What you need to know
- Patch 2.5 has come out of Public Test Realm (PTR) and introduces Terror Zones and new Sundering Charms to Diablo 2: Resurrected.
- Terror Zones are an optional new activity that improves the leveling process.
- Sundering Charms provide a counter to monster immunity in Hell difficulty.
- The Season 2 ladder is expected to go live October 6.
Diablo 2: Resurrected's Patch 2.5 has just come out of the Public Test Realm (PTR), bringing optional Terror zones to all players on all platforms. In addition to terror zones, unique charms are come to the game's second season to aid against the over-tuned resistances of enemies in Hell difficulty. These additions to the game are the most significant change to the end game in Diablo 2 since 2005 and should make the journey to level 99 on the ladder easier all around. With that in mind, Season 2 of the ladder is expected to kick off October 6.
As we've already covered the Terror Zones in detail in our PTR article, let's dive into what Sundering Charms are bringing to Diablo 2: Resurrected gameplay.
What are Sundering Charms?
There are three difficulties in Diablo 2: Resurrected — Normal, Nightmare and Hell. In Hell difficulty, some enemies have huge resistance to certain types of damage. Some are even so huge that they are in fact immune. This presents a dilemma to many builds trying to complete the game on this level. For example, a fire sorceress may not be able to even pass through some regions of the game due to a mass of enemies with fire immunity leading the player to feel they need to re-spec completely. Re-specs in Diablo 2 do not come cheap! Blizzard has introduced Sundering Charms to counteract this very issue and shake up the meta so more builds than ever are now viable for Hell difficulty completion.
There are six charms in total, each one providing -95% resistance to a different monster immunity. Carrying one however, also lowers the player's resistance to the damage type. Charms must be held in your inventory to receive their benefits, and these extend to pets and summons.
- The Black Cleft: Reduces enemy immunity to magic. Player magic resist is reduced by 45%-65%.
- The Bone Break: Reduces enemy immunity to physical damage. Player physical damage is increased by 10%-30%.
- The Cold Rupture: Reduces enemy immunity to cold. Player cold resistasance is decreased by 70%-90%.
- The Crack of the Heavens: Reduces enemy immunity to lightning. Player lightning resistance is decreased by 70%-90%.
- The Flame Rift: Reduces enemy immunity to fire. Player fire resistance is decreased by 70%-90%.
- The Rotting Fissure: Reduces enemy immunity to poison. Player poison resistance is decreased by 70%-90%.
Charms can be farmed from terrorized zone enemies of Champion level and above, and the quality of the dropped charms can differ within the parameters mentioned above.
There have been no significant changes to Terror Zones made from the testing patch to launch. The zones will still spawn at a random location in-game, and generate monsters at least two levels above your current level. Dropping loot and awarding XP based on the inflated level. However, with the full release, they are now much easier to locate if one appears in your game. Blizzard has added an icon to the Waypoint menu to display which is closest to the current Terror Zone, and the waypoint closest to this zone will also display in purple font. The areas that can become Terror Zones are detailed in the Blizzard patch notes.
Sundering Charms are technically a big part of Patch 2.5, but they won't be available until the second ladder season begins.
Season 2 ladder
Season 2 of Diablo 2: Resurrected is expected to start October 6 and will be the first ladder to feature the Terror Zones and Sundering Charms. Players will start from scratch and race to level 99 whilst attempting to climb the leaderboards. Any shared stash from Season 1 will be converted to a non-ladder stash from which players can only withdraw. You will need to move any items you wish to keep from Ladder 1 into your normal stash tabs by the close of Ladder 2.
Looking for more info on Diablo 2: Resurrected? Check out our comprehensive guide to runewords here.
