Season 11's been wild since it landed in December. The whole Divine Intervention vibe, Azmodan showing up like he never left, and everyone pretending they're "just doing dungeons" when we all know we're hunting the same thing. The Mythic Prankster Sigil. The first time I saw one pop, I honestly froze for a second. Five guaranteed Mythics in one run is the kind of drop that makes you question whether you should even tell your friends. If you're already tempted to shortcut the grind, I get why people look at options like buy diablo 4 items while they keep farming on the side.

What The Sigil Actually Feels Like

People keep calling the dungeon the "prank," but that's not the part that gets you. The run itself is pretty straightforward. High density, Tier 100 pacing, lots of stuff exploding on screen. The real joke is the sigil drop rate when you're doing what the game nudges you toward. You'll burn nights on Tormented boss loops, swear the next rotation is "the one," and still end up with nothing but empty stash tabs and a sour mood. You'll also hear a million theories. Most are noise. The sigil's the bottleneck, not your build.

The AFK Azmodan Method That Shouldn't Work

This is the dumb part, and it's why it works. First, get your Azmodan Divine Gift to rank 4, or don't bother. Second, summon him on World Tier 4 Normal. Not Torment. Normal. For some reason, the Prankster Sigil chance feels worse the moment you "upgrade" the difficulty, and it's been consistent enough that I stopped arguing with it. Third, wedge your character into that safe little spot near the pillars so you're not getting knocked into weird angles. Then just let it ride. I've been seeing roughly one sigil every hour and a half while doing absolutely nothing.

A Small Trick That Buys You More Idle Time

There's also this odd behavior that makes the whole thing smoother. After you get positioned, let Azmodan kill you once. When you come back, he seems to lose interest for longer stretches, like his aggro gets scuffed or his targeting resets. I can't prove what's happening under the hood, but the difference is noticeable. Just don't overthink it. Set it up, take a break, check back in, and move on with your day. It's less "farm" and more "set a timer and live your life."

When You Can't Stand AFK And Just Want Progress

If AFK farming makes your brain itch, Tormented Duriel is still a decent fallback, but the mat cost stacks up fast and the dry streaks feel brutal. That's why you see people paying silly gold just to tag along on Prankster attempts, or swapping runs like it's a second job. And yeah, some folks would rather keep their time and grab gear or currency through services like eznpc so they can spend their sessions actually running the sigil when it finally drops, instead of living in the materials grind all week.

It's only just turned January 2026 and I can already feel that familiar twitch: the league's done, the challenges are either finished or quietly abandoned, and Standard just sits there daring you to care. I've been filling the gap by tinkering with filters, watching old reveal streams, and even browsing poe 1 items for sale while I wait for whatever GGG calls 3.28 to finally show up.

When the Next League Actually Lands
GGG has a rhythm, and you don't need a spreadsheet to feel it. Three months passes fast, then suddenly it's teaser season again. If the usual cadence holds, late February feels believable, with an early March slip as the classic "one more week" move. You'll know it's close when the community starts arguing about the smallest screenshot like it's a court case. And when a livestream gets announced, that's when the real countdown begins.

What I Want From 3.28
I'm not chasing some huge gimmick. I just want the clunky bits to stop fighting me. A cleanup pass on older mechanics would go a long way, especially stuff that still feels like it belongs to a different Atlas era. Harvest is always the obvious name people throw out, but Delirium could use a better place in the modern mapping loop too. I'd also bet on a darker, corruption-leaning theme because it's easy to sell and it fits PoE's vibe. Trade could get another nudge as well; the current flow's miles better than years ago, but there are still those moments where it feels like you're wrestling the UI instead of playing the game.

Starters People Keep Coming Back To
League start is less about being clever and more about being honest with your time. First, Righteous Fire Juggernaut is still the "I want to map and not die" option, and it stays cheap for longer than most builds. Second, Toxic Rain Pathfinder keeps that day-one pace without needing perfect gear, and it doesn't punish you for being undergeared. Third, Explosive Arrow Ballista is usually safe, and even when it gets tapped, it tends to remain playable. I've also got a soft spot for Boneshatter, but you've got to respect the trauma stacks or they'll respect you back in the worst way.

Skipping the Rough Part Without Pretending You've Got Infinite Hours
Some league starts feel like a second job, and not everyone's signing up for that. If you've got work, family, or you just don't fancy spending your first weekend in poverty mode, there's nothing wrong with taking a shortcut so you can focus on the fun bits like crafting and pushing your Atlas. Plenty of players use u4gm to grab currency or items quickly, and the big appeal is simple: less time stuck scraping, more time actually playing the build you planned.