Diablo 4 Season 11 kicks off on Thursday, December 11 at 8:30 p.m. PST, bringing on of the biggest shakeup to gameplay systems since launch. Alongside the start of a new seasonal chapter, players will face a complete rework of core itemization, defense mechanics, and progression systems — with permanent changes affecting both seasonal and Eternal realms.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- Season 11 launch timing, Twitch Drops, and battle pass details
- Full seasonal integration of the Spiritborn class
- Major overhauls to Fortify, Potions, and defensive mechanics
- Divine Gifts: customizable seasonal powers granted by Hadriel
- The new Sanctification endgame crafting system
- Reworked Season Rank progression and Urn Blessings
- Updated crafting economy, Tempering, and Masterworking
- Smarter monster AI and 20+ new affixes
- New Lesser Evil bosses, Influence modifiers, and World Boss flow
- Six new class-specific Uniques supporting key builds
- Which features are delayed until post-launch
Seasonal Narrative: The Rise of Azmodan
The story this season focuses on the return of the Lesser Evils, led by the Sin Lord Azmodan, whose corruption spreads across Sanctuary. The Archangel Hadriel intervenes, granting players Divine Gifts to push back the demonic threat. These powers will shape builds and progression as players unlock them through battle, rituals, and purifications.
Quick Start for Returning Players
| Category | Highlights |
| Launch | Dec 11, 8:30 PM PST. Watch Twitch to earn Divine Gifts cosmetics. |
| New Class | Spiritborn fully playable in seasonal mode; received energy buffs. |
| Mechanic | Divine Gifts from Hadriel offer customizable build bonuses. |
| Crafting | Sanctification finalizes gear with risks + god-tier potential. |
| Systems | Tempering is no longer random. Masterworking is linear. |
| Defense | Fortify and Potions completely reworked for sustain. |
| Progress | Season Rank replaces Renown for all progression. |
| Delayed | Tower & Leaderboards coming in a later patch (Early 2026). |
Launch Schedule and Preparation
Unlike previous seasons which typically launched on Tuesdays, Season 11 begins on a Thursday evening to coincide with The Game Awards 2025.
- Developer Preview Stream: For detailed insights, fans were encouraged to watch the next developer update livestream on December 3rd.
- Official Season Launch: December 11th at 8:30 p.m. PST.
- Twitch Drops: From December 12th to December 26th, watching two hours of eligible streams rewards the Barbute Hacker One-Handed cosmetic.
Battle Pass & Cosmetics
The Season 11 Battle Pass (now called the Reliquary) leans heavily into the “High Heavens” aesthetic.
- Rewards: Players can unlock angelic-themed cosmetics, including the Gildenvein Mount, the Celestial Iris Town Portal, and the elaborate Celestine Templar armor set.
- Bundles: Players can purchase the Deluxe Battle Pass Bundle to gain immediate access to premium rewards. Tejal’s shop will also update with new items, including the Springmoon Stag Prestige Pet Bundle.
Pre-Season Checklist: What to Do Before Season 11
To ensure a smooth start to the Season of Divine Intervention, players should focus on the following steps:
- Campaign Completion: Ensure the main campaign is completed on at least one character to skip it immediately.
- Map Discovery: Reveal the map on the Eternal Realm. While previous renown progress has been reworked, having the map revealed aids navigation.
- Loot & XP Curve: Drop rates and XP gain below level 40 have been tuned. Expect fewer Legendaries and slower early XP compared to previous seasons — this is intentional to balance Season Rank pacing.
Spiritborn Class (Season 11 Debut)
Season 11 marks the first full season featuring the Spiritborn, the new class introduced in Vessel of Hatred.
- Class Fantasy: The Spiritborn channels primal Spirit Guardians through Jaguar, Gorilla, Centipede, and Eagle affinities to build hybrid melee/magic playstyles with high attack speed and mobility. Unique items like the Path of the Emissary allow you to automatically invoke a Core Skill from your primary Spirit Hall based on distance traveled.
- Season 11 Status: This class has received significant early-game buffs to energy management. Its high attack speed makes it a prime candidate for the new Sanctification effects.
Divine Gifts Guide – Season 11 Power System
The core feature of the Divine Gifts seasonal powers involves rare boons granted by the Angel Hadriel. This system allows for high customization but requires a specific gameplay loop to earn Divine Gifts.
The Unlock Loop: Hunt, Cleanse, Equip
Gifts are not unlocked simply by leveling reputation. The process is distinct:
- Hunt: Defeat a specific Lesser Evil.
- Collect: Loot Corrupted Essence.
- Cleanse: Return the Essence to Hadriel to perform a ritual.
- Equip: The Gift becomes available in the Divine Gifts panel.
Note: You must have the respective divine gift equipped to earn experience and level it up by killing the associated Lesser Evil.
Inner vs. Outer Rings
The Gift panel features two distinct slot types. You cannot have both effects active for a specific divine gift simultaneously.
- Outer Ring (Corrupted): This is the default state, utilizing the corrupted gift slot. It activates a modifier that makes specific activities harder, but grants the base reward bonus.
- Inner Ring (Purified): Placing a gift here utilizes the purified gift slots. This replaces the Corrupted effect, removes the penalty, adds a powerful system-wide combat buff, and will double the reward generated by the gift.
Unlocking Slots
While Corrupted slots are open immediately, the purified gift slots found in the inner ring are unlocked by progressing through Divine Favor ranks:
- Rank IV: Unlocks Duriel slot.
- Rank VI: Unlocks Andariel slot.
- Rank VIII: Unlocks Azmodan slot.
- Rank X: Unlocks Belial slot.
Complete List of Divine Gifts
To unlock two Divine Gifts associated with a boss, you must return their specific Essence.
From Duriel (Helltide)
- Essence of Pain:
- Reward: Pangs of Duriel drop Socketables.
- Purified: Briefly gain maximum Barrier after becoming Injured.
- Essence of Squalor:
- Reward: Maggots drop Experience Globes.
- Purified: Potions refill every 20s.
From Belial (The Pit)
- Essence of Lies:
- Reward: Chance for an extra loot reward/chest in The Pit.
- Purified: Fortify 1% Max Life/sec.
- Essence of Shadows:
- Reward: Earn immense Gold from The Pit.
- Purified: Unstoppable when Crowd Controlled.
From Azmodan (World Boss)
- Essence of Sin:
- Reward: Survive World Boss encounters to earn Activity Keys. (Rank upgrades allow higher quality Dungeon Keys to drop).
- Purified: Gain 20% increased Armor.
- Essence of Hellfire:
- Reward: Lair Boss Keys drop from World Bosses.
- Purified: Direct damage has a chance to Stun.
From Andariel (Undercity)
- Essence of Anguish:
- Reward: Earn Obols from Undercity Attunement.
- Purified: Gain 30% Movement Speed.
- Essence of Screams:
- Reward: Earn Salvage Materials from Undercity Attunement.
- Purified: Gain 20% increased Resistance.
Note: The reward gained scales upward with Torment difficulty.
Lesser Evil Bosses, Influence Stacks & Summoning
The Lesser Evils have corrupted specific game modes, introducing visual clarity improvements to their attacks and new mechanics.
Influence Mechanics
When summoning a boss, players interact with Altars that accept specific reagents.
- Stacking: Inserting reagents increases the “Influence” stack.
- Risk/Reward: Higher influence stacks introduce additional modifiers but grant increased rewards.
- Thematic Modifiers: Modifiers change based on which Lesser Evil is influencing the altar.
Boss Specifics
- Azmodan: A permanent world boss who rotates through the schedule. He can also be manually summoned at an altar in Hawezar.
- Andariel: Accessing her requires completing the Undercity run. New Tributes can be applied to the run to earn additional gear rewards and guarantee her spawn.
- Duriel: Duriel-themed infestations now dominate Helltides. Elite and champion monsters in this zone reflect this corruption.
Itemization Changes: Tempering, Masterworking & Economy
Before reaching the new Sanctification mechanic, players will notice that the item journey is changing in a few significant ways.
- Tempering (No RNG): Tempering has been revamped. You can now select the specific affix you want, leading on a far more direct item journey relative to the power you seek. Items can only hold one Tempered affix.
- Masterworking (Linear): Masterworking follows a distinct and linear path. It increases an item’s Quality (up to a maximum quality threshold of 25). Each level boosts base stats and affix values linearly.
- Capstone Bonus: Upon reaching max Quality, the Capstone Bonus upgrades one random affix into a Greater Affix.
- Economy: Crafting resources have been tuned. Temper Manuals now drop more consistently, and gemstone clutter has been reduced. You’ll also earn more high-tier fragments in Torment tiers.
Sanctification Crafting – Heavenly Sigils & Mythics
The headline seasonal feature is Sanctification. Players can obtain Heavenly Sigils in Torment difficulties to travel to the Heavenly Forge and undergo Sanctification.
The Point of No Return
Sanctification is the final step. Once Sanctified, an item becomes unmodifiable.
Outcomes and Mythic Strategy
- Legendary Gear: Special Sanctification affixes replace existing ones, or a bonus affix is added. You might also have a bonus legendary power improve the item, including generic offensive legendary aspects.
- Mythic Gear: When Sanctifying a Mythic, there is a high probability of improving an existing affix into a Greater Affix.
System Overhauls: Fortify, Defense & Potions
Fortify Overhaul
Fortify has been reworked to function as a healing-over-time reservoir. When you gain Fortify, it stacks up to your max life and drains to heal you when taking damage — no longer just passive damage reduction.
Potion System Overhaul
All characters now have 4 potions max. Each potion heals 35% of your total health instantly. One potion regenerates every 30 seconds. Traditional healing potion upgrades are gone — healing now scales automatically with max life. Life on Hit and Regeneration affixes have been buffed to support this change.
Monster AI & Affixes
Enemies in Season 11 are smarter. Expect elite and champion monsters to group up less frequently and use over 20 new monster affixes.
Season Rank Progression & The Pit Dungeon Explained
Season Rank (Formerly Renown)
The new Season Rank system replaces the old model on seasonal and eternal realms.
- Progression: By completing optional objectives and seasonal challenges, players progress through the rank track.
- Rewards: This system is the primary method to unlock rewards, including Season Rank reward caches and additional skill points.
- Ranks 1–3: +1 Skill Point each.
- Ranks 4–6: +4 Paragon Points total (updated Paragon points rewards).
- Later Ranks: Reward Caches, cosmetics, and Urns.
- Renown: Renown reward tracks on the Seasonal Realm have been removed; map exploration now only grants minor rewards.
Season Blessings
As players progress, they will unlock Season Blessings by earning Smoldering Ashes.
- Urn of Divine Favor: Increase Divine Favor earned from all sources (helping you unlock related Divine Gifts slots faster).
- Urn of Reckoning: Chance for elites to drop extra items.
- Urn of Calamity: Chance to earn additional gear rewards from World Bosses.
- Urn of Sanctification: Chance to drop additional Heavenly Sigils.
- These Divine Intervention Season Blessings are essential for maximizing loot.
New Class Unique Items
Six new Uniques arrive to support specific builds:
- Barbarian: Chainscourged Mail (Pants) – Brawling skills unique power creates a cyclical disable/refresh loop.
- Druid: Khamsin Steppewalkers (Boots) – Damaging enemies with Storm skills grants charges, and damaging with Nature Magic skills grants movement. Casting a defensive skill can grant max movement speed.
- Rogue: Death’s Pavane (Pants) – Enhances Dance of Knives.
- Necromancer: Gravebloom – A unique one-handed mace that spawns 3 mini-golems.
- Sorcerer: Orsivane – A one-handed mace where Core skills unique power is derived from unequipping defensive skills.
- Spiritborn: Path of the Emissary (Boots) – Automates Core skills based on distance.
Delayed Features: Tower & Leaderboards ETA
It is important to note that the Tower and Leaderboards will not launch on December 11th. These features will have two entirely separate entries (Solo and Party) and allow players to unlock difficulty tiers within the activity when they arrive in a later patch.
With Azmodan rising and Hadriel arriving to grant rare boons, the Season Rank system awaits those brave enough to master the Season of Divine Intervention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Diablo 4 Season 11 called?
Diablo 4’s eleventh season is officially titled Season of Divine Intervention. It introduces new mechanics, powerful celestial boons from the Angel Hadriel, and a storyline centered around the return of the Lesser Evils led by Azmodan.
When does Diablo 4 Season 11 start?
Season 11 begins on Thursday, December 11 at 8:30 p.m. PST, which is a break from Blizzard’s usual Tuesday launches. The timing lines up with The Game Awards 2025.
What are the major permanent updates in Season 11?
This season delivers the biggest systemic overhaul since launch. Permanent changes include a rework of Tempering and Masterworking, the removal of potion upgrades, and a complete redesign of Fortify and defense systems — affecting all game modes, not just seasonal content.
What’s new in Diablo 4’s upcoming season?
Players can expect brand-new bosses, a full rollout of the Spiritborn class, and the Divine Gifts system. There’s also a redesigned crafting path via Sanctification, new seasonal cosmetics, and smarter enemy AI with over 20 new affixes.
Is the Spiritborn class playable in Season 11?
Yes, the Spiritborn class is fully integrated into the seasonal realm for the first time. It received buffs to early-game energy management, making it faster and smoother to level. Its unique hybrid playstyle blends melee and magic through Spirit affinities.
What’s the best way to level a Spiritborn in Season 11?
Focus on unlocking Spirit Halls early and pick Jaguar or Eagle affinities for high mobility and sustained burst. Pairing this with energy-efficient builds and Sanctification effects makes Spiritborn a strong contender out the gate.
What is the new Season Rank system in Diablo 4?
Season Rank is the new seasonal progression model replacing Renown. Players earn Rank XP through objectives and challenges, unlocking skill points, paragon points, reward caches, and cosmetics as they climb.
How do I earn Season Rank XP fast?
You’ll gain Season Rank XP by completing seasonal objectives, Divine Gift hunts, Undercity Attunements, and other rotating activities. Prioritize these early to unlock power bonuses quickly.
What are Urns in Diablo 4 Season 11?
Urns are Season Blessings tied to the new progression track. They grant passive boosts like increased Divine Favor gain, bonus drops from elites or world bosses, and higher chances for Heavenly Sigils.
What is Sanctification in Diablo 4?
Sanctification is a powerful new endgame crafting system. Found at the Heavenly Forge, it lets you permanently modify gear using Heavenly Sigils to add potent effects. Once applied, changes are locked — making it a true final step for endgame builds.
How do I obtain Heavenly Sigils?
Heavenly Sigils drop in Torment-level content, especially from elite activities and with help from Urn of Sanctification bonuses. They’re your key to unlocking the Sanctification process at the forge.
Can I change Sanctified gear after crafting?
No. Once an item has been Sanctified, it becomes permanently modified and cannot be tempered, rerolled, or further upgraded. Plan your upgrades and affix stacking carefully beforehand.
What’s new with Tempering and Masterworking in Season 11?
Tempering is no longer RNG-based. You now choose your desired affix directly using Tempering Manuals. Masterworking boosts stats in a linear path up to level 25, with a Capstone Bonus at the final tier that upgrades a random affix.
How do I survive world boss encounters in Season 11?
Make sure you’re equipping Purified Divine Gifts, optimizing Fortify sustain, and timing potion usage smartly. Bosses like Azmodan now use tougher mechanics and harder-hitting affixes, so proper loadouts are crucial.
What is the new world boss in Diablo 4 Season 11?
Azmodan, the Sin Lord, is a new rotating world boss introduced in Season 11. He appears both on the world map and via summon altars. Beating him earns Activity Keys and progress toward Divine Gift upgrades.
What are Lair Boss Keys used for?
Lair Boss Keys drop from World Bosses and allow players to summon high-end mini-bosses for targeted gear farming. They’re critical for unlocking Divine Gift loops and chasing top-tier loot.
What are Divine Gifts in Diablo 4?
Divine Gifts are customizable seasonal powers granted by the angel Hadriel. You earn them by defeating Lesser Evils, purifying their Essences, and slotting them into Corrupted or Purified rings for different effects.
What’s the difference between Corrupted and Purified Divine Gifts?
Corrupted Gifts increase difficulty but give higher rewards. Purified Gifts remove those penalties, provide strong combat buffs, and double the earned rewards — but take longer to unlock.
How do I level up Divine Gifts?
Equip the Divine Gift you want to level and kill the related Lesser Evil repeatedly. Each kill grants XP for that specific gift. You can only level a Gift while it’s equipped.
What content is delayed in Diablo 4 Season 11?
The Tower and Leaderboards systems are not launching with Season 11. Blizzard has confirmed they’ll arrive in early 2026, with separate Solo and Party progression tiers.
