Blizzard says it wants the Diablo 3 season 28 release to celebrate the arrival of Diablo 4 ahead of the release of the next instalment for one of the most storied RPG games on PC. Revealing the full Diablo 3 patch notes for its latest season, the developer places an emphasis on progression and “tying material goals to meaningful choices.”
Diablo 3 patch 2.7.5 releases on February 21 on PC along with console versions on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. The patch will go live at 11:30am PST / 2:30pm EST / 7:30pm GMT / 8:30pm CET. Following this, Diablo 3 Season 28, titled Rites of Sanctuary, begins on February 24.
The new season is built around an object called the Altar of Rites, which offers an extensive new progression path for characters that will apply across all of your characters for the entirety of the season. Players can choose how they progress through the tree, selecting which bonuses they wish to prioritise – something that Blizzard says will help to prepare players for Diablo 4 as news of a public beta is expected at the ongoing IGN Fan Fest.
“As we look towards Diablo 4’s release, we wanted to celebrate its arrival with a feature that emphasises progression as well as offer some interesting details about Sanctuary,” Blizzard says in its seasonal preview. It sounds like these new systems were specifically designed to help players anticipate some of the choices they’ll have to make in the next game, then, and it seems we can expect some tasty new lore nuggets as well.
As for what else you can expect from Diablo 3 season 28, there are plenty of new seasonal rewards including full class sets for each of the classes courtesy of the Haedrig’s Gifts earned as you complete chapters of the seasonal journey. Along with helping to shape your best Diablo 3 builds, you’ll have another chance to claim the past rewards from season 16 alongside the new Primal Hunter portrait and adorable Taennin the Tiny pet.
With the Diablo 4 release date creeping ever closer and Lilith’s arrival imminent, make sure you’re up to speed on all the Diablo 4 classes at launch and check out our Diablo 4 preview to see what you can expect when you get hands-on. In the meantime, we’ve got more of the best games like Diablo in 2023 to keep the loot flowing.