The Seneschal Companion
After the Season of Blood comes to an end, a new threat is emerging beneath the sands of Kehjistan. The influence of Zoltun Kulle persists in Sanctuary, as his creations take center stage in Season of the Construct. Players will face the demonic Malphas, who seeks to use the elemental constructs found in Zoltun Kulle’s vaults to cause chaos. It is up to the players to prevent Malphas from corrupting the constructs for his own nefarious purposes. Season of the Construct is set to launch on January 23, so players should ensure that they have completed all renown rewards for each region, gathered all Altars of Lillith, and acquired some gold to purchase high-quality leveling gear for their Seasonal character.
New Town Hub and Dungeon
The focus of this season is on Gatehall, the town linked to the new Vault dungeon constructed by the Horadrim Zoltan Kulle. Players will need to gear up to explore the Vaults, a brand-new dungeon filled with various elemental traps and corrupted constructs to battle. The Constructs, a new enemy species, will present players with different elemental variants and will be encountered alongside traps and other dangers in the Vault.
Players have the opportunity to earn Pearls of Warding, a currency that can be used to enhance the rewards after successfully clearing a Vault. Above ground, an open-world event called Arcane Tremors will task players with destroying Constructs that emerge from below within a time limit, with the help of their Seneschal Companion. Completing this event will result in the reward of Pearls of Warding, making future Vault runs even more fulfilling. To provide an additional challenge, Nightmare variant Vaults will be introduced for players looking for greater rewards in World Tier 3 and 4.
Weekly Leaderboard Challenges
A new activity, The Gauntlet, will accompany the Season of the Construct. This activity will feature a weekly rotation of fixed dungeons, as players compete to achieve the fastest completion time. The top performers will be immortalized in the Hall of the Ancients. Blizzard will release more details about this activity in the near future, so players should stay tuned for updates.
Governing Stone Functions
Blizzard has provided a list of the Governing Stones available, along with their attack patterns, allowing players to plan their builds in advance.
- Autodefense: The Seneschal Construct activates an anti-material field, shooting down enemy projectiles. It cannot intercept Boss or Player projectiles.
- Bushwhack: Quickly ambush, dealing damage to each target, with the potential to strike the same target multiple times.
- Firefly: Deploy a small construct that lands on the target and explodes three times, dealing damage.
- Focus Fire: The Seneschal Construct channels a ray of fire onto targets, dealing damage over time to each target.
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Tuning Stone Functions
To enhance the Seneschal Companion’s abilities, Tuning Stones alter the properties of the Governing Stones, further enhancing its offensive capacity. Players familiar with Path of Exile will find this mechanic reminiscent of the support gem system, where slotting a support gem next to a damage ability will add benefits to the skill it supports. These stones can help players leverage their synergies with the Companion, such as debuffing enemies and setting them up for their own burst damage.
- Voluminous Support: Increases the supported skill’s effect size.
- Swift Support: Grants the supported skill an Attack Speed bonus.
- Breaking Support: Instantly destroys enemy Barrier effects with damage from the supported skill, with a chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
- Tactical Support: Reduces the cooldown of the supported skill.
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Quality of Life Changes
The Season of the Construct will introduce some quality of life (QoL) features to improve the user experience for Diablo 4. While there is still work to be done, these accessibility options are a step in the right direction. Players can look forward to the introduction of WASD key movements for more precise control during combat, additional stash tabs available for purchase using gold, and easier respeccing in the skill tree. Furthermore, there will be UI enhancements for gold trading and other features to enhance the overall gaming experience in Season of the Construct.