Diablo 3's Next Big Patch Adds New Areas, Reworks Seasons, and More

The next big update for Diablo III, patch 2.4.0, has been unveiled at BlizzCon, and it brings with it quite a lot of new content and more than a few changes.

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A brand-new zone called Greyhollow Island will be introduced in 2.4.0. This area is only accessible through Adventure mode and features new enemy types. Adventure mode players will also be able to access expanded versions of two other areas where new events and bounties can be found: The Ruins of Sescheron will extend into a place called the Eternal Woods, while the Royal Quarters will now be reachable through Leoric's Manor. You can see these in gallery above.

Besides the new locales, there will also be new things to do. This includes Set Dungeons, which Blizzard says are a chance for players "to learn and master their sets inside and out." Once you've equipped all six pieces of a class set, you'll get a clue that leads you to a dungeon that's designed to challenge you while using that specific set. The designs of these dungeons aren't randomized, as is normally the case. By completing one, you'll get a set-specific cosmetic reward.

Greater Rifts also get an optional upgrade. Particularly rich players can choose to spend their gold to turn one into an Empowered Rift. By completing one of these, you'll get an additional upgrade chance for your Legendary Gems.

New Legendary items are on the way, with more than 40 new Legendary powers in this patch. What you won't see anymore going forward are Seasonal Legendary items; all of the new Legendary items will be available whether you're playing a Season 5 character or standard one. As an alternative incentive, completing the Season Journey will reward you with a six-piece class set suited to your current class. You'll also be able to earn up to 10 additional stash tabs by playing through Season Journeys (which comes in addition to the ability for Reaper of Souls owners to buy even more with gold).

The transition from one season to the next should be smoother beginning with Season 5. A new feature called Season Rebirth allows you to easily transfer a character from the previous season to the new one, rather than needing to make a new character. Opting for Rebirth will reset the character's level to 1 and transfers any Paragon levels and items over to your non-seasonal characters (giving you 30 days to claim the items). This lets you keep using with the same character name and continue adding to that character's play time.

Other changes of note: Many sets items are being reworked or overhauled, and new ones are being added. This includes a new two-ring set that offers an 800 percent damage increase and 4 percent damage reduction for each Ancient item you have equipped--but only if you aren't taking advantage of any other set bonuses. Additionally, the buff UI is being improved to reduce the clutter. And the console versions' Action Combat system is coming to PC, offering temporary buffs and experience bonuses for rapidly killing enemies, destroying environmental objects, and so on.

There's no date on when 2.4.0 will be released, but Blizzard says it'll be arriving on public test servers "in the weeks following BlizzCon."