Diablo 4 developer Blizzard is getting ready to release a big new content update, titled Season of Slaughter.

Diablo 4 Season of Slaughter has a March 11 release date on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

The new season will be available alongside a massive new update, which is actually available to pre-load now. However, the new content won’t actually be accessible until the season goes live at 6pm GMT UK time. That’s 10am PT / 1pm ET for US fans, or 7pm CET if you live in Europe.

The headline new feature of the next season is the ability to transform into the deadly Butcher.

Blizzard explains more: “A twisted experiment awakens irresistible dark urges, along with the lingering, putrid odor of Fresh Meat. The Season of Slaughter arrives March 11 at 10 a.m. PT, granting you the power to transform into The Butcher, a force only partially under your control.

“Feed your hunger with Kill Streaks as you rampage through activities to claim Uniques and Bloodied Items that push your power to brutal new heights.”

Butcher skills include Carve, Culling, Molten Slam and Hailing Hooks, as well as Hell Charge and Furnace Blast. That’s on top of a selection of killstreaks for slaughtering foes.

Needless to say, you’ll also be able to unlock rewards by levelling up and completing the latest questlines. This includes a special Doom The Dark Ages crossover.

Furthermore, anybody who has pre-ordered April’s Lord of Hatred expansion can play as the new Paladin character up until level 25.

There will also be a series of bug fixes, balance changes and gameplay tweaks, which you can read about below.

Diablo 4 2.6.0 patch notes…

• On the seasonal realm, summon more powerful versions of Nightmare Dungeons, Lair Bosses, and Infernal Hordes with Bloodstained Sigils. To dial up the heat even further, use Bloodsoaked sigils for an incredibly powerful test.

• Several new uniques that span many classes are here for your demon-slaying needs. These all drop from the new Butcher Lair Boss.

• Boss Stagger mechanics have been upgraded. Bosses can be staggered twice as quickly before, but now have a cooldown for 30 seconds where it is five times harder to stagger them.

• New enemies, layouts have been added to the Tower and Bosses should hit much harder. The amount of enemies needed to complete a floor has been reduced.

• Killstreak multipliers are now highlighted in the UI.

• Killstreaks no longer reset when going between floors in dungeons.

• Bloodstained now grant better rewards, including guaranteed Bloodied and Ancestral items when defeating Bloodsoaked bosses.

• The following Massacre Affixes have been tuned.

• Attack Speed per Killstreak Tier increased from 6% to 8%.

• Cooldown Reduction per Killstreak Tier increased from 3% to 6%.

• Critical Strike Chance per Killstreak Tier increased from 5% to 8%.

• Life on Hit per Killstreak Tier changed to 100.

• Maximum Life per Killstreak Tier changed to 3% Maximum Life.

• Movement Speed per Killstreak Tier increased from 7% to 10%.

• Resource Cost Reduction per Killstreak Tier increased from 6% to 10%.

• All Classes can now encounter a Bloodied Affix that increases their Primary Core Stat by 3% per Killstreak Tier. This affix appears on Bloodied Items of at least 750 Item power.

Necromancer Balance Updates

• Fueled by Death Passive

• Duration increased from 6 to 8 seconds.

• Bloodbath Legendary Paragon Node

• Previous: Deal 20%[x] increased Overpower damage. After Overpowering, deal 50%[x] increased Physical Damage for 5 seconds.

• Now: Deal 20%[x] increased Overpower damage. After Overpowering, deal 50%[x] increased Damage for 5 seconds.

• The Incense of Vitality has been removed.

• Fixed an issue where Kurast Undercity Tributes could drop as Bloodied.

• Fixed an issue where the new rank wasn’t displayed after Masterworking an item.

• Fixed an issue where the Butcher would stop spawning in a Nightmare Dungeon with the Fresh Meat affix if the player exited and returned via town portal.

• Fixed an issue where the Distant and Close effect from the Wyrdskin Unique Gloves could both be applied at the same time.

• Fixed an issue where Mythic Unique items were not dropping with Greater Affixes.

• Fixed an issue where the beginning announcement for an Accursed Ritual didn’t appear for all players in the Helltide zone.

• Fixed an issue where the chain visual effect for a killstreak didn’t match the actual duration of the active killstreak.

• Fixed an issue where Bloodsplosions could contribute more to your killstreak than intended.

• Fixed an issue where casting Falling Star with the Faster than Light upgrade would leave a gray square on the ground from where the Paladin started.

• Fixed an issue where values for Aspects were different between the Codex of Power and when imprinted or found on items.

• Fixed an issue where Azmodan’s Hoard, which required items from the Season of Divine Intervention to open, would appear after defeating Azmodan.