Diablo 4 Season 8, aptly named “Belial’s Return,” is gearing up for its launch on April 29. Fans can look forward to the return of the cunning Lord of Lies, Belial, as he makes his influence felt across the Sanctuary, spreading Mephisto’s darkness. Blizzard’s roadmap reveals a slew of features and updates set to roll out in 2025. These updates might serve as a peace offering to players awaiting a promised expansion that hasn’t materialized yet.
Before Blizzard unveiled the roadmap, players already caught wind of what this season might entail. However, recent leaks have brought even more exciting details to light. Let’s dive into everything confirmed for Diablo 4 Season 8.
### Belial’s Return Brings New Powers, Lair Boss Rework, and Exciting Events
The chaos unleashed by Belial’s comeback challenges players to embark on a mission to expose his deceit and put an end to his sinister plans. Players will join forces with Sayeena and Jarius in their quest to save the Sanctuary. This sets the stage for the brand-new Apparition Incursion event, where players battle against Belial’s minions and eventually confront powerful Apparition Bosses to enhance their characters.
#### Boss Powers: A New Layer to Character Builds
The introduction of Boss Powers brings a fresh twist to gameplay, letting players harness abilities from defeated bosses. Each Boss Power includes a Main effect and a Modifier, with players able to equip one Main and three Modifiers at any time. With 24 bosses granting these powers, experimentation with different combinations becomes crucial to perfecting your build. However, some Boss Powers are gated by difficulty, adding an extra level of challenge.
#### Lair Bosses Revamp Endgame Challenges
Endgame bosses, now called Lair Bosses, have been categorized into Initiate, Greater, and Exalted tiers, based on their challenge and rewards. Players need to engage these bosses at Torment Difficulty level one or higher. Victory yields a special chest, which can only be unlocked using Lair Boss Keys. The number of keys needed, along with the loot’s value—up to seven unique items at Torment 4—depends on the boss tier. Detailed maps assist in locating these bosses and ensure players are prepared with the required number of keys.
### New Legendary and Unique Items to Discover
Season 8 introduces an assortment of new Legendary and Unique items, allowing players to equip gear that fits their style. Classes like Barbarian, Druid, and Sorcerer, among others, will see new items that provide fresh tactical approaches, as is tradition with Diablo 4 seasons.
#### Reliquaries: Revamping the Battle Pass System
Blizzard is revamping the Battle Pass with the new Reliquaries system, offering both Battle Pass and Event Reliquaries. The upcoming Battle Pass features four tiers: Belial’s Return, Weapons, Beasts, and Armor. Only the Belial’s Return tier is free, with others costing Platinum to unlock. Players can preview each Reliquary tier before committing their Platinum to it. A Premium Battle Pass bundle offers all tiers for 1000 Platinum.
Event Reliquaries pop up during special events and collaborations, providing cosmetic rewards obtainable with Favor Tokens earned from monster slaying and quest completion. While players can collect up to 99 Favor Tokens, these can be saved for future seasons. It’s important to note that unclaimed rewards vanish once their timer expires.
With the incorporation of Reliquaries, Season’s Blessings and Smoldering Ashes now reside in the Season Journey menu. Completing this journey rewards players with Iris the Cat, a new in-game companion for The Wanderer.
Players will find that existing tokens are converted into Reliquary Premium Battle Pass Tokens with significant Platinum value. Meanwhile, Tejal adds new gear, armor, mounts, and more to her shop starting April 29, with fresh stock updates throughout Season 8.
