When Season 9 launches on July 1, you’ll notice some changes that make Diablo IV feel more rewarding and engaging—especially if you’re deep into its endgame. For the first time, console players can use mouse and keyboard controls. This long-awaited feature opens up more precise gameplay options, giving you tighter control over your actions in Sanctuary.
While this change alone is a welcome quality-of-life improvement, the real meat of Season 9 lies in the expanded content for Nightmare Dungeons. These dungeons are a big part of the endgame experience, offering high-stakes challenges and generous loot—if you can survive. Over time, though, their layouts and objectives have started to feel repetitive. That’s where the new additions come in.
Nightmare Dungeons evolve with strongrooms and escalating challenges
Nightmare Dungeons are significantly upgraded with the introduction of Horadric Strongrooms and Escalating Nightmares. Horadric Strongrooms are mini-dungeons hidden within the main dungeon structure. If you find one and defeat its elite enemies, you’ll be rewarded with powerful loot and a temporary buff that helps you complete the rest of the dungeon.
The Escalating Nightmares bring a new challenge—a gauntlet of three linked dungeons, each harder than the last. These are not for the faint-hearted. If you face them at the game’s most challenging setting, Torment difficulty, your final encounter will be a fierce twist on the familiar Astaroth boss fight, revamped for maximum intensity. It’s designed to push even the most experienced players to their limits.
Blizzard keeps things fresh while the next big expansion waits in the wings
It may be some time before you see another massive expansion like Vessel of Hatred, but Blizzard isn’t leaving you hanging. Season 9 also introduces new dungeon affixes—modifiers that change how enemies behave and how you play through each dungeon. This means no two Nightmare runs feel the same, especially when combined with the existing procedural map generation.
If you’ve already sunk hundreds of hours into Diablo IV, these permanent changes give you fresh reasons to dive back in. The new content is designed to keep you engaged, offering rewards and surprises as you continue to shape your hero’s legacy in the dark world of Sanctuary.
Whether battling through Horadric Strongrooms or fighting your way to the final Astaroth encounter in Escalating Nightmares, Season 9 promises to keep the challenge alive long after the main story ends.
