With the arrival of Diablo 4 Season 7, brand new seasonal content is constantly being released. It can be imagined that this time it must be an exciting and challenging seasonal journey!
If we talk about the core content added to this season update, in addition to the new seasonal mechanic – Witch Powers, it must be the highly anticipated Headhunt. This regional activity similar to Helltides is full of new challenges, crazy rewards, and some serious action. If you want to survive better in Season of Witchcraft, then mastering Headhunt event is crucial. Don’t worry, here we will break down everything you need to know about Headhunt, from mechanics to the best strategy. Are you ready? Let’s get started!
Headhunt Explained
Headhunt is a new activity introduced in Diablo 4 Season 7, providing you with new challenges and rewards. As we said before, Headhunt functions similarly to Helltides, covering specific areas on the map where you can complete unique Whisper Bounties and hunt powerful Witchcraft-wielding enemies, known as Headrotten, within Sanctuary.
Headhunt zones rotate every 40 minutes, with three instances spawning throughout Sanctuary. Note that each Headhunt zone has a different start time.
Restless Rot
Headhunt events offer some valuable rewards, including Witchcraft and Occult Gems, which enhance your character’s abilities.
Other than that, your main goal in these zones is to find Restless Rot. This is a seasonal currency, but unlike Diablo 4 Gold, it’s primarily used to acquire and upgrade Witch Powers. They can be dropped by defeating Headrotten enemies, which you can only encounter in Headhunt zones or Rootholds Dungeons.
Since the drop rate of Restless Rot changes with the difficulty level, the higher the difficulty level you challenge, the greater the chance of them dropping.
Headrotten enemies are stronger than regular monsters, though, and you’ll also encounter rare boss variants like Headless Husks and Fugitive Heads. Fugitive Heads Boss rewards you with its head, which you can take to Gelena, located near Tree of Whispers, in exchange for powerful Occult Gems.
To spawn this boss in Headhunt area, you’ll need to complete Whisper Bounties, which spawn Exposed Roots and Uprooted Cocoons. Interacting with Exposed Roots will not only drop D4 Gold and other loot, but will also trigger Uprooted Cocoons, which have a chance to spawn Headless Husks and Fugitive Heads. So, whenever you see any Exposed Roots, remember to keep clicking on it to increase your chances of encountering one of the two bosses!
Raven Of The Tree
Once Headhunt area has spawned a lot of Whisper Bounties, you’ll be able to efficiently accumulate over 20 Grim Favors. Luckily, Raven of the Tree feature was introduced in Season 7, allowing you to hand in Grim Favors directly on site without having to return to Tree of Whispers. This enhancement allows you to immerse yourself in the action for longer, reducing the downtime caused by constant teleporting.
You can also find Raven directly on the map, so that whenever you get Uprooted Cocoons, it will notify you on the screen. And the orange Cocoon will appear on the map, it will start to alert all players in the area, so if you see the signal in the area, remember to immediately head to the location to join the battle, fight the boss and claim your rewards!
When Headless Husks and Fugitive Heads spawn from Uprooted Cocoons, you will receive an on-screen notification, and hopefully a Fugitive Head will appear, as it will drop Fugitive Head item required to craft Occult Gems.
Remember that Fugitive Heads can only be obtained after reaching Torment Difficulties. Each difficulty has a slight chance of dropping them from Headrotten Boss, with the probabilities being:
- Torment 1: 4%
- Torment 2: 6%
- Torment 3: 8%
- Torment 4: 10%
Occult Gems
Occult Gems are a brand new gem that you can craft by turning in Fugitive Heads at Tree of Whispers, just talk to Gelena to get started.
However, crafting Occult Gems requires reaching Torment difficulty, as Occult Gem recipes begin dropping in Headhunt area at this point. These recipes drop randomly when farming the area, and with 19 different types of Occult Gems to choose from, you’ll have more than enough gems to collect.
Once you’ve got Occult Gem recipes, just right-click to learn them. Then, talk to Gelena and you’ll unlock the option to craft an Occult Gem using specific Diablo 4 materials. Keep in mind that Occult Library in Gelena menu will remain empty until you obtain at least one Occult Gem recipe.
These gems function just like normal gems, but they can only be inserted into jewelry gem slots instead of normal gem slots. Occult Gems add an additional 160 armor and 8% all resistance and also offer various affixes that can improve your Witch Powers. You can also use them alongside standard gems without having to choose between them, which means that no matter how much Diablo 4 Gold you invest in these Occult Gems, it’s not too much, after all, almost every build needs them.
Rootholds Dungeons
You can also find Headrotten inside Rootholds. Rootholds are mini-dungeons that can be entered using Whispering Wood Sigils, which you can find in Whisper Cashes or Silent Chests.
You can find many Silent Chests in Headhunts area, but they require a Whispering Key to open. You can get Whispering Keys from Purveyors of Curiosity for just 10 Murmuring Obols each.
It’s best to keep a few in your inventory, though, so you don’t have to waste time teleporting back to town every time you come across Silent Chests.
Rootholds Dungeons are packed with Headrotten enemies. In these mini-dungeons, you can choose different Rites, Rituals, or Ceremonies, such as the extra challenges in Infernal Hordes or Kurast Undercity, to increase your chances of getting better loot.
Here you have a better chance of encountering the final boss, and spawning Fugitive Heads, which drop Heads and other valuable rewards for you. You can also increase your chances of encountering Fugitive Heads by raising Torment Difficulties and using Draught of Whisper. This elixir effect lasts for 1 hour and can be stacked with other elixirs. It can increase your chance of encountering Fugitive Heads in Headhunts and Rootholds Dungeons by 50%, while doubling your chance of encountering Forgotten Altars in dungeons.
Forgotten Altars
Forgotten Altars are as elusive as Treasure Goblins. These rare Altars can grant you Lost Witchcraft Powers to add a magical touch to your game.
Finding them, however, is not a simple task. Their spawn rate is only 1% in Torment 1 difficulty, increasing to 2% in Torment 2 difficulty, 3% in Torment 3 difficulty, and 5% in Torment 4 difficulty.
However, sipping a sip of Draught of Whisper can greatly increase your chances of encountering Forgotten Altars. When you finally stumble upon a Forgotten Altar, it will appear on your mini-map with a giant unique icon that you can hardly miss. Interacting with it grants random Lost Witchcraft Powers or upgrades existing ones. You can also invite up to three friends to claim Forgotten Altars with you.
Honestly, the spawn rate of Forgotten Altars seems relatively low, so patience is key. To increase your chances of finding Altars, keep exploring dungeons and use Draught of Whisper, which enhances your ability to find these elusive Altars and harness their awesome powers.
That’s all you need to know about mastering Headhunts in Season 7! Now, are you ready to farm Fugitive Heads, craft powerful Occult Gems, and dominate the battlefield? Don’t forget to spend your Smoldering Ashes on Urn of Whispers and Urn of Rot to increase your chances of getting Greater Collections from Whispers rewards and the amount of Restless Rot dropped by killing Headrotten. Have a great day!
