Blizzard dropped a whole helping of information on Diablo 4’s third season today. Season of the Construct drops January 23 at 10 AM PST, and here are some key details.
Diablo 4: A New Questline – Zoltun Kulle’s Legacy
A former companion of Zoltun Kulle, Ayuzhan, will lead you through a brand new dungeon type, called Vaults, which are threatened by a big bad named Malphas and his bigger, badder robots. A new town center, Gatehall, will serve as the core of the new content and lead to these Vaults. The real battle is over something known as the Loom – a piece of technology left behind by Zoltun that you’ll need to defend from Malphas in a new boss fight.
A Pet.. Robot?
The Loom’s real purpose is, apparently, to power up your “Seneschal Companion,” which you’ll earn during the Seasonal Questline. This little guy will follow you around and can be empowered with Stones recovered from within Vaults. There are two kinds of stones: Governing Stones, which grant different attacks your robo-buddy can perform, and Tuning Stones, which boost utility. You can equip the construct with two Governing Stones and six Tuning stones at a time, with 12 and 27 of each, respectively, available to unlock.
There are a whole slew of abilities this little guy can be granted, which we’ll be covering in a separate guide shortly.
New Dungeons: Vaults
These elementally-themed gauntlets were designed by Zoltun himself and are filled with new Construct-type enemies. A whole new family of enemy wasn’t something I had on my Season 3 bingo card but that’s.. awfully ambitious as a bullet point for a content update. I’ll take it.
Accessing Vaults requires the use of Pearls of Warding, which grant a buff (Zoltun’s Warding) allowing players to access loot within the Vault. The more hazards you’re struck by, the more the buff diminishes. Depending on how well you do once you defeat the boss, you’ll be granted higher chances at Legendary items via a special chest. Basically, the more Pearls you use, the more buff you get. The more buff you get, the harder the dungeon is, and the better the loot you (might) get.
A more difficult variation known as Nightmare Vaults unlocks in World Tier 3, which have Sigils for access much the same way Nightmare Dungeons do. You can also use Pearls to craft Nightmare Vault Sigils if drops prove unfavorable.
Malphas is wreaking havoc with his constructs on the surface as well. By fighting Construct foes in Sanctuary proper, you’ll earn yourself Shattered Stone (used for crafting Stones for empowering your robot) and Pearls of Warding (for increasing rewards within Vaults).
For the full gamut of new goodies, check out Blizzard’s humongous blogpost on Season 3 for yourself.
Season 3 drops on January 23, which means you’ve got just over a week to wrap up your Season 2 progression! Check out our Season 2 to-do list if you’re looking for some last-minute tips!
