Diablo4

Beginner Essentials: How to Get and Use S11 Items in Diablo 4

Dec-03-2025 PST

Diablo 4's Season 11 brings a wide range of new mechanics, items, and progression systems that completely reshape how players build their characters. For beginners—or anyone returning after a break—understanding how to get and use S11 seasonal items is crucial for starting strong and progressing efficiently. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about Season 11 items: where to find them, how they work, and the smartest ways to Diablo 4 Items use them throughout your journey in Sanctuary.

 

What Are S11 Items?

 

S11 items are special seasonal items tied to Season 11's theme, systems, and progression loop. These include:

 

Riftforged Items

 

Riftborn Cores

 

Ascendant Materials

 

Seasonal Uniques

 

Season-Exclusive Legendary Aspects

 

Dimensional Boons

 

Each of these helps support new builds, power-ups, and gameplay enhancements introduced in Season 11. Unlike regular gear, S11 items are only available during the season and can greatly accelerate your character's growth.

 

How to Get S11 Items: The Complete Breakdown

 

This section covers every reliable method beginners can use to start accumulating S11 items from Day 1.

 

1. Participate in Riftborn Incursions

 

Season 11 revolves around Riftborn enemies invading Sanctuary through unstable dimensional tears. Beginners will encounter these events early, and they are the best starting point for obtaining S11 items.

 

Riftborn Incursions reward:

 

Riftforged Items

 

Riftborn Cores

 

Seasonal crafting materials

 

Riftforged Boons

 

These events spawn throughout the open world, and the difficulty scales to your level. They are perfect for beginners because they provide fast loot without requiring high gear or complicated builds.

 

Tip: Always complete at least 3–4 Incursions per session for steady item flow.

 

2. Run Dimensional Tear Mini-Dungeons

 

Dimensional Tears are small seasonal dungeons with shifting layouts and unpredictable enemy modifiers. They drop:

 

High quantities of S11 materials

 

Seasonal Aspects

 

Early-game Legendary items

 

Riftborn Essence (used for crafting and upgrading S11 gear)

 

Beginners can run these quickly and repeatedly for fast progression.

 

Why they're excellent:

They scale to your power, making them beginner-friendly while still rewarding high-value seasonal items.

 

3. Complete the S11 Season Journey

 

The Season Journey is one of the most beginner-friendly systems in Diablo 4 because:

 

It offers guided objectives

 

It rewards you with guaranteed seasonal items

 

It unlocks seasonal crafting blueprints

 

It boosts your character without relying on random drops

Chapters 1–3 of the Season Journey reward:

 

Seasonal Aspects

 

Riftborn crafting reagents

 

Legendary caches

 

Gold and XP

 

New S11 item upgrade recipes

 

Complete these early for huge boosts that make the rest of the season easier.

 

4. Farm S11 World Bosses

 

Season 11 introduces Riftborn-enhanced world bosses that drop:

 

Seasonal Uniques

 

Ascendant crafting materials

 

High-tier Riftborn Cores

 

These fights are accessible even to beginners thanks to group participation. Just show up at the event time and contribute what you can.

 

Tip: Even low DPS players get full loot. Do not skip these bosses.

 

5. Run Nightmare Dungeons After Level 50

 

While Nightmare Dungeons are endgame content, Season 11's rework makes them more rewarding for beginners transitioning into mid-game.

 

Nightmare Dungeons drop:

 

High-quality Riftforged gear

 

Upgraded seasonal materials

 

Endgame Legendary Aspects

 

Ascendant materials for item enhancement

If you're new, start with Tier 1–10 and increase slowly as your gear improves.

 

6. Earn Rewards in Ascendant Trials

 

The new Ascendant Trials mode is a wave-based endgame activity that becomes accessible by mid-season. Even beginner-level characters can tackle the lower tiers.

 

Rewards include:

 

Rare Ascendant materials

 

High-level S11 Legendaries

 

Exclusive cosmetics

 

Riftforged Aspects

 

The Trials get harder as you progress, but even the early tiers provide some of the best seasonal items available.

 

How to Use S11 Items Effectively

 

Getting items is only half the problem—you must also use them wisely. Here are the best ways for beginners to maximize the value of S11 items.

 

1. Equip Riftforged Items Early

 

Riftforged gear is tailored to Season 11 mechanics. It often includes:

 

Mutating affixes

 

Seasonal damage multipliers

 

Extra survivability effects

 

Synergies with Riftborn Boons

 

Riftforged gear should be equipped as soon as you get it. Even if the stats aren't perfect, the seasonal bonuses outweigh small stat losses.

 

2. Upgrade Your Items Using Riftborn Cores

 

Season 11 introduces new upgrade tiers using Riftborn Cores. You can enhance:

Weapon damage

 

Armor values

 

Seasonal affix strength

 

Elemental multipliers

 

For beginners, focus on upgrading:

 

Your main weapon

 

Your chest armor

 

Your aspect-carrying offensive item

 

These offer the biggest power spikes for the least material cost.

 

3. Apply Seasonal Legendary Aspects

 

Season 11 adds multiple new Aspects that change gameplay dramatically. For beginners, these provide:

 

Easy power boosts

 

Automatic synergy with S11 items

 

Strong multipliers without complex mechanics

 

Always imprint seasonal Aspects first. They tend to outperform standard Aspects early and mid-game.

 

4. Use Dimensional Boons to Empower Your Build

 

Dimensional Boons act like temporary power-ups that support specific playstyles. Beginners should:

 

Choose Boons that match their main damage type

 

Avoid splitting investment between too many Boons

 

Upgrade only the Boons that directly improve their main skills

Smart Boon management can increase your damage by 30–50%.

 

5. Craft Upgraded Gear with Ascendant Materials

 

Ascendant Materials are the rarest S11 crafting items. Use them wisely.

 

Best items to craft/upgrade with Ascendant materials:

 

Your best Legendary weapon

 

High-roll chest or pants

 

Endgame-ready jewelry

 

Avoid spending Ascendant materials on low-level items—you'll replace them quickly.

 

Final Tips for Beginners in Season 11

 

Always complete your Season Journey chapters early

 

Run Dimensional Tears whenever you feel stuck

 

Equip S11 gear even if the stats are imperfect

 

Save Ascendant materials for endgame items

 

Join group activities like world bosses as often as possible

 

Focus on one build path instead of spreading upgrades across several

 

Conclusion

 

Season 11 introduces some of the most exciting and powerful items Diablo 4 has seen so far. For beginners, the key to Diablo IV Gold fast progression is simple: learn how to get S11 items efficiently and use them thoughtfully. By leveraging Riftborn events, Dimensional Tears, seasonal Aspects, and smart upgrading, you can create a strong character without needing expert-level knowledge.