Diablo 4 Season 9 has come to a close, and while it brought some notable innovations—such as Horadric Spells, Strongrooms, Escalating Nightmare Dungeons, and a new boss fight with Astaroth—the community’s reception has been mixed. Some seasoned players, known for their in-depth engagement with new seasonal content, shared an in-depth post-mortem of the season’s systems and progression. Here’s a breakdown of what worked, what didn’t, and whether Season 9 was truly worth your time.
⭐ Horadric Strongrooms: Cool Concept, Flawed Execution
One of the central features of Season 9 was the Horadric Strongroom, a hidden event that can appear during Nightmare Dungeons. Triggered by a mysterious portal, players entered a sub-zone filled with monsters, rituals, and attunement mechanics meant to reward effort with exclusive loot and materials.
While players appreciated the randomized modifiers and interactive mechanics, such as the Sacrifice Obelisk, the system suffered from a major issue: a lack of clarity. There was no progress bar to track attunement goals, making it difficult to gauge one’s progress or anticipate rewards. This, combined with a limited reward ceiling, often made the experience feel underwhelming—especially for high-end players farming materials like Obducite, which oddly didn’t drop in Strongrooms at all.
“You go through three rituals, reach max attunement, kill a boss… and the loot? Five items and some vials. Not bad, but not exciting either.”
– Season 9 Player Review
🔮 Horadric Spells: Useful but Uninspired
Season 9 also introduced Horadric Spells, customizable abilities players could slot into builds for utility or damage. While some spells like Propulsion and Disintegrate offered unique effects and synergy with Catalyst and Jewel systems, many players found them more functional than fun.
Spells mainly served to apply barriers, stuns, or crowd control—not jaw-dropping damage. They were perceived as a downgrade from the Season 8 Boss Powers, which had felt more impactful and transformative for character builds.
“They help with survival, sure. But once you set them up, you never touch that menu again. It’s forgettable.”
💠 Horadric Jewels: A Bright Spot
Unlike the spells, Horadric Jewels were generally well received. Dropped from Strongrooms and craftable via recipes, these passive modifiers provided cooldown reduction, resistance bonuses, and powerful build enhancements. Some offered effects like boosting summon damage after a kill or enhancing infusion potency.
Players noted that these jewels meaningfully changed playstyles, encouraging experimentation—something the rest of Season 9 lacked.
🌀 Nightmare Dungeon Escalation: Good Idea, Limited Appeal
A new alternative to Infernal Hordes, the Nightmare Dungeon Escalation chain tasked players with completing three dungeons back-to-back before facing Astaroth, the new boss. The loop was smoother and faster than time-gated Infernal Hordes, but it came with some caveats:
• The dungeons were randomized, meaning players had to suffer through unoptimized or boring layouts.
• No crafting for escalation sigils; they could only be earned through Strongrooms.
• Astaroth’s loot was disappointing—no guaranteed Greater Affix Diablo 4 items and insufficient Obducite drops.
Despite the flashy boss fight, many felt that after completing their spell and vial grind, there was no reason to repeat the content.
⚔️ Character Power and Nerfs
Season 9 also came on the heels of major nerfs to character builds. Despite this, player feedback indicated that characters could still reach high-end content, such as Pit 75, or deal billions of damage with optimized setups. However, the loss of the Season 8 boss powers meant that the builds felt flatter and more defensive.
“We’re still strong—but not excitingly strong. It’s stable, not spectacular.”
❌ Bugs, Gating, and Player Frustrations
Several bugs marred the experience:
• Questline bugs, such as the “Reopening the Wound” quest, stalled seasonal progression.
• Players could exploit or experience issues with infinitely usable lockets and temper rerolls for cooldown reduction—features likely unintended and potentially game-breaking.
This led to a sense that Season 9 was unpolished, especially when compared to earlier seasons, such as Season 1 or the controversial Season 8.
🎯 Final Verdict: Was Season 9 Worth It?
Yes—if you’re new or curious about the systems. No—if you’re a returning veteran expecting innovation.
Season 9 introduced solid ideas: dungeon escalation, spell and infusion systems, and collectible jewels. However, their implementation lacked depth, polish, and reward payoff. The grind didn’t feel meaningful beyond a certain point, and bugs plus nerfs further dulled the experience.
TL;DR:
• ✅ Jewels were fun and impactful
• ⚖️ Spells were useful but boring
• ❌ Strongrooms lacked reward and clarity
• ❌ Astaroth boss fight didn’t deliver satisfying loot
• ❌ Seasonal questline bugs broke the flow
For Blizzard to reinvigorate Diablo 4 in Season 10, the formula needs more than layered mechanics—it needs clarity, progression satisfaction, and powerful rewards that respect players’ time.
