Last week, Blizzard revealed that Diablo Immortal would bring the Lord of Destruction back for a revamped boss encounter as part of Diablo's 30th anniversary.
At the time, that was more or less all we knew.
Now we have the actual rules.
The Darkening Decades event begins August 12 and runs through September 1, bringing Baal encounters, invasion portals, random boss modifiers and a collection of free milestone rewards to Diablo Immortal.
And apparently finding Baal will involve being in the right library at the right time.
Ten Portals Spawn Every Five Minutes
The main event is called Invasion: Worldstone Corrupter.
During specific time windows, ten portals will spawn throughout the Library of Zoltun Kulle every five minutes.
Those windows are:
- 12:00–14:00 local server time
- 18:00–22:00 local server time
There is an important catch.
Each portal closes once a group enters.
So if you see a mysterious portal appear and several heavily armed strangers sprinting toward it, this is probably not the moment to stop and admire the architecture.
Get in.
Baal Gets Three Random Modifiers
Once inside, players must find and defeat Baal.
But this is not simply the same Lord of Destruction every time.
Blizzard says Baal will be empowered with three random modifiers.
That should give repeated encounters some variation rather than turning the event into one mechanically identical boss run repeated until September.
Blizzard has not published a complete modifier list in the announcement, so we will have to see exactly what combinations appear once players start entering the event.
Given Diablo's long relationship with randomly generated suffering, this feels appropriate.
Destruction’s End Gets an Anniversary Version Too
Baal is also appearing through a second activity called Worldstone Corrupter Boss Fight.
This version sends players through the Destruction's End dungeon with two Elder Rift modifiers active.
Finish the dungeon and defeat the final boss to collect the rewards.
That gives the anniversary two slightly different flavours of Baal:
A modified dungeon run and a timed invasion activity built around limited portals.
Which is considerably more interesting than simply putting a birthday icon beside an old dungeon.
There Are Free Rewards
Darkening Decades also comes with milestone objectives.
Completing them can reward players with:
- Legendary Crests
- Aspirant's Keys
- Other event rewards
Blizzard says these rewards can be earned at no cost.
That is particularly useful timing given how many Anniversary activities Diablo Immortal is currently stacking together.
We have already covered the upcoming 10 Legendary Crests available for installing the new engine early, so August is becoming unusually generous by Immortal standards.
Avarice Is Coming Along Too
Baal is not the only old monster joining the celebration.
Avarice's March runs from August 12 through August 25.
During the event, Avarice's influence causes hordes of Treasure Goblins to appear throughout Sanctuary.
So while some players are chasing the Lord of Destruction through portals, others will presumably be chasing small screaming creatures carrying bags of valuables.
Tradition matters.
Now the Baal Preview Has Become a Real Event
When Blizzard first announced Baal's revamped anniversary fight, there was not enough information to know what “revamped” actually meant.
Now we do.
Random modifiers.
Timed invasion portals.
A modified Destruction's End run.
Milestone rewards.
And enough Baal to remind everyone why Diablo II players spent years killing him thousands of times.
Darkening Decades begins August 12.
If you are heading to the Library of Zoltun Kulle, watch the clock.
And when the portal appears, perhaps do not stop to reorganise your inventory first.
