Diablo 4's Season 4: Loot Reborn is its "biggest gameplay update yet", out May
Permanently overhauls 'many core systems'.
Diablo 4's fourth season of post-launch content, Loot Reborn, arrives on 14th May and promises to be the dungeon-crawler's "biggest gameplay update yet".
As per Blizzard's lengthy announcement, Season 4: Loot Reborn is a little different to previous seasons; as well as delivering the expected limited-time seasonal content, it permanently overhauls "many core game systems" across both the Seasonal and Eternal Realms.
Itemisation is a particular focus, with Blizzard introducing changes to the way items "are earned, how they function, and how they improve" as players level through World Tiers during a season. "Dropped items are now simpler to evaluate," it explains "and we've moved their complexity and customisation to our new crafting systems, Tempering and Masterworking."
"By making items more individually impactful," Blizzard continues, "we've significantly decreased the number of items that drop when slaying Monsters. The goal here is to spend more time obliterating and less time sorting through the many items that drop."
Season 4 also brings permanent changes to Diablo 4's Helltide events, which will be available at all World Tiers - albeit with their difficulty appropriately modified - once the update arrives. There's also a new Threat Level which rises as players take on enemies, increasing the danger and frequency of ambushes the higher it goes. Once at Threat Level 3, players will face an "immensely powerful agent of Hell" known as a Hellborn.
Also new in Loot Reborn is a new end-game focussed challenge known as The Pit, which can be tackled by groups of up to four players after a sufficient number of Runeshards have been accumulated. Once in The Pit, players must slaughter a set number of monsters and a subsequent boss within the time limit, which will then reward them with valuable Masterworking materials and a chance to descend further into its 200 levels of difficulty.
Elsewhere, Loot Reborn adds Andariel the Maiden of Anguish as a summonable boss fight - set at the same boss ladder tier as her brother Duriel - and Level 200 players can now summon Tormented Echo variants of all bosses. Doing so requires Stygian Stones found within The Pit, but results in "far more" rewards. Additionally, the season introduces the new Iron Wolves quest, giving players the opportunity to earn several Tempering Manuals.
Blizzard's Loot Reborn announcement post features plenty more granular detail about all the above - and includes details on Season 4's new battle pass and premium cosmetics - with the update set to go live at 6pm BST/10am PT on Tuesday, 14th May.