Blizzard Entertainment has announced the Lunar Awakening event for Diablo 4, a Lunar New Year celebration running from February 12 to February 26. Players can activate special Lunar Shrines that provide a 100% bonus to experience gains, along with unique gameplay effects. The event introduces a new reputation track and cosmetics, bridging the gap to the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion.
The Lunar Awakening event in Diablo 4 begins on February 12 at 10 a.m. PT and concludes on February 26, offering players a timely boost during the Lunar New Year period, themed around the Year of the Horse. All standard shrines across the game world, including those in the Nahantu zone from the Vessel of Hatred expansion, are replaced with Lunar Shrines. Activating one grants a two-minute 100% multiplicative experience bonus and spawns Miserly Spirits for immediate combat opportunities. These shrines also feature distinct icons on the world map.
Each Lunar Shrine type provides specialized effects to enhance gameplay:
- Artillery Shrine: Casts have a chance to summon a holy bomb.
- Blast Wave Shrine: Explosions summon a cluster bombardment.
- Channeling Shrine: Increases attack speed and offers a chance to reset cooldowns.
- Conduit Shrine: Conjures frequent shocking strikes.
- Greed Shrine: Chance to summon a Treasure Goblin on activation; kills summon additional goblins while active.
- Lethal Shrine: Chance to execute monsters and Fear nearby enemies on hit, affecting Elites but not bosses or players.
- Protection Shrine: Reflects all incoming damage, scaling with player level and difficulty.
The event hub, Ked Bardu, is transformed into the Lunar Night Market. Here, players can progress through the new Ancestral Favor reputation track, which has 10 levels. Completing it unlocks six cosmetic rewards, such as the Trag’Oul’s Consort mount and jade weapons, plus a Resplendent Spark and Unceasing Gifts from the Ancestors caches for extra progress.
For those seeking more flair, Tejal’s Shop offers Lunar New Year cosmetics purchasable with Platinum, including the Scholar of the Lonely Moon Sorcerer ensemble and the Dragon of the Lonely Moon mount armor bundle.
This event arrives amid anticipation for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, the next expansion set for April 28, where players will confront Mephisto. Pre-purchasing the expansion immediately unlocks the Paladin class, providing fresh content to explore in the interim.
