Diablo 4 Season 9: Everything You Need to Know

Season 9 Updates

The Sins of the Horadrim Season will bring new content and systems to Diablo 4, such as:

• Horadric Spellcraft: create your own spell with unique abilities to support your main skill.
• Horadric Jewels: new seasonal jewels to socket in your rings and amulet which will support your Horadric Spell.
• Escalating Nightmares and Astaroth: run through 3 dungeons which scale in difficulty and beat the end boss, Astaroth.
• Horadric Strongrooms: New mini-dungeon, which can be found inside Nightmare Dungeons.

Season 9 Start Date

Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim launches July 1st, 2025, at 10:00 am PST / 07:00 pm CET.
If you are a new player, check out our guide on seasons and how to create your seasonal character:

Look at our Season Checklist for interesting tips and tricks on how to approach the start of a new season:

New With Season 9

The Sins of the Horadrim Season features a new questline, new Horadric Spell and Jewels, changes to the Nightmare Dungeons, as well as a new, fresh set of Reliquaries.

Seasonal Questline: The Embers Yet Smolder

This story takes place in Cerrigar, where you meet a Druid named Bryona, who is struggling with dangerous consequences from Donan’s past decisions. Donan, the Horadric mage who once sealed away Astaroth, may have left behind more trouble than he realized.

Now, it is up to you to track down and destroy corrupted blood relics before demons get their hands on them. To begin ‘The Embers Yet Smolder‘ questline, you will have to:

• Complete the main campaign of Diablo IV.
• Create a new character in the Seasonal Realm.
• Go to Cerrigar and look for Bryona, located northwest of the Waypoint.

Completing the questline will help you gather Horadric Knowledge, the seasonal reputation, and unlock the reputation track rewards.

Horadric Spellcraft

In Season 9, you will uncover ancient Horadric secrets. Spellcrafting is the core mechanic this season, giving you the freedom to craft a custom spell by combining three components: Catalyst, Infusion, and Arcana.

• Catalysts are your spell’s main effect.
• Infusions change the type of elemental damage it deals.
• Arcana stack on extra bonuses and effects.

There are tons of combinations to explore and find the right synergy for your build.

Check out our full guide here:

Horadric Strongrooms and Jewels

Horadric Strongrooms are hidden mini-challenges you can find inside Nightmare Dungeons. These secret rooms do not show up in every run, but you can boost your odds by using Nightmare Sigils with a Horadric affix or doing dungeons on a higher difficulty (Torment I or higher). Once inside the dungeon, find your way to the gateway and trigger the ambush. Clear the enemies, and step through the portal to enter the Strongroom.

Inside, you will have 100 seconds to earn as much Horadric Attunement as possible by defeating waves of enemies and completing ritual objectives. You will also get to pick from different Horadric Statues that change the modifiers and rewards in the room. The stronger the statue, the tougher the fight, but the better the loot. If you hit max Attunement or complete your rituals fast enough, you will face off against a mini-boss and walk out with your rewards.

Strongrooms are also where you will find Horadric Tomes, which unlock the ability to craft Horadric Jewels. You can craft these Jewels at the Horadric Lapdiary in Cerrigar. These gems are a key part of your build in Season 9.

Check out the complete Strongroom and Horadric Jewels guide here:

Escalating Nightmare

Escalating Nightmares are a new endgame challenge on the Eternal Realm and during Season 9. You will enter a chain of three back-to-back Nightmare Dungeons, with each one getting more intense. Affixes stack, meaning every dungeon inherits the modifiers from the one before.

To begin, you will need an Escalation Sigil, which can drop from Horadric Caches (found in Strongrooms) or be earned through the Seasonal Reputation track. Activate the sigil to launch the first dungeon. Once completed, a Horadric Portal appears, showing you the next dungeon’s affixes and dropping you in. Beat all three and face Astaroth, the end boss.

Read more in our Escalating Nightmare guide:

Astaroth’s boss fight is challenging. Astaroth arrives riding his hellish hound. You will need to kill Astaroth and the hound at the same time, or the hound will resurrect. If you are lucky, defeating Astaroth might reward you with a Horadric Jewel.

Want to make it out alive? Catch up on all the changes in our full Boss guide:

Running Nightmare dungeons will also reward reputation, helping you complete the seasonal board and earn valuable rewards, including a Resplendent Spark, which can be of great use if you plan on crafting a Mythic Unique.

New Uniques and Aspects

Season 9 also brings new Uniques. This gives you a great opportunity to test new builds and find new synergies. Especially now that you can easily swap loadouts with the Armory. Please check our guide to see all the new items here:

Additionally, for more information on how to farm Uniques from bosses, we recommend visiting our respective guide below.

Other Season 9 Changes

Here are some additional changes worth mentioning:

• New Nightmare Dungeon Affixes such as Horadric Reserves, Equipment Delves, or Power Shrines.
• Adjustments to skills, passives, paragon glyphs, and balancing for gear.

Seasonal Rewards

Season 9 Battle Pass – Reliquaries

Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim comes with new Reliquaries!

Reliquaries work like mini battle passes, but with way more freedom. Instead of being locked into a single track, you only unlock what you actually want. Each Reliquary costs Platinum, so if you are not into a specific theme, you can skip it entirely. No more wasting rewards on cosmetics you will never use.

There are four main Reliquaries this season:

• Sins of the Horadrim – Free for everyone. Includes portals, weapon skins, gear cosmetics, and even some Platinum.
• Weapons – 200 Platinum. Packed with weapon skins for all classes.
• Beasts – 500 Platinum. Focused on mounts and pets.
• Armor – 800 Platinum. Loaded with armor sets for every class.

If you want it all, there is a bundle for 1,000 Platinum that unlocks the three premium Reliquaries in one go. You have more questions? Read our full guide on how the system works.

You can gain Favor tokens by playing the game, slaying monsters, and completing quests. Each Reliquary will offer you a piece of the Iron Demon armor set as bonus once you complete it.

You can also buy the Deluxe Battle Pass Bundle for 2,800 Platinum, which will give you access to:

• The Iron Demon armor set, immediate unlock for each Class
• Chains of the Iron Demon wings for each Class
• Scapegoat Pet
• Access to the Weapons, Beasts, and Armor Reliquaries

Season Journey

Just like in Diablo 3 and other similar ARPGs, seasons in Diablo 4 follow a familiar structure. Progress through chapters, fulfill various objectives, and unlock rewards to advance the season story. The ultimate goal is to complete all 7 chapters to unlock every reward. For guidance on which objectives to prioritize in order to successfully complete the Season Journey, check out our recommendations by clicking the link below!

The Season 9 Journey will reward players with a new pet, Dante the Dog, a Resplendent Spark, and a set of gear optimized for one specific build per class.

Season Blessings and Smoldering Ashes

Another big reward from the season journey chapter objectives is Smoldering Ashes, a special currency used to unlock and boost Season Blessings. Furthermore, these blessings remain active for all your characters throughout the whole season. While the Season Blessings are shown below, you can have a more in-depth look at our comprehensive guide for more insights on Season Blessings by clicking on the following link:

Here are the Season Blessings coming with Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim:

• Urn of Curiosities: Boost the chance of receiving a second item when purchasing from the Purveyor of Curiosities.
• Urn of Glyphs: Grants a chance to earn an extra upgrade when improving glyphs.
• Urn of Escalation: Boosts the chances of finding additional Gear items in Astaroth’s rewards.
• Urn of Remnants: Boosts the number of Horadric Phials found in a Horadrim’s Locket.
• Urn of Strongrooms: Boosts the chance of finding an additional Escalation Sigil in Horadric Strongrooms.

Seasonal Tips & Tricks

Diablo 4: Season 9, the Sins of the Horadrim Season, introduces upgrades to Nightmare Dungeons with its Escalating Nightmare system and Horadric Strongrooms, as well as Horadric Spellcraft, giving you the opportunity to improve and vary your builds and gameplay. If you are a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the game, here are a few tips and tricks to help you make the most of this season.

• Nightmare Dungeons: Run dungeons, and pay attention to Strongroom portals. Complete the challenge to get the rewards, and potentially an Escalating Sigil. Escalating Nightmares is a great way to challenge yourself in endgame on the torment difficulty of your choice. These activities will reward you with the seasonal reputation and currency.
• Fight Astaroth: Make sure to read up on what to expect when fighting Astaroth before your first Escalating Nightmare. This boss is a good challenge for your character and yourself. Best be prepared!
• Horadric Spells and Jewels: Make sure to check out your build guides and refer to the best potential Horadric Spell for your main skill, as well as the Horadric Jewels that will fit and synergize with your gameplay.
• Tempering and Masterworking are useful ways to make your gear even more powerful and complementary to your build. Adding Tempers to your items can boost your character power immensely, especially early on!
• Lair Bosses: Once you are max level, increase your difficulty to Torment and fight the Lair Bosses. They will reward you with Unique loot to complete your builds, and seasonal currency to use to upgrade your seasonal power.
• Infernal Hordes and The Pit are excellent replayable endgame content for greater gear and Masterworking materials.
• As with the previous seasons, it is likely that several builds will emerge as strong contenders for Season 9, each excelling in specific areas. Check out our respective Tier Lists for a closer look at which builds are exceptionally strong this time around.
  • Diablo 4 Build Tier Lists

If you are unsure of what to tackle during a new season, have a look at our suggested season checklist.