It's almost time for Diablo 4 Season 8, which brings back big bad Belial. In a new developer stream, Blizzard has revealed some final details about the season, including a revamped Lair Boss ladder, how its new battle system will work, and which class abilities are getting buffed, nerfed, or reworked this time around.
While Diablo 4 Season 8 release date arrives next week, this monstrosity's 'Supreme Form' will be the most difficult boss you'll face. Plus, a smaller form of Belial can haunt you throughout your encounters with other bosses – there's a low percentage chance that he'll spawn in to test your mettle after you've defeated a Lair Boss.
Defeating this unexpected guest is also your key to the Supreme Belial boss fight, as it'll drop the Lair Key required to summon him. Speaking of, Lair Keys are the new, streamlined system used for summoning bosses, and the graphic below shows you which items can call specific bosses. Oh, and there's no cost to this anymore – it's now free to summon a Lair Boss. In that graphic you'll also notice two more new additions to the ladder. Alongside Belial, Season 8 adds the Harbinger of Hatred and Urivar to the party.
Today's livestream also revealed some of the major balance changes arriving at the start of Season 8. A few highlights include buffs to the Barbarian's Whirlwind skills, a generous buff to the Druid's Earthen Might, and the Sorcerer's Avalanche skill is getting a full-on rework.
Finally, let's talk about the Reliquary seasonal rewards system, which from Season 8 onwards replaces Diablo 4's more linear battle es. The Reliquaries system places rewards into several separate 'catalogs' or groups – the first is free, and the others are accessed by upgrading to , just like you would a battle . Individual items can be purchased in any order you want using a new currency called Favor Tokens, which are earned by completing seasonal quests and slaying monsters. Unlocking all the items in a catalog will also grant you a final, bonus reward.
Blizzard explains in today's livestream that you can only hold a maximum of 99 Favor Tokens at once, so to spend them regularly. Any leftover Favor Tokens you have at the end of a season will roll over into the next season.
Plenty more is covered in the livestream above, and you can also scan through every single change in the Season 8 patch notes right here.
Diablo 4 Season 8: Belial's Return launches on Tuesday, April 29.
If you've got Season 7 pretty much wrapped up by now, then why not use this downtime to check out some of the best co-op games list.
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