Diablo III Season 24 will launch next week and with it is the introduction of Ethereal items.
The concept of Ethereals is actually not entirely new. If you have played Diablo II: Lord of Destruction before, then you may have encountered some of these items already. But for those who are completely new to the Diablo ethos, read ahead.
What Are They?
Ethereal items are special items imbued with otherworldly magic. They come with properties not normally found in any other equipment in the game.
That said, while there are various types of Ethereal items on Diablo II, you can expect only Ethereal weapons in Diablo III, at least in Season 24 .
It is unclear if developers would add Ethereal armors in the future. Though, if the devs are successful in implementing Ethereal weapons without breaking the game, there would be no issue introducing the armor pieces later.
Anyway, there are many reasons why you should be excited about Ethereal weapons. First, they deal more damage. Second, they may contain Legendary Powers that are found on your class gears, providing you with some versatility when planning your build. Third, they look really cool!
What You Need to Know
There are 21 Ethereals for Season 24. This means that there will be three different Ethereal weapons for each of the seven classes in the game. These are:
- Doombringer
- Gimmershred
- The Grandfather
- Astreon’s Iron Ward
- Khalim’s Will
- The Redeemer
- Buriza-Do Kyanon
- Doomslinger
- Windforce
- Bartuc’s Cut-Throat
- Jade Talon
- Shadow Killer
- Blackhand Key
- Blackbog’s Sharp
- Soul Harvest
- Arioc’s Needle
- Ghostflame
- The Gidbinn
- Mang Song’s Lesson
- The Oculus
- Wizardspike
How to Acquire Them
Ethereal weapons are quite rare. Their rarity is somewhere between Ancient and Primal Items, so if you’ve played the game before Season 24, then you know that getting these weapons is not going to be easy.
Those who thought that they could dupe the system will not be happy to hear this: Ethereals cannot be acquired from the Kanai’s Cube or from Kadala. This means that there is no incentive to gambling your Blood Shards on Kadala, for example.
The good thing is that these new weapons do not discriminate when it comes to player level. In other words, they can drop at any point during your leveling and farming sessions.
Here are some tips that may be helpful in your quest to get Ethereals:
Break everything. They may be acquired from destructible items such as crates, barrels, and so on
Run Rifts. Since Ethereals can drop anywhere, you may have a higher chance of getting them when running rifts or greater rifts
Farm now, farm often. In this case, the more time you spend playing the game, the higher your chance of getting these highly-coveted items.
Reminders
Only one Ethereal weapon can be equipped at a time
Ethereals cannot be Dyed, Reforged, Traded, or Enchanted
They can be Augmented. You can use Ramaladni’s Gift to add gem slots, for instance.
Ethereals will only drop during Season 24. This means that they will not transfer to your non-seasonal character
It is important to note that Ethereal weapons will be gone from your inventory once the season ends. However, collecting all 21 would reward you with the Feat of Strength, Ethereal Recollection, which means that all of the weapons you’ve acquired will remain in your transmogrify options for future use.
Diablo III Season 24 is expected to go live on July 23, at 8 p.m. EST.
