Shadow War is an exclusive game mode available only for Shadow Clans in Diablo Immortal.

The Shadow War functions as the deciding factor as to which Dark Clans are worthy enough to take part in the Rite of Exile and fight to become The Immortals.

This event hosts up to 12 single lane linear 8v8 matches between two Shadow Clans, instead of the previous 30v1 match.

It involves a single lane map, with 2 towers for team, a base, and super minions.

The Objective:

Destroying the enemy base first wins

The goal for match length is ∼10 minutes

In this game mode, all players get an extra 5th skill that’s unique to the experience. These will be one-shot strong mechanical spells that change the tide of the battle. *Specialist Skills will be explained further down this guide

Every Player (on the same team) will have a different skill.

The skills will be grouped across 4-5 roles: Anti-carry/assassin, initiator, support, lane pusher.

Defeating enemy heroes, super minions and towers drop special “badges“. Collecting these badges increases player power and size.

Dying drops player’s size bone by half.

Every win in the Shadow War rewards Legendary Crests, Legendary Items, Scrap Materials, Gold, and Experience.

In the event nobody from the opposing team shows up by the start of the match, you’ll win by default.

After Shadow War concludes, and before Rite of Exile, the strongest Shadow Clans will face off in an 8v8 battle against The Immortals in the Alley of Blood. The faction which wins 2 out of 3 matches will walk away with a bonus to their damage and health for fighting in the Rite of Exile.

This is called Vigil of Blades and will only occur during the first three weeks of a new Immortal faction reign.

Vigil of Blades and Rite of Exile can be Spectated by everyone on the server, and besides that there is a Prediction system in a new Cycle of Strife tab within the Faction menu, where players can see the status of the conflict between Shadows and Immortals and cast their prediction for who will come out on top. Any player who casts a prediction will receive rewards, and those who predict correctly will get a sweet bonus reward.

“How to Join the Shadow War?”

As mentioned previously Shadow War is available only for the Shadows Faction in Diablo Immortal.

The structure of Shadow War is divided across multiple groupings based upon Clan classification and the matches themselves are broken into 4 categories: Eminent, Exalted, Famed, and Proud. Clans can battle in anywhere between 3–12 matches and receive points for their win based on the category of the match.

To enter the Shadow War you need to be part of the Shadows faction and have joined a Dark Clan.

The option for players to register in for the 8-man team roster will be available inside the Shadows Hideout.

Time Table

Alley of Blood will become the new way in which Shadow War is waged—the same goes for the new Vigil of Blades component of Cycle of Strife.

Here’s an example of a weekly schedule for Shadow War:

Tuesday, 9 p.m. server time: A list of the week’s matches is announced.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m. server time: Preliminary round matches commence, and winners and losers are determined.
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. server time: Final round matches commence.

Roles: Specialist Skills explained

Deciding Your Role: Specialist Skills

Because there is only one lane to victory, teams will need to coordinate their efforts to outsmart their foes and specialize their fighting style. Before a match begins, players will pick one of the below Specialist skills to add to an additional Skill slot. Teams can’t have more than two players per Skills category, but those players can select the same sub-Skill. These Skills are unique to Alley of Blood and can only be used in this activity.

Focus

Anguish Brand: Mark one enemy player for 6 seconds. The marked enemy will drop one of their Champion's Marks for every 5% Life they lose. When the mark expires, that enemy takes damage equal to 30% of the Life lost while marked.
Stone Hex: Bestows a curse upon a target enemy player, turning them to stone and making them vulnerable to attacks from friends or foes. The curse lifts after 6 seconds or if the target dies.

Siege

Guardian's Call: Summon a single guardian that will move forward, attacking enemy Sacred Guardians and structures. The player must stay within proximity of the guardian, or it will stand still.
Siege Weapon: Summons a turret at the player’s location that prioritizes targeting enemy structures, dealing area of effect damage where it strikes. The turret self-destructs after 8 seconds.

Skirmish

Dwindlemurk: Releases a fan-shaped blast of fog. Enemy players affected by the fog have their Max Life decreased by 20%, and their size and damage are decreased by 30%. This effect lasts for 6 seconds.
Executioner's Glare: Fires a torrent of energy in a line that pierce across the map. Deals damage to all enemies hit, and players with less than 10% Life are killed instantly.

Support

Blessing of Momentum: Grant teammates immunity to loss of control and increase their Attack Speed for 4 seconds.
Justice Shield: Generate a wall at the target location that absorbs projectiles that hit its front. Lasts for 6 seconds.

Shadow War: Tips and Tricks

In cases where both teams are evenly matched and neither Crystal Heart is destroyed, the winner is decided by the team with more remaining structures and overall team performance.
Massive Sacred Guardians will spawn to attack the enemy’s Sacred Guardians, Sentry Tower, and Crystal Heart. These stone behemoths deal massive damage, so you’ll want to clear a path for them.
Sentry Towers defend themselves and deal damage to Guardians in their proximity first, then the player. Towers prioritize dealing damage to players who attack a player allied to the tower while within the tower’s proximity.
Should you die in Alley of Blood, you’ll be automatically resurrected after a period. Resurrection time increases as the match progresses.
Health Potions are replaced with a bandage to self-heal. The bandage has a 60-second cooldown.
Everyone starts the match with a 5-second boost to Movement Speed.