Diablo IV PTR 2.5.0: Major Overhaul to Combat, Gear, and Endgame for Season 11

Blizzard Entertainment has officially rolled out **Diablo IV PTR version 2.5.0**, unveiling sweeping core changes that promise to reshape itemization, monster combat, progression, and endgame content ahead of **Season 11**.

Players on the PTR can now test these changes firsthand – and the devs are clearly aiming for a bold reset in how Sanctuary feels and plays.

Monsters Get Smarter: Combat Overhaul and Affix Depth

One of the most striking shifts in this PTR is the complete rework of monster AI and combat behavior. Enemies no longer follow static templates or predictable patterns: they now act more independently, stay in formations with distinct roles, and dynamically adapt to the player’s movement. Expect fewer mindless packs and more thoughtful encounters, where grouping becomes riskier and fights demand active tactical awareness.

To support this, Blizzard is introducing **20+ new monster affixes** – that is, special modifiers that change how monsters behave in battle. Champions now spawn as **theme-based packs**, with supporting minions inheriting leader affixes and reinforcing synergy between them. Enemy targeting is sharper, and affix combinations are crafted to feel more impactful.

Fewer RNG Headaches: Tempering, Masterworking, and Base Affixes Revamped

To tackle the frustrations of randomness in gear upgrades, the team has retooled both **Tempering** and **Masterworking**. The tempering system is being stripped of random affix rolls: instead, you select the exact affix from a recipe. Each item may hold only **one tempered affix**, but you can restore Tempering charges indefinitely, giving you more control and flexibility.

Meanwhile, **Masterworking** has been simplified and refocused. Rather than upgrading affix rolls (as before), Masterworking now *raises the item’s base Quality* – translating to increased stats such as armor, damage, or resistances. Each tier of Masterworking adds between 2 and 5 Quality levels, capping at +20. When an item reaches max Quality, a **Capstone bonus** triggers: it randomly upgrades one existing affix into a **Greater Affix**. Importantly, you may reroll that Greater Affix without losing Quality – a safeguard for min-maxers.

Additionally, **non-unique gear** will now carry **four base affixes**, up from the previous three, boosting flexibility and build diversity in the mid-tier and crafting space.

Sanctification: The Final Blessing for Gear

One of the boldest additions is **Sanctification**, a late-stage upgrade layer. The lore reads like divine favor – the Heavens observing your relentless struggle against the Evils and granting mortals newfound energy. In mechanical terms, Sanctifying an item can:

• Grant powerful **bonus Legendary powers**
• Enhance or replace existing affixes
• Add entirely new **Sanctification affixes**
• Render the item **indestructible**

Acquisition splits into two tracks: **Heavenly Anvils** (available more broadly) and **Heavenly Sigils**, reserved for **Torment-tier items**. Once an item is Sanctified, it becomes locked – no further modifications are allowed. It’s designed to be the ultimate upgrade you apply only when all other augmentations are finalized.

Stats & Sustain: Toughness, Health, Life on Hit, and Potions Redesigned

To streamline defensive performance, a new composite stat named **Toughness** is being introduced. This single metric aggregates your average resistance and durability across damage types, giving players an at-a-glance sense of survivability against complex threats.

The **healing and recovery systems** have also been rebalanced. Potions are now strictly capped at **4**, regardless of Renown rank. Each potion triggers an instant heal equivalent to **35% of your total HP**, and a cooldown of **30 seconds** applies before they regenerate. The prior potion upgrades system has been retired, now baked into the baseline scaling of health progression.

To bolster sustain during combat, the **Life on Hit** affix is returning, and other life-sustaining affixes have been buffed across the board. In sum, torchlight strategies of constant micro healing and recovery are being refined into more predictable and reliable patterns.

The Return of the Lesser Evils in Season 11

Season 11 is reintroducing classic Diablo antagonists – the Lesser Evils – into Diablo IV’s endgame, each tailored to a particular mode:

• Duriel now invades **Helltide**. In addition to the mode’s trademark meteors, **parasitic maggots** will spawn and harass players.
• Belial uses **Belial Eyes** – these appear randomly within **The Pit**. Destroying an Eye stuns nearby foes and triggers a wave of **Belial apparitions**. Destroy enough, and Belial himself replaces the final boss. Defeating him grants a **Glyph upgrade** and other bonus loot.
• Andariel lurks in the **Kurast Undercity**, where players unlock **three new Undercity Tributes**. These Tributes boost run rewards, infuse dungeon affixes, and guarantee Andariel as the final boss.
• Azmodan stomps through Sanctuary as a new **World Boss**, appearing in multiple zones. You may also **summon him at will** from **three Summoning Altars**, each altar channeling one of the other Lesser Evils’ powers.

Each Lesser Evil now presents a unique challenge and reward, giving veteran players fresh reason to traverse every game mode.

Divine Gifts & Seasonal Progression Overhaul

A novel **Divine Gift** system is also being layered into Season 11. The angel **Hadriel** bestows gifts that come in three versions: a base reward, a **Corrupted Gift**, and a **Purified Gift**. Here’s how they work:

• When slotted, a Divine Gift activates its **reward bonus**, boosting drop rates, XP, or other rewards tied to that gift.
• A **Corrupted Gift** adds a penalty or difficulty modifier to the activity, but the reward bonus remains active.
• **Purified Gifts** remove the penalty altogether, inject a positive trait, and **double the rewards** granted.

By default, Corrupted Gifts unlock automatically. Purified slots become available via the **Seasonal Reputation board**, requiring progression to unlock and empowering choice over difficulty and payoff.

On top of that, the **Renown system** gets split across realms. Renown becomes **permanent in the Eternal Realm**, while **Seasonal progression** shifts to **rank advancement**. To reach the next rank, players must clear a **Capstone Dungeon**, and doing so rewards skill points, **Paragon currency**, **Smoldering Ashes**, and cosmetics. It’s a more structured, goal-oriented system than previous season loops.

The Tower: A New Competitive Dungeon Challenge

To retarget high-end competitiveness, Blizzard is introducing **The Tower**, an endgame dungeon gauntlet unlocked in **Cerrigar**. Each Tower run features a **10-minute timer**, procedurally generated layouts, randomized affixes, and Pylon buffs from one of four **Shrine types**. Players must kill monsters or collect Orbs to fill a progress bar – once full, a boss spawns.

At completion, your times and achievements feed into global **Leaderboards**, segmented by:

• Solo (by class)
• Party (2–4 players)
• Game mode (Normal / Hardcore)
• Platform filters
• Clan or Friends view

Speedrunning elites, gear optimizers, and competitive groups should all find plenty to chase here.

How Big Are These Changes – and Can Blizzard Win Back Players?

This PTR is more than a patch: it’s a **systemic revision** across item power, monster behavior, progression, and competitive meta. Blizzard seems especially motivated to reengage dormant players as they prepare for 2026’s second expansion. Whether these sweeping changes will land well – or drive new pain points – remains to be seen.

The PTR runs from **October 21 through October 28**. Fans and skeptics alike can test the vision firsthand. With the breadth of changes – ranging from AI upgrades to new stats, gods, mechanics, and dungeons – Diablo IV is positioning its next season as a turning point.

Stay tuned for deep dives, class-specific analyses, and PTR final patch notes as we inch closer to the official rollout. The war against the Evils continues – but in Season 11, it’s set to feel very different.