I've been tearing through Sanctuary since early access, and I'll admit it: for a while the open world turned into a checklist. Mount up, dodge the little packs, sprint to whatever marker seemed "worth it." This season, though, that lazy rhythm gets punished fast. Even my usual prep—sorting aspects, swapping rings, hunting diablo 4 gear upgrades—doesn't fully cover you when the world decides it's done being background noise.
Azmodan shows up and ruins your routine
The moment Azmodan drops into the open world, it stops feeling like a quick pit stop and starts feeling like a real event. The arena gets messy in seconds. Darkness pools creep out and cut off the "safe" spots you'd normally camp. Minions flood in and jam up your screen so you can't just tunnel the boss. You're dodging, re-positioning, trying not to get boxed in, and suddenly you're paying attention to stuff you used to ignore—like where other players are standing and what direction the mob wave is coming from. It's the kind of fight where you finish it and realise your hands are actually tense on the keyboard.
The AI isn't brave, it's annoying in the right way
The bigger surprise isn't even Azmodan. It's the regular enemies. Something's changed. Fallen don't politely run into your damage anymore. They peel off. They spread. You'll see ranged mobs step back at the worst possible time, then you notice you've been nudged into an elite pack you didn't want to pull. I've had moments in Helltides where I thought, "Fine, I'll just clear this corner," and the corner cleared me instead. It's not perfect, but it feels less like target dummies and more like a street fight where the other side actually reacts.
Exploration feels like a choice again
What that does is simple: you stop auto-piloting. You dismount because you need room to move, not because you're bored. You hesitate before charging into a cluster because it might split, flank, and turn into a resource drain. You also start caring about your build in a more practical way. Not "max DPS in a vacuum," but "can I survive when I get pinned and my cooldowns are gone." The open world loop finally has teeth again, and it makes even familiar routes feel a little unpredictable.
I'm not saying every minute is pure chaos, but the vibe is different now. You log in expecting resistance, not a scenic ride between icons. That's a win, especially for people who've been here long enough to remember when world bosses felt scary instead of routine. If you're jumping into Season 11, don't be shocked if you end up tweaking your setup mid-session and hunting cheap diablo 4 gear just to keep pace with how hard Sanctuary can hit when it actually tries.
