Diablo 4’s third season, Season of the Construct, may not be here quite yet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a slew of details regarding its mechanics. One of those mechanics is, well, mechanical.
Diablo 4: Seneschal Construct Governing Stones
Governing Stones can be earned via Season 3’s new Vaults or crafted using Shattered Stones gathered from Construct enemies and forged at Jewelers. These grant your Seneschal Construct attack abilities. 12 Governing Stones are coming in Season 3, listed below:
| Autodefense | The Seneschal Construct activates an antimaterial field around itself shooting down enemy projectiles. Can not shoot down Boss or Player projectiles. |
| Bushwhack | Quickly ambush dealing damage to each target. May strike the same target multiple times. |
| Firefly | Deploy a small construct that lands on the target and explodes 3 times, dealing damage. |
| Focus Fire | The Seneschal Construct channels a ray of fire onto targets dealing damage to each over time. |
| Gyrate | The Seneschal Construct whirls its legs around quickly dealing damage to all surrounding enemies. |
| Impale | Perform a line attack to all enemies in front of the Seneschal Construct dealing damage. |
| Lightning Bolt | Launch a bolt of Lightning at the target dealing damage. Arcs to other targets dealing a portion of the original damage. |
| Protect | The Seneschal Construct materializes a protective Barrier on the player for a portion of their Maximum Life. |
| Reconstruct | The Seneschal Construct channels a reconstruction beam Healing the player for a portion of their Maximum Life over time. |
| Slash | Pummel enemies in front of the Seneschal Construct dealing damage. |
| Tempest | Electrically charge an enemy causing it to deal damage to themselves and additional each second over time. If the enemy is killed, Tempest spreads to another enemy gaining for additional time and bonus damage. These bonuses are also applied if Tempest is reapplied onto the same enemy. |
It’s currently unknown if these attack abilities synergize with player power, but it seems that they should, given their ubiquity and customization potential through Tuning Stones, seen below. Stones can also be upgraded by fusing multiple of the same type to increase their power.
Seneschal Construct Tuning Stones
Tuning Stones focus on utility – things that’ll give your own abilities an edge via applied status effects or transform a supported Governing Stone skill in some way.
| Voluminous | The supported skill’s effect size is increased. |
| Swift | The supported Skill gains an Attack Speed bonus. |
| Breaking | Damage from the supported Skill instantly destroys enemy Barrier effects. In addition, there is a chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds. |
| Tactical | Decrease the cooldown of the supported Skill. |
| Efficiency | When the supporting skill deals damage, you gain Critical Strike Chance to the same targets hit. |
| Devastation | Supported Skill gains a Critical Strike Damage bonus. |
| Safeguard | When used, the supported Skill grants Damage Reduction to you. |
| Frigid | A portion of the supported Skill’s damage dealt is applied as Cold damage over time and applies Chill. |
| Burning | A portion of he supported Skill’s damage is applied as Burning damage over time. Burning enemies take bonus Critical Strike Damage from the Seneschal Construct. |
| Electrocution | A portion of the supported skill’s damage dealt is applied as Lightning damage over time and has a chance to Stun enemies. |
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| Bleeding | A portion of the supported skill’s damage dealt is applied as Bleeding damage over time. Enemies take bonus Bleeding damage from all sources while moving. |
| Poison | A portion of the supported skill’s damage dealt is applied as Poison damage over time. This poison has a chance each second to spread all Poison damage to an additional enemy. |
| Dusk | A portion of the supported Skill’s damage dealt is applied as Shadow damage over time. Afflicted enemies who attack have a chance for their attacks to be interrupted. Does not interrupt Bosses. |
| Duration | Supported Skills have their durations increased. |
| Fortify | When the Seneschal Construct uses the supported Skill, you gain Fortify. Skills with slower attack speeds or skills with cooldowns will increase the amount of Fortify granted. |
| Resource | Player gains an amount of Primary Resource when the supporting Skill first deals damage. |
| Initiative | The supported Skill will cause the Seneschal Construct to teleport to the target if out of range. Can only occur once every so often seconds. |
| Arcing | The supported Skill can hit additional enemies. |
| Multishot | Supported Projectile skills launch additional projectiles. |
| Piercing | The supported Projectile Skill will pierce multiple enemies. |
| Gripping | Damage and effects done by the supporting Skill to Distant enemies pulls them towards the Seneschal Construct. Can only occur once every so often per enemy. |
| Registered Damage | Any damage caused from the supported Skill is registered. The registered damage explodes at effectiveness when the target dies as Fire damage. |
| Seeking | The supported Projectile Skill will auto-seek enemies for a limited duration. |
| Slowing | Damage from the supported Skill Slows enemy movement speed for a limited duration. The closer the enemy is to the Seneschal Construct, the greater the Slow amount. Enemies may be slowed up to a maximum amount. |
| Mockery | Damage done by the supporting Skill Taunts enemies hit for a limited duration of time. This can only occur once every so often per enemy. Does not work on bosses. |
| Evernight | TBA |
| Genesis | TBA |
As you can probably see, Trning Stones are a fantastic way to augment your Construct’s abilities to suit your build. For instance, if you’re playing a Pummel Bear Druid (like I always do), using your Construct to inflict Slow on enemies essentially frees up a Legendary Aspect slot for other use. If your build relies on inflicting status effects or damage of any type at all to work well, this lil’ robo-buddy has you covered.
Upgrading Stones
As mentioned before, both Governing and Tuning Stones can be leveled up by collecting duplicate Stones and fusing them together. Leveling Governing Stones increases the effect of their attack while leveling Tuning Stones can enhance their stated effects. Stones can be collected as rewards from Vault runs, or by completing Arcane Tremor Events. If all else fails, you can also craft them using Shattered Stones, which drop from Construct enemies.
If you’d like to learn more about what Season of the Construct has in store, stop by our Season 3 breakdown!
Published: Jan 16, 2024 05:08 pm