Frogs aren't the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Diablo 4, but that might change with its upcoming season of witchcraft where you can summon a whole army of them. They're quite messy, smacking enemies with their poison tongues and then exploding into a green mist. Skeletons could never, which is why I suspect everyone, including necromancer players, will be clamoring to become the ultimate frogmancer.
Blizzard spent a small portion of its recent stream going over the new seasonal witchcraft powers coming with season 7 in January. The exploding frogs are one of several spells you can find and upgrade throughout the season, much like season 2's vampiric powers. A shambling new enemy type, called the Headrotten, have invaded Diablo 4's open world and slaying them helps fill out your spellbook.
The existing Grim Favors system, which sends you out into the world to complete short objectives for a cache of loot, will be the focus of the season. Various regions will be taken over by Headrotten for you to hunt down and earn a new currency to spend at an expanded settlement at the base of the Tree of Whispers—something players have wanted for a while now. Blizzard says season 7 is a big experiment for what the Grim Favors could look like in the future.
There are of course more spells than just the exploding frogs, including:
- An eldritch orb that circles you and sets enemies on fire
- Spirits that dart around and protect you from taking damage
- A magical cyclone that sucks up monsters dealing heavy damage
- A cauldron of fiery bats that stun enemies
Skip to 54:04 to see the frogs.
A bigger list is available in the blog post. Every spell gains a bonus effect at its maximum level, and they're designed to offer a broad benefit that everyone can utilize, like a flat damage increase or extra movement speed. Blizzard plans on going into more detail closer to the launch of the season, but the way you manage your powers looks like an iteration of the UI that was introduced with season 3's robot spider companion. Spells have tags just like skills and have a bunch of synergies for combining different types.
Several of these new powers will be in the upcoming public test realm version of the season, which will run from December 3 to 10 on Battle.net. As usual, there are also tons of balance changes, including much-needed nerfs to spiritborn, new build-defining unique items, and a long-requested system for quick-swapping your gear and build in towns called The Armory.
Diablo 4's next season—which doesn't have an official name yet—will begin on January 21.
The co-creator of Dark Souls' most ambitious mod resurfaces to inform me that Blighttown, source of my nightmares, was cobbled together with '10 bits of wood'
I became a domestic terrorist to steal a lightbulb in the best immersive sim I've played this Steam Next Fest—and it isn't even a Next Fest demo
