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In Diablo 4 Season 15, the most iconic runewords from Diablo 2 have quietly returned. Classic runewords like Enigma, Grief, Spirit, and Call to Arms can now be crafted using Horadric Cubes. This means that runes have transformed from relatively peripheral auxiliary materials into core resources that determine the build's potential.

Without enough runes, you can't achieve Enigma's near-permanent teleportation ability, nor can you experience the significant damage boost from Grief and Spirit. Therefore, knowing how to efficiently farm runes in Season 15 has become an essential skill for every player.

Preparation Before Farming: Splinter of Lies and War Plans

Before discussing specific farming locations, there's an easily overlooked but crucial preparation: equipping a Splinter of Lies.

As a new item added in Season 15, many players might overlook the function of this shard - it increases the drop rate of crafting materials, thus increasing the chances of obtaining runes.

Meanwhile, the choice of War Plan nodes will significantly affect your rune yield. If you're focusing on Kurast Undercity, it's recommended to invest your War Plan points in Gutter Filth node to obtain more chests.

If you prefer farming Lair Bosses, you need to activate Lair of runes and high-value Nemesis-related nodes to ensure that high-value runes appear more frequently in Lair Boss drop pool.

Rune Farming Locations

Kurast Undercity

Kurast Undercity is a relatively stable and controllable location for obtaining runes in D4 Season 15. After entering Undercity using a Tribute of Harmony, each run can typically yield a stable 5 to 10 runes, and the type of rune dropped can be targeted to some extent by Tribute type.

Kurast Undercity's advantage lies in its fast pace and fixed routes; a single run often only takes one to two minutes, making it ideal for frequent, repeated farming. Combined with War Plan node enhancements, you can accumulate a large number of low- to mid-tier runes here, which can be used for Horadric Cube upgrades.

Prime Evil Pinnacle Dungeons

Baal, Diablo, and Mephisto Pinnacle Dungeons, newly added in Season 15, are among the best places to obtain high-value Diablo 4 runes. Of the three, Baal's Worldstone Keep is the most efficient overall - fast map clearing, high rune drop rate, and a large amount of Royal Gem, which can be used in Horadric Cube rune upgrade recipes.

It's worth noting that Baal reliably produces Tal and Eth, the crafting materials for Stealth and Holy Thunde runes respectively, which are crucial for early build development.

Whimsyshire

Whimsyshire's return in Season 15 is currently the most exciting new option for rune farming. Liquid Rainbow opens a rainbow portal to Whimsyshire.

Obtaining Liquid Rainbow is straightforward: you receive one as a reward for progressing through Season Journey to Rank 5, and it may also appear randomly as a world drop.

Once in Whimsyshire, the core farming objective is to exploit Happy Clouds scattered throughout the map. Clicking on these clouds releases a large amount of loot; a single run can yield a substantial number of runes, including Tal, Ist, Mal, Ith, and Sol, often in greater quantities than one or two.

In addition, interactive objects like Candy Jar and Soup Chest provide extra drops, while the final boss, Neigh'relle, drops unique Charms and other valuable materials. It's recommended to set the game difficulty to the highest level you can handle to maximize loot quality.

Lair Boss

If your goal is to reach higher runes, then Lair Boss is another route worth investing in long-term. Unlike Kurast Undercity, which focuses on stable, high-volume rune rewards, the advantage of Lair Bosses lies in their high-value loot pool.

Furthermore, in Diablo 4 Season 15, Lair Boss's War Plans introduced a crucial Lair of runes node - unlocking it allows the boss to drop additional runes.

This means that farming Lair Bosses isn't just about gear - once you're able to consistently farm high-difficulty bosses, each run can simultaneously yield unique, Mythic items, and high-tier runes.

Rune Upgrades and Conversions

While getting the runes you need directly is exciting, rune drops in Season 15 still have a significant element of randomness. Therefore, mastering the rune upgrade recipes from Horadric Cube is an essential skill for every player.

Diablo 4 S15's Horadric Cube provides a complete targeted upgrade chain:

• 3 × Tir → Eth
• 3 × Eth → Ith
• 3 × Ith → Tal
• 3 × Tal → Ral
• 3 × Ral → Ort

And so on, sequentially through Thul, Amn, Sol, up to Mal, Ist, Vex, Ohm, Lo, Ber, Jah. This means that even if you haven't obtained Ber or Jah yet, you can systematically collect lower-tier runes and gradually upgrade them to approach your goal.

Furthermore, Horadric Cube supports merging 5 Rare runes into 1 Legendary rune. Although the result is random, this is a reliable way to obtain higher-tier runes.

Whether you directly obtain your target rune or gradually upgrade by accumulating lower-tier runes, mastering these methods will eventually allow you to obtain the runes you want and create your desired runeword.

Diablo 4 Season 15 Gift of the Tree event is now live. To quickly earn extra Gift of the Tree Caches, the key is to collect 10 Grim Favors as quickly as possible.

Farming Grim Favor on its own is not the most efficient method. By arranging activities properly, you can make the same run progress Grim Favor and other objectives, reducing repetitive farming.

EZG.com will introduce several practical ways to farm Grim Favor in Diablo 4 Season of Hell's Legacy, as well as how to maximize XP gains from Gift of the Tree Caches.

Event Rewards

During Diablo 4 Season 15 Gift of the Tree event, every time you turn in 10 Grim Favors and claim a Whisper Bounty from Tree of Whispers, you will receive your normal Whisper Cache plus an additional Gift of the Tree Cache.

These Caches are random reward packages containing various Diablo 4 items, with a chance to obtain Ancestral Gear, as well as high-quality gear such as Double GA and Triple GA items.

Gift of the Tree Caches can also provide a large amount of XP. Some rewards include Splinters that can be used for upgrades, while special Gifts can also have a chance to provide a Diablo 4 Resplendent Spark.

For players leveling Diablo 4 alts, XP from Gift of the Tree is especially useful. Around 2-4 Caches may be enough to quickly level a character from level 1 to 70. Using Whisper Activity Tree node that increases XP Globes by 50% can further improve the leveling efficiency.

Keep in mind that Grim Favor has a maximum capacity of 10. Once the progress reaches 10/10, you should head to Diablo 4 Tree of Whispers and turn them in.

Alt Leveling

Gift of the Tree Cache provides the highest XP gains when opened in Diablo 4 Torment 12. Currently, just 2 Torment 12 Caches may be enough to take a brand-new character from Level 1 to Level 70.

When farming Grim Favors, use the difficulty where your main character can clear enemies the fastest. After collecting 10 Grim Favors, switch to the highest Torment level you have unlocked, then head to Diablo 4 Tree of Whispers to turn them in and claim Caches.

After claiming Cache, do not open it. Put it directly into your Diablo 4 stash. Then switch to the alt you want to level, create or Rebirth a new character, take Cache from Stash, and open it in Torment 12.

Farming Methods

PvP Areas

When farming Gift of the Tree, you can use Diablo 4 PvP Grim Favor activities to quickly complete your progress. After entering a PvP area, a large skull marker will appear on the map. Head there, find Seething Abomination, and kill it.

After the kill, it will drop red Seeds of Hatred, which your pet can automatically pick up. Then head to Turn-in area and submit them. The entire process is very fast. Once you are familiar with it, a single run can take around 1 minute while providing a large amount of Grim Favor.

Although you may encounter other Diablo 4 players in PvP areas, PvP does not necessarily happen frequently while farming Grim Favor. Seeds of Hatred are cleared when you leave PvP area, so there is no need to carry a large amount of them. Once you have a small amount, you can head to Turn-in area and complete the submission.

Double Dipping

The core idea of Double Dipping is to make a single Diablo 4 activity progress both War Plans and Grim Favor, avoiding the need to farm the same content twice for two separate objectives.

Helltide is one of the fastest ways to gain Grim Favor, especially when Blood Maiden is available on the map. Killing Blood Maiden once can directly provide 5 Grim Favor, so killing Blood Maiden twice in a row is enough to complete Grim Favor requirement for one Gift of the Tree.

Summoning Blood Maiden requires Baneful Hearts. If you are only farming Grim Favor, 1 Baneful Heart is enough to participate in the summon and receive the full rewards. Other players on the map will usually join Blood Maiden fight as well, so if you do not have enough Baneful Hearts, you can simply join the public event.

If your current War Plans require Helltide activities, farming Blood Maiden, collecting Cinders, or completing other Helltide activities can progress both War Plans and Grim Favor at the same time. You can also kill any bosses marked for Grim Favor on Diablo 4 map to complete as many objectives as possible during the same Helltide.

Nightmare Dungeon works the same way. When crafting Nightmare Sigils, keep any Sigils marked with Grants Grim Favor instead of immediately salvaging them. You can store them in your stash first.

If your current Diablo 4 War Plans do not require Nightmare Dungeons, save these Sigils. Once War Plans switches to a Nightmare Dungeon objective, use Sigils marked with Grants Grim Favor. This allows one Nightmare Dungeon run to provide additional Grim Favor while also progressing War Plans.

Gift of the Tree is better integrated into the normal Diablo 4 Season 15 progression rather than farming Grim Favor separately. As long as you keep Grim Favor capacity in mind and make use of the progress provided by other activities, the entire process can be completed quickly and efficiently.

In Diablo 4 Season 15, Resplendent Sparks remain a crucial resource for Mythic Unique crafting system, though the strategies for obtaining them have shifted significantly compared to earlier seasons.

Old methods - such as relying on specific seasonal reputation tiers or repeatedly claiming rewards on alt characters - are no longer the most effective approach. Instead, a more efficient strategy integrates Season Rank progression, Mythic Unique farming, salvaging, and crafting into a single, cohesive resource loop.

For players just entering Season 15 endgame, the initial batch of Sparks can be obtained through Season Rank rewards. Once your character's build begins to take shape, you can accumulate and salvage duplicate Mythic Uniques obtained from high-drop-rate content.

This ensures that even if your target Mythic Unique doesn't drop immediately, the farming process continues to yield resources that can be used for future crafting.

How to Get Resplendent Sparks?

Diablo 4's Season of Hell's Legacy features 9 Season Ranks and 125 Objectives, offering a maximum of 10 Resplendent Sparks and 5 Mythic Unique Caches.

Since these rewards are finite, prioritizing them is a great way to build up the initial resources needed for Mythic crafting.

The primary method for obtaining Sparks in the long run is salvaging Mythic Uniques. Salvaging an unwanted Mythic Unique at Blacksmith yields one Diablo 4 Resplendent Spark.

You might consider salvaging duplicates, Diablo 4 items that don't fit your current build, or gear that has been replaced by superior alternatives. However, it is best to keep items currently in use or those that might be viable for other builds, as the salvage process is irreversible.

Farm Waking Nightmares

The large-scale Waking Nightmares introduced in Season 15 - centered on the three Prime Evils - are excellent endgame activities for repeated farming.

These areas feature a multi-level, Capstone-style dungeon structure. They first appear during the seasonal questline and can be challenged repeatedly on Torment difficulties; a Pinnacle Capstone version becomes available at Torment 10 and above.

The three routes correspond to Diablo (beneath Tristram Cathedral), Baal (at Arreat Summit), and Mephisto (within Durance of Hate).

Besides gear drops, this content yields the corresponding Splinters of Evil. When farming for Sparks, the key isn't just hunting for enemies that drop Sparks directly; it is about maximizing Mythic acquisition and converting unwanted Mythics into a steady supply of Sparks.

Use Prime Evil Splinters

After collecting the necessary Prime Evil Splinters in Diablo 4 Season of Hell's Legacy, you can use Horadric Cube to obtain Wirt's Lucky Coin, then head to Old Tristram to challenge Triple Prime Evil encounter.

Consequently, Waking Nightmares can evolve into a Mythic farming route: collect Splinters, challenge the subsequent bosses, keep useful Mythics, and salvage duplicates into Sparks.

Other Spark Sources

Mythic Unique Caches earned through Season Ranks can also yield usable gear, and any excess Mythics can be salvaged into Sparks.

If you are missing a specific Mythic, you can prioritize farming the corresponding Lair Boss.

In Diablo 4 Season 15, Mythic Uniques obtained from Initiate Lair Bosses, Greater Lair Bosses, and Belial's Hoard primarily follow the specific boss's Unique Item Pool; furthermore, Mythic drop rate for Initiate Lair Bosses has been raised to match that of Greater Lair Bosses.

This means that when you have a specific goal, target farming is often more resource-efficient than aimlessly grinding for random Mythics.

Sparks or Target Farming?

If your character is still missing many Mythics, prioritize content with higher overall Mythic drop rates; every drop offers a potential direct upgrade, and any excess items can be converted into Sparks.

If you are missing only one or two core Mythics, try target farming based on Lair Boss loot pools first; if they fail to drop after extended attempts, use your accumulated Sparks to craft them. 

As your build takes shape, the likelihood of obtaining an upgrade directly from a random Mythic drop decreases; consequently, as duplicate items accumulate, Diablo Sparks generated from Salvaging them become increasingly important.

This makes Resplendent Sparks especially valuable in the later stages of progression. Early on, almost any Mythic drop can improve your setup, but once your core gear is established, duplicate Mythics become far more common.

Salvaging those duplicates helps turn otherwise disappointing drops into steady progress toward your next targeted upgrade.

How to Use Resplendent Sparks?

In Season 15, Diablo 4 players can craft Mythics primarily through three methods: using Horadric Cube's Upgrade Direct Item to Mythic recipe, crafting Mythic Uniques via Rune Crafting at Jeweler, or using Mythic Cache options at Blacksmith's Forge.

Horadric Cube's direct upgrade performs a 1:1 conversion into a Mythic while retaining the original item's Affixes, Tempering, and Masterworking stats - making it ideal for players who already possess high-quality base gear.

However, Mythics created via this recipe bear a Crafted tag, and characters are limited to equipping only one such crafted item.

Mythics crafted at Jeweler or Blacksmith do not receive Crafted tag, allowing them to be used alongside Cube-crafted items. Blacksmith also offers various Mythic Cache options, including versions that allow you to roll for iconic Mythics.

Therefore, before spending your Sparks, decide whether you wish to preserve Affixes and upgrade stats of your existing gear or simply fill a missing Mythic slot, and then choose the corresponding crafting path.

In early September, Diablo 4's concurrent player count on Steam hovered at just 2,400 to 2,500. By the first weekend following the launch of Season 15, that figure had surged to 64,005 - nearly matching the game's all-time peak on the platform.

This dramatic rebound has made Season of Hell's Legacy one of the most notable seasonal updates for Diablo 4 in recent times.

However, this growth coincided with a free trial, discount promotions, and increased visibility surrounding BlizzCon; therefore, the figure of 64,005 cannot be attributed solely to the new seasonal content.

Season 15 Record

The peak of 64,005 players fell just 513 short of Diablo 4's all-time Steam record of 64,518. That record was set on May 3, 2026, meaning that less than a week after the launch of Season of Hell's Legacy, the game was already approaching its highest-ever player count on Steam.

When viewed alongside other key milestones, the growth is equally striking. While the launch of Vessel of Hatred saw a Steam peak of 55,561 players, Season 15 climbed further to 64,005 - an increase of approximately 15%.

As no previous standalone season had surpassed 50,000-player mark, Season 15 has set a new record for peak Steam player counts among standalone seasons.

However, these figures do not capture the game's entire history since launch. Diablo 4 was not available on Steam when it first debuted in 2023; it only arrived on the platform with the launch of Season 2.

Consequently, Steam data is best used to compare player fluctuations following the release of subsequent seasons and expansions, rather than for direct comparison with the game's initial launch period.

Free Trial Surge

The peak for Season of Hell's Legacy occurred during a very specific window of time. Season of Hell's Legacy launched on September 15, coinciding with a free trial on Steam that ran until 10:00 AM PT on September 21. Simultaneously, Standard Edition was discounted by 75% to $12.49, a promotion that lasted until September 24.

Coupled with the recently concluded BlizzCon 2026 and the buzz surrounding Diablo V and upcoming Diablo 4 content, this surge in Steam player counts clearly benefited from a highly favorable timing window.

The new season gave veteran players a reason to return, the free trial lowered the barrier to entry for newcomers, and the discount encouraged more players to engage with character progression, gear acquisition, and the collection of various D4 items.

Consequently, the figure of 64,005 is best viewed as a peak driven by a combination of factors. While Steam data reflects changes in player volume, it cannot specify exactly how many players returned for Season 15 versus how many joined via the free trial or the promotion.

Post-Trial Numbers

Following the conclusion of the free trial on September 21, Diablo 4's Steam player count began to recede from its opening-week high. As of September 24, SteamDB reported approximately 32,984 concurrent players, with a 24-hour peak of around 47,039.

Although this is lower than the peak of 64,005, it remains significantly higher than the figures seen in early September, when concurrent player counts hovered between 2,400 and 2,500.

Not all of these players necessarily represent long-term retention driven by Season of Hell's Legacy. Some who joined during the free trial may have picked up the game for $12.49, while many others were veterans returning specifically for the new season.

However, current trends indicate that player counts did not plummet back to Season 14 levels immediately after the free trial ended. Even after the post-trial dip, the concurrent player count remains more than ten times higher than the low point seen at the start of the month.

The trend line is likely to shift again once the discount promotion concludes on September 24. Once the impact of the promotion fades and the initial novelty of Season 15 wears off, the level at which Steam player counts stabilize will reveal just how many players were retained from this surge.

Hell's Legacy Content

Season of Hell's Legacy coincided with the 30th anniversary of Diablo franchise, and the content itself was more likely to capture the attention of veteran players than a standard season.

Season of Hell's Legacy brought back Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto, while introducing features like Horadric Cube, Legacy Uniques, and Soul Splinters.

After the season launched, players discovered hidden content such as Diablo II-style Runeword crafting, Uber Tristram, Hellfire Torch, and Diablo III's Whimsyshire.

Many secrets weren't fully uncovered on day one but came to light gradually through player exploration and community sharing. This kept the discussion surrounding Season 15 alive; from hidden recipes to the return of classic locations, there were new discoveries almost every day.

While this content might not fully explain why Steam player counts remained high, it offered plenty for new players (who joined during the free trial) and returning players to explore - ranging from finding hidden zones to collecting special Diablo items.

Switch 2 Launch

On the same day Season of Hell's Legacy launched, Diablo IV arrived on Nintendo Switch 2, further expanding the game's platform availability.

Currently, Steam is the primary source for observing real-time player fluctuations. Battle.net, Xbox, PlayStation, and the newly added Switch 2 do not publicly share directly comparable concurrent player data, so the figure of 64,005 reflects performance only on Steam platform.

However, the fact that Switch 2 launch coincided with the start of Season 15 highlights that this player surge occurred at a moment when Diablo IV was undergoing both a major content update and a platform expansion.

As 75% discount ends and the initial hype cools, the level at which the player base stabilizes will be key to determining the long-term sustainability of this growth.

Diablo 4 Season 15 has already run into quite a few issues during its first week, but this week has also brought plenty of content worth exploring. With so many classic elements returning, who would have thought we could challenge Baal in D4 again? Various bugs and unusual interactions have continued to appear, and Blizzard has already released multiple Hotfixes to deal with them.

September 22 Hotfix mainly focused on bug fixes, making it important for players progressing through Season 15 content and directly affecting Season of Hell's Legacy experience.

Next, EZG.com will take a look at what this Diablo 4 Hotfix fixed, along with some of the gameplay changes and hidden content in Season 15.

Uber Tristram

Diablo 4 Season 15 brings back some very recognizable classic Diablo content, and Uber Tristram is one of them. To access it, you first need to collect three types of Primeval Splinters, then place the three Splinters into Horadric Cube to craft Wirt's Lucky Coin.

After that, put Wirt's Lucky Coin into the fountain in Old Tristram to open a portal to Pandemonium Event, where you can challenge the three Prime Evils: Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal.

The problem occurred after Wirt's Lucky Coin was crafted. Some players put Wirt's Lucky Coin into Tristram fountain, only to find that Wirt's Lucky Coin was consumed without Portal appearing, effectively wasting an attempt to enter Uber Tristram. Diablo 4 Hotfix released on September 22 has fixed this issue, so the entire process should now work properly.

Hotfix 4 also fixed an issue that allowed players to gain excessive experience and Diablo 4 items from Prime Evil Council fights, while increasing the loot cooldown for Prime Evil Council. You now need to plan your number of attempts and routes more carefully.

Abnormal Damage

Hotfix also addressed several issues that could cause abnormal damage. Damage-related bugs have been one of the main areas targeted by the repeated Hotfixes released since the launch of Diablo 4 Season 15. Hotfix 2 had already fixed an issue where Rogue's Dance of Knives could deal far more damage than intended.

Hotfix 4 has now addressed a Warlock damage issue. Lesser Demon Bonus upgrade for Fiend of Abbadon could previously cause Warlock to deal unintended damage, so the upgrade was temporarily disabled. After Hotfix 4 fixed the issue, Diablo 4 re-enabled Lesser Demon Bonus.

There was also an abnormal damage interaction between 5-set bonus of Old Mountain Talisman and Diablo 2 Runeword Grief that returned in Season of Hell's Legacy.

Old Mountain Talisman causes Petrified enemies to explode when the effect ends or when the absorbed damage exceeds their remaining life, dealing damage equal to 200% of the absorbed damage.

Grief provides Deadly Strike Chance and Damage to Demons. When the two were used together, they could trigger unintended damage results. Diablo 4 Hotfix has now fixed this issue.

The Butcher

The infinite The Butcher spawn issue came from an unusual interaction involving War Plans in Diablo 4 Season 15. It allowed players to repeatedly trigger The Butcher inside Nightmare Dungeons, theoretically creating infinite spawns.

More importantly, repeatedly killing The Butcher could also reward Mythic Uniques, allowing some players to quickly fill out their Mythic gear.

This exploit directly affected Season 15 leaderboard. Players noticed that some characters had already obtained large numbers of Mythics, or even complete sets, very early in the season. These abnormally obtained items put players competing normally on Diablo 4 Leaderboard at a disadvantage.

Diablo 4 Hotfix has fixed the infinite The Butcher spawn issue. As for whether players who used the exploit will be banned, have their items rolled back, or have the leaderboard reset, we still need to wait for Blizzard's official response.

Seasonal Progress

Another notable issue affected the final reward from Seasonal Reputation. Some players opened Resplendent Cache from the final Seasonal Reputation reward but did not receive Diablo 4 Resplendent Spark they were supposed to get. Hotfix has fixed this issue, which directly affects progress toward Season of Hell's Legacy rewards.

Horadric Cube Materials

Diablo 4 has also fixed an issue where Horadric Cube crafting materials were not properly granted through the corresponding Kurast Undercity tributes. Kurast Undercity tributes can increase rewards for specific types of resources.

For example, Tribute of Refinement is used to obtain Masterworking Materials, while Tribute of Harmony mainly provides Runes. Other Tributes focus on rewards such as Boss Summoning Materials and Unique Items. With the issue fixed, you can now farm Diablo 4 Undercity more effectively for the specific resources you need.

Hidden Content

Season 15 also has some hidden content that players are gradually discovering. Mephisto has entered the game, and defeating it can give you a chance to obtain the new pet Marquis Milky for free.

Diablo 4 Season 15's Runewords also include some interesting mechanics. If you are missing a specific Rune, you can craft it directly through Horadric Cube instead of relying entirely on drops.

For example, if you are missing a Ber Rune, you can use two lower-level Runes and a Grand Topaz to craft it. Runes can also be upgraded through amalgamation. Place five Runes of the same level into it to combine them into a higher-level rune.

Diablo 4 Season 15 is still only in its first week, and our exploration of these new and returning mechanics is far from over. As more players dive deeper into the various seasonal systems, previously undiscovered interactions may continue to appear. For players progressing through the season, Hotfix changes can directly affect current farming methods and gameplay choices.