Blizzard has announced that Diablo 4’s 2.3.0 Public Test Realm will open next week, giving players a chance to try out the upcoming changes slated to go live alongside Season 9. Lasting between May 27 and June 3, the PTR offers a taste of the powerful Horadric Spells we’ll soon get to wield while exploring the game’s newly expanded dungeons.
Season 9’s Horadric Spells offer a different take on powers, a major theme of the game’s 2025 roadmap, that we can customize using three key pillars. Catalysts determine the base power of our spells, Infusions modify the type of elemental damage they deal, while Arcana alters their baseline power.
Diablo 4 2.3.0 PTR
Aside from mixing and matching pieces of Horadric spells, Diablo 4’s 2.3.0 PTR also lets us delve into Horadric Strongrooms.
Discovered inside Nightmare Dungeons by using our Wayfinder, obtained via the seasonal questline, they offer a time-based challenge that promises great rewards to any character that proves quick enough to complete them.
Another way Season 9 expands Diablo 4’s dungeon experience is through the introduction of Escalating Nightmares, a new endgame activity that challenges us to complete chains of three Nightmare dungeons.
Each dungeon’s affixes stack as we move to the next, but with increased difficulty come increased rewards. At the end of the chain, we’ll get to battle an exalted version of Astaroth, a familiar boss that boasts new combos.
New Nightmare dungeon affixes are also available while Diablo 4’s 2.3.0 PTR is live. We also get to test Horadric Jewels that can be socketed into amulets and rings, providing new avenues of customization.
The developer is also looking to get feedback on several new unique items. You can check out the full list on the blog dedicated to this Public Realm Testing round.
Diablo 4’s 2.3.0 PTR will be live between May 27 and June 3, giving us a full week to try out (some of) the new features planned for Season 9.
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