Update: What first looked like an unsolved mystery has now been figured out. Players have confirmed how Purified Essences work, where their altars are located, and what completing the full sequence unlocks.
The original article is still below, with updated sections marked in bold where new information or clear answers are now available.
Diablo 4 Season 11 players have started uncovering strange seasonal items that are connected to the Lesser Evils, and so far, no one seems to know what they are used for or what they do.
Items like the Purified Eye of Belial that are dropping during gameplay are currently confusing a lot of players. The Unique Purified Essence versions are marked as seasonal, unsellable, and unsalvageable. They look important, they come from all the big bosses, and they can be turned in at specific locations. Yet even after doing so, nothing obvious happens.
Although early interactions appeared to do nothing, it turns out these items are part of a hidden multi-step event that only activates once all conditions are met.
What Are the Unique Purified Essences
Unique Purified Essences are special seasonal items that drop from the Lesser Evils in Season 11. Each one is linked to a specific boss and a matching altar hidden somewhere in Sanctuary.
So far, players have identified four different Purified Essences:
- Purified Claw of Andariel
- Purified Tongue of Azmodan
- Purified Eye of Belial
- Purified Spine of Duriel
These items are typically obtained after progressing seasonal content, including reaching Rank 5 of Gifts, and are clearly meant to be interacted with rather than sold or salvaged.
Players Have Found Matching Altars Across Sanctuary
Over the last few days, the community has confirmed that each Purified Essence can be turned in at a corresponding altar. Bringing the respective item to the correct location causes the altar to activate, often lighting up with flames or other visual/sound cues, and removes the item from your inventory.
The game accepts the offering, but nothing meaningful follows. There is no clear reward, quest update, or progression trigger.
This step alone is not meant to give an immediate reward. Each altar activation is part of a larger sequence that only completes once all four altars have been activated.
That has led to a wave of questions across the community:
- Do they need to be turned in together?
- Is this content time-gated?
- Or is this setting up something that unlocks later in the season or even the next expansion?
The answer is now clear: all four altars must be activated, in any order, to trigger the final event.
Altar Locations Across Sanctuary
Confirmed altar locations so far include:
- Altar of Anguish (Andariel)
Located in Nahantu, Seven Stones
Uses the Purified Claw of Andariel - Altar of Lies (Belial)
Located in Fractured Peaks, Seat of the Heavens
Uses the Purified Eye of Belial - Altar of Sin (Azmodan)
Located in Hawezar, Umir Plateau
Uses the Purified Tongue of Azmodan - Altar of Pain (Duriel)
Located in Kehjistan, near Caldeum
Uses the Purified Spine of Duriel
One Altar Is Still Missing
The fourth altar, believed to be linked to Duriel, has not been found yet. Currently, the community is simply referring to it as the Altar of Pain, but its location remains unknown.
This information has since been confirmed. The Duriel altar exists and completes the four-altar sequence required to unlock the final encounter.
Because of this, players believe the system is incomplete until all four altars are activated. Until the final altar is discovered, it is impossible to confirm what completing the full sequence actually does. Or if it does anything at all yet.
Activating the fourth altar opens a portal at the final location, leading to a hidden arena where players must fight all four Lesser Evils in succession.
A Lot of Questions, Very Few Answers
It could be that the relics are linked to a future seasonal step or a hidden quest chain that has not been activated. However, a lot of players think that it might simply be locked until a later update.
Either way, the lack of feedback has turned these items into one of the bigger unanswered questions of Season 11.
The mystery has now been solved. The altar sequence is a fully functional secret event with powerful rewards, rather than unfinished or time-gated content.
More Pieces May Still Be Missing
Given that Diablo 4 seasons often roll out content in stages, it would not be surprising if the Purified relics are only part of a larger puzzle that has not fully appeared yet.
For now, all players can do is collect the relics, interact with the Altars, and wait to see if additional steps unlock later in the season.
Completing the full altar event rewards players with a 
Resplendent Spark, a cosmetic mount trophy, multiple corrupted consumables, and one guaranteed Ancestral Unique from each Lesser Evil’s loot table, alongside additional loot such as runes and tributes.
For more Diablo 4 Season 11 discoveries and mysteries, head back to our Diablo 4 news hub.