What is the Diablo 3 Season 33 theme and how can you best use it?

Diablo 3 Season 33 returns Season 22‘s theme, the Shades of the Nephalem, into rotation. But what did this theme hold for players in Season 22, and how do the changes to the game — Echoing Nightmares, the Altar of Rites, and Visions of Enmity — impact it since the theme’s release in 2020? Let’s explore as we review how Season 33’s theme works.

Shades of the Nephalem is a two-parter theme: an addition to Kanai’s Cube and the more complicated shadow clones. For Season 33, the Cube will have a fourth wildcard slot where you can select any power learned in the three dedicated slots (weapons, armor, and jewelry) that hasn’t already been selected—no stacking two In-Geoms. It is easy to work with and adds some wild variety for build combinations, such as :

• Cubing Dawn and The Ninth Cirri Satchel while dual-wielding Valla’s Bequest and Fortress Ballista on your Gears of the Dreadlands Demon Hunter.
• Wearing Haunted Visions and cubing the DPS-boosting Squirt’s Necklace (or vice versa) on your Simulacrum-build Necromancers (these tend to have the Ring of Royal Grandeur in the jewelry slot).
• Cubing The Grand Vizier and The Smouldering Core staves while dual-wielding Aether Walker and your favorite Source orb on Meteor Wizards.

The Shadows of the Past add meat to the theme. A shadow clone of your class spawns every time you activate a shrine or pylon. The clone will have one of three pre-determined builds assigned and lasts for one minute or on your character’s death (whichever happens first). Their power scales with yours, so no worries about going into a GR 90 only to spawn a level 1-scaled clone. If you want to get the most out of your shadow clone, try the following:

• Ensure your follower (or a party mate) has the Nemesis bracers equipped to spawn an elite pack from a shrine or pylon.
• Build up a cluster of mobs before hitting the shrine or pylon.
• Save your cooldowns for when you have the shrine or pylon buff.
• Click, spawn the shadow clone, and clean house dungeon.

But remember — the base game has new modes that will create new and exciting opportunities with the theme. You can leverage clones with the pylons during Echoing Nightmares, opening up extended survival possibilities early on. Your clones’ power will scale as you unlock power increases from the Altar of Rites, although it’s a TBD on if the “Father” potion boost from the Altar will proc a clone. Visions of Enmity will run as usual since no shrines or pylons spawn in these unique spaces.

Overall, it’s a pretty simple theme to interact with as a player — it doesn’t require you to build up kill counts or farm for shiny green weapons. It may not be the most fun (unlike raining down meteors at 400 kills like the Season of the Eternal Conflict), but it’s straightforward to work with and doesn’t deviate from the regular gameplay loop. And it’s back for three months with Season 33, starting October 25.