Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim (Begins July 1)

Dark forces rise as Astaroth’s corruption threatens Sanctuary once again. In Season 9, forge new Horadric magic, cleanse corrupted relics, and face a reborn evil in a fresh Seasonal Questline. Permanent updates to Nightmare Dungeons, Strongrooms, and new affixes await in both Seasonal and Eternal Realms.

Seasonal Questline: The Embers Yet Smolder

Travel to Cerrigar and meet Bryona, a Druid facing the fallout of Donan’s long-buried choices. Your mission: Find and purify Blood Relics before they empower Astaroth’s return.

Requirements:
  • Complete the main Diablo IV campaign
  • Create a new Seasonal Realm character
  • Visit Bryona in Cerrigar (northwest of the Waypoint)
Key Rewards:
  • Unlock Horadric Strongrooms
  • Gain access to the Horadric Focus, where you track your Seasonal Reputation (Horadric Knowledge) and claim rewards
  • Use Horadric Wayfinder to locate hidden Strongrooms in Nightmare Dungeons

Earn & Use Horadric Knowledge

Build your reputation and unlock power by:

  • Slaying Mummified Horadrim, Elite Enemies, and Bosses
  • Defeating Lair Bosses (must unlock their Hoard to claim Knowledge)
  • Completing Strongrooms and Nightmare Escalations

Spend Horadric Knowledge to unlock rewards and upgrades, and craft powerful items via the Lapidary.

Horadric Jewels & Crafting

Use Horadric Tomes (unlocked at Torment I) to craft Horadric Jewels at the Lapidary in Cerrigar. These socketable gems grant game-changing effects like spell enhancements and elemental explosions.

Jewels can be socketed into:
  • Amulets
  • Rings
Crafting materials:
  • Horadric Phials (found in Nightmare Dungeons, Escalations, Strongrooms, and Lair Horde Chests)
  • Gem Fragments

Customize Spells with Horadric Spellcraft

Season 9 introduces a powerful new system for building custom spells. Each Horadric Spell combines three parts:

  • Catalyst – Core power source
  • Infusion – Elemental modifier (e.g., fire, lightning)
  • Arcana – Extra effects and augmentations
Spell Slots:
  • 1 Catalyst
  • 1 Infusion
  • 3 Arcana
How to Unlock:
  • Catalysts and Infusions: Seasonal Questline
  • Arcana: Found in Horadric Strongrooms

Mix and match to unleash devastating combos tailored to your playstyle. Horadric Spellcraft is your sandbox for experimentation and power.

Explore Horadric Strongrooms

Hidden within Nightmare Dungeons, Horadric Strongrooms are secret micro-dungeons that house powerful relics, deadly mummified enemies, and rare loot tied to Astaroth’s blood magic.

Use the Horadric Wayfinder (unlocked via the Seasonal Questline) to locate Strongrooms. These timed challenges are only revealed to those with the strength and precision to unseal them before they vanish.

How to Find Strongrooms:
  • Increase Difficulty: Higher Torment Tiers = higher Strongroom chance
  • Sigil Affix: Use Nightmare Dungeon Sigils with the “Strongroom” affix for a guaranteed spawn
  • Use the Wayfinder: Follow its glow to a Horadric Gateway, defeat the ambush, and enter the Strongroom Portal

Inside the Strongroom

Once inside, you have 100 seconds to:

  1. Activate Pillar Rituals
  2. Slay enemies near Pillars to gain Horadric Attunement
  3. Select Horadric Statues to alter risk/reward (some are corrupted by Astaroth)
  4. Locate Sacrifice Shrines for enemy ambushes and more kills
  5. Avoid dying each death reduces your remaining time
Buffs:

Each completed Pillar Ritual gives +2 Attunement on kill for 15s.

Final Challenge: Boss & Rewards

When time expires or if you max out Attunement you’ll face a Strongroom Boss. Defeat it to earn a Grand Horadric Cache scaled to your Attunement level, with potential loot like Obducite.

You’ll also receive one temporary dungeon-wide buff:
  • Experience: More XP from kills
  • Reputation: More Horadric Favor from kills
  • Obducite: More Obducite drops
  • Gold: +25% more gold
  • Horadric Phials: Enemies can drop Phials