When does Diablo 4 Season 8 start? Diablo 4’s season 8 release date brings with it a host of new content to dig into while keeping Sanctuary safe from Hell’s endless demonic hordes. Its name, Belial’s Return, gives away one of its significant additions, but there’s plenty more to tinker with while leveling characters between its start and end dates
After season 7 saw us embracing witchcraft, Belial’s Return allows us to use boss powers obtained by defeating strong foes. As we push towards the endgame, we’ll face off against familiar and returning opponents while helping our fellow wanderers in a new open-world activity and collecting powerful gear for our characters.
Diablo 4 Season 8 Release Date - Start and End Date Details
Unless last-minute issues arise in the lead-up to release, D4’s season 8 start date is currently expected to be April 29, 2025. Belial’s Return is then set to end sometime in July, possibly around the end of the month.
- Diablo 4 season 8 start date: April 29, 2025
- Diablo 4 season 8 end date: July 2025
Blizzard’s original goal was for the ARPG to have quarterly seasons, and while it mostly kept its promise, there have been a few delays along the way. Here’s hoping we won’t be hit with one this time around.
Diablo 4 Season 8 Content - Lair Boss Rework, Boss Powers, Apparition Incursions
The content and mechanics coming in Diablo 4’s Belial Returns season were first unveiled in a livestream that aired back in March 2025, during which the development team shared a number of key details.
First and foremost, lair bosses will be reworked, no longer requiring summoning materials to trigger their fights, which are now free. Instead, we’ll need lair keys to open the hoards that appear once these foes are defeated.
Three new bosses are also on their way in D4’s season 8, which lets those of us seeking a serious challenge take on Belial, who we last encountered in Diablo 3. A lesser form of his has the chance to spawn after defeating any other lair boss.
Urivar and The Harbinger of Hatred, seen in D4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion, will also join the roster of lair bosses now inhabiting Sanctuary.
As we slay these fearsome foes, we can draw their boss powers and use them against Hell’s hordes throughout Diablo 4’s season 8. A total of 24 will be available to fit into our builds either as a main power or as one of three modifiers.
13 can be acquired on any difficulty level, while 11 boss powers are reserved for characters braving Torment I and higher.
Apparition Incursions then add a boss rush-style open-world event. Participating eventually allows us to take down 10 bosses, each with its dedicated power.
Diablo 4’s Belial Returns season also brings with it a number of class, skill, and item balance changes. Blizzard aims to raise the overall difficulty since season 7 proved too easy to progress through.
An official blog post delves into all upcoming additions, revealing retired Vizjerei mage Sayeena and Cathedral of Light knight Jarius as the two NPCs we’re helping this season.
It also delves into the exact effects of D4’s season 8 boss powers as well as the new unique items being introduced.
The battle pass is also being split into four reliquaries. One can be accessed by all players without spending Platinum. The remaining three are locked behind individual payments 200/500/800 Platinum. Alternatively, you can buy the Battle Pass Bundle for 1,000 Platinum.
Their contents can be viewed at any time during the season but, like with previous battle passes, they do go away once season 8 ends.
In addition, season journey rewards have been shuffled around, so that the majority of Smoldering Ashes alongside the seasonal pet can be claimed by completing earlier chapters.
The planned changes go live as soon as season 8 does, but their tooltips will require a subsequent client update before they reflect the new reward structure.
The seasonal pet can be obtained by completing chapter VI. Here is a breakdown of how Smoldering Ashes are distributed:
- Chapter II: 2 Ashes via Chapter completion
- Chapter III: 2 Ashes via Chapter completion
- Chapter IV: 3 Ashes via Chapter completion + 1 Ash via Chapter objective
- Chapter V: 3 Ashes via Chapter completion + 1 Ash via Chapter objective
- Chapter VI: 3 Ashes via Chapter completion + 1 Ash via Chapter objective
- Chapter VII: 3 Ashes via Chapter completion + 1 Ash via Chapter objective
You can go through all the planned changes for patch 2.2.0 in the official patch notes thread over on the publisher’s website.
That is everything we know about Diablo 4’s season 8, its start and end dates, and the content it will bring.
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