Master the Occult in Season of Witchcraft — Diablo IV – Blizzard News
The Tree of Whispers’ most prized possessions are missing: the many Heads which pay their endless debt amongst its gnarled limbs. Uncover the source of this malevolent plot to discover incredible power. Starting on January 21, at 10 a.m. PST, embark on a new Seasonal Questline to unlock powers of Witchcraft, slay the rogue Headrotten, and uncover the secrets behind this haunting mystery.Witchcraft Powers will be your gateway to wonderful new abilities, augmenting and empowering your existing skills. You’ll earn them as you uncover the mystery of the Coven, a group of heady Witches deep from within the bogs of Hawezar who are eager to serve the Tree of Whispers. As you ally with the Tree of Whispers, you’ll progress and enhance these wild powers throughout Season of Witchcraft.This update also brings changes to all realms with the Armory, which lets you swap between your favorite builds with ease. Vessel of Hatred owners can search out and wield both new and updated Runes. Plus, there’s new Uniques and Legendary Aspects to earn and master, an all-new Pet in the Season Journey, and more.Thank you to everyone who participated in December’s 2.1 Public Test Realm. We want you all to know that we’ve integrated feedback throughout this blog, but some feedback that was given will be used to help shape and inform future seasons.Thank you to everyone that participated in our 2.1 Public Test Realm (PTR) for PC and Battle.net. Throughout the article, any text or section marked in red denotes a change made based off feedback from our latest PTR.Ally with the CovenMaster Powers of WitchcraftThe Tree of Whispers GrowsHunt the HeadrottenCraft Powerful Occult GemsNew Legendary Aspects and Unique ItemsEternal Updates: The Armory, and MoreUnlock Rewards with the Season Journey and Battle PassAcquire Fabled Threads from Tejal’s ShopCommunity Guides for Season of WitchcraftTune in to the Next Developer Update StreamHeed the call of the Witches of Hawezar, a Coven that is bound by the deep magic oozing from the swamps they call home. The Coven are the protectors of the Tree of Whispers, who discovered its many captive Heads are missing. The Tree forgets no oaths and forgives no debts, and these Heads have dues to pay till the end of days. However, these missing Heads have been set loose—free to carry out their own hunt—travelling across Sanctuary to seek bodies and reclaim what was once theirs.Summoned by the Witches of Hawezar, unravel the mystery of the missing Heads and expose the culprit in an all-new Questline. Within the Questline, you’ll uncover the tantalizing secrets to learn and harness seasonal Witchcraft Powers.Help them to return the Heads to the Tree, and solve the mystery of who is stealing the Heads and why, and the Coven will reward you with the secrets of their awesome incantations.To begin the questline, head to Gea Kul and speak with the Witch Gelena.Back to TopA strange sorcery has risen from the crags and bogs of Sanctuary—a sparkle is in the air and the ground thrums with the presence of dark magic.Embark on the Seasonal Questline, unlock the wondrous powers of Witchcraft, and unleash these newfound horrors to melt the bones of the unwilling. There are three schools to learn and master:Plus, discover rare Lost powers of Witchcraft unkown to both the Coven and the Tree. Each school of Witchcraft gives you the chance to experiment between new styles of power. Tinker with your build to create something strange and terrible to dismember your many formidable foes.To learn Witchcraft, earn Seasonal reputation with the Coven from completing new Whisper bounties and defeating hulking Headrotten enemies to earn Restless Rot. At specific Tiers, you’ll unlock the ability to learn more Witchcraft Powers at Witches’ Altars near the Tree of Whispers.To earn your Witchcraft Powers, do as the Witches ask by hunting down the Headrotten and returning the Heads where they belong to earn Restless Rot. This will grant you favor amongst The Coven.Once you’ve earned favor with the Coven, upgrade the Altars underneath the Tree of Whispers to unlock new Witchcraft Powers. To unlock Lost powers, you’ll need a Forgotten Altar. Forgotten Altars are elusive, so keep an eye out for them within random dungeons throughout Sanctuary.Witchcraft Powers can be upgraded directly in your inventory using the Restless Rot you’ve earned. Slaying Headrotten in higher difficulty tiers will earn you more Restless Rot.Firebat ServantsAbyssal ResonanceWave of WoePurging TouchShaken SoulHex of FlamesDoom OrbLife LinkHex of ShatteringAura of MisfortuneAura of LamentVengeful SpiritTwilight WardingPoison Frog ServantSoul HarvestHex of WhispersDecay AugmentationGrowAura of SiphoningThe CycleBreath of the CovenHex SpecializationAura SpecializationPiranhadoBack to TopSince the Heads once dotting the macabre canopy have disappeared, The Tree of Whispers has invigorated their bounties with a renewed fervor. Set out to track down these rogue Heads and bring this chaos to heel.There are many new Whisper bounties to seek out and complete to appease the enraged tree. During Season of Witchcraft, there’s a chance the Tree will offer an Ancestral Collection as your reward, guaranteeing at least 1 Ancestral item within.Back to TopThe Heads missing from the Tree of Whispers have become even more ghastly, true abominations. They are desperate to claim new bodies for themselves, to be whole and human again. But without the Tree they are incomplete, fragmented and mad. They spread a terrible rot to anyone they touch.Multiple Headhunt zones will appear across Sanctuary which signal that vicious Headrotten are skulking the zone, eager to carry out their disembodied Heads’ command. These Headhunt zones are perfect for completing Whisper bounties. During Season of Witchcraft, you’ll be able to return your Whispers at a new additional location: the Raven of the Tree, a friendly Raven found within Headhunts.Completing Whisper bounties within a Headhunt zone will reveal Exposed Roots, and gives a rare chance to spawn an Uprooted Cocoon. Uprooted Cocoons will spawn the elusive and deadly Headrotten Bosses. These Headrotten Bosses will appear often as Headless Husks, headless creatures that have lost their controlling Fugitive Head.In rare cases, this Headrotten Boss will appear with the Fugitive Head still attached. Killing one of these abominations will grant you a Head to return to the Coven, to their wicked delight and grand reward.Complete Whisper bounties within Headhunts to earn Favor with the Coven, and progress through the Coven’s Tiers to earn rewards such as a Resplendent Spark. You’ll also earn the Materials needed to craft Occult Gems, which provide disturbingly powerful enhancements to your Witchcraft Powers.While completing Whisper bounties within Headhunts, keep a keen eye for any Rootholds. These seasonal dungeons have bonus challenges and rewards to aid your quest to support the Coven. To access, collect Whisper Wood sigils found in Whisper Caches and Silent Chests.Back to TopThese powerful Seasonal socketables are crafted with materials earned from completing Whisper bounties and returning Fugitive Heads from Headhunts. Meet with Gelena at the Tree of Whispers, who crafts Occult Gems in exchange for Fugitive Heads, Restless Rot, and Gem Fragments. If you manage to slay a Headrotten possessed by a Fugitive Head, you’ll be able to trade this reclaimed Head for Materials needed to craft Occult Gems.These powerful Gems provide additional affixes, strongly complement Witchcraft Powers, add Witchcraft tags to your Skills, and more. It is rumored Occult Gems had once even been used to cheat death, if you believe the legend.You can craft powerful higher tiers of Occult Gems with the following Materials: Fugitive Heads, Restless Rot, Gem Dust, and other Occult Gems.Each Occult Gem provides 160 Armor and 8% Resist All. Craft the following Occult Gems at Gelena:Wicked PactHeart of AnimaToadling’s WishPhantom StringElder SigilKilling WindWitching HourRaging EnigmaVoice of the StarsMind WreathSpiral CoinCornucopiaVulture TalonPointed FingerVile PhylacteryFriend of the BogMoonlight WardDust StoneHungering VoidBack to TopNew powerful Unique Items and Legendary aspects arrive to enhance your renowned demon crushing prowess.Mantle of the Mountain’s Fury Unique Chest ArmorAffixesPowerOf Incendiary Fissures Legendary AspectMalefic Crescent Unique AmuletAffixesPowerOf Wolf’s Rain Legendary AspectOf Electrified Claws Legendary AspectIndira’s Memory Unique PantsAffixesPowerKessime’s Legacy Unique PantsAffixesPowerOf Distilled Anima Legendary AspectBone Duster’s Legendary AspectAssassin’s Stride Unique BootsAffixesPowerSlice and Dice Legendary AspectBitter Infection Legendary AspectStrike of Stormhorn Unique FocusAffixesPowerOkun’s Catalyst Unique FocusAffixesPowerOf Mind’s Awakening Legendary AspectSustained War-Crozier Unique QuarterstaffAffixesPowerEndless Talons Legendary AspectBack to TopThe Armory is here to stay! The ability to effortlessly swap between saved builds in town has arrived and will remain a feature in both Eternal and Seasonal Realms after Season of Witchcraft.The Armory is a brand-new feature which gives you the option to Save, Load, and Name your favorite builds and the option to select those builds to change your Characters current loadout. The buttons to select each will are named after their function. The Armory is Character bound; you’ll have 5 Loadout slots per character.At a glance from your Loadout, you’ll be viewing Equipment, Skills, selected Paragon Nodes and Glyphs that make up your saved build. Note: changing between Loadout slots with differing Paragon loadouts does not cost Gold.To use the Armory, start by selecting an empty slot and save your build to begin. Saving your loadout will capture the following: Equipped Items, Paragon Board and Glyphs, Skill Selections, and Class mechanic. The Armory can be accessed across each major city in Sanctuary, and end-game hubs such as the Citadel, Tree of Whispers, and Training Grounds in Kyovashad.If an item saved in your armory loadout is no longer available—whether from selling, trading, or salvaging—an icon will indicate the item is missing on the Loadout preview.We’ve made some incredible updates for players on the Eternal Realm, first of which is that the Welcome Back Booster is here to stay. The ability to instantly boost an eternal realm character to Level 50, complete with Legendary Items, and pre-set class skills will now remain as a permanent feature in-game. For more details on the Welcome Back Booster, read our blog here.The Tree of Whispers has a new and improved layout for Season of Witchcraft, which will remain past the Season’s end.Additionally, each Class mechanic quest completion is now account bound. Once you’ve completed the Class specific quest once, it’ll be completed for any new Character of the same class. You’ll unlock your specific Class mechanic at the Level where the Class mechanic quest would have become available. For example, after completion of the “True Potential” quest for the Rogue, upon reaching Level 15 on your next Rogue character, you’ll automatically unlock the Specialization mechanic.For those savvy buildcrafters looking for the perfectly rolled item across Sanctuary, unique items with Greater Affixes are improving. When a unique item has more Greater Affixes, the minimum roll of the unique power will be increased per Greater Affix. This better aligns with the overall power of the item, which makes items with 3-4 Greater Affixes feel really impactful.For Vessel of Hatred players to employ, the Alchemists of Sanctuary have been toiling to craft new sources of arcane power, use these potent sources of magic for dastardly deeds or enlightened benefaction.Check the Season of Witchcraft patch notes on January 16 to see all balance updates to Runes.New Ritual RunesNagu Legendary RuneIgni Legendary RuneNew Runes of InvocationChac Rare RuneBack to TopAs you cleanse Sanctuary’s soil with the constant flow of demon blood, you’ll earn rewards from the Season Journey and Battle Pass.The Season Journey is broken into Chapters with tasks to complete. As you progress through the Journey, you’ll earn rewards befitting a defender of Sanctuary such as a Resplendent Spark. The Journey also provides Favor—the resource used to climb through the Battle Pass’ Tiers— earnable simply by playing aspects of the game. Completing the Season Journey will give you Dorian the Raven as a Pet to use in-game, our first avian Pet!The Season of Witchcraft Battle Pass begins on January 21, 10 a.m. PST and hosts 90 Reward Tiers (28 Free Tiers and 62 Premium Tiers).Smoldering Ashes earned from the Free Tiers can be spent on Season Blessings that provide helpful bonuses to beat back Hell’s armies. There are 3 new Blessings for Witchcraft:The bonuses gained from the 5 Season Blessings only last until Season of Witchcraft ends.If you get the Premium Battle Pass, not only will the rewards of the Free Tiers be yours to wield, but Grand High Witch Armor Set, Platinum, and more also await you, including the Nightwinder Mount and Nightwinder Mount Armor, which unlock at Tier 90. The Accelerated Seasonal Battle Pass also contains 20 Tier Skips and the Magic of Mushrooms Emote.Back to TopWe’re dialing up the heat in the Shop with new Equipment, Armor, Accessories, Mounts, and Mount Armor bundles that will have you slaying in style. Starting on January 21 at 12 p.m. PST, visit Tejal to browse her wares—remember to check back often, as she’ll update her stock throughout Season of Witchcraft.One such rarefied find from the far reaches of Sanctuary is the Daemon Knight bundle for Spiritborn, which contains the Daemon Knight Armor Set, Soulsreap Glaive cosmetic, Exobane Quarterstaff cosmetic, and Diabolical Anthem Marking for all your Spiritborn characters. This bundle can be purchased from Tejal’s Shop for 2,800 Platinum.Back to TopIf you need sage guidance in your character’s journey throughout the season, look to our Community guides for tips and insights on builds for every class. From early game levelling, all the way to end-game builds, they’ve got you covered!Visit our trusted Community resources here:Back to TopOur next Developer Update stream begins on January 16 at 11 a.m. PST and details everything for Season of Witchcraft. Join members of the development team as they go through learnings from the December Public Test Realm, system updates, and more.Visit our official Diablo Twitch, YouTube, X, and TikTok channels to watch live! Following the Stream’s conclusion, we’ll post another article with a video of the chat so you can catch up on the details if you miss them.May the Witches of Hawezar deem you valiant enough to harness their wicked ways.
—The Diablo IV TeamBack to Top
Source: https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/24167111/master-the-occult-in-season-of-witchcraft
