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With Diablo 4: Season of Infernal Chaos slated for a September 2025 launch, players are already scanning the meta landscape, trying to predict which overpowered builds and systems might get hit with Blizzard's inevitable nerf hammer. Following the public test realm (PTR) reveal expected later this month, we'll have a clearer idea of what's to come-but for now, speculation based on the current state of Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim is our best tool.

Season 9 introduced some of the most powerful builds Diablo 4 has seen yet-ranging from near-immortal Thorns tanks to spammable Hydra armies melting entire screens. But history shows us one thing: if it performs too well, it's probably getting nerfed.

Here are seven things that are very likely to see nerfs in Season 10 of Diablo 4.

1. Spiritborn Builds - Especially Poison Thorns Variants

The Spiritborn class was introduced with a bang in Season 9, and its Poison Thorns variant is arguably the most busted build this season. Centered around Balazan's Maxtlatl unique chest and benefiting heavily from Quill Volley and Rake skills, this build effortlessly melts bosses and elite packs.

It deals massive passive damage via Thorns while layering Poison effects and applying Vulnerable consistently, creating near-infinite uptime on debuffs and massive burst damage with minimal effort. Blizzard tends to target builds with strong passive uptime and little counterplay, so the Spiritborn's poison synergy is likely getting pruned.

Likely Nerfs:

· Reduced Poison damage scaling

· Changes to Rake or Quill Volley synergy

· Thorns tuning or changes to Balazan's Maxtlatl stats

2. Hydra Sorcerer

With the addition of Ophidian Iris, the Hydra Sorcerer skyrocketed into the upper echelon of power in Season 9. This unique item turns Hydra into a Core Skill, scaling with many powerful modifiers that were never intended for a pet-style skill. The result? Players spam powerful, massive Hydras that annihilate packs while offering a safe, low-APM playstyle.

Given its popularity and absurd performance in both PvE and PvP, it's hard to imagine Hydra escaping unscathed.

Likely Nerfs:

· Reduced Hydra scaling

· Ophidian Iris rework or reduced bonus effectiveness

· Changes to Hydra uptime or headcount

3. Summoner Necromancer

If players buy Diablo IV Items of Hand of Naz's unique claw, which will redefine the Summoner Necro's viability, empowering Skeletal Mages to become Archmages with enhanced spellcasting and elemental effects. Add in strong support from Horadric Spells, Paragon Nodes, and high-value Tempered affixes, and you've got a top-tier, no-brainer build for both pushing and speedfarming.

Summoners often escape nerfs due to their popularity, but with The Hand of Naz and minion scaling overtuned, we're likely looking at a nerf.

Likely Nerfs:

· Lower summon damage multipliers

· Cooldowns or limitations on mass minion recasts

· Archmage form tuning or Hand of Naz rework

4. Unique Diablo 4 Items - Especially Razorplate and Fractured Winterglass

Season 9 introduced a huge power spike through new Unique items, and some of them are completely redefining what's possible. Items like:

· Razorplate (massive Thorns scaling)

· Fractured Winterglass (for Sorcerer frost builds)

· Balazan's Maxtlatl (Poison Thorns for Spiritborn)

· Ugly Bastard Helm (for tanky DPS stacking)

· Rakanoth's Wake (for fast mobility and CDR stacking)

These pieces of gear can single-handedly carry builds to endgame without needing top-tier optimization. If Blizzard wants more build diversity in Season 10, you can expect major tuning on the top-performing Uniques.

Likely Nerfs:

· Reduced effectiveness or stat lines

· Reworked Legendary effects

· Cap limits on synergy with affixes

5. Vulnerable and Crit Damage Multipliers

Overpower got the nerf bat in Season 9 due to its over-tuned synergy with certain classes (notably Barbarian and Necromancer). Now, Vulnerable-which is currently the most stacked debuff in the game-might be next.

The game's damage formula heavily incentivizes stacking Vulnerable and Critical Damage, leading to one-dimensional gearing paths. Blizzard may choose to reduce the effectiveness of Vulnerable or split its interaction with Crit scaling.

Likely Nerfs:

· Reduced damage bonus from Vulnerable

· Less synergy between Vulnerable and Critical Strike Damage

· Reduction in gear affix rolls for Crit Damage

6. Tempering Affixes and Masterworking Power Scaling

The Tempering and Masterworking system introduced a deep layer of build customization, but it also made some builds too powerful, too quickly. Certain affixes allow double casting, skill duplication, or guaranteed Crits under specific conditions. When you combine these with endgame crafting and full Legendary boards, damage output becomes exponential.

This system likely needs more guardrails.

Likely Nerfs:

· Scaling caps on the most abusable affixes

· Reduced affix availability for key skills (like Chain Lightning, Bone Spear)

· Rebalancing of resource regen or cooldown reduction affixes

7. Paragon Board Legendary Nodes

While not directly nerfed in Season 9, several Legendary Nodes on the Paragon Boards have quietly become must-picks for every optimized build. These include:

· Exploit Weakness (Vulnerable scaling)

· Territorial (increased damage to close enemies)

· Infliction (damage over time scaling)

Blizzard already reduced Paragon Glyph XP scaling in Season 9, but it wouldn't be surprising if they fine-tune the most abused Legendary Nodes in Season 10.

Likely Nerfs:

· Damage bonus reductions on top-tier Nodes

· Increased activation thresholds (like requiring 50+ Willpower to activate)

· New diminishing returns mechanics to encourage diversity

Final Thoughts

Season 10: Infernal Chaos is shaping up to be another major shake-up for Diablo 4's build meta. While some players dread nerfs to their favorite playstyles, others are excited at the prospect of greater balance and new build opportunities. These speculated nerfs-Spiritborn Thorns, Hydra spam, overpowered Unique items, and core damage scaling systems-could bring fresh strategies to the forefront while keeping power creep in check.

We'll have to wait for the PTR to confirm exactly what's getting tuned, but if history is any guide, Blizzard isn't afraid to swing hard-especially when the meta is being dominated by a handful of builds.