After the longest Diablo season to date, more is finally known about Season 28. We tell you everything you need to know about the start of the season.
The closer Diablo 4 comes, the longer the seasons of Diablo 3 last. With Season 27, Blizzard already breaks its record, after all, the season already lasts over 20 weeks. Soon, however, the long hike will be over, because we now know when we can most likely expect Season 28. And not only that, the season theme has also been revealed (in a blog entry) as well. Most excitingly, it introduces a new skilltree of sorts for passive skills.
We are collecting all known info around Season 28 of Diablo 3 in this article and will update the article regularly as new information becomes available.
Table of Contents
Start times: When do we start?
When does Season 28 start?
For a long time people were wondering when Season 28 would really start. After all, the current season has already lasted longer than all the previous ones. In the meantime, the start of Season 28 can be predicted quite well, even if Blizzard has still not given a concrete start date.
However, it was at least announced when the season will start its test run on the test server. According to this, you will be able to test the new patch and the new theme for the first time on 31 January 2023
When does it really start?
According to the blog entry, this test phase will last for a week. After that, the season will officially start, which traditionally always happens on a Friday. If the start is not postponed due to massive criticism from the test phase, it should be on 10 February 2023
When does Season 28 end?
This can”t be said quite reliably by now, since Blizzard extends seasons in Diablo 3 quite regularly. Normally it should last about four months, but usually a season lasts about 18 to 20 weeks now. So expect Season 28 to come to an end between June and July 2023.
It may well be that Diablo 3 will fittingly end the Season in June, just before the release of Diablo 4.
What is the season”s theme?
Diablo 3”s new season theme is called Rites of Sanctuary and it sounds very, very exciting indeed. After all, it basically introduces a new talent tree . More specifically, it is an altar in the Festering Woods. You can visit this altar with your Nephalem and unlock new bonuses, as long as you make a corresponding sacrifice.
This altar of rites has a total of 26 sigils and three legendary potion powers that you can unlock gradually. Once an ability has been unlocked, it will be active for the entire season and will affect all of your characters. The skill tree shows that you can choose from many paths:
These bonuses unlock the seals:
| A | Your killstreak timers will last longer and rewards will be doubled. |
| B | Fountains of Reflection bonuses are in effect for the entire season and are not removed by your demise. |
| C | Items no longer have a level limit. |
| D | You deal +200 damage. |
| E | You take 25% less damage from projectiles. |
| F | Your speed increases by 25 percent (unlimited). |
| G | Damage against elite monsters is increased by 15 percent. |
| H | Healing Orbs give you a shield that stays for seven seconds and absorbs 5 percent of your maximum life. Can stack a maximum of five times. |
| I | You take 25% less damage from melee attacks. |
| J | Your highest elemental skill damage is increased by 10 percent. |
| K | Damage against elite monsters is increased by 20 percent. |
| L | You do +10 percent damage. |
| M | Dou double the Breath of Death drop. |
| N | Critical hit generate: 15 mana, 5 hate, 5 anger, 3 arcane power, 3 rage, 5 mind power and 5 essence. |
| O | Bounties roll twice as many bounty dice. |
| P | Progress Orbs from Nephale Portals and Great Nephale Portals are automatically collected. |
| Q | Elite monsters do 25 percent less damage. |
| R | You do +15 percent more damage. |
| S | You are immune to crowd control effects. |
| T | You can run through enemies. |
| U | Pets collect breath of death. |
| V | Elite groups drop an extra progress ball. |
| W | You do 25 percent more damage to bosses. |
| X | Pets collect and recycle common, magic and rare items. |
| Y | You increase the chance to dodge by 15 percent. |
| Z | You double the chance of finding a legendary item purchased from Kadala. |
| Potion AA | When you drink a healing potion, a rune circle manifests on the ground, allowing you to deal more damage, reduce cooldowns, or lower resource costs. |
| Potion AB | When you drink a healing potion, all enemies within 25 yards do 25% less damage. |
| Potion AC | When you drink a healing potion, you get a random shrine or pylon effect. |
| AD | When an archaic item drops, a second archaic item will also drop. |
How do you unlock the skills?
To get the sigils and potion effects, you will have to make some sacrifices, as mentioned. Strictly speaking, each power is tied to a material price. The more seals or potions you have already unlocked, the more expensive the next ability will be. Once you have unlocked all of the seals and potions, Diablo 3 will reward you not only with extreme power, but also with a new cosmetic item: the Wings of Terror.
The exact costs are in the following table:
| 1 | 10 Recyclable parts |
| 2 | 1 Flawless Diamond (or better), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Recyclable Parts |
| 3 | 1 Large Portal Key, 10 Breath of Death |
| 4 | Some class specific set helmet |
| 5 | 20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Runes of Khandura, 10 Nightshade from Caldeum, 10 Tapestry from Arreat , 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Holy Water from Westmark |
| 6 | 1 Leoric”s Regret, 1 Vial of Rot, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Evil |
| 7 | Wrap of the Soul Harvester |
| 8 | 30 Forgotten Souls |
| 9 | 1,100 Blood Shards |
| 10 | 1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Breath of Death, Ring of Royal Splendor |
| 11 | 1 Flawless Royal Samarag, 30 Runes of Khandura, 30 Nightshade of Caldeum, 30 Tapestry of Arreat, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Holy Water of Westmark |
| 12 | 20 Great Portal Key 1 Ramaladni”s Gift |
| 13 | 1,300 Blood Shards |
| 14 | Strangled Scream |
| 15 | Challenge Portal Bag |
| 16 | 250 Forgotten Souls |
| 17 | 1,400 Blood Shards |
| 18 | Old Hellfire Amulet |
| 19 | Tormenting Questions |
| 20 | Old Wicker Ring, 50 Runes of Khandura, 50 Nightshade from Caldeum, 50 Tapestry from Arreat, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Holy Water from Westmark |
| 21 | 500 Breath of Death, 300 Forgotten Soul |
| 22 | 1,500 Blood Shard |
| 23 | Whisper of Repentance Rank 125 |
| 24 | Some improved ancient weapon |
| 25 | Shepherd”s staff |
| 26 | 1,600 Blood splinters |
| Potion 1 | 55 Primordial Ashes |
| Potion 2 | 110 Primordial Ashes |
| Potion 3 | 165 Primordial Ashes |
Primordial Ashes is a brand new resource that you can sacrifice at the altar. You can use archaic items at the blacksmith and get 55 Primordial Ashes for them. You can also use the ashes to try out a new recipe in Kanai”s cube.
Which sets will be given away?
As with every season, you will be given a set for your character as part of your seasonal journey in Season 28, called the Gift of Haedrig. Since these sets rotate in a fixed order, we know which sets it is this time:
- Barbar: Call of the Immortal King
- Crusader: Seeker of the Light
- Demon Slayer: Natalya”s Revenge
- Monk: Uliana”s Cunning
- Summoner: Trag”Oul”s Avatar
- Witch Doctor: Spirit of Arachyr
- Sorceress: Vyr”s Amazing Arcana
If you currently want to find out about how Diablo 4 actually designs its Seasons, then check out our overview article on this topic . On the second page of this article you will also find the complete patch notes of patch 2.7.5.
