Diablo 4 patch notes finally fix one of its clunkiest endgame woes for Season 10

New Diablo 4 patch notes for Season 10 of Blizzard's ARPG have arrived, and there are quite a few reasons to be excited. It shakes up builds dramatically with the introduction of chaos armor and perks, and the team has finally addressed a long-term complaint about boss immunity phases. It's been a while since our last developer sit-down, but now we're joined by class designer Charles Dunn, game designer Aislyn Hall, lead seasons designer Ben Fletcher, and community director Adam Fletcher to talk about the Season of Infernal Chaos.

Up front, Adam Fletcher says the Diablo 4 team got feedback that the old campfire chats got "in a little bit of our own napkin math, we talk a little bit, we get into the weeds, and it comes across as a little hard to understand." While I can certainly understand the complaint here, the best games like Diablo require a measure of complexity, and I'd be sad if that was entirely relegated to patch notes. Perhaps Blizzard could opt for the more long-form edited style that Grinding Gear Games uses for Path of Exile in the future?

As for Diablo 4 Season 10 itself, I've already talked a little about how I'm hopeful for the new update, and these new patch notes only serve to reiterate that feeling. Chaos armor is the big seasonal feature, essentially reimagining many of D4's strongest uniques as more-potent versions that fit into another slot. As an example, you'll now be able to find a non-helmet version of the Crown of Lucion, allowing you to wear it alongside the likes of the Harlequin Crest. Blizzard has even taken some feedback to throw a few more items into each class since the PTR.

Elsewhere, one of the best pieces of post-PTR news is that boss immunity phases are gone. Now, the likes of the endgame lair bosses will instead gain a shield rather than becoming immune, providing them some protection against being instantly melted without simply negating your attacks. It's a system that will feel familiar if you've played Last Epoch, and it's largely been a success there, so I'm hopeful that it'll work well for Diablo 4 too.

That particular change is sticking around for the long term, and it's not the only piece of PTR feedback that's been implemented. Nightmare dungeon sigils will now display when they're valid for active Whispers, helping you quickly find the best options to run. The Chaos Rifts you run into during nightmare dungeons will also now be more juiced up, meaning better rewards, and the damage waves that pulse out from them no longer stack up multiple debuffs, so they should feel slightly less punishing.

Infernal Hordes have also been overhauled once more; the disappointing Soul Spires have been given some multiplicative bonuses to make them a lot more tempting. Chaos waves will spawn less frequently but offer a bigger payout. On the balance side, there are buffs on a lot of the class-specific chaos perks, with Rogue getting the most boosts, and the slight exception of Druid nerfs as the PTR proved them a little too potent in their previous state.

The Diablo 4 Season 10 release date is Tuesday September 23. You can read the full patch notes here. Overall, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about Diablo 4 right now. On the one hand, it still feels like Blizzard is in a holding pattern while we wait for new DLC. On the other, chaos uniques are certainly the most notable change in some time, and while they might not immediately sound exciting, it's likely to result in the most interesting Diablo 4 builds we've seen since the launch of Vessel of Hatred.

Check our rundown of the Diablo 4 classes if you're trying to decide what to play in the new season, and grab the best gaming keyboard to make sure every tap feels good.

Drop by the PCGamesN community Discord server and tell us if you're planning to play the new season - and, if not, what you'd need to see to come back.