Blizzard Entertainment has revealed details on the third season for their hit action role-playing game Diablo 4, titled “Season of the Construct”. Set to kick off on January 23rd, this new season brings a unique theme focused around dangerous mechanical creations, new endgame goals, gameplay changes, and more.
The Threat Rises
As outlined in Blizzard’s official season reveal trailer, Season of the Construct centers around “The Disassembler”, an enigmatic figure intent on awakening ancient mechanical monstrosities to threaten Sanctuary. Players must delve into new Vault dungeons filled with complex traps and powerful Construct enemies to try and stop The Disassembler’s plans.
This season is thematically tied to Zoltun Kulle, a notorious necromancer from Diablo lore known for his dangerous creations. Kulle’s legacy continues to haunt Sanctuary, and The Disassembler seeks to unleash this magical and mechanical menace upon the world. Players will have to be on alert exploring the new Vaults, as they are “designed to shred the unprepared”, warns Blizzard.
Explore the Vaults
The centerpiece of Season of the Construct are mysterious underground Vault dungeons. These procedurally generated labyrinths are the testing grounds and narrow tombs for Kulle’s ancient Constructs, holding magical artifacts and secrets within their depths.
Blizzard describes these Vaults as some of the most challenging endgame content yet for Diablo 4, requiring coordinated teamwork to safely navigate past complex traps and defeat the Disassembler’s Construct guards. The rewards are great for those who survive, including new legendary items with a Construct theme.
Three varieties of Vaults exist:
- Hazard Vaults: Focus on environmental traps and navigation challenges
- Horror Vaults: Emphasize combat with undead constructs and minions
- Hellish Vaults: Packed with demons and flames in an infernal setting
Players will need to prepare with their best builds and communication to completly clear these dungeons and their random layouts. Solo heroes can also hire new Construct companions, unlocked through the season journey, to aid in their adventures.
The Seneschal Construct
All players in Season of the Construct will be able to unlock and customize their own Sentinel Construct pet to battle at their side. Based on Zoltun Kulle’s workshop designs, these sturdy mechanical oddities can tank enemies, draw aggro, and support their masters in a variety of ways.
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Seneschal Construct Stats and Abilities
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The Seneschal is a key ally when taking on the Vaults and their legions of constructs. Their tanking capabilities provide a much needed frontline presence when things get crowded. Players will be able to modify their companion’s offensive and defensive capabilities at the blacksmith after gathering enough materials. |
Even lone wolf players now have a stalwart battle buddy to adventure with. The Seneschal should help offset the extreme danger of vault runs this season by managing swarming enemies. Their auras and buffs provide support options to build around as well.
Leaderboards and Rewards
Competitive players can test their skill against others on the new Vault Leaderboards featured in Season 3. Rankings will be based on how quickly Vault runs are completed, providing a challenging benchmark. Unique rewards like pets, titles, and portrait frames will be up for grabs as players climb the ladder regions.
The season journey also offers warbands new objectives to work towards, including set dungeon quests focused around the various Vault configurations. Special themed cosmetics are unlocked upon completion, letting players show off their dedication to mastering Kulle’s lairs.
In total, players can expect over 30 new legendary items through activities like vault raids, open world events, and visiting the mysterious black market merchant Xah’xl Uul-Diad. There is great incentive to experiment with Vault-themed builds using these powerful construct relics.
Other Changes
Aside from the Disassembler threat and deadly Vaults to raid, Season of the Construct also introduces a host of other changes and content additions to the world of Diablo 4:
- New world events and side dungeons featuring Constructs
- Revamps to underperforming Necromancer and Demon Hunter builds
- Improved matchmaking and new ping systems for warbands
- Additional character customization options
- Higher level cap to begin chasing the new top-end gear
- Optimizations to alleviate lag and performance problems
Blizzard indicates that some highly-requested features, like usable waypoints and skill bar changes, are still in development and likely won’t arrive until Season 4 or perhaps even Season 5. The team continues to prioritize server stability and endgame improvements first.
Still, a wide range of impactful changes both big and small should provide veterans and newbies alike plenty to dig into during Season of the Construct. The team seems responsive to community feedback so far and focused on meaningful updates over flashy temporary events.
Story Set Up for the Future
Narrative Director Ryan Gillard hints that Zoltun Kulle still has a larger role to play in Diablo 4’s overarching story despite meeting his demise back in Diablo 3. Gillard explains:
“We view Kulle as a morally grey figure who let dangerous ambition cloud his judgment. We want to fully explore these themes, along with questions of how far one should go in pursuit of knowledge.”
Fans speculating that The Disassembler may secretly be Zoltun Kulle himself therefore might have credence to their theories. Alternatively, the Disassembler could just be obsessed with restoring Kulle’s tarnished legacy of mechanical and necromantic brilliance without literally being Kulle.
Either way, Gillard asserts that Season of the Construct is just the start of a larger storyline setup that will play out more down the road leading into the next expansion. Players eager for more on Zoltun Kulle and his complicated past will have much more to look forward to as Diablo 4 continues evolving.
For now though, a more immediate narrow threat is brewing underground in those chaotic Construct-infested Vaults. Brave heroes have little time to lose before The Disassembler fully awakens and puts his apocalyptic contingency plans into action. Diablo 4 players will answer the call to adventure and unravel more of Sanctuary’s ominous mysteries when Season of the Construct releases on January 23rd.
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