Season 28 Rites of Sanctuary Now Live

In Diablo III, you’ll embark on a great adventure and enjoy a cinematic experience that will set the stage for your impending journey through Sanctuary and your fight against the evils of the Burning Hells.

Power from the days of yore rests silently across Sanctuary, waiting to be uncovered once more. To what ends is for you to decide, Nephalem. Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary, goes live on February 24 at 5 p.m. PST/CET/KST. For an in-depth look at the seasonal theme, rewards, and the balance changes made between the end of the Patch 2.7.5 PTR and now, take a gander below.

The final season of Diablo III!

Season 28 Theme

“Oh, the pursuit of coin makes you do the most foolish things, but mining is profitable. Our search for ancient Nephalem artifacts forces us to enter a mangled mass of corroding foliage and decaying flora. We chipped away at stone after stone until my tool made a hardy thunk into the rock and the foulest stream of gas spewed out. The other miners helped me dig out the biggest artifact I’ve ever seen—an ominous-looking altar. As we began to investigate this curious find, a faint whisper infiltrated my thoughts. It was not one voice, but a collective. Who they are I’m unsure of, but I can be certain that we must share our discovery with others. We began the long haul back to New Tristram with our prized discovery. A few days passed, many townsfolk came to view the Altar and left. Then, the Nephalem marched into town and requested to see the Altar. . .”
-New Tristram Miner

Season 28 introduces Rites of Sanctuary, our new seasonal theme. Using the ancient Altar of Rites, curious Nephalem can follow the instructions, sacrificing various materials for unspeakable power that lasts the entire season. Source: Blizzard

Season Cosmetic Rewards

Beginning with Season 17, we began reintroducing previous rewards to make them available to players who may have missed them the first time around. For Season 28, this means rewards originally available from Season 16 are returning. In addition to the Helm and Shoulder slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, players can earn a brand-new series of portrait frames themed around the clarion call of adventure. For the most devoted cosmetic collectors, we have a pair of wings fit for a monarch. The Wings of Lempo draw inspiration from some of the noblest creatures in Sanctuary, and aside from a cosmically rare drop, few other wings are quite as lovely.

As in past seasons, two new End of Journey cosmetic rewards will be obtainable during Season 28. Gaze upon the Taennin the Tiny pet as she shimmers among the stars, leaving ripples of the purest light behind, and tap into your wild side with the Primal Hunter portrait.

Season Journey Rewards

If you’ve been diligently slaying demons to reach Conquerer in the Season Journey previously, you’ve surely accrued extra stash tabs. You’ll earn one additional tab each Season by finishing the Conquerer tier, up to a maximum of five:

Guardian of Sanctuary: Finish a level 70 Nephalem Rift on Torment XIII difficulty within five minutes.
Gem of My Life: Level three Legendary Gems to level 55.
All I Do is Win: Complete two Conquests this Season.
In For the Kill: Kill Azmodan at level 70 in under 30 seconds on Torment X difficulty.
Money Ain’t a Thang: Slay Greed on Torment X difficulty. Treasure Goblins outside of Nephalem Rifts will sometimes open portals to Greed’s domain, The Vault.
Take U There: Reach Greater Rift Level 60 Solo. Greater Rift keystones can be obtained from any Nephalem Rift guardian.
Power Amplification: Use Kanai’s Cube to augment an Ancient Legendary item with a level 50+ gem.
Cubic Reconfiguration: Use Kanai’s Cube to reforge a Legendary item.

Seasonal Conquest

Speaking of Conquests, we’re rotating those, too! Here’s all the conquests returning for Season 28:

Speed Demon and Need for Speed (Hardcore) – Complete a Nephalem Rift at max level on Torment X within 2 minutes.
On a Good Day and I Can’t Stop (Hardcore) – Level three Legendary Gems to level 65.
Boss Mode and Worlds Apart (Hardcore) – Kill the following bosses at max level on Torment X within 20 minutes of the start of the game.
Curses! and Stars Align (Hardcore) – Kill 350 or more monsters in a Cursed Chest event at level 70 on Torment X difficulty.
Years of War and Dynasty (Hardcore) – Reach Greater Rift Level 55 Solo without the bonuses of six of the following Class sets.

Haedrig’s Gift

Finally, the Class Sets rewarded for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey courtesy of Haedrig’s Gift have rotated once more. We’ve listed the available Sets below. For those new to Seasons, here’s how it works:

Completing Chapters II, III, and IV of the Season Journey will reward you with three of Haedrig’s Gifts. These contain a few pieces from one of your Class Sets. Players can only unlock one Class Set in this manner per Season across Hardcore and Non-Hardcore, so choose wisely!

The set you receive depends on the class of the character you’re playing when you open each Haedrig’s Gift. To collect a full Class Set, you’ll need to open all three on the same character.

Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 28:

Barbarian – Horde of the Ninety Savages
Crusader – Aegis of Valor
Demon Hunter – Gears of Dreadlands
Monk – Patterns of Justice
Witch Doctor – Mundunugu’s Regalia
Wizard – Typhon’s Veil
Necromancer – Masquerade of the Burning Carnival

Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary

For Season 28, Rites of Sanctuary, we’re travelling deep into the mysterious ruins of the Festering Woods. Amid a mining expedition, citizens hailing from New Tristram stumbled across an ominous Altar carved from an archaic material bearing cryptic markings. Shaken to their core by the eldritch aroma of the monolith, they’ve enlisted the assistance of brave Nephalem willing to investigate this sinister discovery that was once left to time—the Altar of Rites.

Home to power thought to be extinct from Sanctuary, the Altar of Rites will bestow these mystic forces upon worthy Nephalem. . .after a sacrifice is offered. You can begin interacting with the Altar of Rites at Level one.

Upon arrival at the Altar of Rites, players will see 26 icons called Seals and three Legendary Potion Powers. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the elements below.

Seal and Legendary Potion Powers

Seal	Power
A	Your Kill Streak timer duration and reward bonus are doubled.
B	Pools of Reflection last for the entire Season and are not removed by death.
C	Items have no level requirement.
D	+200 Damage
E	+25% Missile Damage Reduction
F	+25% Movement Speed (Uncapped)
G	Increase damage against elites by 15%.
H	Picking up Health Globes grants a shield for 5% of your maximum health for 7 seconds. Max stacks 5.
I	+25% Melee Damage Reduction.
J	Increases your highest elemental skill damage bonus by 10%.
K	Increase damage against elites by 20%.
L	~~+10% Damage~~ +20% Damage
M	Double the amount of Death’s Breaths that drop.
N	Critical hits grant resource: Mana: 15, Hatred: 5, Wrath: 5, Arcane Power: 3, Fury: 3, Spirit: 5, Essence: 5.
O	Double the amount of Bounty Caches that drop from completing bounties.
P	~~Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up.~~ Progress orbs from Nephalem and Greater Rifts are automatically picked up within 60 yards.
Q	Reduces the damage taken from elites by 25%.
R	~~15% Damage~~ +30% Damage
S	Gain immunity to crowd-controlling effects.
T	Gain passability.
U	Pets pick up Death’s Breath.
V	Elite packs drop one additional progress orb.
W	Increase damage done to Bosses by 25%.
X	Pets pick up and salvage common, magic, and rare items.
Y	Increase your chance to Dodge by 15%.
Z	Double the chance to find a legendary item purchased from Kadala.
Potion AA	When you drink your health potion, you manifest one of three runic circles on the ground that grant increased damage, increased cooldown reduction, or increased resource cost reduction.
Potion AB	When you drink your health potion, all enemies within 25 yards deal 25% less damage.
Potion AC	~~When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or pylon effect.~~ When you drink your health potion, gain a random shrine or the Dimensional Power pylon effect.
AD	When a primal item drops, a second random primal item drops as well.

How Seals and Potions Work

As you can see, after unlocking the first Seal, the order in which you unlock additional Seals and obtain their powers is entirely up to you and which powers align with your character’s build the most. Once a Seal or Legendary Potion Power is unlocked, you’ll immediately receive that Seal or Potion’s power and will have the ability to unlock connected Seals or Potions once you have the required materials. All Seals and Potions can be unlocked by players and the powers apply to all your characters—these powers last for the entirety of Season 28.

How to Unlock Seals and Potions

Unlocking Seals and Potions will be no easy feat, especially after multiple sacrifices—you’ll find yourself rummaging across Sanctuary slaying scores of demons hellbent on preventing you from acquiring the Altar of Rites’ full power.

Players must gather materials listed in the Altar of Rites menu and sacrifice them in order to gain a Seal or Potion’s power. In addition to receiving the power after unlocking, you’ll notice the generic text previously displayed has been swapped with a small story scrap about Sanctuary’s tumultuous past.

To unlock a Seal, the one preceding it must be unlocked first (this does not apply to Seals R, S, and T because of how they’re positioned within the Altar). For example, if you want to unlock Seal B or C, Seal A must already be unlocked. There is no limit to how many Seals or Potions can be unlocked within a given time period, if you have the required materials to sacrifice to the Altar. Regardless of the order in which you unlock Seals and Potions, the cost will increase as shown below.

Study the cost of each sacrifice and theorize where within Sanctuary you can find some of these rare materials.

Costs to Unlock a Seal or Legendary Potion Power

#	Cost
1	10 Reusable Parts
2	1 Flawless Diamond (or greater), 15 Arcane Dust, 20 Resuable Parts
3	1 Greater Rift Key, 10 Death’s Breaths
4	Any Class Specific Set Helm
5	20 Forgotten Souls, 10 Khanduran Runes, 10 Caldeum Nightshade, 10 Arreat War Tapestry, 10 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 10 Westmarch Holy Water
6	1 Leoric’s Regret, 1 Vial of Putridness, 1 Idol of Terror, 1 Heart of Fright
7	Reaper’s Wraps
8	30 Forgotten Souls
9	1,100 Bloodshards
10	1 Flawless Royal Ruby, 20 Death’s Breaths, Ring of Royal Grandeur
11	1 Flawless Royal Emerald, 30 Khanduran Runes, 30 Caldeum Nightshade, 30 Arreat War Tapestry, 30 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 30 Westmarch Holy Water
12	20 Greater Rift Keys, 1 Ramaladni’s Gift
13	1,300 Bloodshards
14	Petrified Scream
15	Challenge Rift Cache
16	250 Forgotten Souls
17	1,400 Bloodshards
18	Ancient Hellfire Amulet
19	~~One Never Ending Questions~~ Four Tome of Set Dungeon Pages from your class. See the chart below for more information.
20	Ancient Puzzle Ring, 50 Khanduran Runes, 50 Caldeum Nightshade, 50 Arreat War Tapestry, 50 Corrupted Angel Flesh, 50 Westmarch Holy Water
21	500 Death’s Breaths, 300 Forgotten Souls
22	1,500 Bloodshards
23	Whisper of Atonement Rank 125
24	Any Augmented Weapon
25	Staff of Herding
26	1,600 Bloodshards
Potion 1	55 Primordial Ashes
Potion 2	110 Primordial Ashes
Potion 3	165 Primordial Ashes

Completing this sacrifice does so for all other character classes on your account.

Barbarian:
- 12, 14, 18, 22
Crusader:
- 31, 35, 37, 40
Demon Hunter:
- 52, 56, 60, 63
Monk:
- 71, 74, 78, 83
Necromancer:
- 85, 86, 90, 92
Witch Doctor:
- 93, 97, 101, 106
Wizard:
- 112, 121, 126, 130

After you’ve conquered the armies of Hell and acquired the needed materials to unlock all 26 Seals and three Potions, you’ll receive a reward truly fitting of an unstoppable force—the Wings of Terror Cosmetic, Seal AD. We recommend you unlock all Seals and Potions within the Altar of Rites, not only to inspire terror within your foes, but also to piece together the fragments of Sanctuary’s past.

Primordial Ashes Feature

Acquiring Primal Items is no small task. That’s why we are adding a new Primordial Ashes feature with this patch to aid in your quest. At the Blacksmith, you can now salvage a Primal Item for 55 Primordial Ashes.

We have also added a Primal Item recipe to Kanai’s Cube, allowing you to upgrade any non-crafted legendary item to a Primal Item for 100 Primordial Ashes. Only one upgraded Primal Item may be worn at a time and upgraded Primal Items do not retain the properties of the Legendary Item that was used. New affixes are rolled for all upgraded Primal Items.

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