While Blizzard pours its efforts into Diablo 4, the iconic Diablo 2 has been quietly kept alive and thriving by its dedicated fan community. If you’re yearning for classic ARPG action with a fresh twist, Project Diablo 2 Season 12 is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. This incredible fan-driven project consistently delivers updates as if the original development never paused, and the team has just unveiled a sneak peek at what’s coming in the next seasonal ladder.
It’s a common sentiment among long-time fans that Diablo 2 hasn’t received the same level of attention from Blizzard in recent years, often limited to simple ladder resets and minor holiday tweaks. However, Project Diablo 2 more than satisfies that classic itch. It introduces a plethora of new items, unique gear, and runewords, alongside regular balance adjustments designed to elevate weaker options to competitive power levels. Furthermore, it boasts an expanded endgame system inspired by Path of Exile, featuring a comprehensive mapping system, challenging group dungeons, and even uber bosses to truly test your most potent builds.
November marks an impressive five-year milestone for PD2, and Season 12 promises to revitalize perhaps the least-utilized weapon types in the game for many players. While bows and crossbows have seen significant use in other ARPGs like Path of Exile and Diablo 3, they’ve historically lacked a certain appeal in Diablo 2 – until now.
Instead of merely buffing the weapons themselves, the PD2 team is introducing a groundbreaking concept that Blizzard never explored: distinct ammo types with varying rarities and modifiers. For archers, new options include Crude Arrows, Sharp Arrows, and Razer Arrows. Crossbow users will find Light Bolts, Heavy Bolts, and War Bolts at their disposal.
These new projectiles offer inherent advantages: arrows gain an implicit boost to maximum damage based on their quality, while bolts provide implicit shredding for enemy physical resistance. Additionally, normal bases can feature one socket, while exceptional and elite bases can boast up to two. Players can also look forward to new crafting recipes and runewords specifically designed for these enhanced ammo types, details of which are still under wraps.
The team has also crafted 12 unique ammo options (six for arrows, six for bolts). For instance, ‘Tombsong’ arrows grant the ability to summon four additional skeleton archers while equipped, boosting their power, increasing your pierce chance, and enhancing damage against undead foes. ‘Frozen Sorrow’ bolts, on the other hand, amplify your cold skills, bypass enemy cold resistance, slow and drain mana from targets, and even offer a chance for devastating double-damage deadly strikes.
Beyond the ranged combat overhaul, Project Diablo 2 developers have implemented several other notable changes. The Blizzard skill has been reworked to deal area-of-effect damage directly where it lands. Corrupted zones will now yield maps more frequently, and completing Anya’s ‘hell quest’ will generously reward players with three tier-one maps instead of just one. For those who prioritize speed, large charms can now roll with prefixes that grant faster cast rate and increased attack speed. A much-requested quality-of-life improvement also arrives with a new search field for your stash, making item management a breeze.
While an official launch date for the new Project Diablo 2 season is yet to be announced, project lead ‘SenpaiSomething’ confirmed it will be revealed during the upcoming developer stream, scheduled for Saturday, November 8 at 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST / 6 PM GMT / 7 PM CEST. Remember, you’ll need a legitimate copy of Diablo 2 and its Lord of Destruction expansion to dive into this exciting mod.