The long wait for Diablo 2: Resurrected fans is almost over — ladder season 2 is close. The second season will open on October 6 (PST) with some new systems and items. While the updates may not be enough for some fans, the new systems and items will help the players diversify their skill trees.

 

Terror Zone

 

The first new feature is the Terror Zone. In the Terror Zone, monsters become stronger and gain higher treasure classes (TC), which enables players to farm in more diverse areas. In the original system, after a certain point, all players were rather forced to farm in specific areas, such as the Pit, Chaos Santuary, or play Baal runs due to the TC of the area. 

 

Now, to players that have killed Baal in that difficulty, specific areas will turn into Terror Zones every hour, which will have higher TC than usual. Blizzard said that they are implementing Terror Zones in order to have “the journey to level 99 be accessible to a larger population of players”. That being said, the Terror Zones will give out more EXP per its higher TC.

 

The Terror Zones’ monster levels are as follows.

 

Normal

Base: +2 levels up to level 45

Champion: +4 levels up to level 47

Unique: +5 levels up to level 48

 

Nightmare

Base: +2 levels up to level 71

Champion: +4 levels up to level 73

Unique: +5 levels up to level 74

 

Hell

Base: +2 levels up to level 96

Champion: +4 levels up to level 98

Unique: +5 levels up to level 99

 

The terrorized zones will be indicated in several ways:

• Unique iconography next to a terrorized monster's name
• On-screen text and messaging
• Special audio cue
• In-game text on the auto-map
• Unique environmental lighting
• Ember visual effects

The areas that can turn into Terror Zones are as follows.

 

Act I

Blood Moor and Den of Evil

Cold Plains and The Cave

Burial Grounds, The Crypt, and the Mausoleum

Stony Field

Dark Wood

The Forgotten Tower

Jail

Cathedral and Catacombs

The Pit

Tristram

Moo Moo Farm

 

Act II

Sewers

Rocky Waste and Stony Tomb

Dry Hills and Halls of the Dead

Far Oasis

Lost City, Valley of Snakes, and Claw Viper Temple

Arcane Sanctuary

Tal Rasha's Tombs

 

Act III

Spider Forest and Spider Cavern

Flayer Jungle and Flayer Dungeon

Kurast Bazaar, Ruined Temple, and Disused Fane

Kurast Sewers

Travincal

Durance of Hate

 

Act IV

Outer Steppes and Plains of Despair

River of Flame/City of the Damned

Chaos Sanctuary

 

Act V

Bloody Foothills

Frigid Highlands

Glacial Trail

Crystalline Passage and Frozen River

Arreat Plateau

Nihlathak's Temple, Halls of Anguish, Halls of Pain, and Halls of Vaught

Ancient's Way and Icy Cellar

Worldstone Keep, Throne of Destruction, and Worldstone Chamber

 

Every hour, one of these areas will randomly turn into Terror Zones. With the 2.5 patch going live, the Terror Zones are already available across the live servers.

 

Ladder Season 2 & Sundering Charms

 

The long wait for the next ladder season is just around the corner, as Blizzard announced October 6 as the start date of ladder season 2. In the past, the ladder for the original Diablo 2 was reset roughly about every 6 months — it seems that Diablo 2: Resurrected will follow its path.

 

One of the biggest expectations for Diablo 2: Resurrected fans were the new items Blizzard would include in the new ladder seasons, and to meet the fans’ expectations, Blizzard brought in “Sundering Charms”. Sundering Charms are unique grand charms that can disable the immunity of certain elements in exchange for a debuff. The new Sundering Charms specs are as follows.

 

The Black Cleft

Monster Magic Immunity is Sundered

Magic Resist -45% to -65%

 

The Bone Break

Monster Physical Immunity is Sundered

Physical Damage Received Increased by 10% to 30%

 

The Cold Rupture

Monster Cold Immunity is Sundered

Cold Resist -70% to -90%

 

The Crack of the Heavens

Monster Lightning Immunity is Sundered

Lightning Resist -70% to -90%

 

The Flame Rift

Monster Fire Immunity is Sundered

Fire Resist -70% to -90%

 

The Rotting Fissure

Monster Poison Immunity is Sundered

Poison Resist -70% to -90%

 

With the implementation of Sundering Charms, the players will be able to diversify their skill trees and farm in different areas more. For example, with The Cold Rupture charm, Blizzard Sorceresses will be able to farm in areas where there were monsters with cold immunity. The drawbacks of the Sundering Charms aren’t light, however, as they lift a high percentage of the characters’ resistance. They will still be quite effective in the players’ builds.

 

According to Blizzard, the Sundering Charms will be only available from drops in the Terror Zones, from monsters of Champion, Unique, Superunique, or Boss difficulty. Also, the Sundering Charms ability to break immunities will only affect non-players — PVP players should NOT carry them.

 

As mentioned above, the new systems and items will bring more diversity to the characters’ builds. It is quite clear that Sorceresses who build only one element would be clear beneficiaries of the Sundering Charms and Terror Zones.  What new styles will rise in the new ladder season?

 

All images via Blizzard