Woke up super early this morning buzzing for Season 8 launch. Seriously, couldn’t even finish my coffee before firing up D2R. Clicked that button, downloaded the patch, and boom – ready to dive back into the grind.
First Impressions Hit Hard
Jumped straight into a brand-new Barbarian. Didn’t mess around. Got that character created, picked my difficulty, and started smashing stuff in Act 1. Right away, noticed things felt… snappier? Like, loading times between zones were way smoother. Not a huge thing, but damn, it just felt nicer moving around.
Spent a couple hours just running through the Den of Evil and Tristram. Found myself grinning like an idiot when I spotted a few tweaks:
- Oily Cave entrance: Looks slicker than before, seriously cool new lighting effect.
- Monster bodies: Stayed on the ground longer! Finally! Made finding loot in piles way less stressful.
- Gold Piles: Picked up way faster now – massive quality of life win for my clicking finger.
Digging Into The New Stuff
Grinded my way up to Level 20 running Countess like crazy. Needed those runes, man. That’s when I started hunting for the brand-new Runewords. Took ages. Seriously, I must’ve killed her a hundred times. But finally! Landed a “Spirit” base sword drop. Felt unreal! Threw my runes in there hoping for the best. Ended up getting a decent roll, not god-tier, but good enough to carry me through Nightmare. The new options feel solid, like fresh tools for the job.
Leveling felt pretty smooth overall. Hit Level 50 doing Baal runs with a few randoms I met online. The shared XP seemed fair, didn’t feel like anyone got robbed. Everyone worked together well enough.
That Grind For Rewards
Okay, here’s where the real test began. Wanted those Season-specific cosmetics bad. Especially that shiny new Paladin aura effect everyone’s talking about. Required hitting Level 90 and finishing the Season Journey objectives.
- Leveling to 90: Pure. Grind. Ran Chaos Sanctuary non-stop. Killed Diablo a thousand times probably. Felt like it took forever, but seeing that level finally tick over? Huge relief.
- The Journey Tasks: Some were easy (clear certain areas). Others? Absolute pain. Found myself stuck for ages on the “Kill Hell Baal with 8 Players” objective. Finding a full group that doesn’t implode halfway is like herding cats! But finally nailed it late last night.
Unlocking the rewards screen felt awesome. That Paladin aura? Looks even better in-game than the previews. Totally worth the sore eyes and questionable sleep schedule.
Surprises & Final Thoughts
Not gonna lie, the biggest surprise wasn’t even in the patch notes! Seems like they silently buffed ethereal item drop rates. Found THREE really good ethereal bases within a few Hell Mephisto runs! One was a polearm with killer damage – instant Merc upgrade!
But yeah, overall? Season 8 is a blast. The core fixes make playing way more comfortable, the new Runewords add flavor, and the rewards are legit motivating. The grind to get them is still brutal, but hey, that’s Diablo, right? Feels good to be back smashing demons.
