Season

"Good luck, nephalem! May the loot gods treat you kindly and your deeds of valor always be remembered."

- Season blurb^(src)

A season's introductory scroll

Seasons are a feature of Diablo III, the equivalent of Ladders from Diablo II. They were added in Patch 2.1. New Seasons are a major event and are typically released in tandem with patches, premiering original content, but a patch is never applied mid-Season. Seasons are considered the end-game of Diablo III.

Seasons were introduced to the game's console version in March 2017. The PC and console season runs aligned in Season 10.

Overview

Seasonal Hero checkbox

Seasons are only available to freshly created characters who must be leveled all the way from level 1 after the season begins. Seasonal characters have a separate stash, gold and other currencies, artisans, Paragon experience etc., starting fresh and completely clear when the season begins. These are also separate for Softcore and Hardcore Seasonal characters, making a total of four types per account. Seasonal characters take up one of the regular 12 or 15 character slots and will remain in this slot after the end of a Season, simply having their Season status removed.

Season participation benefits include exclusive rewards and unique Legendary Items, which are only available to Seasonal characters. It also awards special banner and transmogrification options.

The goal and key feature of Seasons is the ability to climb Leaderboards by completing achievements, earning Conquests, or running Greater Rifts. Each type of Leaderboard is divided by goal, by class and by solo/group mode rather than a "by account" one. There is a fierce competition within the Leaderboard of the same type, but it has no effect on other boards.

After the season ends, all of the player's progress (Paragon experience, crafting recipes, items, gold, etc.) will be rolled into the main roster, and the season-exclusive items are added to the normal loot tables. In other words, all seasonal characters become normal, and with the start of the next season, new characters must fresh-start all over again, competing for the clear Leaderboards. Each new season adds new rewards.

Season Journey

Main article: Season Journey

The Journey is an interface that was added in Season 4, as a means of tracking player progress. This feature is divided into chapters, which include major milestones that are achievable by most players, and tiers, which are designed for advanced players. Beginning with Season 5, players receive Haedrig's Gift as a reward for completing Chapter IV of the Season Journey.

Conquests

Main article: Conquests

Conquests are special feats within Season, not related to Seasonal Journey (however, chapters 7, 8 and 9 require 1, 2 and 3 conquests to be completed respectively). These are among the hardest of goals to accomplish. They change with every Season. Examples include:

• Kill 16 Bosses in 30 minutes
• Gain 50 million Gold streak without venturing into The Vault
• Complete Torment X Rift in 2 minutes
• Beat a Greater Rift rank 45 without any Set Items
• Complete all five Acts in 1 hour
• Beat a Greater Rift rank 55 with all 24 6+ piece Class Sets
• Complete 8 Set Dungeons with Mastery rating

Either of the Conquests will be credited separately for Hardcore mode.

Season Rebirth

File:Blizzcon2015diablopanel-2015-nov-7-128.jpg

Season Rebirth option menu

Season Rebirth is a feature that added in Season 5. This takes a non-Seasonal hero, reduces them to level 1, and strips all their gear. Any gear removed from a hero in this way is automatically mailed to the player in the non-Season, giving a player thirty days to reclaim the items at a later time. Paragon level, completed achievements, and other accomplishments all remain behind with non-Seasonal heroes. This feature serves as prevention of necessity to delete Seasonal characters when they transfer to normal character list.

Timeline of previous seasons

Season	Start Date	End Date	Duration
1	29 Aug 2014	03 Feb 2015	22 weeks, 4 days
2	13 Feb 2015	05 Apr 2015	7 weeks, 3 days
3	10 Apr 2015	23 Aug 2015	19 weeks, 2 days
4	28 Aug 2015	30 Dec 2015	17 weeks, 5 days
5	15 Jan 2016	15 Apr 2016	13 weeks
6	29 Apr 2016	22 Jul 2016	12 weeks
7	05 Aug 2016	14 Oct 2016	10 weeks
8	21 Oct 2016	30 Dec 2016	10 weeks
9	06 Jan 2017	17 Mar 2017	10 weeks
10	31 Mar 2017	23 Jun 2017	12 weeks
11	20 Jul 2017	20 Oct 2017	13 weeks
12	09 Nov 2017	11 Feb 2018	13 weeks, 3 days
13	23 Feb 2018	03 Jun 2018	14 weeks, 2 days
14	15 Jun 2018	16 Sep 2018	13 weeks, 2 days
15	21 Sep 2018	06 Jan 2019	15 weeks, 2 days
16	18 Jan 2019	12 May 2019	16 weeks, 2 days
17	17 May 2019	18 Aug 2019	13 weeks, 2 days
18	23 Aug 2019	TBD	TBD
19	TBD	TBD	TBD

List of Seasons

Season 1

Season 1 exclusive rewards

Season 1 launched on Friday, August 29th, 2014 at 6 PM, following Patch 2.1. This season is currently the longest season to date at 157 days 22 hours. It ran from August 29 at 6 PM to February 3, 2015 at 4 PM.

Limited-time rewards

• Conqueror's Shako & Conqueror's Pauldrons transmogrifications
• Exclusive banner: Shape, Pattern, Accent, Sigil

Items introduced

• Aether Walker (Wand)
• Bottomless Potion of Rejuvenation (Potion)
• Frydehr's Wrath (Crusader Shield)
• Krelm's Buff Bulwark Set:
  • Krelm's Buff Belt (Belt)
  • Krelm's Buff Bracers (Bracers)
• Leonine Bow of Hashir (Bow)
• Remorseless (Mighty Weapon)
• Sacred Harvester (Ceremonial Knife)
• Vengeful Wind (Fist Weapon)
• Follower Items:
  • Vadim's Surge (Enchantress Focus)
  • Slipka's Letter Opener (Scoundrel Token)
  • Hillenbrand's Training Sword (Templar Relic)

Season 2

Season 2 exclusive rewards

Season 2 launched on Friday, February 13, 2015 at 6 PM, a month after Patch 2.1.2. This season is currently the shortest season to date at 51 days 3 hours. It ran from February 13 to April 5 at 9 PM.

The season offered new legendaries, conquests, and banner rewards.

Limited-time rewards

• Conqueror's Legguards & Sabatons transmogrifications
• Exclusive banner: Shape, Pattern, Accent, Sigil

Items introduced

• Belt of the Trove (Belt)
• Gungdo Gear (Bracers)
• Halo of Arlyse (Ring)
• Odyssey's End (Bow)
• The Undisputed Champion (Mighty Belt)
• Wormwood (Staff)
• Gems:
  • Esoteric Alteration
  • Gem of Ease
  • Molten Wildebeest's Gizzard

Season 3

Season 3 exclusive rewards

Season 3 launched on Friday, April 10, 2015 at 6 PM, following Patch 2.2. It ran for a total of 134 days 23 hours, ending on August 23 at 5 PM.

Limited-time rewards

• Conqueror's Cuirass & Gauntlets transmogrifications
• Seasonal pennant
• Exclusive portrait frame

Season 3 artwork

Items introduced

• Dead Man's Legacy (Quiver)
• Dread Iron (Mighty Belt)
• Nagelring (Ring)
• Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac (Ring)
• Blessed of Haull (Belt)
• Ranslor's Folly (Bracers)
• Spirit Guards (Bracers)
• The Short Man's Finger (Ring)
• Bottomless Potion of Amplification (Potion)
• Gems:
  • Iceblink
  • Mutilation Guard

Season 4

Season 4 exclusive rewards

Season 4 launched on Friday, August 28, 2015, following Patch 2.3. This is the first season where both the start and end times of the season were at 5 PM. This resulted in an exact day range & 5 PM time for all succeeding seasons.

Limited-time rewards

• Exclusive portrait frames
• Frost hound pet
• Repeat chance at Conqueror's Shako & Conqueror's Pauldrons transmogrifications

This season introduced the Season Journey as an additional feature for measuring progression and obtaining rewards, in addition to the Season Achievements of previous seasons.

Season 4 portrait frames

Items introduced

• The Demon's Demise (Hand Crossbow)
• Lion's Claw (Fist Weapon)
• Sacred Harness (Belt)
• Dishonored Legacy (Mighty Weapon)
• Fazula's Improbable Chain (Belt)
• Henri's Perquisition (Mojo)
• Bane of the Stricken (Gem)

Season 5

Season 5 exclusive rewards

Season 5 launched on Friday, January 15, 2016, following Patch 2.4.

Limited-time rewards

• Bonus stash tab #1
• Exclusive portrait frames
• Old Growth (Wickerman) pet
• Repeat chance at Conqueror's Legguards & Sabatons transmogrifications

Season 5 portrait frames

Season 5 was the first season to not have temporarily exclusive legendary items, as the new legendaries in Patch 2.4 were made immediately available to both seasonal and non-seasonal characters. Instead, seasonal players would obtain a guaranteed free set for one class in the form of "Haedrig's Gift," a series of mail packages received upon completion of certain stages of the Season Journey up to the fourth chapter. The set obtained by each class is predetermined, and rotates with each new Season.

New or redesigned legendaries at the time of the patch include: Blade of the Tribes, Heart of Iron, Elusive Ring, Kyoshiro's Blade, Wilken's Reach, The Twisted Sword. The Legacy of Nightmares ring set and some class sets also saw redesigns.

This season notably introduced the first additional stash tab as a limited time reward.

Season 6 exclusive rewards

Season 6

Season 6 launched on Friday, April 29, 2016, following Patch 2.4.1.

File:DSEM2UEJ0QBQ1461099831828.jpg

Season 6 portrait frame.

Limited-time rewards

• Bonus stash tab #2
• Seasonal pennant
• Exclusive portrait frames
• Repeat chance at Conqueror's Cuirass & Gauntlets transmogrifications

This season and patch premiered with many cosmetic transmogrification items and pets which were not exclusive seasonal rewards, but instead obtained as rare drops in chests, from monsters, and from the new Menagerist goblin.

New legendaries were also released concurrently with the patch, and others given new powers: Frostburn, Magefist, Skull Grasp, Flail of the Ascended, Augustine's Panacea, Bakuli Jungle Wraps, Halo of Karini, Crystal Fist, Fleshrake, Swamp Land Waders. Class sets and legendary gems also saw redesigns.

Season 7

File:S7Portrait.png

A new season 7 portrait frame.

Season 7 launched on Friday, August 5, 2016, following Patch 2.4.2.

Limited-time rewards

• Bonus stash tab #3
• New pet: Dream of Piers
• Exclusive portrait frames
• Repeat chance at Conqueror's Shako & Conqueror's Pauldrons transmogrifications

Item updates in concurrent patch

• Bottomless Potion of Chaos (potion)
• Khassett's Cord of Righteousness (new belt)
• Trag'Oul Coils (bracers; power changed)
• Girdle of Giants (mighty belt; power added)
• Scarbringer (fist weapon; power added)
• Gazing Demise (mojo; power added)
• Starfire (wand; power added)
• Invigorating Gemstone (gem; redesigned)
• Darklight (flail; redesigned)
• The Demon's Demise (hand crossbow; redesigned)
• Firebird's Finery set (redesigned)

The following changes were made to the season journey:

• Haedrig's Gift is no longer awarded for specific Seasonal achievements; the bags are now rewarded for the completion of Chapters II, III, and IV.
• Achievements requiring timed Nephalem Rift runs have been re-tuned.
• Overall difficulty has been shifted around; easier, more tutorial-based achievements are in Chapters I-IV while more challenging tasks can be found in Slayer and beyond.
• All Rift-related achievements have been updated to include the new Torment XI-XIII difficulties.

Season 8

Season 8 launched on Friday, October 21, 2016, and ended on December 30. It is the first time a season has launched with no patch since the start of a previous season.

While the seasonal conquests rotated as usual, there was no concurrent batch of new legendary items, balance changes, or new game features.

Limited-time rewards

File:S8Port.jpg

No one dies on your watch.

• Bonus stash tab #4 (10 total if every season was played)
• Anguish's Grasp (Andariel's wings)
• Exclusive portrait frames
• Repeat chance at Conqueror's Legguards & Sabatons transmogrifications

Season 9

Season 9 launched on January 6, 2017, following Patch 2.4.3. It ended on March 17.

Limited-time rewards

File:S9 Portrait.jpg

• Pandemonium-themed portraits
• Rocky (a cosmetic pet)
• Repeat chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Item updates in concurrent patch

• Red Soul Shard (new legendary gem)
• Talisman of Akkhan (new amulet)
• Saffron Wrap (belt; power added)
• Faithful Memory (two-handed sword; power added)
• Hellcat Waistguard (belt; power added)
• Rabid Strike (fist weapon; power added)
• The Barber (dagger; power added)
• Manald Heal (ring; power added)
• Defender of Westmarch (shield; redesigned)
• Jeram's Bracers (bracer; redesigned)
• Wrath of the Wastes (set; redesigned)
• Roland's Legacy (set; redesigned)
• Embodiment of the Marauder (set; redesigned)
• Inna's Mantra (set; redesigned)
• Spirit of Arachyr (set; redesigned)
• Delsere's Magnum Opus (set; redesigned)

Season 10

Season 10 rewards

Season 10 launched on March 31, 2017, following Patch 2.5.0. It ended on June 23. It was the first Season for the console version of Diablo III. This season was 2 weeks longer than the 3 previous seasons (7, 8 & 9) due to the Necromancer release before Season 11.

Limited-time rewards

• Black Soulstone-themed portraits
• Loremaster pennant, inspired by Book of Cain
• Repeat chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 11

Season 11 rewards

Season 11 launches on July 20, 2017, following Patch 2.6.0. It is the first season to feature the Necromancer class, since the arrival of the Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer expansion. There were no new items or balance changes for other classes.

It was noted that personal bests from Season 2 would be removed with Season 11. This 9 Season difference would carry on into Season 12 with Season 3 being removed then.

The season premiere date was moved from Friday to Thursday, in order to hotfix potential issues before the weekend. The Season ended on October 20.

Limited-time rewards

• Emerald Dragon pet
• Treasure Goblin-themed portrait set
• Repeat chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 12

Season 12 rewards

Season 12 launched on November 9, 2017, following Patch 2.6.1. It ended on February 11, 2018.

Limited-time rewards

• Fiacla-Géar wings
• Heaven portrait
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 13

Season 13 rewards

Season 13 launched on February 23, 2018. It is the second time a season had launched with no patch since the start of a previous season. It ended on June 3, 2018.

Limited-time rewards:

• Blaine's Bear pet
• Imperius-themed portrait
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 14

Season 14 launched on June 15, 2018 and ran until September 16. It marks the beginning of themed Seasons, Season 14 being the "Season of Greed." For the duration of Season 14, all Treasure Goblin spawns were doubled. However, this does not affect goblins encountered via Bandit Shrines, Goblin Rift packs, or in the Realm of Greed. Furthermore, duplicate Whimsydale portals created by the Rainbow Goblin entered the same instance of Whimsydale.

Limited-time rewards

• A new series of portraits and frames, themed around Tal Rasha
• Tyrael-themed pennant
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 15

Season 15 rewards

Season 15 launched on September 21, 2018 and ran until January 6, 2019. The theme for this season was "Boon of the Horadrim". For the duration of Season 15, all Horadric Caches earned from bounties were doubled. The season was originally scheduled to end on December 16, 2018.

Limited-time rewards

• Belphegor pet
• Eternal Conflict-themed portrait
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 16

Season 16 rewards

The season 16 PTR went live on Wednesday, November 21, 2018 and ran for one week. The season launched, following Patch 2.6.4 on January 18, 2019. Originally scheduled to end on March 17, 2019, the season was extended by 8 weeks and ended on May 12, 2019.

The theme for this season was the "Season of Grandeur". For the duration of Season 16, all Seasonal players were granted the legendary power from Ring of Royal Grandeur. This buff did not stack with additional Ring of Royal Grandeur (either equipped or in Kanai's Cube) and unlike previous Seasonal buffs, this buff did not apply to non-Seasonal players.

When completing a Greater Rift level 70 solo for the first time in a Season, a Primal Legendary was guaranteed to drop from the Rift Guardian.

Limited-time rewards

• Call to Adventure (Guardian) portrait frame
• Wings of Lempo
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 17

Season 17 rewards

The season 17 PTR went live on Friday, April 5, 2019. It was originally scheduled to run for one week, but ran for almost three weeks. Season 17 officially went live on May 17, 2019. The theme for this season was the "Season of Nightmares" and focused on the Legacy of Nightmares. The season ended on Sunday, August 18, 2019.

This was the first Season where no end date was announced up-front. Moving forward, players will be notified at a minimum of two weeks prior to the end of a Season.

Seasonal buff

• Player's damage dealt is increased by 750% and damage taken is reduced by 4% for every Ancient Item they have equipped while having no Set Bonuses Active.

Quality of life changes

• The Season Journey Journal now displays all chapters, regardless of current progression.

Limited-time rewards

The pet and portrait rewards were previously awarded for completing chapter IV in season 5.

• Greyhollow portrait frame
• Old Growth pet
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set
• Galactic wings (Guardian reward)

Season 18

Season 18 rewards

The PTR for Patch 2.6.6 was confirmed on July 9, 2019. The PTR ran for over the course of one week, starting Thursday, July 25. The theme for this season is the "Season of the Triune" which aims to change moment-to-moment game play right from level one. The season began on August 23, 2019.

Seasonal buffs

• Triune's Will: All abilities have a chance when hitting an enemy to spawn a circle that gives a power. Only one circle per player can be active at a time. An icon appears in the buff bar to indicate the power is active.
  • Triune of Love (Power): Players in the circle receive a 100% damage bonus while active
  • Triune of Determination (Resource Reduction): Players in the circle receive a 50% discount on resources spent while active
  • Triune of Creation (Cooldown Reduction): While standing in an active circle, any skills currently on cooldown come off of cooldown more quickly

Note: The "Triune of Determination" circle was originally indigo in the PTR, but was later changed to assist color-blind players.

Developer Comment

The last couple of Seasonal buffs have been focused primarily on end-game content. We wanted to try something different this Season with a buff that was more beneficial to players regardless of where they might be in their Season Journey. Triune's Will can come into play as early as level 1 and continue to make an impact on your game experience from the beginning to the end of the Season, and we're looking forward to seeing how players leverage this ever-changing boost throughout their adventures!

Limited-time rewards

The portrait frame and banner rewards were previously awarded for completing chapter IV in season 6.

• Blood Shard portrait frame
• Samhain pennant
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set

Season 19

The PTR for Patch 2.6.7 will run for over the course of one week, starting Thursday, October 17. The theme for this season is the "Season of the Eternal Conflict" which aims to award players with AOE buffs for keeping their kill-streak alive.

Seasonal buffs

The following buffs are based on the theme of Pandemonium, for bizarre powers that become activated during high kill-streaks.

• For the duration of the Season, all players will have a stacking buff that that persists as long as you have hit or killed a monster within the last 5 seconds
• Each stack gives 0.05% movement speed and 0.1% bonus damage. This bonus caps at 50% movement and 100% damage (1,000 stacks)
• In addition, after reaching a certain number of kills in a row, a power is unleashed, dealing an amount of scaling damage based on player level and difficulty or Greater Rift level:
  • 15 Kills: Five massive energy twisters are unleashed
  • 30 Kills: Dark Geysers form beneath enemies
  • 50 Kills: Exploding Chickens seek and destroy
  • 100 Kills: Corpses rain from the sky
  • 150 Kills: A wide Frost Nova freezes enemies
  • 200 Kills: Treasure chests fall from the sky
  • 300 Kills: A ring of fire engulfs everything
  • 400 Kills: Meteors hail from above
  • 500 Kills: Angels descend upon the battlefield to fight for your cause
  • 1,000 Kills: ???
• Powers are tracked at a group level; this means only one power can be active in play at a time, regardless of the number of players in a group

Developer Comment

One of the biggest pieces of feedback from Season 18's buff was that the Triune bonus didn't stick with your character while you adventured. With Season 19, we've altered course as well as upped the ante by experimenting with new mechanics to add an element of both chaos and power to the battlefield. It should feel a bit like Pandemonium, and it may be a consideration whether or not you want to reset your total kill streak for a particular killstreak bonus versus continuously maintain the overall effect (especially as the highest level killstreak rewards will be harder to leverage in situations like Greater Rifts). Killstreaks with higher kill count requirements are more powerful, and we're looking forward to seeing what players think of and do with them!

Limited-time rewards

The pet and portrait rewards were previously awarded for completing chapter IV in season 7.

• Winter portrait frame
• Dream of Piers pet
• Repeated chances to earn Conqueror's transmogs and stash tabs
• Haedrig's Gift set
• Tyrael Goblin (Guardian reward, tentative)

Development

The concept for seasons in Diablo III existed as early as the game's pre-release version.

Josh Mosqueira first announced seasons as an implementation of "ladders" in March 2014, to be included in the first major content update (Patch 2.1) following the release of Reaper of Souls.

Seasons were initially not present in the console version of Diablo III. At BlizzCon 2016, Blizzard announced that seasons would be coming to console players. This was implemented when Season 10 launched in March 2017.