Season of the Awakened Death: Everything About the Season 14 Launch

On **June 30 at 19:00 CEST**, in the wake of Mephisto's defeat, the **Season of the Awakened Death** (Season 14) descends upon Sanctuary. Dark rituals tear open the border to the Planes of Madness, a death cult is on the loose – and it falls to you to stop it. Here's everything you need to know about the season launch at a glance: new rifts, Mythic Uniques 3.0, Solo Self-Found, the Diablo IV × Overwatch collaboration, a free Warlock trial, and more. [youtube:Nuu7aOAw0is] [info]**Season start:** June 30, 19:00 CEST. **Pre-download** of Patch 3.1.0 is available from June 25, 19:00 CEST on Battle.net, Xbox, and PlayStation.[/info] ## Face the Horror of the Awakened Death  Dark rituals open arcane chasms all across Sanctuary – the **Rifts of Madness**. They appear most often in Hellflood zones. The longer you keep a rift open, the better the loot. Closing one rewards you with **Glimmers of Hope**, which you redeem at the Reputation Table in Zarbinzet. Through the Reputation Table and the seasonal boss you also gather **Fragments of Madness** to craft Mythic items. The season begins in Kyovashad: a raven warns you of a death cult – read the scroll and start the seasonal quest **"A Gospel of Despair."**  There are three rift types: - **Normal Rifts:** Everywhere in the overworld, especially common in Hellfloods. - **Swelling Rifts:** Replace local events within Hellflood zones. - **Colossal Rifts:** Only in the Fields of Desecration (the world boss arena southeast of Zarbinzet). ## Realmwalker 2.0  The **Realmwalkers** return to challenge everyone brave enough to take on the most dangerous rifts. Swelling Rifts can spawn a Realmwalker; Colossal Rifts guarantee one. Defeat it and a portal to the **Blood Toll Chamber** opens.  The Blood Toll Chamber is a single-room mini-dungeon – reachable by defeating a Realmwalker or through Nightmare Dungeons with the "Rift" affix. It's the best source of **Superior Lair Keys**, which you need to open the seasonal boss hoard. ## The Risen & the Corrupted Soul Reaper  The **Risen** bring a new monster family: **Corpse Trackers** pour out of the rifts and the Blood Toll Chamber. When killed, they drop orbs that strengthen the **Exarch** – intercept the orbs early to prevent its most powerful attacks.  The new seasonal boss is the **Corrupted Soul Reaper** at the Threshold of Madness in Zarbinzet. After the seasonal quest you can challenge it as often as you like – Superior Lair Keys unlock its reward chests. It offers the best drop rates for Mythic Uniques and Fragments of Madness. ## Mythic Unique Items 3.0  A major shift: **"Mythic" is no longer a rarity tier, but a modifiable item quality.** This means any unique can become a game-changing Mythic. How to get Mythics: - **Horadric Cube:** Upgrade uniques with **Fragments of Madness** (5 Fragments, item power 850+). - **Jeweler:** Craft using Magnificent Sparks and specific runes. - **Seasonal boss:** Direct drops from the Corrupted Soul Reaper. - **Seasonal rank & drops:** Class-specific Mythic chests, plus very rare drops from ancestral uniques.  Following PTR feedback, the rules were improved: upgrading now **preserves the item slot** (boots become Mythic boots), and all affixes are rerolled to their maximum values. [warning]**Important:** Each player can equip only **one self-crafted** Mythic item – Mythics found as loot count separately. All uniques still keep **two guaranteed affixes**.[/warning] ## Dominate the Tower and the Leaderboards  The Tower and Leaderboards leave beta. Depending on the rank you reach, there are cosmetic rewards – halos, prestige titles, and a season emblem showing your highest rank. They're handed out at the end of each reset and each season. New are dedicated leaderboards for Solo Self-Found (Normal and Hardcore). ## Solo Self-Found Mode  **Solo Self-Found (SSF)** is a new character state for lone wolves: no groups, no trading, sharing only with other SSF characters on the same account. Seasonal only (Normal or Hardcore) and not changeable afterward. You enable it when creating a character. ## Gameplay Updates  - **Sync War Plans:** Groups can now align their War Plan boards in Temis (cost: 2 El'Druin Marks, by vote). - Increased XP scaling from Torment VIII and higher, plus a higher baseline XP for Hellhordes and Nightmare Dungeons. - The **obol cap** is now 25,000 and the **gold cap** is 999,999,999,999. - Missing minimap icons in Nightmare Dungeons and the Pit, as well as boss trophies (incl. Astaroth and Bartuc), were added. ## Free Warlock Trial  From **June 30 to July 7 at 19:00 CEST** you can try the **Warlock class** for free – on Battle.net, Xbox, and PlayStation, up to **level 30**. Your progress carries over if you purchase the expansion later. ## Collaboration: Diablo IV × Overwatch  Starting June 30, you collect the **"Overwatch Eye"** currency by defeating elite and champion monsters. Use it to unlock legendary cosmetics in the free Overwatch Reliquary – including 2 emblems, 1 mount trophy, 3 weapon skins, and, for the first time, an **earnable cosmetic color**. The completion reward is **Kiriko's nimble and mischievous fox spirit** as a companion. ## Earn New Rewards Through the Season Rank  Across **nine ranks** and more than 120 account-wide goals you can earn, among other things, up to 12 Skill Points, up to 42 Paragon Points, up to 7 Magnificent Sparks, 5 Mythic chests, the "Greystone" companion, a mount trophy, and several titles.  With **Smoldering Ash** you unlock seasonal blessings: - **Urn of the Awakened Death:** More Glimmers of Hope from all sources. - **Urn of Reclamation:** Higher chance of rare materials when salvaging. - **Urn of Completion:** Higher chance of additional Obducite. - **Urn of Glyphs:** Bonus chance for an extra glyph upgrade. - **Urn of Ancestral Whispers:** Higher chance of ancestral chests on Whisper turn-ins. ## Look Forward to Twitch Drops  Watch eligible Diablo IV streamers for a total of at least 2 hours between **June 30 and July 15 (08:59 CEST)** and claim the cosmetic two-handed mace **"Final Brain Bash."** ## Reliquary for the Season of the Awakened Death The new Season Reliquary again offers a free and a deluxe track: - **Free:** Mount **Nangaria**, mount armor **Immortal's Horse Armor**, and town portal **Eye of Tyranny**. - **Deluxe Battle Pass:** Armor set **Winged Redeemer**, companion **Netherbeing**, and reactive **Redeemer's Wings**. --- *"When death awakens, it comes for us all." – The Diablo IV team* *For all the details and the full patch notes, see the [official Blizzard article](https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/24268702/).*