"The Lord of Terror will return." Blizzard has finally made good on this promise made in Diablo Immortal's loading screens, with the 3.2 Shattered Sanctuary update concluding the two-year Worldstone arc that kicked off the hit mobile game. Blizzard regards this as Diablo Immortal's biggest update yet, featuring an all-new World's Crown zone, new Helliquary bosses that unlock additional Inferno tiers, a highly replayable Challenge Dungeons system, and of course, a chance to take the fight to Diablo himself in an epic confrontation. There are a few other bells and whistles in this update as well, such as raytracing for mobile and PC, new legendary gems, and a new way to use familiars for AFK loot.

Game Rant was given a hands-on look at Diablo Immortal Update 3.2 where we played through its quest, explored World's Crown, and defeated Diablo. We also had a chance to dabble in the new Challenge Dungeon content and battled some impressive new Helliquary bosses.

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Diablo Immortal's New Zone Is One Of Its Best

Without spoiling too many of the quest's details, 3.2's quest sees us voyaging across the ocean to the unexplored northern lands where Diablo awaits. The new zone, World's Crown, is one of the more unique zones in Diablo Immortal thus far. It’s a lifeless, barren wasteland, but that doesn’t mean it lacks visual variety and detail. After disembarking along its pale shores contrasted by the bright blue water and dotted with blood-red thorny growths, our journey through World’s Crown took us through a surprising variety of terrain. Sprawling caverns crossed with rivers of blood, vast planes dotted with mounds of ancient corpses, and the fittingly ominous area outside Diablo’s abode offered some striking views.

Visually, this Diablo Immortal update features some of the bleakest, downright nastiest designs we’ve yet seen in the game, harkening back to the Diablo series’ more grimdark early days. Aside from the environments, the creatures that inhabit World’s Crown are often downright disturbing, such as sarlaac-like gaping maws in the ground or the grotesque, mutilated locals who serve the Lord of Terror.

The quest saw us following an advanced force of the Human Alliance that was largely obliterated upon arrival. Using the angelic sword El’druin, we purged a path for our allies that satisfyingly cleaned up the corruption throughout the map. We rallied the human forces, took down some of Diablo’s henchmen, and made our way to his front doorstep. Players can expect to spend roughly an hour and a half on this Diablo Immortal quest series before reaching the final battle.

The Diablo Boss Fight in Diablo Immortal Is Impressive, But A Bit Long

The big draw here is the long-awaited fight against Diablo, and it’s certainly a spectacle. Nicely rendered CG cutscenes help the mobile game paint a better picture of the scale and scope of these events, and we were also pleased to see that a certain narrative choice we made during the quest had a gameplay impact on the final battle.

Diablo Immortal’s Diablo boss fight is a multi-phase affair, starting as the archetypical “giant boss at the edge of a platform” sort of encounter where we had to dodge strikes from his hands, avoid fire breath denying us the middle of the platform, and occasionally being sent to hallucinatory depictions of familiar Diablo Immortal zones that have been transformed into nightmarish imitations.

In his final phase, we find ourselves in an arena where the fight resembles our encounter with Diablo in Diablo 2. There are some familiar abilities like his lightning hose and some new ones owing to his new Worldstone powers, and the fight was punctuated with hordes of demons that empowered El’druin for a devastating blow. Overall, it’s an exciting fight, but it’s certainly not a short one. Despite wiping the floor with all previous bosses in the quest, Diablo took considerable time to take down using our decked-out test character. Players should prepare to set aside a decent chunk of time before triggering this encounter, no matter how trivial the preceding content may have been.

Thankfully, the farmable end-game version of Diablo is vastly streamlined, using similar mechanics but without narrative interruptions or El’druin buildup phases. Players looking to get their hands on the new El’druin-themed gear that Diablo drops shouldn’t have too much trouble repeating the encounter post-quest.

Diablo Immortal's New Challenge Dungeons Add Lots Of Variety

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On the subject of repeatable content, Update 3.2 also introduces Challenge Dungeons. These hardened versions of Diablo Immortal’s PVE content begin at Inferno 1, boost enemy health and damage, and most notably, introduce randomized modifiers that can alter each run. Some modifiers we ran into included Conjurer, where monsters and bosses summon doppelgangers; Laser, where enemies periodically fire laser beams; Lava Eruption which causes lava to erupt beneath the player; and Big Problem which gives players a 15% damage boost at the cost of increasing their size by 30%.

The modifiers aren’t extreme, but they do a solid job of mixing up dungeon runs. Fighting the Skeleton King in Mad King’s Breach felt completely different when faced with the combined Laser and Conjurer modifiers, for example. Blizzard has told us that they plan to add new modifiers in the future.

Challenge Dungeons available in Diablo Immortal Update 3.2 are:

  • Mad King's Breach
  • Tomb of Fahir
  • Pit of Anguish
  • Kikuras Rapids
  • Temple of Namari
  • Forgotten Tower
  • Destruction’s End
  • Cavern of Echoes
  • Silent Monastery
  • Tristram Cathedral
  • Dread Reaver

Helliquary Bossese Are A Highlight In Diablo Immortal Update 3.2

The new Helliquary bosses are possibly the memorable content from this update and are some of Diablo Immortal's most fun boss fights, with each boss involving some unique mechanics. One standout, in particular, is Vogmarik The Tormentor: his fight had us constantly running along a conveyor, dodging waves of obstacles while keeping pace to avoid being ground into bits by buzzsaws at the back of the track. These bosses also unlock Inferno 4, 5, and 6.

Another addition with update 3.2 is a new functionality for Diablo Immortal’s familiars: players can now send their familiars off on tasks to collect loot for some idle prizes. It’s not as involved of a system as World of Warcraft’s garrisons, but it’s a nice way to get some use out of collected familiars.

The update also introduces raytracing technology for mobile and PC, so long as devices can manage it. With the visual spectacle on display in this update, it’s certainly a timely addition. Overall, 3.2 is a substantial update that concludes Diablo Immortal's original arc and leaves us eagerly wondering what Blizzard has in store for the game's next chapter.

Diablo Immortal's 3.2 update launches on December 12 for Europe, Asia, and Oceania and on December 13 for the Americas.

Diablo Immortal Tag Page Cover Art

Welcome to Sanctuary! A dark world where angels and demons clash in a ferocious war over the mortal realm. Join forces with other players on an epic quest to save mankind!

For the first time ever, the legendary series Diablo comes to mobile. Experience the highest quality AAA gaming in the palm of your hand. Jump into an immersive gothic fantasy with just a push of a button. If you want to play for 3 minutes or 3 hours, there is a fun experience for you in Diablo Immortal.

Adventure on your own or team up with friends to take down massive bosses!
Face down hordes of demons or enter grand player-vs- player battles and prove your might!
Explore a new and exciting world!

With new updates every two weeks, Diablo Immortal has endless content for however you want to play!

Franchise
Diablo
Platform(s)
PC, iOS, Android
Developer(s)
Blizzard
ESRB
M for MAture: Blood and Gore, Violence