Diablo 4 Season 9 Falls Flat After Season 8 Struggles
Diablo 4’s latest chapter, Season 9 titled ‘Sins of the Horadrim’, hit the ground on July 1, 2025, but it’s already facing a rough crowd. I dove into the chatter and found players are not happy, calling this season a low point, even worse than the bumpy ride of Season 8. The core issues seem to echo problems from before, leaving fans frustrated with Blizzard’s choices.
Season 8, named ‘Belial’s Return’, wasn’t exactly a fan favorite either. It brought new lair bosses like Belial, Urivar, and Harbinger of Hatred, plus a shift from Witch Powers to Boss Powers. The big change was the Reliquary battle pass system, which I found clunky and less rewarding than the old setup. Players felt it rushed out the door with bugs and missing features, making it a season most wanted to forget quickly.
Now, ‘Sins of the Horadrim’ promised fresh ideas like Horadric Spells and Jewels, plus tougher Nightmare Dungeons called Dungeon Escalations. The Horadric Spellcraft system lets you craft custom spells with base catalysts, elemental infusions, and arcana, tailoring them to your playstyle. I was excited about the idea of tweaking builds this way, but the execution feels off. Drop rates for arcana seem broken, making it hard to even test the system properly.
The new Dungeon Escalations sound intense—you fight through three dungeons, each harder than the last, with stacking affixes and a final boss, the Exalted Astaroth. Horadric Strongrooms, mini-dungeons with tough enemies and big rewards, also caught my eye. But these additions haven’t won players over. Technical hiccups, like stuttering at launch, are back, despite Blizzard claiming those were fixed long ago.
One bizarre change I noticed is the in-game chat font size—it’s suddenly huge, with no way to adjust it without messing up other UI elements. Small missteps like this add to the sense that Blizzard isn’t listening. Community creators, like those on Reddit, are vocal about their disappointment, with some saying they’ve lost the urge to play this season entirely.
Blizzard’s community director, Adam Fletcher, popped up on Twitter to hint at ‘big plans’ in the works. He insists the team hears the complaints, but I’m skeptical after seeing the same issues carry over from Season 8. The Reliquary system, which players disliked last season, is still here unchanged, despite promises of a future overhaul.
On the bright side, ‘Sins of the Horadrim’ isn’t all bad. The core game gets some tweaks that stick around outside the seasonal realm, and the new uniques for each class offer build variety—though some feel underwhelming. I also like that Diablo 4 is now on PS Plus and Game Pass, making it easier for new players to jump in.
Still, the mood around Season 9 is grim. After a lackluster Season 8, I hoped Blizzard would pull out all the stops. Instead, it feels like they’re stuck in a loop, repeating mistakes from the game’s rougher days. With the next expansion delayed to 2026, Blizzard needs to nail these seasons to keep players hooked. Right now, it seems like they’re swinging and missing.
