortify, you’re considered Fortified
- Skills, passives, and items tied to Fortify have all been updated accordingly
The Lesser Evils Return: Azmodan, Duriel, Belial & Andariel Take Over Endgame
Season of Divine Intervention weaves the Lesser Evils into Diablo 4’s endgame systems, each invading a different activity.
Azmodan: New World Boss & Seasonal Keystone
Azmodan is now:
- A permanent world boss in both Seasonal and Eternal realms
- Required for progression: you must beat him in the Season Rank V Capstone Dungeon
- Summonable at a special altar in Hawezar, near Zarbinzet, using specific materials
Summons can imbue Azmodan with the powers of Duriel, Belial, or Andariel. His supporting monsters gain affixes tied to those Evils, and his defenses have been buffed so he can’t be one-shot by giga builds. You can also find his fight via Party Finder.
Duriel in Helltide
Duriel now:
- Replaces the Blood Maiden as the major Helltide summon
- Is tied to new Pangs of Duriel enemies that spawn at max threat
- Drops Baneful Hearts used to summon him
- Turns meteors, monster packs, and even Helltide itself into grotesque maggot swarms
Belial in The Pit
Belial infests The Pit:
- Belial Eyes spawn randomly; destroying them stuns enemies and spawns Apparitions
- Destroy enough eyes and Belial replaces the final boss
- He now dies more quickly based on PTR feedback
- His influence also creates enemy clones to confuse you
Andariel in the Undercity
Andariel corrupts Kurast Undercity:
- Spirit Beacons are more dangerous but give more attunement
- New Andariel-specific Tributes boost rewards but add dungeon affixes
- Shades of Andariel can appear mid-run and sap your time
- If you die, Andariel’s health no longer fully regenerates
- Wailing Spirit–imbued enemies now launch homing attacks
Divine Gifts & Essences: Risk/Reward Power Choices
Seasonal progression revolves around Divine Gifts, granted by the angel Hadriel.
Each Gift features:
- A Reward (base benefit)
- A Corrupted Gift (harder content, same reward)
- A Purified Gift (no downside, extra positive effect, double rewards)
You socket Gifts in a special inventory panel: outer slots activate Corrupted effects, inner slots activate Purified effects. Corrupted slots are unlocked automatically; Purified slots unlock via Divine Favor Ranks (IV, VI, VIII, X), each tied to a specific Lesser Evil.
Killing each Lesser Evil for the first time drops their Corrupted Essence, unlocking their pair of Gifts, such as:
- Essence of Pain (Duriel): socketables from Pangs of Duriel
- Essence of Lies (Belial): extra upgrade chances in The Pit
- Essence of Sin (Azmodan): Activity Keys & more Dungeon Keys from world bosses
- Essence of Anguish (Andariel): Obols and movement-speed focused bonuses
As you kill each Evil and their minions with their Gift equipped, you level up that Gift for stronger rewards.
Sanctification: The Final Blessing for Your Best Items
Sanctification is a one-way, end-of-journey upgrade that turns a great item into a sacred relic:
Sanctifying an item can:
- Add a bonus Legendary power
- Upgrade an affix into a Greater Affix
- Add a special Sanctification affix
- Replace an existing affix with a Sanctification affix
- Add +5–25 Quality on top
Once an item is Sanctified, it becomes unmodifiable this is your last, final upgrade.
You can:
- Rarely Sanctify an item at a Heavenly Anvil after killing a Lesser Evil in their invaded mode on pre-Torment difficulties
- Use Heavenly Sigils (Torment-only) to access the Heavenly Forge and Sanctify Ancestral items whenever you’re ready
The Tower & Leaderboards (Beta) Arriving in Patch 2.5.2
Not launching with the season, but coming in early 2026, Patch 2.5.2 will add:
The Tower (Beta) which features,
- A multi-stage, timed endgame dungeon
- Unlocks by completing Season Rank 2
- Accessed through the Obelisk in Cerrigar
- Can now unlock difficulty tiers on its own
- Some problematic bosses (like the wraith vampire and Sower of Decay) are being removed
- Blizzard will tune difficulty, monsters, and rewards over multiple seasons based on player feedback.
Leaderboards (Beta)
Leaderboards return tied to Tower runs, tracking:
- Tier cleared
- Completion time
- Platform, mode (Normal vs Hardcore), Friends, and Clan filters
- Categories include:
- Solo for each class (Barbarian, Necromancer, Sorcerer, Rogue, Druid, Spiritborn)
- Party of 2, 3, and 4
- Season Rank Replaces Seasonal Renown
- The old Season Journey + Seasonal Renown combo is gone. Enter Season Rank:
- Progression is gated by Capstone Dungeons at each Rank
- Capstones have fixed difficulty (they don’t scale with your level)
- Optional objectives in Season Rank grant Skill Points, Paragon Points, Smoldering Ashes, Heavenly Sigils, and cosmetics
Key Renown/Rank changes:
- Renown is now permanent only on Eternal Realm
- Seasonal Skill points come from Season Rank Ranks 1–3
- Seasonal Paragon points from Ranks 3–6
- Altars of Lilith and Tenets of Akarat now grant XP and minor rewards instead of permanent stats
- There are now 12 new Paragon Points in Eternal Renown and 12 more through Season Rank rewards.
Capstone Dungeons
There are five Capstones linked to difficulty tiers:
- Vault of the Crucible – Level 30, Hard
- Hellish Descent – Level 50, Penitent
- Enclave of Darkness – Level 60, Torment I
- Den of the Apostate – Level 60, Torment II
- Breach of Sin – Level 60, Torment III
Completing the Rank 5 Capstone to unlock Rank 6 also rewards Alefta the pet.
Seasonal Blessings
Smoldering Ashes now fuel Season Blessings, including:
- Urn of Divine Favor – more Divine Favor
- Urn of Reckoning – more drops from Elites & Champions
- Urn of Calamity – more gear from world bosses
- Urn of Ancestral Whispers – higher chance for Ancestral Caches from Whispers
- Urn of Sanctification – higher chance for extra Heavenly Sigils
New Unique Items & Class Toys
Season 11 also adds new Uniques, such as:
Chainscourged Mail (Barbarian Pants): Brawling skills "charge up," then all refresh and hit much harder
Khamsin Steppewalkers (Druid Boots): Nature and Storm skills fuel max movement speed and immobilizing dashes
Death’s Pavane (Rogue Pants): Dance of Knives builds charges from dropped blades, massively boosting its damage
Gravebloom (Necromancer Mace): Raise three mini-golems with boosted attack speed and faster respawns
Orsivane (Sorcerer Mace): More damage and free Enchantment effects for Defensive Skills left off your bar
Path of the Emissary (Spiritborn Boots): Trigger Core Skills automatically as you move
Plus, Necromancers finally get offensive aspects on shields, opening up new tanky offense builds.
Twitch Drops, Battle Pass & Shop Cosmetics
Season of Divine Intervention also brings:
Twitch Drops
- From Dec. 12, 9 a.m. – Dec. 26, 10 a.m. PST
- Watch 2 hours of eligible Diablo 4 Twitch content
- Earn the Barbute Hacker one-handed Barbarian weapon cosmetic
Battle Pass Reliquary
The free Season Battle Pass Reliquary offers:
- Gildenvein Mount
- Brimstone Crusader Barding
- Celestial Iris Town Portal
- The Deluxe Battle Pass (2,800 Platinum) instantly unlocks:
- Celestine Templar armor set for all classes
- Wings of the Celestine Templar reactive back trophy
- Nimbus Winged Fox pet
- Access to Weapons, Beast, and Armor Reliquaries
Tejal’s Shop
Premium cosmetic bundles return, including:
- New armor, mounts, and accessories
- The Springmoon Stag Prestige Pet bundle featuring the Mezzalune pet, Nocturne of Bone mount trophy, and Waxing of the World emblem
- Season 11 Is Diablo 4’s Soft Relauch Moment
Season of Divine Intervention isn’t just another theme it’s a systems rewrite. Itemization, survivability, endgame, and seasonal progression are all being torn down and rebuilt while Azmodan, Duriel, Belial, and Andariel reshape Sanctuary’s hardest content. Will it be enough to put Diablo IV back on top? Only time will tell. If you’ve been waiting for a big patch to come back or push a fresh character, this is the season Blizzard clearly wants you to see.