The Season of Grandeur has finally ended, and Diablo 3 is getting ready to launch Season 17, the Season of Nightmares. Following tradition, the upcoming season will come with all-new cosmetic and journey rewards alongside the latest game build, Patch 2.6.5.
The Season of Nightmares' theme revolves around an all-new buff to be introduced when the season launches. For the duration of the season, all players will benefit from the Legacy of Nightmares set bonus. In case you're not familiar, the Legacy of Nightmares set bonus gives players buffs based on the number of Ancient Items they have equipped (including Ancient Set Items, Ancient Legendary Items, and Primal Ancient Items). Specifically, as long as Legacy of Nightmares is the only active set bonus a player has, every Ancient Item equipped will provide players with an additive bonus of 750 percent increased damage dealt and four percent reduced damage taken.
Season 17 is all about experimenting with new builds that revolve around Diablo 3's numerous game-changing legendary items. So far, the meta has always revolved around powerful Set items, as more often than not, Set bonuses provide fantastic buffs and abilities that are necessary to take players deeper into the end-game. However, with the Season 17 buff, players will notice that equipping as many of these Ancient Items as the can will yield better boosts thanks to the Legacy of Nightmares, and thus make limitless build possibilities viable even through the highest levels of Torment.
To emphasize what Season 17 is all about, the developer announcement shared thoughts about the theme for the upcoming season. "We’re looking forward to seeing the strange and unusual things players put together at all Torment levels, so let your creativity run wild and see what combinations of Ancients you can combine to play your own way!" the Diablo 3 Dev Blog stated.
One of the most exciting parts of Diablo 3's season launches is the introduction of new cosmetic items that players can earn throughout the season. This time around, Diablo 3 has decided to do something different. For the first time ever, Diablo 3 will be re-introducing seasonal cosmetic rewards from a past season. This way, the game will allow players the chance to collect these exclusive rewards in case they missed them the first time around. By playing through the Season Journey in Season of Nightmares, players will be able to earn the unique cosmetic rewards from all the way back to Season 5. These rewards include the Pants and Boots of the exclusive Conqueror Set.
Additionally, players will also be able to earn the Wickerman pet as well as several portrait frames based on Greyhollow Island. While Diablo 3 plans to continue the trend of cycling through previous seasonal rewards in future seasons, they will also have all-new cosmetics for players who already have the rewards from previous seasons. For completing all the chapters in the Season Journey for Season 17, players will be able to earn the all-new Galactic Wings cosmetic item, pictured above.
Season 17 also brings with it an all-new Season Journey and corresponding rewards. When it was first introduced back in Season 4, Season Journey stood as a testament to Blizzard's mastery in building a game that could stand the test of time. While many games, regardless of genre, are susceptible to becoming repetitive grindfests over time, Diablo 3 manages to stay fresh and exciting due largely to the implementation of the Season Journey system. Basically a more meticulous achievements system, the Season Journey gives players all-new challenges to overcome every season, and rewards them for their skill and determination. According to the dev blog, this season's achievements are as follows:
Guardian of Sanctuary
Finish a level 70 Nephalem Rift on Torment XIII within five minutes
Gem of My Life
Level three Legendary Gems to level 55
All I Do IS Win
Complete two Conquests this Season
Show Me What You Got
Kill Diablo at level 70 in under 1 minute and 30 seconds on Torment XIII difficulty
Money Ain’t a Thang
Slay Greed on Torment XIII difficulty
Take U There
Reach Greater Rift level 60 Solo
Power Amplification
Use Kanai’s Cube to augment an Ancient Legendary item with a level 50+ gem
Cubic Reconfiguration
Use Kanai’s Cube to reforge a Legendary item
Source: Diablo III Dev Blog
Another highlight of the any upcoming Diablo 3 season is the Haedrig's Gift. Featuring rotational Class Sets that players can earn by completing certain chapters of the Season Journey, Haedrig's Gift allows players to easily complete a specific Class Set for a class of their choosing. However, each account may only unlock one class set per season through Haedrig's Gift. The Class Set Item gained is decided by the class of the character being played when Haedrig's Gift is opened. For Season 17, the Class Sets available through Haedrig's Gift are as follows:
Barbarian – Might of the Earth
Crusader – Thorns of the Invoker
Demon Hunter – The Shadow’s Mantle
Monk – Monkey King’s Garb
Necromancer – Grace of Inarius
Witch Doctor – Raiment of the Jade Harvester
Wizard – Firebird’s Finery
Source: Diablo III Dev Blog
Finally, the launch of Season 17 also comes with the game's latest update, Patch 2.6.5, which brings with it a host of quality of life changes. These changes include three new Torment levels, which brings the game's highest difficulty level to Torment XVI. The additional Torment levels are designed to add even more layers of challenge to the game, especially for its highest-level players, while also providing them with greater rewards for their power.
There's also the excellent quality of life improvement for PC players with the addition of built-in search functionality for the in-game stash. As the animated GIF below suggests, PC players will be able to quickly search for items in their stash with a traditional search bar that narrows down and highlights search results.
