Release Date and Overview
Mark the calendars for April 29 as the date when Season 8 goes live. The start date has been delayed by a couple of weeks to increase development time. The update adds more engaging mechanics along with new and more powerful bosses and a lot of system overhauls:
- Boss Powers: Unlocking Boss Powers after defeating certain powerful bosses allows players to use certain, previously amazing, powers against the bosses.
- More Bosses on the List: The game now features Belial, Urivar, and Herald of Hatred. Just recently added, Belial also becomes the new Pinnacle Boss alongside Lilith, making her one of the hardest bosses in the game.
- New Summoning System: No summoning materials are now needed, making it easier to summon bosses. Instead, these materials can be used for unlocking chests which have more loot after the boss is killed.
- New Unique Items: Six new Unique(s) have been added, one for each class. Even though no new Mythic items have been added, these new Unique(s) will be game-changing.
From today until March 18 players can experience these changes on the Public Test Realm (PTR). Remember, item stats and effects are likely to change before the official launch.
New Unique Items in Season 8
Here is a thorough description of the six new Unique items, their statistics and impact on the respective class.
Barbarian: Bane of Ahjed-Den (Gloves)
Key Stats:
Bane of Ahjed-Den (Gloves) level 70.
- +4-6 ranks to Mighty Throw.
- +114-150% Critical Strike Damage.
- +7-10 fury per second.
- +8-12.5% Cooldown Reduction.
Aspect: Next Mighty throw within twelve seconds will be passed pulses on Fire damage and deal 400-600% increased damage.
Potential Impact: This item increases burst damage potential for Mighty Throw which gives it excellent utility for Mighty Throw heavy builds.
Druid: Gathlen’s Birthright (Helm)
Core Stats:
- Anima of the Forest Allows for Attacks to be executed 15% quicker.
- Willpower between 10.5-15%
- Armor will increase by 224-296
- Humanity will increase between 2-3 ranks.
- Increases movement speed while in Human Form by 17.5-23%
Aspect: Inhuman form, after 400-200 Nature magic critical hits, Nature magic will be granted for 10 seconds. You will gain Anima of the Forest. You gain the passive Perfect Storm and Earthen Might while empowered by Anima of the Forest.
Possible Impact: With this Unique item, hybrid builds that switch from human nature and nature magic will offered movement speed and offensive enhancements.
Necromancer: Sanquivor, Blade of Zir (Two-Handed Sword)
Core Stats :
- 60% increase in damage of Skeleton Mages and Golems.
- Army of the Dead, will now have a 32-50% chance to deal double damage.
- 164-188 will be added to intelligence.
- Maximum Life will add 1060-671.
- Two would be added towards mastery skill ranks of Skeleton Warriors, Mages and Golems
Aspect: Minions summoned will now cast Vampiric Curse on targets. Adding a soul will be used for the curse, stacks for up to 20 souls. Army of the Dead will be able to unleash these souls for an additional 5-10% damage per soul.
Potential Impact: This item reinforces Necromancer minion builds by increasing both sustained and burst damage via synergistic corpse consumption mechanics.
Rogue: Band of Ichorous Rose (Gloves)
Key Stats:
- +4 maximum Poison Traps
- +10.5-15% Attack Speed
- +3-5% Maximum Poison Resistance
- 41.5 – 55 % Poison Resistance
- 18.5-27.5 % chance for Poison Trap to trigger twice
Aspect: Poison Trap deals full damage over three seconds and benefits from all enhancements with an additional 50-100% bonus. It also interacts with Combo Points, has no cooldown while in Inner Sight, and her cooldown is reduced by Preparation.
Potential Impact: This item improves some of the rogue’s most synergistic mechanics because of the numerous other synergistic Rogue forces available synergistically tied with explosive damage enhancement.
Sorcerer: Hail of Verglas (Headgear)
Key Stats:
- +7.5% Max Cold Resistance
- +Cold Resistance 50%
- +10.5-15% Intelligence
- +13-17.5% Max Life
- +10.5-15% Attack Speed
- +4-6 ranks to Ice Shards
Aspect: Now, Ice Shards spawn two additional shards. Each time an Ice Shard hits an enemy within five seconds, you deal an additional 1-1.5% increased damage and it can stack up to 50 to 75%.
Potential Impact: This item improves Cold builds by increasing both area-of-effect damage and single-target sustained damage through stacking bonuses.
Spiritborn: Sunbird’s Gorget (Amulet)
Key Stats:
- +30% resistance to all elements
- +16-25% Movement Speed
- +2-3 ranks to Potency
- +2-3 ranks to Furnace
- +2-3 ranks to Acceleration
Aspect: Upon gathering a Stormfeather, Firestorm is triggered around you for 8 seconds, dealing 150-300% Fire damage every 0.5 second. Gathering five more Stormfeather’s increases the Firestorm’s damage by 100%, but the duration remains unchanged. The Firestorm is considered an Eagle-, Jaguar-, and Stormfeather-skill.
Potential Impact: This item introduces a new high-mobility playstyle with consistent resource-scaled area-of-effect damage.
Final Thoughts
The introduction of these six Unique(s) in Season 8 is likely to change class dynamics and build diversity in Diablo 4 drastically. Despite not knowing the exact impact they’ll have on the meta, the potential for new strategies and gameplay is more than enticing. Keep an eye out for additional changes, updates, and information regarding their drop locations and how they interact with other game mechanics. As of now, players can test these items in the PTR until March 18, after which there will be an official sneak peek from late April.
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