Diablo 4 Lunar Awakening release countdown: Exact start time and release date

Diablo 4 is getting another limited-time celebration—this time, for the Lunar New Year with the Lunar Awakening event in February.

The event lasts for half the month, bringing a new mechanic focused on Shrines, plus some Lunar Awakening-themed bounties for the Tree of Whispers, cosmetics, and opportunities for extra XP and reputation. Here’s when the Diablo 4 event begins and what it brings.

When and what time does Diablo 4‘s Lunar Awakening event begin?

Diablo 4’s Lunar Awakening event starts at 12pm CT on Feb. 6 and runs for two weeks. The event applies to both the Seasonal and Eternal realms, based on an official blog post, so feel free to dust off that launch character you haven’t used in a bit. You can also bring your new seasonal character to the fray to put a dent in your season pass or just make use of the XP bonuses when interacting with the new mechanic, Lunar Shrines. You can even bring your Seneschal companion with you.

Lunar Shrines will replace some of the regular shrines in dungeons or the overworld. They’re easy to spot thanks to their unique appearance and signature minimap icon, and they come with a few extra effects. It’s a good change of pace from Arcane Tremors.

For starters, activating one grants you 50 percent bonus XP and 30 percent movement speed, with the experience gain coming as a multiplicative modifier. Lunar Shrines are also overcharged compared to their regular versions, with extra effects. More importantly, taking down enemies while these shrines are active grants “copious amounts of Ancestor’s Favor reputation,” according to the blog post.

These shrines may also appear within Nightmare Dungeons and Nightmare Vaults, with a chance of getting the limited-time Ancestor’s Favor affix. This trait guarantees only Lunar Shrines will spawn during that activity and gives you 10 percent extra glyph XP. Though the affix is only available for a limited time, sigils that have it will still retain the effect, Blizzard Entertainment confirmed in the blog post.

The nerve center of the event is the Lunar Market in Ked Bardu, where you can exchange your reputation and earnings for cosmetics. The blog post outlines 10 levels with six rewards in total. And of course, since we’re talking about Blizzard, players can also expect to see more wares in the game’s premium shop.

When does the Lunar Awakening event end?

The Lunar Awakening event sticks around Sanctuary until 12pm CT on Feb. 20, giving players exactly 14 days to participate in the festivities. Despite that time frame, though, it’s unclear what will stay in-game after the event ends.