The Season of Infernal Chaos is about to descend upon Diablo 4, and Blizzard has revealed what players can expect to see once this season gets underway on September 23. A lot of hype has been surrounding Diablo 4 Season 10 since players got a sneak peek of it on the PTR last month, with the new Chaos Armor mechanic taking center stage. However, there is plenty more on offer during Season 10 that makes it feel like one of the most robust seasons Diablo 4 has seen in some time.
Diablo 4 Season 10 Unleashes Infernal Chaos
The seasonal questline for Diablo 4 Season 10 follows the new NPC Shyan and their quest to eliminate the corrupted mages of the Vizjerai after the Mage Clan Wars. To this end, players will team up with them to track down the source of the Chaos Rifts appearing across Sanctuary, eventually putting them face-to-face with the Fell Council and the new boss, Bartuc, Lord of Chaos. Players will want to partake in the seasonal questline to rank up their reputation and earn valuable rewards, such as Chaos Perks.
Infernal Hordes are Getting an Overhaul in Diablo 4 Season 10
Chaos Waves Shake-Up Infernal Hordes Runs
Infernal Hordes are the target of a makeover in Diablo 4 Season 10, and the mode is getting a few new tricks up its sleeve. The first is the addition of Chaos Waves, which flips a standard Infernal Hordes wave on its head. Players will have the chance to encounter one of these waves during their Infernal Hordes run, where they will have to face a far more difficult onslaught than a standard wave, with a much greater Burning Aether sum as a reward.
Players will also have the chance to encounter Chaos Monsters, which offer a Shrine-like buff when defeated.
Bartuc and an Improved Fell Council Await at the End of Infernal Hordes
To cap off an Infernal Hordes run, players will have new bosses to face, including the return of Bartuc the Bloody from Diablo 2, now known as Bartuc, Lord of Chaos. Players will be able to choose to either face the Fell Council or Bartuc, but the latter comes with a cost of 666 Aether. The Fell Council now features a leader, known as the Council Speaker, with enhanced abilities, giving players a new challenge to end their Infernal Hordes runs regardless of which boss they choose to face.
Chaos Armor Creates Never-Before-Seen Build Options
The highlight of the Season of Infernal Chaos is the new Chaos Armor mechanic, which allows players to find Unique gear for slots other than their traditional ones. This means players can potentially use two Uniques that were never usable together previously due to being on the same armor type. With the door open for some crazy new build combinations, Diablo 4 Season 10 could see an entirely different meta thanks to Chaos Armor.
A Unique and its Chaos Armor version can't be equipped at the same time, so players won't be able to double up on the same Unique.
Players Will Want to Hunt for Chaos Rifts
While Chaos Armor can be obtained from a variety of sources, such as a guaranteed drop from Bartuc on Torment 3 and 4, the Chaos Rifts opening all across Sanctuary also have a chance to drop them. Players can find these Chaos Rifts in Helltides and Nightmare Dungeons, where they will need to defeat the demons that emerge from them to seal the rift and earn its rewards. Aside from potential Chaos Armor drops in Torment difficulties, closing a Chaos Rift can yield loot like XP, Gems, and, on very rare occasions, Mythic gear.
Chaos Perks Are Game-Changing Seasonal Powers
As if Chaos Armor wasn't enough to turn buildcrafting on its head, Diablo 4 Season 10 is also introducing Chaos Perks as a seasonal power. Players will be able to unlock and equip a total of four perks: three Magic, Rare, or Legendary quality, and one Unique. There are 3 Magic, 3 Rare, 3 Legendary, and 3 Unique Chaos Perks that every class can equip, with each class getting one exclusive perk of each quality. Chaos Perks can be earned by progressing through the seasonal reputation board, and Unique quality perks can be obtained by defeating Bartuc, making Infernal Hordes the place to be in Season 10.
Diablo 4 Season 10 Introduces Several New Uniques
Like with past Diablo 4 seasons, the Season of Infernal Chaos is adding a new Unique piece of gear for each Diablo 4 class. While some of these Uniques already look to be game-changing additions to their respective classes' arsenal, others are unlikely to move the needle much. The new Diablo 4 Season 10 Uniques include:
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Barbarian – Sabre of Tsasgal (Unique One-Handed Weapon)
- Unique Affix: You gain 3-5%[x] increased damage for each damaging Skill you have equipped, and an additional 6-10%[x] for 15 seconds when each of those Skills is used.
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Druid – Kilt of Blackwing (Unique Pants)
- Unique Affix: Ravens deal 60-100%[x] increased damage and shapeshifting into a different form or activating a Companion Skill Summons a Raven that attacks nearby enemies. Summoning a Raven has a chance to call forth an Unkindness for 10 seconds, increasing the number of Ravens Summoned to 3 for the duration.
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Necromancer – Gospel of the Devotee (Unique Focus)
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Unique Affix: Your Basic Skills are empowered. Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill causes them to take 10-30%[x] increased damage from your other Basic Skills for 10 seconds.
- Reap attacks 10% faster.
- Decompose now spawns a Corpse every 0.5 seconds.
- Hemorrhage triggers an additional burst on the initial target.
- Bone Splinters pierce through enemies.
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Unique Affix: Your Basic Skills are empowered. Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill causes them to take 10-30%[x] increased damage from your other Basic Skills for 10 seconds.
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Rogue – Orphan Maker (Unique Two-Handed Crossbow)
- Unique Affix: Basic and Core skills that use this weapon now Reload. Reload Skills gain 250-300% increased damage and every 2nd Reload Skill gains twice this bonus.
- New Keyword: Reload. Skills with Reload have a slight delay in which they cannot Cast again. Their damage and Reload speed benefit from 50% of your Attack Speed Bonus.
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Sorcerer – Galvanic Azurite (Unique Ring)
- Unique Affix: Lightning damage leaves enemies magnetized for 4 seconds, causing them to emit Crackling Energy, and increase all Lightning damage they take from you by 40-60%[x]. If two magnetized enemies hit each other with Crackling Energy they pull each other together.
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Spiritborn – Hesha e Kesungi (Unique Gloves)
- Unique Affix: The Protector can be invoked at range and pulls inward with its smashes. Enemies in its area take 30-50%[x] increased damage from your Gorilla Skills, doubled while they are Knocked Down or a Boss.
Lair Bosses Get a Huge QoL Improvement
In response to a recent controversy surrounding boss invulnerability phases, Diablo 4 Season 10 is reworking Lair Bosses so that this invulnerability phase can't be triggered until 10 seconds of the fight have passed. This change allows players to bypass what can be a frustrating aspect of bosses like Uber Lilith and Andariel if they can deal enough damage to the boss before the phase is triggered. The result should be a much easier farming experience for players who have invested in maximizing their build's DPS and can melt the boss's health bar within the fight's first 10 seconds.
Diablo 4
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