Diablo 4 Season 8: Belial, Boss Powers & difficulty changes

Diablo 4 Season 8 is finally with us. Here is everything we know about it so, including PTR details and what the return of Belial, the Lord of Lies, means for the franchise.

Season 8 of Diablo knocked Season 7‘s witches off their broomsticks, and this time, a bad guy from Diablo 3 is returning to cause some havoc in Sanctuary.

While last season focused on Powers of Witchcraft for its theme, Season 8 is placing the focus on boss battles and letting players use some new powers that they unlock by defeating bosses. The PTR will give us our first look at this new mechanic, so here’s what you need to know.

When does Season 8 start?

Season 8 of Diablo 4 started on April 29, 2025 at 1 pm EST.

Belial and boss powers

Season 8 of Diablo 4 is all about defeating bosses and stealing their powers, so the Seasonal Journey is geared around this theme. Blizzard wants to make bosses simpler and more rewarding, so they overhaul how endgame bosses are unlocked when Season 8 goes live.

For example, Blizzard simplifies the summoning process by scrapping the old system and creating a new mechanic around items called Lair Keys. This way, players can find and battle bosses without needing to go through a lengthy and complicated process.

Not only does this apply to all existing bosses in Diablo 4, such as Andariel and Duriel, but bosses from Vessel of Hatred’s campaign are also added as endgame bosses, such as Urivar and the Harbinger of Hatred, which is Mephisto in his wolf form.

A new boss is also added in the form of Belial, who was a major antagonist in Diablo 3. Blizzard describes Belial as the “highest challenge, the highest reward” in Season 8, so he stands as the final boss of any story content (if there is any), as well as in the endgame.

Defeating a boss in Season 8 unlocks one of the 24 boss powers that are added, and to help players unlock them all quickly, Blizzard adds a new boss rush event called Apparition Incursions.

After killing an endgame boss, players can then be attacked by a smaller version of Belial. If they kill him quickly, they double their rewards, such as gold and loot drops. These events happen in the open world, most often during Helltides.

The lore implications of Belial’s return are massive, and the demon is likely still salty about being consumed by Diablo, along with all the other Lesser and Prime Evils at the end of Diablo 3. Like Mephisto, he may now have given up on allying with his fellow “Evils” and may just be out for himself.

Season 7, by contrast, focused more on faction-based gameplay and featured fewer endgame boss updates. Players progressed through reputation systems tied to specific groups and completed objectives to earn cosmetics, gear, and crafting materials. Blizzard introduced quality-of-life improvements during Season 7, but the gameplay loop remained more traditional and slower-paced compared to the boss-heavy focus of Season 8.

Difficulty and pace changes

During the Season 8 PTR Campfire Chat, Blizzard reveals that Season 8 features a slower pace than Season 7 — which may relate to the criticisms the game has faced from Diablo’s creator. The push to endgame is slowed down slightly this time around.

They also reveal changes to the game’s difficulty system, making things much harder in Season 8, alongside the usual class balancing updates. Those who have been enjoying the Necromancer’s Blood Wave build may find it less overpowered now.

This shift means other builds and classes rise to the top of the meta instead, as is often the case when an overpowered build is nerfed.

Season 7 had a faster pace and emphasized quicker progression, which some players found overwhelming. Season 8, by contrast, reflects a more deliberate design philosophy that prioritizes challenge and build diversity.