One new Diablo 4 Season 11 feature could be a controversy waiting to happen

Diablo 4Season 11 is just around the corner and brings many changes to the base game as well as a new season loop. Season 11 is called Season of Divine Intervention, and its main gimmick will be tied to Divine Gifts and Sanctification, a new way to enhance gear beyond its maximum potential, thanks to additional affixes that could make gear incredibly powerful – or do next to nothing, making the item impossible to modify further. Diablo 4a new update is coming Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 8:30 PM PDTbut not all Season 11 content will launch on the same day, including a potentially controversial feature.

Several controversies arose within Diablo 4 from the first edition, such as some disappointing events, how content can be thankless in the final game, the speed of leveling characters, and how to access mounts. However, another big problem came with the release of the charts for the group Diablo 4's Gauntlet, as the first few pages were full of impossible scores in some cases. The leaderboards also highlighted an exploit associated with Shrine buffs that worked as follows:

The players collected Diablo 4's Shrine open world buffs like Channeling or Protection before the Gauntlet starts.
Players then entered the Gauntlet and the buffs were not automatically removed.
The result was:
- Prompt to remove leaderboards or reset them every week.
- Unfair and impossible rides were found, with some scores exceeding the legal maximum score by miles.
- Diablo 4 builds were made to work around specific Shrine buffs to maximize runs even further.
- Blizzard had to remove those abusing the system from the leaderboards.

Now, Diablo 4's Tower brings back leaderboards in Season 11. While some players are excited about the feature's return, others fear that it will once again be a mess due to exploits, bugs, and possibly pay-to-win players spending real money to get the perfect gear quickly.

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The Diablo 4 feature missing from the 6th series can't stay away for long

With the start of Diablo 4's Season 9, the game has been missing a feature for three seasons that could make a huge difference when it's released again.

You may need to avoid this Diablo 4 Season 11 feature like the plague

Diablo 4Update plans for 2026 include additional content for Season 11. This includes:

Tower: An endgame activity that requires players to complete a random dungeon that has multiple stages and a time limit, similar to The Pit.
Leaderboards: Rankings in Diablo 4 appears only as an extension of The Tower, a competitive mode with a score attached to each run.

This is the first time a major mid-season content drop has been added to Diablo 4.

The tower and leaderboards will be added as “beta” features, meaning they will be tested and improved based on player feedback with each passing season. This is good news for those who like challenging content Diablo 4and Blizzard could update both The Tower and the Leaderboards in a way that makes them more and more satisfying.

Why Diablo 4's Returning Leaderboards Can Break the Game

However, there is a risk that the charts will be another debacle. This is because there have been several issues associated with the leaderboards Diablo games over the years, and while Blizzard may iron out previous Gauntlet exploits in Season 3 Diablo 4 with the later release of The Tower and leaderboards in 2026, new bugs and potential exploits could appear. Here are some examples from the show's past:

Cheats and exploits: They usually prove to be a strong argument for removing leaderboards in games like Diablo 4 and Diablo 3because Blizzard can't keep up with all the impossible scores that have to be removed.
Insect: Another plague for scoreboards is when scores don't show up, are accidentally deleted or inflated, or runs don't register at all. This happened in both Diablo 3 and 4.
An unfair advantage: A common complaint about leaderboards in the series is that certain players can have an unfair advantage over everyone else. These are usually content creators who can access new features early and thus have an advantage when the competitive mode drops, or more often players who pay to win.

For these reasons, even if The Tower itself turns out to be successful, which early impressions from the PTR agree with, the leaderboards may be another thorn in the game's side. Competitive aspects Diablo 4Endgame content can be great and even a necessary addition, but leaderboards have a less than rosy history within the series.