The Cycle of Strife is a complex and multilayered PvP system in Diablo Immortal where clans battle it out to gain the title of Immortal and gain immense powers. Being an Immortal is not the ultimate goal as they will have to protect the title from Shadows who are constantly eyeing to usurp the spot.
In this guide, we will look at the different phases and parts within the Cycle of Strife and talk about how the entire system works.
What is the Cycle of Strife?
As mentioned, the Cycle of Strife is not just your average PvP brawl. It’s a war that is set in an asymmetric battlefield between the Immortals and the Shadows, the two main opposing sides of the Strife. A Cycle of Strife can be closely considered as an entire PvP season as a Strife can last for a month or more.
Lorewise, the Cycle of Strife was put in place to ensure that the Immortals remain strong enough to protect the Sanctuary from demonic invasions. Which is why the Shadows are always challenging them, and if the Immortals show any signs of weakness and falter, then the Shadows who bested them shall become the new Immortals.
How to participate in the Cycle of Strife
To participate in the Cycle of Strife, you must first join the Shadows via any of these two methods:
- Win the Shadow Lottery at the Wolf City Tavern in Westmarch
- Get recruited by a Shadow
The Shadow Lottery is always a free starting pick, but since it is a lottery, then it requires some luck to get chosen. Being recruited is an alternative option since if you know someone who is in the Shadows, you can simply ask them to recruit you. Shadows have a task in their Planning phase that requires them to gather more players to join the Strife, so you can even get recruited by a random Shadow out of the blue.
Can I start as an Immortal?
No, you can’t. The title of Immortal has to be earned through the different trials ahead. The first Immortals of the very first Cycle of Strife will be NPCs, so you will have to do your best to overthrow these Immortals to get the title.
Shadow Stages
As a Shadow, you will have plenty of activities to do to prepare yourself and help make the entire Shadow faction strong enough to face the Immortals. The preparation is done in phases and the Shadows progress through them collectively by gathering marks or influence from the different activities.
- Planning: The Shadows make efforts to increase their number by recruiting adventurers to the cause.
- Gathering: Once enough people have joined the Shadows, everyone will then have to do the different activities to gain influence and increase their ranks. This is also the stage where Dark Clans go through the Shadow War to vie for the spot on who can challenge the Immortals. The activities are:
- Contracts
- Raid the Vault
- Assembly
- Showdown: At this stage, the top 10 Dark Clans from the Shadow War will still be tested through the Rite of Exile, and if they succeed, they can attempt to overthrow the Immortals in the Challenge of the Immortal.
- Reckoning: If the Shadows fail to overthrow the current Immortals, then the faction can still go through the activities and gain more power. This cycle continues until the Immortals are finally overthrown.
Immortals Gameplay
As a new Immortal, you’ll be given a lot more responsibility to uphold. You’ll basically do whatever the previous Immortals did, like heeding the call of thwarting off Shadows when they raid the vault, or facing the Dark Clans in the Rite of Exile.
Not only that; you will have to make sure to keep yourself in top shape and ahead of the Shadows by completing the Immortals’ own set of activities such as the Daily Goals, Defend the Vault, and Kion’s Ordeal, a raid activity where Immortals have to defeat four bosses at once.
Like the Shadows, these activities are also the Immortals’ way of putting in a collaborative effort to make sure that they keep their reign. If an Immortal falters, everyone in the faction will feel the effects during the Rite of Exile. Immense dedication has to be given if players want to maintain their Immortal status.
Immortals’ Crown Ability
Crown Abilities are different kinds of crowns given to the chosen lieutenants of the Immortals. These crowns provide different kinds of buffs to whoever wears them which will be useful against Shadows in Rites of Exile.
- Eternal Crown: A crown that provides the wearer with all of the other buffs.
- Crown of Agony: Provides the wearer with offensive buffs.
- Crown of the Wind: Provides the wearer with quickening buffs.
- Crown of Protection: Provides the wearer with defensive buffs.
- Crown of Restoration: Provides the wearer with restorative buffs.
The main progression of the Immortals are tied to the Eternal Crown which can be further improved by doing the tasks.
Kion’s Ordeal
Kion’s Ordeal is an Immortal Raid where Immortals are tasked to defeat 4 demon bosses at the same time to emulate what Kion the first Immortal had to go through. 48 Immortals can participate in this event and will be divided into four groups of 12.
Proper coordination has to be done between the four teams as each demon slain will enrage the remaining demons, making them stronger and tougher. Therefore, the Immortals should strive to slay all four at the same time.
Defend the Vault
Defend the Vault is the Immortals’ counterpart activity to the Shadows’ Raid the Vault. This vault serves as the Immortals’ way of amassing their treasure which can then be distributed to the rest of the Immortals.
Whenever the Shadows raid the vault and fail to prevent the alarm from ringing, the Immortals will get a call-to-action notification to defend their vault from the raiders. If the Immortals succeed, they will get additional weekly commendations and honor.
Shadows or Immortals?
Definitely Immortals is the way to go with all the perks they’re given, especially the cool Immortal Cloaks that they get to wear. But as the Strife goes, you’ll definitely have to work your way through being a Shadow first and make yourself strong enough to be able to defeat an Immortal and become one.
Being a Shadow is not all that bad either as they still get buffs, treasures, and bonuses from all the activities that they can do.
If you like this Guide, be sure to check out our other Diablo Immortal articles:
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- Diablo Immortal Leveling Guide – How to Level Up Fast
- Diablo Immortal Redeem Codes June 2022
- Diablo Immortal Monstrous Essence – How to Get and Use
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- Diablo Immortal Haunted Carriage Zone Event Guide
- Diablo Immortal Purify the Corruption Zone Event
- Diablo Immortal Lost Artifacts Zone Event
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- Is Transmog Available in Diablo Immortal?
Check out this video by TheCrimsonTea talking about the Cycle of Strife in Diablo Immortal: