Prepare yourselves, adventurers! Diablo 4’s upcoming Season 11 is set to deliver an monumental update to Blizzard’s action RPG. Players can expect a complete overhaul of item progression, the much-anticipated return of leaderboards, significant revisions to the Renown system, and even a dramatic transformation of how potions function in the game. And believe it or not, that’s just scratching the surface!
While every Diablo 4 season brings fresh changes—Season 4’s “Loot Reborn” being a prime example—Season 11 is poised to be truly exceptional. Surprisingly, none of these substantial adjustments were outlined in the game’s 2025 content roadmap. For months, Blizzard has hinted that major player concerns would be addressed in an upcoming patch, and now, the wait is over. We finally have a clear picture of what the developers have been diligently working on.
Masterworking and Tempering: Goodbye Randomness!
One of the most persistent frustrations for players since Season 4 has been the unpredictable nature of Tempering and Masterworking items. Currently, Tempering allows you to add affixes to your gear, but with a significant catch: each recipe typically offers up to three possible affixes, and which one gets applied is entirely random. This often leads to “bricking” an item, meaning it becomes useless because you couldn’t get the desired stat.
Masterworking also relies on a stroke of luck, as bonus affix upgrades are applied randomly every few levels. Players seeking to fully optimize their builds frequently have to reset the entire Masterworking process if the bonus doesn’t land on a crucial roll, wasting valuable time and resources.
Thankfully, all of this is set to change dramatically in Season 11. A recent blog post detailing the upcoming public test realm (PTR) updates revealed that Tempering will no longer be random. You’ll finally be able to apply your chosen affix to gear, and even change it as many times as you like, provided you have the necessary resources. The trade-off? Each piece of gear can now only have one Tempered affix. To balance this, non-Unique items will see their base number of affixes increase from three to four.
In conjunction with Tempering, Masterworking is also getting a substantial update. Instead of merely boosting existing affix values, Masterworking will now improve an item’s overall quality, up to level 20. Higher quality items will benefit from increased base damage, armor, or resistances. When Masterworking, there’s a chance to boost an item’s quality by two to five levels.
Once an item reaches Masterwork level 20, players can attempt to roll for a Capstone bonus. This powerful bonus upgrades a random non-greater affix on the item, transforming it into a greater one. Crucially, these Capstone bonuses can be re-rolled indefinitely without resetting the item’s quality, giving players full control to fine-tune their gear for specific builds (though it will still require some upgrade currencies).
Beyond these significant changes to Tempering and Masterworking, Blizzard is introducing an entirely new, final step in an item’s upgrade journey: Sanctification. This system allows players to imbue an item with a fraction of Heaven’s power, granting a random chance at one of the following powerful benefits:
- A bonus Legendary power
- Transforming an existing affix into a Greater Affix
- Adding a new Sanctification Affix
- Replacing an existing affix with a Sanctification Affix
- Making the item indestructible
It’s important to note that once an item is Sanctified, it becomes unmodifiable. Blizzard strongly advises that Sanctification should always be the very last upgrade you perform on an item.
Revamped Healing and Defense Systems
The extensive item progression rework in Diablo 4 Season 11 isn’t the only game-changer. Blizzard is also completely overhauling the defense system and scrapping the current potion mechanics entirely. Armor and Resistances will transition to a rating system, featuring diminishing returns at higher tiers. Notably, armor will now reduce all incoming damage, not just physical, and the armor and resistance penalties previously tied to each Torment difficulty will be removed. To provide players with a clearer understanding of their character’s durability, a new stat page will aggregate all defensive stats into a single “Toughness” number.
In a bold move, Blizzard is eliminating the old potion system. Instead of requiring upgrades every few levels, potions in Season 11 will instantly restore 35% of a player’s total health. Consequently, the base potion capacity will be reduced to four, but potions will now recharge over a 30-second period. To further support healing, the values of all life-gaining affixes, such as life on kill, life on hit, and life regeneration, have been significantly boosted.
Fortify, a distinctive Diablo 4 mechanic that previously offered extra defenses when overhealing, is being transformed into what can be considered an additional, slowly draining health bar for healing over time. When Fortified, players will continuously heal a percentage of their maximum life each second, drawing from this dedicated Fortified health pool.
Renown Reimagined: Introducing Season Rank
The potion system isn’t the only launch mechanic from Diablo 4 getting a significant overhaul. The Renown system, a zone-specific reputation track that offered rewards like extra potion slots, skill points, and gold, is being retired—at least from the Seasonal realm. It will, however, remain a permanent feature in the Eternal realm, creating distinct gameplay experiences between the two.
For the Seasonal server, Renown is being replaced and merged with the existing Season Journey system to create a brand-new “Season Rank” system. Through this, players will earn valuable rewards such as additional skill and paragon points, Smoldering Ashes, and various cosmetics by completing objectives and progressing their Season Rank. While Altars of Lilith will continue to provide experience and minor benefits, they will no longer grant permanent stat boosts, a change from their original function.
Ascend The Tower: Leaderboards Return!
After a period of deactivation following the “Vessel of Hatred” expansion, leaderboards are making a triumphant return to Diablo 4. This time, however, they’re taking on a thrilling new form: The Tower. This multi-floor dungeon operates much like The Pit, challenging players to battle through hordes of monsters and fill a progress meter within a strict 10-minute time limit.
Once enough monsters are vanquished (or progress orbs collected), a random Tower boss will emerge. Defeating this boss concludes the dungeon and stops the timer, officially registering your run on the new leaderboard. There will be dedicated leaderboards for solo players of each class, as well as separate rankings for parties of two, three, and four. Hardcore characters will also have their own distinct leaderboards.
Blizzard has indicated that this initial version of The Tower and its associated leaderboards in Season 11 will be considered a beta, with plans to introduce further updates in future seasons. But that’s not all! Season 11 will also bring a brand-new world boss—the first since the game’s launch—make enemy monsters even tougher, and introduce an entirely new array of seasonal powers and mechanics. Testing for Diablo 4 Season 11 is slated to begin on the Public Test Realm (PTR) on October 21, with the full season expected to launch on December 9. Meanwhile, Diablo 4’s second expansion is anticipated to arrive sometime next year.