Diablo 4 Season 9 release date, and everything you need to know

Diablo 4 Season 9, Sins of the Horadrim will be coming in July, and it promises to be a fascinating story. Thankfully, we know quite a bit about it, from the customizable spells to the powerful gems players will be able to craft. If you haven’t been keeping up, and want to know what’s going to go down, we’re here to help. Unfortunately, if you aren’t a fan of Borrowed Power seasons, that trend is going to continue, at least through Season 9.

There were talks early in Diablo 4 Season 9 would be dropping plenty of nerfs, in particular to Overpower, We will just have to see how much of that sticks around once the official patch notes have come out, but there’s hope that there won’t be too many nerfs. Here’s what you have to look forward to, in terms of new content.

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Diablo 4 Season 9’s start date officially revealed by Blizzard Entertainment

Diablo 4 Season 9 will be launching on July 1, 2025. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen what time that the season will kick off, as the game client only says that the season will end in “six days”. The Battle.net client also hasn’t listed any particular time, when it comes to maintenance.

As of today, June 25, 2025, the game states we have six days left of the season (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

It’s likely going to be a little later in the day, but once the gates have opened, you can expect content from us on how to get started and more. Whether you want new Uniques, or simply want to pound the returned Astaroth into submission, there’s plenty to be excited about.

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Diablo 4 Season 9’s Sins of the Horadrim comes with customized spells and powerful new gems

Before you can start unlocking powerful spells in Diablo 4 Season 9, you’ll have to pick up the quest chain for the season. This questline, called The Embers Yet Smolder, begins in Cerrigar, northwest of the waypoint. It’s also worth noting that you need to complete the base campaign on the Eternal Realms to begin.

This UI looks pretty familiar (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

By combining specific Catalysts, Infusions, and Arcana, players will create intense spell combos, to obliterate the forces of Hell. Players will gain access to Catalysts and Infusions through the Seasonal Questline, and Arcana will be unlocked through another new feature, the Horadric Strongrooms.

In addition, there will be Horadric Jewels, through the Horadric Strongrooms as well. When in Torment I or higher, players will begin to unlock Horadric tomes in the Strongrooms, which will then let you craft these socketable Jewels.

The hope is that they will be less frustrating to grind and craft compared to previous socketable Jewels. These gems will enhance your Horadric spells in a variety of ways, such as making your summons grow larger every time they kill a target, which will also increase their damage.

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Nightmare Dungeons get major adjustments going into Diablo 4 Season 9

Nightmare Dungeons sound like they’re going to be worth running in Diablo 4 Season 9, as well. They were always “worth it”, because you need to grind them, but that was it. However, there are some noteworthy changes. One is the Horadric Strongrooms, which can be found in Nightmare Dungeons.

Beyond this gateway lies great challenge, and even greater power (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

These are additional mini-dungeons, where you take on additional challenges and satiate the bloodlust of the Horadric Pillars. You will use your Horadric Wayfinder to find these, which unlocks in the Seasonal Questline. Unfortunately, you aren’t necessarily guaranteed to find the strongrooms, but your chances go up with higher Torment difficulties.

The only surefire way to find one is to find a Nightmare Dungeon Sigil that has an affix, which guarantees you will see a Horadric Strongroom somewhere in the dungeon. This is another change, where I hope the grind won’t become relentless, simply to find the new content. This already reminds me of trying to find the Lost Powers for Witches in Season 8.

In addition, there’s also Escalating Nightmares, which is a new endgame challenge. Tackling this will pit you against three Nightmare dungeons, back to back to back. Each one’s affixes stack with each other, making things incredibly difficult. The rewards will be great as well, though. Should you get to the end, you’ll face the new boss, Exalted Astaroth himself.

Remember Astaroth? He's back, in Pog form! (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

You will first need an Escalation Sigil, which is obtained as a reward from Horadric Knowledge (Seasonal Rep), or from the Horadric caches in the Strongrooms, at Torment I or higher. If you are below Torment I, completing the dungeon this Sigil triggers will just end the event. If you want to battle through all three dungeons, you must be on at least Torment I.

One great thing to look forward to though in Diablo 4, is that Escalating Nightmares, Horadric Strongrooms, and the new Nightmare Dungeon Affixes will all be permanent on Seasonal and Eternal Realms once Season 9 starts.

The new Nightmare Dungeon Affixes are focused around giving players more rewards in the dungeon. Each basic Nightmare Sigil will now include a positive affix, from this new pool:

• Horadric Reserves: Spawns in lot chests with specialized rewards (Gem Fragments, Gold, Obols, Seasonal Currency, Resources)
• Equipment Delve: Spawns in collectible items which upgrade a cache of equipment when found (Weapons, Jewelry, Armor)
• Power Shrines: Spawns in additional shrines of the specified type (Artillery, Blast Wave, Channeling, Lethal, Protection)
• Forgotten Wisdom: Experience will have a chance to spawn on kill, and an experience well will spawn somewhere in the dungeon.
• Treasure Breach: A number of Treasure Goblins will invade the dungeon
• Horadric Strongroom: Guaranteed Horadric Strongroom

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Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and features

• Diablo 4 Season 9: All new Uniques
• Diablo 4 Season 9 Endgame tier list
• Diablo 4 Season 9 leveling tier list

Edited by Jason Parker