Diablo 3 Season 28 Details Revealed, Tests Starting Soon

Diablo 3's next season, Season 28, will get underway in the next couple of weeks, but Diablo fans will be able to test out the new season's contents sooner than that. Blizzard revealed this week the plans for Season 28's theme and the gameplay mechanics it introduces which just so happen to be perfect leadups to systems already in place in Diablo 4. The new season's theme is "Rites of Sanctuary," and players will be able to test it starting on January 31st.

The Rites of Sanctuary theme centers around something called the "Altar of Rites" which itself offers players Seals and Potions to unlock and acquire. By navigating through a web of Seals in the Alter of Rites, you'll be able to acquire different abilities that last throughout the rest of Season 28, assuming you've got the resources required to unlock those Seals. Some of the resources needed to unlock Seals include Bloodshards, Forgotten Souls, and a Staff of Herding. It's up to players what order they want to unlock these ability-granting Seals in, but each Seal is more expensive than the previous one.

Potions work in a similar fashion and augment players' health potions when drank. There are three of those to choose from, each of those found below.

Diablo 3 Season 28 Potions

• Potion AA: When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction.
• Potion AB: When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage.
• Potion AC: When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or pylon effect.

The ultimate effect to be earned from the Alter of Rites is one that makes it so that "When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well." Primal items have also been tweaked slightly for this season to account for the fact that Primordial Ashes – a very rare resource – are required to acquire each of the three Potions.

"Acquiring enough Primordial Ashes to offer to the Altar of Rites is no small task. That's why we are adding a new Primordial Ashes feature with this patch to aid in your quest," Blizzard said. "At the Blacksmith, you can now salvage a Primal Item for 55 Primordial Ashes. We have also added a Primal Item recipe to Kanai's Cube—it will cost 100 Primordial Ashes and any non-crafted Legendary Item."

If you're wondering how all of this ties into Diablo 4, that game features sprawling skill trees for classes with unique abilities and effects to invest points in. It's much more involved than the one featured in the Alter of Rites, but the skill tree in Diablo 3 Season 28 is a perfect segue into what's coming next.