The Diablo Immortal Shadow Lottery is a special, chance-and-skill-based mechanic wherein players can apply and try out for the Shadows faction, and from there try and apply for the superior Immortals faction, both of which have their own advantages over simply being a default "adventurer", but neither of which are easy to get into. The Shadow Lottery can be accessed via an NPC in Westmarch, while the Immortals require you to beat existing Immortal players when you're a Shadow, as part of the Rite of Exile. Whether you're joining the Shadows or the Immortals factions in Diablo Immortal, it's an incredibly complex process that we'll lay out in further detail below.
The Shadows
The Shadows are the far-easier faction to break into of the two, though it'll still require some work and luck. As a Shadow, you'll spend most of your time effectively pestering the Immortals, raiding and even trying to supplant them, and gaining bonuses for doing both.
How to play the Shadow Lottery and join the Shadows' faction in Diablo Immortal
To join the Shadows in Diablo Immortal, players have to play the Shadow Lottery and win on multiple levels. Here's the basic process on how to become a Shadow:
1. Reach level 43 and complete the storyline quests in Bilefen.
2. Head back to Westmarch Tavern at either 12PM, 6PM or 9PM server time.
3. There's an hour-long period starting at each time where you can play the lottery.
4. Talk to the Mysterious Patron inside, to the right of Bartender Bailey.
5. You'll be sent an inbox letter when the lottery is over declaring whether you've been invited or not.
6. If you've won, go back to the Mysterious Patron and speak to him to start the Shadow Mettle quest.
7. Talk to Bartender Bailey to get the mission contract.
8. Enter the Court of Whispers behind the Patron and kill all the enemies on the Path of Blood.
9. Afterwards, raid the Vault for Fyggus and collect 30 Essentia from slain enemies.
10. Kill the three Ancient Champions for the Patron and claim Akeba's Signet(s).
11. Present a Signet to the Mysterious Patron when you want to join the Shadows.
Clearly it's not a simple process, and the initial Shadow lottery element itself is entirely chance-based, requiring players to repeat it over and over if they want a chance at victory. That being said, players can try as many times as they want - three attempts every day, if they show up at the times mentioned above.
How to invite players to the Shadows with the Akeba's Signet
The only other way to join the Shadows without doing the Lottery and trials is to be invited by an existing member, who can spend a spare Akeba's Signet to bring the player in. Simply select their character profile and there'll be an option to invite them to the Shadows - you'll even get some rewards for inviting them, including some Diablo Immortal Hilts. Players who want another Akeba's Signet to invite others in can effectively repeat the Shadow Lottery and trial process to get more of them (there's no other benefit to existing members), expanding the membership of the Shadows accordingly.
The Shadows faction perks and rules explained
Joining the Shadows comes with numerous perks and benefits, opening up opportunities that aren't available to standard Adventurers.
Despite all these perks, membership in the Shadows isn't permanent. Shadows and Immortals are tied to the Cycle of Strife, gameplay phases that usually last several months and represent the Shadows' constant campaign to supplant the Immortals. At the end of the cycle, some Shadows may have managed to elevate themselves into becoming Immortals - while all those who failed or didn't try are ejected from the faction and become ordinary Adventurers again. At this point you have to start over and reapply via the Shadow Lottery in the next Cycle of Strife.
The Immortals
The Immortals are the most powerful group in any server in Diablo Immortal, and are basically unrivalled in power and prestige. Getting into this group can literally take months of preparation and work, so we'll go through it all in detail below.
How to join the Immortals faction in Diablo Immortal
The cream of the crop, the Immortals are the most difficult-to-join faction in Diablo Immortal, a group of elite warriors who get elite perks for being part of this exclusive club. The only way to join the Immortals is to do so via membership in the Shadows. We'll explain the process here:
1. Join the Shadows faction as explained above.
2. Create a Dark clan with players of your choice.
3. Proceed through the "Stages" of Shadow membership by doing the following, in order:
- Planning: Recruit 200 Adventurers to the Shadows using Akeba's Signets
- Gathering: Acquire 23000 Marks via any Shadow faction activities
- Showdown: Challenge the existing team of Immortals to Rite of Exile, a form of 8v8 PvP combat. The top 10 ranked Dark clans on the servers can all create teams and challenge Immortals to these matches, not just those who trigger the Showdown.
Here things diverge - if the Shadows win over half their Showdown matches, the highest-ranked Dark Clan then becomes the new Immortals, and the existing Immortals are kicked out and become mere Adventurers. This event also ends the Cycle of Strife and marks the start of a new one. If the Shadows lose half their Showdown matches, it's not necessarily over. They enter a new, optional phase called Reckoning: in which thirty Shadows enter the Challenge of the Immortal and all fight one Immortal, who is buffed into a giant, more powerful version of themselves to even the odds.
Want to find all the Diablo Immortal Hidden Lairs? We've got them mapped out here!
If the Shadows lose the Challenge of the Immortal, the Cycle of Strife stars anew with all the same Immortals in power as last time. If the Shadows win, any Shadows who won their matches in Showdown become the new Immortals in the next Cycle of Strife. I'm just glad that this is a nice, simple system and not complicated in the slightest.
Still, this represents a server-wide turning point - either the Immortals have been replaced or they've managed to claim their position for another cycle. It seems like it's a little harder to hold that position than it is to supplant them, but it's not impossible for either side.
The Immortals faction perks and rules explained
Being an Immortal is basically as high as you can go in Diablo Immortal (they named the game after it, for god's sake), and as such it comes with numerous new perks and options to represent you being at the top of the food chain.
- Immortals get special crowns for their highest-ranked members that give them massive buffs. These buffs can be increased further by acquiring a resource called Dominance.
- Speaking of Dominance, this is a unique source of energy that can be acquired through most Immortals-exclusive activities. It's mainly used to boost the power of crowns, but can also unlock cosmetics that last as long as you're an Immortal yourself.
- The Hilts Trader in Westmarch offers further stock to Immortals.
- Immortals get unique quests, raids and challenges to earn Essentia - yet another unique currency - which can be stored in a special Vault before being spent to trigger Kion's Ordeal, a raid that provides legendary loot and massive amounts of Dominance.
- Immortals have to defend the Vault in which Essentia is kept, as Shadows can try and raid it. If they break through the defences, Immortals will have to personally defend it.
Shadows or Immortals?
Some have been wondering whether the Shadows or the Immortals are the better faction, but the reality is that there's no contest: the Immortals faction is the superior one, and the one you want to join if possible. As discussed, the Immortals represent the highest level of prestige in the game, and gain bonuses and perks better than anything the Shadows get. Not to mention that half the point of the Shadow faction is trying to become an Immortal, so there's clearly multiple tiers at work here. Become a Shadow at the earliest possible opportunity, then if you're really committed to this game, use it as a springboard to try to become an Immortal yourself.
