D2R Ladder Season News (2023)

When will the next Ladder Season start?

Ladder Seasons will happen once every 4 months. The next D2R Ladder Season is expected to start at the middle of February according to official sources.

Legacy D2R Ladder resets happened each 6 month, however Blizzard issued the following statement:

Rank up in a new, exclusive ladder system with more frequent restarts and earn your place among legends.

When did first ladder season start?

D2R Ladder Season one launched on the 28th of April 5PM PDT on North America server, 29th of April 2AM CEST on Europe server, and 29th of April 9AM KST on Asia server.

When did Patch 2.4 start?

Patch 2.4 has launched on the 14th of April, and introduced Skill Balance Changes, Mercenary Balance Changes, and Area Level Changes. New Runewords and New Cube Recipes. The changes only become available in Ladder Mode after the Ladder Launch.

The Patch contents are also available in Single Player Mode!

What is a Ladder Reset?

The Ladder Reset is the event when new characters can be created on Ladder Realms, all of which start from level 1 without any gear. Simply put, it's a fresh start to all players. Previous ladder characters will become Nonladder in this event. Ladder seasons typically lasted 6 months in Legacy D2, but Blizzard is considering making them more frequently, every 4 months. Once Ladder Season 2 begins, your ladder characters will become non-ladder of the same game version, and new ladder characters start the grind again from level 1.

At a Ladder Start, you have the option to make characters in four gameplay modes, Softcore Ladder, Hardcore Ladder, Softcore Classic Ladder and Hardcore Classic Ladder.

Softcore Ladder is the standard Ladder gameplay mode. Hardcore Ladder is a Ladder gameplay mode where you only have one life, and a character death is permanent. Classic Ladder is the non-expansion gameplay mode (original D2) that only has 4 Acts and no runewords,

or any other items that were brought into the game after Diablo 2 1.0. Hardcore Classic Ladder is the classic gameplay mode where you only have one life, and character death is permanent.

What is Public Test Realm?

The Public Test Realm, or PTR in short is the testing mode for game changes in order to avoid bugs and fix issues in advance, before a ladder starts, or a new patch gets introduced. By playing in PTR mode, Players can access the new contents and help contribute by giving feedback on issues they experience.

The PTR's online mode is available periodically with continuously implemented updates and fixes. The 2.4 Patch's PTR has concluded, meaning online access is not possible anymore.

What is the difference between hardcore and softcore?

Unlike softcore characters, once a hardcore character dies you can not play with it again, the death is permanent. But at least you can still keep your shared stash inventory items

New Runewords, Item Changes in patch 2.4

Update: Seven New Runewords will get introduced to the game. For detailed information, check out our New Runewords guide.

Additional Horadric Cube recipes are going to be added in patch 2.4. Set items will receive buffs, and players will be able to upgrade them to elite class by using cube recipes. Underperforming set items are going to receive major boosts, more set bonuses. Two new ladder-only runewords are also going to be added, mainly aimed at improving mercenary diversity. The upcoming runewords are the following:

2.4 Skill changes

Update: A huge class balance change will take place in patch 2.4 For detailed information, check out our Skill and Gameplay guide.

It has been over 10 year since the last D2 balance change, but with patch 2.4 several class balance changes are about to happen. These changes are aimed at expanding the available builds by making underutilized skills stronger and changing casting delays.

Amazon

Melee amazon skills, such as Impale and Fend are going to be boosted in the upcoming patch. Synergies will be changed up as well, in order to have more freely available skill points. Some of the bow and crossbow skills are also going to get buffed!

Assassin

Martial Arts builds are going to get a boost. Some of the rarely used Trap skills are also going to get buffed, and synergies skills for traps are also going to be changed up in order to have more freely available skill points.

Barbarian

Changes in the Combat Skill tree and in synergies are about to come. Throwing Barbs are expected to receive a great buff!

Druid

Some of the casting delays will be reduced, and physical damage is going to be boosted. As with other classes, synergies will be freed up.

Regarding summon skills, Ravens, Wolves and Wines will have their damage output and health boosted, and also receive new synergies.

Necromancer

This class will only receive minor changes. Some summoning skills will be improved, Skeletal Mages and Golems will also be boosted, while once again a few synergies will be changed.

Paladin

Fist of the Heavens (FOH) is going to get a big boost, and some of the auras will get more effective at a close range. Thorns is also expected to receive a buff.

Sorceress

There will be major changes in the four cold armor spells and the lightning skill tree. At the fire skill tree, Hydra will get boosted and Inferno will also be improved.

Merc updates

Act2 mercenaries are overused, so mercs from the other acts will receive improvements.

Rpgstash.com will have D2R items in its Ladder selection already on day 1. We will be doing our best to let you buy 2.4 ladder items right at the beginning of the season including the new runewords, so you can climb the ladder rankings as fast as possible!

Tired of grinding? Buy Legit D2R Items from Rpgstash.