Diablo 4 Starter Pack

In the developer livestream that concluded last week, several key pieces of information regarding Diablo 4 Season 11 were announced, such as its official name, Season of Divine Intervention, several further changes based on existing content, and its release date.

Originally, everyone predicted the season would launch on December 9th, as almost every previous season update had been on a Tuesday evening, but the final date was set for Thursday, December 11th at 8:30 PM Pacific Time.

This change might lead to many speculations, as it coincides with the timing of this year's TGA awards, and the day after is the release of a new patch 0.4.0 for Diablo 4's old rival, Path of Exile 2.

Since the news that the second DLC will be released in 2026 is no longer a secret, everyone suspects that Diablo 4 might announce information about the seventh class at TGA.

However, honestly, whatever groundbreaking news they announce, it won't be added to Season 11 immediately, so the more pressing concern is the impact from Path of Exile 2.

Next, we will analyze this upcoming new competition between these two old rivals based on the different update content from both games.

Diablo 4 Season 11 Highlights

Overall, this season follows Diablo 4's consistent update pattern: seasonal powers + new bosses and content + multiple updates. The most prominent features are the return of leaderboards and a major overhaul of the gear upgrade system.

Unfortunately, on last week's livestream, the developers stated that the leaderboards and the accompanying The Tower dungeon will be delayed until 2026, which is bad news for players who follow the leaderboards.

But don't despair, the more stable Masterworking and Tempering systems will allow for more consistent gear and affix enhancements, and you can also earn loot and seasonal power Divine Gifts through new boss battles.

Path Of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0

This patch, officially named The Last of the Druids, will be released on Friday, December 12th Pacific Time, just before a free weekend! Although it still follows the same regular update pattern, this patch brings the new Druid class to POE 2.

Druids in Path of Exile 2 boast two Ascendancy classes and three transformable forms, offering highly innovative features and re-playability.

In addition, other existing classes and mechanics have received varying degrees of optimization, and the launch of the new Fate of the Vaal league means you can start from scratch, exploring the secrets of Vaal Ruins through new adventures.

Which Game Has The Advantage In This Competition?

Although the first Path of Exile game launched in 2013, earlier than Diablo 4 which was released in 2023, Diablo series as a whole predates Path of Exile, and Path of Exile 2 was released at the end of 2024, and is still in early access.

Of course, release date isn't the core factor determining a game's quality; we're mentioning this simply to illustrate the long-standing competition between the two games.

As ARPGs, Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 have inherent differences in gameplay: the former focuses on simple and easy-to-understand combat, aiming for quick accessibility; the latter prefers to immerse you in complex mechanics for a more in-depth experience.

If you pay attention to the art styles, you'll find they are also quite different. While both have a dark aesthetic, Diablo 4 emphasizes Gothic and mythological elements, while Path of Exile 2 features a medieval, retro aesthetic.

Based on these significant differences, both games have their own loyal fan bases, but most players are more focused on the present: whichever game has more interesting new content is the one they'll play.

Comparing Season 11 and Patch 0.4.0, POE 2 seems more appealing, mainly because of the introduction of Druid. Although D4 Season 11 also has new content, the overall re-playability hasn't improved much.

More importantly, Path of Exile 2 will offer a 3-day free trial until December 15th, allowing anyone to try all content, including patch 0.4.0, regardless of whether they own the base game.

Therefore, in the short term, at least throughout December, POE 2 is likely to be more attractive. However, since TGA awards haven't started yet, it's hard to say whether Diablo 4's next move will bring a reversal.

The Situation After The Start Of 2026

Based on current information, POE 2 is unlikely to release any more explosive new information for the time being, but Diablo 4 has more possibilities, such as the return of leaderboards in update 2.5.2, and unknown new content to be announced at TGA.

Speculations about possible new announcements include a major trailer for the future main storyline, pre-order bonuses, and a new class, possibly Paladin, which might be released in Season 11.

To be honest, the idea of ​​a big announcement at TGA is just speculation; Diablo 4 hasn't given any clear information, but considering its rather lackluster performance this year, this timing is hard not to speculate about.

If any of these speculations come true, Diablo 4 Season 11 will have more staying power than POE 2 and will show stronger performance in 2026.

It's also worth mentioning that although most of the new content in Season 11 isn't particularly innovative, many fundamental mechanics changes have made the game better. These subtle changes are very important for the overall improvement of the game.

Summary

Neither of the new content updates has been officially released yet, so we can't easily conclude which will be better, but it's clear that Diablo 4 hasn't shown all its cards yet, and is working hard to keep you on the edge of your seat!

There are only two days left until the launch of Season 11. If you want to get ahead of others in gear upgrades in the new season, it's best to buy cheap Diablo 4 gold at IGGM, because it's one of the upgrade materials that cannot be refunded, so you need to stock up enough!

As an ARPG with a dark Gothic aesthetic and bloody visuals as its main art style, in addition to new playable content, the art design of new characters, scenes, and items is often a highlight of Diablo 4 updates.

Unfortunately, in recent seasons, Diablo 4 hasn't introduced enough noteworthy changes in these areas, except for Belial's return in Season 8, and the new boss Azmodan, who will appear in Season 11.

Both of these bosses appeared in Diablo 3 and have a close relationship. So, in what capacity does Azmodan return in Diablo 4 Season 11, and how should you defeat him? We will answer these questions for you.

Azmodan Background Story Summary

As the latest installment in Diablo series, Diablo 4 doesn't provide much explanation of many characters from previous games through the storyline, so you only know what you can gain from them, but not their origins.

While this doesn't affect the gameplay itself, knowing more is always a good thing, so we will briefly introduce Azmodan based on Diablo 3 main story.

Azmodan is one of the seven Lesser Evils, second only to Prime Evils. After collaborating with Belial to overthrow Prime Evils, they turned against each other, and Azmodan invaded Sanctuary to gain more power.

In the story of Diablo 3, Azmodan was defeated by the protagonists and imprisoned in Black Soulstone. However, due to the presence of a traitor, Diablo was summoned again and eventually defeated and imprisoned in Black Soulstone.

Afterward, Diablo and the souls of other Lesser Evils merged in Black Soulstone until Black Soulstone was destroyed, at which point they separated - these demons would escape and bring new disasters.

What Are World Bosses?

Azmodan joins Diablo 4 Season 11 as a new world boss and will be added to the game's spawn and rotation schedule along with the three existing world bosses.

World bosses appear at their respective locations every 3.5 hours, and you have 15 minutes to fight them. If you exceed the time limit, the boss will escape, but if you win within the time limit, you have a chance to obtain rare items and other seasonal rewards.

To help you find these bosses in a timely manner, the system will notify you when they are about to appear after you unlock World Tier 3 in Diablo 4.

Here are other world bosses besides Azmodan and their locations:

• Ashava, the Pestilent: May appear in The Crucible (Fractured Peaks), Scosglen (Caen Adar), and other arenas.
• Avarice, the Gold Cursed: May appear in Seared Basin (Kehjistan), Saraan Caldera (Dry Steppes), and other arenas.
• Wandering Death: May appear in Fields of Desecration (Hawezar), and other arenas.

Azmodan In D4S11

After Season 11 is officially released, from the perspective of the world boss mechanism, you may unlock Azmodan encounter in the following locations:

• The Crucible (Fractured Peaks)
• Scosglen (Caen Adar)
• Saraan Caldera (Dry Steppes)
• Fields of Desecration (Hawezar)
• Seared Basin (Kehjistan)
• The Cauldron (Nahantu)

In addition, as one of Lesser Evils, Azmodan has three other "companions" in Sanctuary who will appear in different endgame events. Defeating these Lesser Evils will unlock Season 11 seasonal power, Divine Gifts.

The other three Lesser Evils and their locations are as follows:

• Duriel - Helltides
• Belial - Pit of Artificers
• Andariel - Kurast Undercity

Azmodan And Divine Gifts

Divine Gifts include Corrupted and Purified powers. After defeating each Lesser Evil, you will obtain the corresponding Corrupted Essences and immediately unlock their corrupted slot.

Note that unlocking the purified slot requires you to reach a specific reputation level. The level corresponding to Azmodan is Rank VI, and the essences you can obtain are Essence of Sin and Essence of Hellfire.

How To Defeat Azmodan?

This boss is proficient in dealing fire and spell damage, so close combat is not recommended. Instead, with gear that increases movement speed and mobility, you should always attack from a medium to long distance behind the boss during the fight.

The boss's skills that last throughout the entire battle mainly include constantly moving fire spikes and lava waves. The spikes move slowly but deal high damage, while the lava waves constantly expand, making them difficult to avoid.

When you reduce the boss's health to 80% through attacks, he will periodically release a lava breath attack; you can avoid this damage by dodging in time. When Azmodan's health drops to 60%, he will summon a group of Balrogs to attack you.

All the above skills are manageable, but the real challenge comes when Azmodan's health is reduced to about 5%, at which point he summons many meteors that move towards him. You need to constantly dodge while attacking the boss until he dies.

After winning the battle, you can expect to receive items such as Exquisite Blood and Tribute of Radiance as rewards. Furthermore, the first time you defeat Azmodan each week, you'll receive exclusive loot and unlock even more rewards!

Can This Boss Battle Be Completed Solo?

Although world bosses aren't typically considered difficult, as a new boss, Azmodan will undoubtedly be challenging enough to highlight his uniqueness and importance.

Also, as you know, the overall difficulty of Diablo 4 will be increased after Season 11's release, so completing this boss battle solo is very risky - but not impossible.

To do this, you should first complete leveling and acquire several good unique items. Secondly, if you're playing Necromancer class, be sure to try Golem builds!

After Season 11 begins, there may be some changes to the details of Azmodan boss battle. You just need to pay attention to these changes based on this guide to confidently handle the fight. Good luck!