I thought Diablo 4 had already evolved into a great action RPG, but its latest season just made it even better

GamesRPGDiablo 4I thought Diablo 4 had already evolved into a great action RPG, but its latest season just made it even betterWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Blizzard)

A Diablo sorceress wearing red armor with a firey serpent behind her

My sorceress isn’t even halfway to Diablo 4’s max level and she’s frying rooms full of monsters with lightning like I was playing an endgame build. After ahugely successful season 4,Blizzard didn’t need to reinvent themucus-slick wheel,but Diablo 4 season 5 frontloads the fun with the most exciting loot drops I’ve seen in the action RPG, period.

Almostevery single unique itemin the game has been supercharged to turn your little demon slayer into a god, way more than normal legendary loot ever could. Their powerful effects, like causing your fireballs to bounce off the ground, are largely untouched, but their stats have been boosted to ludicrous levels. Previous seasons wouldn’t dare give you an item that duplicates your chain lightning—that would be something to look forward to at level 100. In season 5, I put on a special pair of pants at level 30, became Storm, and haven’t taken them off since.

The Axial Conduit pants are one of the clever new unique items in season 5. They basically turn you into a walking lightning storm that electrifies everything in your path. Not only do they give you a chance to cast your chain lightning twice, each one will ping pong between you and your enemies and eventually explode for loads of damage. The only drawback is that it eats up your mana quickly, but that can be remedied within your skill tree.

(Image credit: Tyler C. / Blizzard)

Diablo 4 item tooltip for Axial Conduit sorceress pants

Season 5’s debut system (which will stay in the game permanently) isInfernal Hordes,a set of hellish arenas that serve as Diablo’s version of a wave-based horde mode. Enemies flood in from all directions as you dart around collecting aether to cash in for loot at the end. Each wave ends with a choice between a few modifiers, or ‘boons & banes’, that ramp up the difficulty for extra aether rewards. I liked what I played of the infernal hordes in Blizzard’s public test realm version of season 5 last month, but I’ve only been able to try the dungeon versions of them in the live season.

(Image credit: Tyler C. / Blizzard)

A Diablo sorceress standing in a dungeon with two text descriptions in front of her

Diablo 4 is absolutely in the best state it’s ever been in.

These big power spikes are what last season was missing. Even though all the items were more powerful, you didn’t stumble into some build-defining unique that would transform how you played. Diablo 4 keeps shortening the time it takes to level up, but it was starting to become a chore to get to the good part. Now it’s so exciting, I might start up a few other classes just to see what new toys I can play with.

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It seems obvious now that Blizzard planned all along to reshape Diablo 4 until everyone gets to feel powerful and experiment with its most creative items before reaching the endgame. All the work it’s done to smooth the process of finding gear, upgrading it, and using it in ways that twist your playstyle have finally come together. And with theVessel of Hatredexpansion on the horizon, I expect it to improve even more with the rumored level squish and rework to paragon boards, the one system that hasn’t been touched since its release. I didn’t think it was possible given how much changed last season, but season 5 really is better. Diablo 4 is absolutely in the best state it’s ever been in.

TOPICSActivision BlizzardBlizzard Entertainment

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