Another Season is on the horizon, and our Nephalems will be again challenged to regain their power in Sanctuary. With the release of Rites of Sanctuary on February 24, players can expect tons of new rewards, such as cosmetics, item sets, and other essential materials. The new Season Theme will provide a more exciting journey for gamers ready to take on demonic dangers. Here is what players should expect for the Rites of Sanctuary update.

Season 28 Theme: The Rites of Sanctuary

The upcoming Season is introducing a new system that can bring out the full potential of your Nephalim. The next theme is the Rites of Sanctuary, a feature allowing players to gain perks and bonuses for their current seasonal characters. This altar contains 26 Seals, which will provide various effects to your gameplay. Here are all the traits you can obtain from the Rite of Sanctuary:

• Doubles Kill Streak Timer and Reward Bonus (A)
• Pools of Reflection are Retained throughout the Season and do not expire on death. (B)
• Equipment does not have Item Level requirements. (C)
• Gain +200 bonus damage (D)
• Gain an additional 25% missile damage reduction (E)
• Gain an extra 25% uncapped movement speed (F)
• Gain 15% additional damage against elites (G)
• Health Globes provides a shield based on 5% of your max HP for 5 seconds (stacks up to 5) (H)
• Gain additional 25% melee damage mitigation (I)
• Increase the cap of your elemental skill damage by 10% (J)
• Gain 20% additional damage against elites (K)
• Gain bonus 10% damage (L)
• Death’s Breaths drops are doubled (M)
• Critical Strikes give 15 Mana, 5 Hatred, 5 Wrath, 3 Arcane Power, 3 Fury, 5 Spirit, and 5 Essence (N)
• Completing Bounties drop double the amount of Bounty Caches (O)
• Automatically pick up progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts (P)
• Gain 25% additional damage reduction against elites (Q)
• Gain bonus 15% damage (R)
• Gain crowd-control immunity (S)
• Gain passability (T)
• Pets can pick up Death’s Breath (U)
• Gain one additional progress orb from Elite packs (V)
• Gain 25% additional damage against Bosses (W)
• Pets can pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items. (X)
• Gain 15% additional Dodge chance (Y)
• Gain increased chances of finding legendary items purchased from Kadala (Z)

Legendary Potion Effects:

• Drinking health potions manifests either increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction runic circles.
• All enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage every time you use your HP potion.
• Gain a random shrine or pylon bonus when you drink your HP potion.
• A second random primal item drops every time you get one.

All of these Seals can be unlocked, and they will remain for the whole Season. Players should note how difficult it is to obtain each bonus and how expensive each gets. To open a seal, you need to make a sacrifice, which will vary depending on what trait you are trying to get. Once you have unsealed one of the traits, you immediately receive the bonus they provide. Once you get all the Seals, you will receive the Wings of Terror Cosmetic as a reward.

How to Unlock a Seal

Unlocking a Seal is quite a task, requiring players to spend much time grinding specific items. Each rune requires different materials, so players are expected to farm different types of demons and hordes to get the necessary components. The ingredients needed are listed when you check the Altar of Rites menu. 

You will see how each rune branches from top to bottom when you interact with the interface. You can only unlock Seals connected to the last trait you have opened. This is why it is recommended for gamers to prioritize routes that benefit their class the most before they target to unseal everything.

New Primordial Ashes

Since obtaining Primal Items can be pretty challenging, a new feature is being introduced to make these things more accessible. Players can now salvage Primal gear to get 55 Primordial Ashes. If you have the recipe, these materials can be used to upgrade non-crafted Legendary items into the next tier. These blueprints can be acquired from Kanai’s Cube. Gamers should note that only one crafted Primal equipment can be used at a time, and their affixes will be randomized when upgraded.

Season’s Journey

With the release of Season 28, a new Season’s Journey will also be introduced. There will be a lot of conquests and journeys to complete, and not all of them are related to the current theme. Here are some examples of upcoming Conquests:

• Avarice or Avaritia 
• Boss Mode or Worlds Apart
• Sprinter of Speed Racer
• Thrill or Superhuman
• Universe or Master of Sets

Season 28 Class Sets

Every Season, players can grind chapters to receive a special reward. The Headrig’s Gift Class Sets will return for this update once again. Gamers should note that they can only acquire one set from this collection. Here are the lists of Class Sets for this Season:

• Horde of Ninety Savages (Barbarian)
• Aegis of Valor (Crusader)
• Gears of Dreadlands (Demon Hunter)
• Patterns of Justice (Monk)
• Mundunugu’s Regalia (Witch Doctor)
• Typhon’s Veil (Wizard)
• Masquerade of the Burning Carnival (Necromancer)

Release Date

Diablo 3 Season 28 will go live on February 24 at 5 P.M. PST/CET/KST. There are no details on the size of the update, so players should start the patch immediately when it becomes available. Check out all the class balancing before you enter the game.