If you are a die-hard Diablo 4 player, you will know that there are a variety of items in the game that can benefit you in different ways. Some of them are gear that can be upgraded and utilized directly after obtaining, and some are more special items.

It is worth noting that when Diablo 4 is updated with a season, sometimes new buff items are added for the new season. In Season 9, this item is undoubtedly Horadric Jewels.

But it should be noted that Horadric Jewels cannot be obtained directly through combat drops like Diablo 4 gold or unique items. Instead, you need to farm Horadric Phials and gem fragments separately and craft them to obtain them.

Among them, Horadric Phials has been introduced to you in other guides and is also a seasonal item in Season 9, but gem fragments are a regular Diablo 4 material that has existed for a long time.

In fact, before Season 9, although gem fragments can also provide you with attribute bonuses by being processed into gems, they are not so eye-catching compared to the role of other powerful gear. Now the emergence of Horadric Jewels has obviously changed this situation.

Based on this, we will explain to you in detail why you should increase your efforts to farm gem fragments in Season 9, as well as the relevant farming methods.

Detailed Introduction Of Gem Fragments

Generally speaking, after finding a jeweler in Diablo 4, you can consume existing gem fragments to craft gems, and then embed them into gear according to the corresponding gear type of the gem to obtain benefits. And the higher the gem level, the better the benefit provided.

But the tricky thing is that if you want to craft the highest level of gems, you need to collect 100,000 fragments of a specific type! This is undoubtedly a long and torturous farming process.

Although low-level gems also have a certain role, if you want to unlock new levels for all low-level gems embedded in all gear later, you also need to consume a lot of materials and gold. Therefore, you will not choose gems or gem fragments as the first choice when looking for buff items.

In order to avoid gem fragments being ignored as much as possible, other seasonal jewelry that can be crafted and inlaid with gem fragments has been introduced in other seasons of Diablo 4, such as Occult Gems in S7, but it seems that none of them are as good as S9 Horadric Jewels.

Gem Fragments And Horadric Jewels

First, to unlock Horadric Jewels in Season 9, you need to complete Horadric Strongrooms in Torment 1+ difficulties to obtain Horadric Tomes, and then consume it at Wayfinders to learn the crafting method of Horadric Jewels.

Next, you need to get enough Horadric Phials as the first material for crafting Horadric Jewels through the following methods:

• Kill elite enemies in the open world.
• Completing Helltides.
• Completing Nightmare Dungeons and Horadric Strongrooms.
• Unlock rewards in related systems by obtaining Horadric Knowledge.

The second Horadric Jewels crafting material is gem fragments, and we will introduce you to its specific acquisition method later. Now you need to know that crafting a Horadric Jewel consumes 45,000 gem fragments and 3,000 Horadric Phials.

It is worth noting that these 45,000 gem fragments must come from three different fragment types, which means you need to collect 15,000 fragments of each type.

Why Is It Suitable To Farm Gem Fragments In S9?

Although it is also a lot of work to earn gem fragments for Horadric Jewels, it is at least easier than crafting grand-level gems, and the role that Horadric Jewels can play in Season 9 is no less than that of high-level gems.

In addition, in Season 9, the chance of you getting gem fragments is also improved, because in addition to the existing farming methods, this season brings more affixes to Nightmare Dungeon in the form of Escalating Nightmares.

When clearing Escalating Nightmares, you need to complete three built-in nightmare dungeons connected together, each with a corresponding affix effect, and can be carried over to the next dungeon.

Horadric Gem Reserve affix among these affixes allows you to get more gem fragments than usual when clearing dungeons, thus completing the accumulation of materials for Horadric Jewels crafting faster. This was not possible in other seasons before.

All Gem Fragment Acquisition Methods

In addition to Escalating Nightmare Dungeons and the utilize related affixes already introduced, you can also obtain gem fragments in the following ways:

• Whisper Caches: After completing ten Tree of Whispers’ bounty tasks, you can exchange for random Whisper Caches. If you get a cache of materials, there is a chance to spawn gem fragments.
• Helltides: Loot drops after directly killing enemies and Helltide chests may provide gem fragments.
• Infernal Hordes: After killing the boss, utilize Aether obtained during this event to open Materials chests to get fragments for each type of gem as well as a ton of Obducite.

The above is the information about farming and utilizing gem fragments in Season 9. I hope it’s helpful to you. I hope you can craft Horadric Jewels you want as soon as possible!

July is about to be halfway through, and Diablo 4 Season 9, which was launched at the beginning of the month, is naturally in full swing. Although it did not bring more breakthroughs to Diablo 4 in 2025, it is still worthy of being your first choice for playing ARPG.

However, although the previous 2.3.0 PTR showed some problems, Season 9 was not fully adjusted when it was officially launched. Therefore, the first major patch of this season, 2.3.1, will optimize these issues and fix other bugs after it goes online on July 15.

Based on this, we will introduce to you what changes patch 2.3.1 will make to the seasonal content and class experience of Diablo 4 Season 9 based on known information.

Most Classes Are Generally Enhanced

As you know, based on the experience in the first half of the month, it is obvious that the best class in S9 should be Sorcerer or Spiritborn, and their main builds have become more powerful after combining with Horadric Spells.

In comparison, other classes are somewhat weak. If you choose to play them, you may encounter difficulties in accumulating Diablo 4 gold in the early stage, which will hinder your progress.

Therefore, in order to avoid this problem and ensure the overall balance of the game’s class experience as much as possible, patch 2.3.1 has enhanced all classes except Spiritborn. Some are aimed at skills, while others are gear represented by new unique items.

Barbarian

• Battle Trance: Lucky Hit Chance increased from 10% to 20%; Damage bonus increased from 15%-30% to 30%-60%.
• Double Swing: Damage increased from 66% to 85%.
• Hammer of the Ancients: Damage increased from 110% to 175%.
• Rend: Bleeding damage increased from 120% to 135%.
• Upheaval: Damage increased from 132% to 200%.
• Whirlwind: Damage increased from 52% to 76%.
• Barbed Carapace: Thorns damage increased from 100% to 120%.

Druid

• Pulverize: Damage increased from 150% to 175%.
• Greatstaff of the Crone: Claw, in addition to being a storm skill, casts damage by 100-250% with Storm Strike.

Necromancer

• Hulking Monstrosity Passive: Additional Golem damage sacrifice bonus increased from 35% to 60%.

Rogue

• Deathmask of Nirmitruq: Damage bonus increased from 70% to 100%.
• Breakneck Bandit’s Aspect: Damage increased from 25%-45% to 35%-55%.

Sorcerer

• Meteor: Impact damage increased from 120% to 140%.
• Aspect of Frozen Orbit: Frozen Orb damage increased from 30%-50% to 50%-70%.
• Aspect of Frozen Memories: Avalanche vulnerable damage bonus increased from 50%-75% to 75%-100%.

While Spiritborn remained unchanged in Season 9 of the base game, they have been buffed in Vessel of Hatred. If you have been playing DLC recently, you will notice the following changes:

• Aspect of Pestilence: Damage bonus increased from 35%-75% to 50%-90%.
• Payback: Damage increased from 125% to 150%.
• Razor Wings: Damage increased from 75% to 95%.

From the above, it can be seen that Barbarian has received the most enhancements. This not only makes up for the long-term lack of interest in this class in Diablo 4, but also may cause a new dominant class competition in the second half of Season 9.

Optimization Of Seasonal Content

The main seasonal content of Season 9 is Horadric Spells. It can be used as a buff to bring more exploitable power to your characters and builds. At the same time, the game also sets up items such as Horadric Phials & Knowledge to help you upgrade this power.

In addition to the new power, Sins of the Horadrim also brings new dungeons Horadric Strongrooms and Escalating Nightmares. They are not only worthy of being explored, but also your main source of loot in Season 9.

Overall, the above mechanisms are working well, but there are also some minor issues. In order to give you the best experience in Season 9, patch 2.3.1 has made the following optimizations:

• Arcana drops obtained through combat can be automatically picked up.
• Myriad Stone can provide a temporary attack speed bonus, which stacks with permanent attack speed sources.
• For Nightmare dungeons with Equipment Delve affixes, the channeling time of Horadric Artifact has been reduced from 0.75 seconds to 0.25 seconds. In addition, the channeling process is no longer interrupted when you take damage.
• The completion rewards of Legion activities include more recycled materials; if completed on Torment difficulty, more Forgotten Souls will be included.
• Completing Nightmare dungeons with Horadric Materials Reserve affixes and obtaining Horadric Chests will give more recycled materials and Forgotten Souls.

In addition, Forgotten Wisdom affix of Nightmare dungeons itself has also received exclusive adjustments. If you unlocked this affix while completing Escalating Nightmares, please note the following changes:

• Motes now grant XP to all members of the entire combat party, rather than just to the player who picked it up.
• The maximum number of Motes that can spawn throughout the dungeon has been increased, while the drop frequency of Experience Motes has been slightly reduced.
• Each Mote grants more XP.
• Motes no longer drop when summoned by other monsters.
• Motes will no longer drop through Horadric Strongrooms.

Major Bug Fixed

In addition to normal content optimization, major bug fixes are also one of the major features of the patch. Among the fixes that deserve your attention include:

• Fixed an issue where Astaroth’s voice lines were barely audible when you are beginning his boss fight.
• Fixed an issue where Horadric Gateways could unexpectedly disappear and reappear when you are doing A Wanderer, Into Flames quest.
• Fixed an issue where Visions of Pain and Beastmaster’s Bane Season Journey objectives and the requirements for Truths that Line Within quest were inconsistent with their descriptions.
• Fixed an issue where teammates could not see your Cosmic Anomalies.
• Fixed an issue where Horadric Phials were sometimes incorrectly listed as Horadric Wayfinders.
• Fixed an issue where Barbarian’s Iron Maelstrom skill would not consistently trigger Catalysts.
• Fixed an issue where Druid’s Nature’s Fury skill would not trigger its cooldown after gaining Catalysts.

Those are the main things to watch for in patch 2.3.1. It’s worth noting that after the patch is released until 10am on July 19, you can get Rogue transmog item Arbalest crossbow by watching any streamer play Diablo 4 for three hours on Twitch! Don’t miss it!

You may have discovered that Druid has not been sufficiently enhanced for several consecutive Diablo 4 seasons, so that his experience in the game is not as good as other classes, even in Season 9.

But this does not mean that Druid should be abandoned. At least, some players still like to play this class. Therefore, instead of complaining, you should find a way to make Druid play its power as much as possible.

To this end, in addition to mastering the basic class skills, you should also build your own Season 9 combat style as soon as possible through the best Druid leveling build in the early stage of the game, and Werebear Druid is a good choice.

Although Druid and this build will be partially limited by inherent mechanisms, fortunately, the addition of Season 9 seasonal power Horadric Spells can solve this problem well. Next, we will introduce the crafting plan of Werebear Druid to you in detail.

What Is Werebear Druid Build?

As the main class in Diablo 4, Druid can utilize 3 primary forms in combat, namely Human, Werewolf, and Werebear, and they all have their own unique skills. Werebear Druid build is undoubtedly based on Werebear form.

In contrast, the strength of this build is that it can output high damage, and the weakness is that it is slow, just like a real bear. But if your damage output is high enough, even if the speed is slow, it will not affect your Diablo 4 gold farming efficiency.

What Are The Best Available Skills?

Like all Diablo 4 builds, the available skills of Werebear Druid are divided into active and passive. They work differently and the skill point allocation scheme is different.

Active Skills

In general, the damage source skills of this build are mainly active skills Pulverize and Trample, and the overpower and critical hits derived from this can further amplify this damage. Of course, it’s also important to upgrade your active skills in time:

• Wild Maul (1/5): Knocks enemies down, making them vulnerable to extra damage from Pulverize. Later, reassign Pulverize to Fierce Claw to play a quick passive skill.
• Raging Pulverize (5/5): As a primary damage skill, it can deal extra damage to bosses and controlled enemies, and can apply overpower every 10 seconds.
• Innate Blood Howl (1/5): Transforms you into Werewolf form to restore health and sanity.
• Natural Trample (1/5): It gives you good mobility and area damage while also boosting your health.
• Brutal Poison Creeper (1/5): It can poison enemies and make them more vulnerable to critical hits.
• Supreme Grizzly Rage (1/5): Helps you enter full Werebear mode and gain additional bonuses.

I believe you should also have noticed that Innate Blood Howl brings you extra benefits through Werewolf form. This is because Druids don’t have to be limited to a single form, especially during leveling, and it’s important to combine them to achieve the best effect.

Passive Skills

The right passive skills can not only increase your damage and survivability, but also provide bonuses when fighting poisoned enemies:

• Heart of the Wild (1/3)
• Wild Impulses (3/3)
• Backlash (3/3)
• Ancestral Fortitude (3/3)
• Mending (3/3)
• Provocation (1/3)
• Neurotoxin (1/3)
• Envenom (3/3)
• Quickshift (3/3)
• Heightened Senses (3/3)
• Defiance (3/3)
• Natural Disaster (3/3)
• Ursine Strength

It should be noted that the passive choices of Defiance and Natural Disaster require you to obtain and equip Aspect Of The Ursine Horror, otherwise you cannot utilize them.

Spirit Boons

While these aren’t really a skill class, they’re Druid-specific buffs that only provide passive effects, so they’re only useful when paired with a good combination of skills. The best Spirit Boons for this build are:

• Deer: Gift of the Stag
• Eagle: Scythe Talons and Avian Wrath
• Wolf: Energize
• Snake: Masochistic

Which Horadric Spells Can Help With Weaknesses?

Horadric Spells include Catalyst, Infusion, and Arcana, which provide additional bonuses in different ways, and as you progress through Season 9, you’ll unlock more spells and get more spell combination options.

If you want to provide targeted assistance to Werebear Druid Build through Horadric Spells, the following are worth prioritizing in combat:

• Smoldering Ember Infusion
• Disintegrate Catalyst
• Reactive Ooze Arcana
• Bottled Wind Arcana
• Pressurized Steam Arcana

Best Gear And Legendary Aspects

First, when farming gear, since Werebear Druid will frequently trigger overpower in combat, you need to prioritize getting Maces that can enhance this effect. There are no fixed recommendations for other gear, just make sure they have the following types of affixes:

• Willpower
• Armor
• Life
• Overpower Damage
• Critical Strike Chance
• Critical Strike Damage
• Cooldown Reduction
• Attack Speed

As for legendary aspects, in order to maximize the power of your passive skills, the previously mentioned Aspect Of the Ursine Horror is naturally indispensable. Other aspects worth having include:

• Rabid Bear
• Shockwave
• Aspect Of the Changeling’s Debt
• Aspect Of Retaliation

They can greatly increase the power of Pulverize and enhance your survivability when you activate Grizzly Rage. Therefore, if you have the ability and time, it is best to farm all of them by clearing dungeons or killing bosses.

The above is the main way to craft the best Druid leveling build Werebear Druid in Season 9. If you insist on playing Druid in this season, this content should help you!

In any Diablo 4 season, the real challenge starts when you enter the endgame. This final stage not only means an increase in the quality and quantity of loot, but also more dangerous enemies.

Therefore, after entering the endgame, in addition to the information you already know about the current season, you should also master additional self-improvement abilities and knowledge to successfully pass the level.

It has been more than a week since Season 9 was launched. If you progress quickly enough, you should have entered or will enter the endgame of this season. Next, we will provide you with key suggestions to help you complete these endgame contents.

Farm Mythic And Unique Items

When facing stronger enemies, in order to ensure your own survival, in addition to improving your attack power, you should also improve your defense as much as possible from multiple aspects. For example, get stronger armor or improve your elemental resistance.

The first thing to do is to work hard to farm mythic and unique items, and in the process, you can also get more Diablo 4 gold to get more usable items for subsequent battles.

Some of these mythic or unique items are armor in themselves, while others can increase your defense and resistance through their affix effects or exclusive powers, improving your ability to fight dangerous bosses.

Craft Incense At The Alchemist

Incense is actually a craftable buff in Diablo 4. After utilizing it, you will gain the corresponding buff effect, which can be enjoyed by you and others around you who can access Incense.

All Incense in the game can be divided into Type I, Type II, and Type III, and the effects of each Incense are unique. Some of them can increase your armor or health to help you survive, such as Song of the Mountain or Reddamine Buzz.

Unlock The Best Paragon Nodes

When you are able to enter Diablo 4 Season 9 endgame, you should have reached the maximum level 60. After that, although you can no longer continue to become stronger through upgrading, Paragon board will provide you with additional ways to upgrade.

After that, you will get a Paragon point for each Paragon level you upgrade, up to level 300, which means you will get 300 Paragon points to unlock various nodes in Paragon system.

All nodes can be divided into four degrees of rarity: normal, magic, rare, and legendary, but all the main effect is to provide you with attribute/damage ability/defense ability bonus.

If you are confident in your damage ability, you can prioritize unlocking nodes that can ensure your survival. It should be noted that the path to unlocking Paragon nodes suitable for you will vary depending on your class.

Master Barrier Tricks

Barrier is also one of the status effects that can be utilized in Diablo 4. It can block damage for you for a certain period of time, and sometimes this effect can even affect NPCs.

More specifically, the barrier can absorb damage from all sources for a certain period of time, up to a certain amount of damage. The sources of the barrier include the skills of the three classes of Barbarian, Druid, and Sorcerer, as well as certain item affixes.

It should be noted that currently other classes can only obtain the barrier ability through related items. Don’t confuse barrier with immune, which only provide full protection in a certain area for a certain period of time and cannot be removed.

Another skill that needs to be introduced is Earthen Bulwark, which can provide barrier effects for Druids. As you know, Druids are the weak class in Season 9, so any available help should be valued.

This skill allows you as a Druid to summon protective rocks around you to form a barrier, absorbing a certain percentage of your damage for a short period of time. However, to fully utilize it, you need 300 offering, and the relevant runes can help you.

Utilize Horadric Spells & Jewels

As the exclusive power and item of Season 9, you should find ways to use Horadric Spells & Jewels to provide you with reliable assistance in all stages.

Among them, Horadric Spells uses three rich elements, Catalyst, Infusion, and Arcana, allowing you to create your own power with maximum freedom to protect yourself while attacking enemies.

Among them, the one that can bring you the protection is represented by Magic Arcana Bottled Wind. After summoning Catalyst, Bottled Wind will bring you a barrier, which is equivalent to 30% of your maximum health and lasts for 4 seconds.

On this basis, you can consume the obtained Horadric Phials and Gem Fragments to craft Horadric Jewels. Although the specific effects of different Horadric Jewels vary, except for possible negative effects, they can all increase your armor and elemental resistance, such as:

• Scornful Light
• Brilliant Sigil
• Horadric Crest
• Seal of Denial
• Horadric Crest

It should be noted that Horadric Jewels can only be socketed in jewelry and can only work after you equip Horadric Spells. In addition, you can only equip 1 Catalyst, 1 Infusion and 3 Arcanas in each battle.

The above are Diablo 4 Season 9 endgame survival tips we provide for you this time, I hope it can help your gaming experience. Thank you for reading.