Get ready to slay demons and burn through Greater Rifts as Diablo 3 Season 17 begins Friday, May 17 at 5 P.S.T. on all platforms.
The majority of the notes from the patch 2.6.5 PTR were covered here, and since that time Blizzard has made a few changes that will be live at the start of the season, which will be covered below.
First, Blizzard has stated that going forward there will not be a definite end date planned for each season, but that players can expect them to last around 3 months at a time. This allows for a little bit of wiggle room to better plan and test for upcoming seasons. This is also a relief to players who considered four-month seasons to be too long, often resulting in little to do but grind and keep pushing on the ladders to maintain their spots.
A bit of bad news now as the plan to augment Stash Tabs from 4 to 9 has now been reduced instead to a new total of 5. Blizzard explained that despite various attempts, there were consistent and unforeseen technical errors that resulted from attempting to grant the additional storage space. They did however indicate that this issue was for the PC, and so no word as of yet if consoles will be receiving the full storage increase.
Briefly speaking to the power of the class starter set to be obtained via Haedrig's Gift, players should be in for a great time. As of the previous class set rework of Season 16, all sets became viable for later rifts, and each starter looks quite promising.
A quick note for players that are looking to play Hardcore this season. Demon Hunters are being gifted the Shadow’s Mantle set, and while this is nice in that it includes a weapon, new players to Hardcore should be mindful of the required playstyle.
While an Impale build is powerful, and perhaps one of the strongest sets in the game, it requires for an aggressive playstyle that puts your generally squishy character in the middle of a fight, rather than far away in the relative safety of either Multi-shot or Cluster builds. Be careful here, or risk losing your single free class set in the blink of an eye!
A final word regarding the weekly Challenge Rift that reset this past Monday. If you have not yet completed it for a reward, hold off until the season begins so that you can claim it on your new, gear-starved character. Check back soon for our detailed guide on the starter sets that will be available for each class, as well as predictions for which builds will be on top this season.