Diablo 4 Season 11 Triples Down on My Least Favorite Activity

Coming off the high that was Diablo 4 Season 10, I am experiencing some anxiety about what I’ve seen from Season 11 so far. While I am excited to see how Diablo 4 Season 11 overhauls its gear upgrading mechanics and puts a new twist on the Lesser Evils, the return of Leaderboards and introduction of the Tower alongside them has me concerned. It’s not so much that I fear a repeat of the Gauntlet’s easy exploits that ruined the original version of the Leaderboards, but more that I’m not looking forward to a repeat of the same type of endgame activity I’ve already experienced two times before.

My favorite part of Diablo 4, and a major reason why I keep coming back 11 seasons later, is the way the game puts new twists on its core gameplay loop season after season. Diablo 4 Season 10’s Chaos Armor mechanic was the most innovative and refreshing feature the game has seen since launch, making its removal at the end of the season all the more disappointing. In general, Diablo 4 has made each seasonal activity feel like a fresh and worthwhile experience, and while I’m sure Season 11’s Lesser Evil invasions will follow suit, it’s the permanent addition of the Tower that I fear could quickly become irrelevant.

Diablo 4 Season 11’s New Tower Dungeon is History Repeating Itself

After 11 Seasons, it’s not surprising that Diablo 4 has featured several similar activities. Even when the game repeats mechanics like seasonal powers, there’s a clear level of iteration that makes each version feel like a new and improved experience. Season 10’s Chaos Perks had their own unique twist on the seasonal power formula with the additions of drawbacks for each Chaos Perk’s buff, making them distinct from Season 9’s Horadric Spells. Personally, I enjoy watching mechanics like this improve each season, but it’s getting to the point where one type of endgame activity has kind of run its course, and I’m not sure that the Tower coming in Diablo 4 Season 11 will feel unique enough to stand out.

Diablo 4 Basically Has 3 Identical Endgame Activities

The Pit of the Artificer
Kurast Undercity
The Tower

One of Diablo 4‘s core endgame activities is The Pit of the Artificer, a dungeon where players need to defeat enough enemies within the time limit to advance to the boss. Defeating the boss before time expires earns players the ability to upgrade their Paragon Glyphs, as well as advance toward unlocking higher Torment difficulty tiers. I was never a big fan of timed dungeons like the Pit, and Diablo 4 doubled down on this type of activity with the addition of the Kurast Undercity in the Vessel of Hatred DLC. This dungeon requires players to race against the clock to defeat enemies and earn Attunement to increase rank and unlock the best rewards. Unlike the Pit, the Kurast Undercity allows players to increase the timer by defeating certain Elite and Afflicted enemies.

Kurst Undercity is a dungeon exclusive to Vessel of Hatred owners, so not every player will have three clones of the same dungeon when the Tower releases in Season 11.

With the start of Diablo 4 Season 11, the game will include a third timed dungeon in the form of the Tower. The purpose of the Tower is to provide players with a competitive endgame activity that can earn them a spot on the Leaderboards, depending on how well they perform against each floor’s enemies in the 10 minutes they are allotted. While the Tower seems like an activity geared toward testing out builds rather than a repeatable farm, it still offers some exclusive Diablo 4 cosmetics for players who can top the Leaderboard.

Why I’m Not a Fan of Diablo 4’s Timed Dungeons

The stress of a time limit has always been one of my biggest gaming turn-offs. While I love a game like Zelda: Majora’s Mask today, I could never get into it as a kid because the looming threat of a time limit was too much pressure for me to handle. Nowadays, I can deal with time limits in games better than before, but they still aren’t my favorite, and I’ll try to avoid them in games as much as possible. Because of this, I tend to limit my runs of the Pit and Kurast Undercity until I know I can steamroll with my build to make the time limit a negligible factor.

Diablo 4’s Pit and Undercity Dungeons Already Limit Build Potential

Another reason I’m not a fan of timed dungeons like the Pit and the Kurast Undercity is that I feel like they limit build potential. In order to optimize a build for clearing these dungeons, Diablo 4 essentially forces you to invest in movement speed, and classes like Rogue and Spiritborn that excel in maneuverability are going to shine more than slower, tankier classes like Druid and Barbarian. Because of this limitation, I’ve found myself moving away from building my seasonal characters with the Pit in mind and focusing more on prioritizing DPS for taking on Diablo 4‘s Lair Bosses and Uber Lilith.

How the Tower Can Still Stand Out in Diablo 4

I’m still hopeful that the Tower can provide a meaningful new type of gameplay to Diablo 4‘s endgame, despite being another timed dungeon. Where I think the Tower has room to stand out against dungeons like the Pit and the Kurast Undercity is in its Pylons, a new mechanic that functions similarly to Shrines in that they offer specific boons to the player, with the difference being there are only three potential effects to choose from.

Plyon	Effect
Pylon of Channeling	Skills cost no Resource and have greatly reduced Cooldowns
Pylon of Power	Deal greatly increased damage
Pylon of Speed	Become Unstoppable and Unhindered, and gain greatly increased Movement Speed

The effects of these pylons seem like they could turn the Tower into an arcade-style rush with their damage and speed multipliers, which might eliminate some of the stress of the time limit that I find troubling. However, other players who enjoy racing against the clock may find that these features trivialize what is supposed to be Diablo 4‘s premier competitive experience.