Forget Diablo 4, Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 5 is almost here

Diablo 2 Resurrected is the ARPG. There’s a ton of great games in the loot-grinding genre nowadays, including the likes of Diablo 4, Path of Exile, Last Epoch, Titan Quest, Grim Dawn, and more. But there’s a reason you’ll hear so many people refer to ‘the best games like Diablo’ – ultimately, Blizzard’s epic is the game that inspired them all, and Diablo 2 Resurrected is the shiniest, crispest version of what many people consider to be the series’ peak. So with the Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 5 start date now known, what better time to find out just why so many games cite Diablo 2 as their main influence?

Diablo 2 Resurrected Ladder Season 5 marks the latest instalment of the race to max level, challenging you with starting a new character and proving that you’re the best (or luckiest) monster slayer of them all. If you’re among the many who got into the series for the first time with Diablo 4, a ladder reset is a great time to begin, because everyone is starting fresh at the same time – much like the start of a new Diablo 4 season.

While it might take you a little while to adapt to the feel of the classic compared to Diablo 4’s modern polish, Diablo 2 is pretty straightforward to pick up and play, and there’s no shortage of helpful people and resources out there for this 23-year-old RPG game. Did you know, for example, that while running your ability to block is greatly diminished? So be sure to toggle off your sprint when you get into combat.

Because it’s been focused on Diablo 4’s launch, Blizzard has seemingly made almost no balance adjustments or additions from Diablo 2’s previous season, meaning you’ll already be able to find plenty of information on how the new Diablo 2 Resurrected runewords introduced earlier in 2023 work, and what the best loadouts look like.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 5 start date

Diablo 2 Resurrected Ladder Season 5 begins Thursday September 28, 2023 at 2pm PDT. This is the same across all regions, and the timings for each server can be seen below:

When creating a character in Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 5, you can choose to play in one of four different modes, depending upon your preference:

• Pre-expansion ladder: The standard version of ladder play that encompasses only the original four acts.
• Pre-expansion hardcore ladder: The hardcore (only one life) version of ladder play that encompasses only the original four acts.
• Ladder: The standard version of ladder play that encompasses five acts, as it includes the Lord of Destruction expansion content.
• Hardcore Ladder: The hardcore (only one life) version of ladder play that encompasses five acts, as it includes the Lord of Destruction expansion content.

Once Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 4 ends, all ladder characters will be moved into their respective non-ladder group, with their items placed into a withdraw-only shared stash tab. Note that at this point, items from Season 3 that are still left in your withdraw-only tabs will be lost, so be sure to take out anything you want to keep before Season 5 begins.

We’ve laid out the best Diablo 2 Resurrected classes for you if you’re unsure where to start. If you want to try another entry in the series, Diablo 3 Season 29 has just begun, and it’s going all-out for the final full season as development shifts to Blizzard’s new game.