Diablo 4 Season 1, titled “Season of the Malignant,” is an exciting update set to launch on July 20th. It introduces new storylines, gameplay elements, and gear changes to keep the game engaging. Players can look forward to new questlines, characters, legendary items, mechanics, and class balance changes. Increased monster and elite density in end-game content also allows for quicker leveling. The season encourages players to complete the main campaign before diving into the fresh seasonal content.
Diablo 4 Season 1 is called “Season of the Malignant” and it starts on July 20th.
This season brings new questlines, characters, legendary items, and game mechanics.
You can level up faster now as Diablo 4 has more mobs and elite density.
The season comes with a Battle Pass that has 27 free tiers and 63 paid ones.
The Battle Pass rewards include rare cosmetics and items.
New characters must be created to access Season 1 content.
A new storyline revolves around a “festering curse” and a new character, Cormund.
There’s a new boss to defeat, Varshan the Consumed.
Diablo 4 introduces 32 unique Malignant Hearts which can be socketed into jewelry.
Season 1 characters become regular characters once the season ends, losing their special seasonal powers.
Diablo 4 Season 1 Content
Season of the Malignant in Diablo 4
Blizzard scheduled a live stream on July 6th at 11 am PDT/2 pm EDT and spilled some beans about Season 1 in Diablo 4. Season 1 of Diablo 4, called “Season of the Malignant,” is a significant post-launch update scheduled to launch on July 20th, offering new gameplay elements, storylines, and gear changes aimed at keeping Diablo 4 fresh and engaging.
As a player, you will get to indulge in various new questlines and get access to new and returning characters. Players should also expect new legendary items, gameplay mechanics, paragon boards, and class balance changes. Moreover, the developers have confirmed that they are increasing the mobs, and with the elite density of the end-game content, players can now look forward to leveling up more quickly than before.
Season 1 Objective
Diablo Season 1 Features
The main objective of Diablo 4 Season 1 is to encourage the players to stop being lazy and finally finish the main campaign before delving into the unique and fresh content of the season. As you finish various objectives, such as dungeons, completing certain challenges, and collecting various items, Diablo 4 will feed the player with Renown, which can be furtherly utilized for buying unique and rare cosmetics.
While these are almost guaranteed–as the empirical evidence of previous seasons suggests–you can also expect more stuff from Blizzard this time around, especially delving into the lore of Sanctuary and finding more about it.
Season 1 Battle Pass
Diablo Season 1 objective and rewards
Along with the new content, Season 1 will also include the Battle Pass—though it is optional to buy. In case you are planning to get your hands on the Battle Pass, you can expect 27 free tiers, while 63 paid ones. You can still enjoy the free tiers without having to spend extra on the paid tiers—which will see you missing out on some rare cosmetics and a few items.
To access all the free tiers, players need to excel in hunting down monsters and earn Battle Pass XP. Furthermore, players need to create a new character to get access to all of Season 1’s content.
Battle Pass Cost
Diablo 4 Season 1 Battle Pass has three separate tiers included: 1 free tier and the other two paid ones. Players can expect new various rewards from the free tier, while cosmetics and other expensive items from the paid ones. On the purchase of Battle Pass, the free tier goes live and players get access to all the free rewards.
Tier 2, Premium, costs 1K Platinum (£8.39 / $9.88), which sees the players getting access to Premium rewards.
The third tier, Accelerated, costs 2.8K Platinum (£20.99 / $24.99), allowing the players to get their hands on the Premium rewards, 20 tier skips, as well as an exclusive Cosmetic.
New Changes Coming To Diablo 4 Season 1
Tier progression battle pass in Diablo 4
Diablo 4’s Season 1, “Season of the Malignant,” is introducing a host of new changes that bring a fresh narrative, mechanics, and items to Diablo 4. Here are the key changes coming with Season 1:
Story and Gameplay Changes: Diablo 4 introduces a new storyline and mechanics centered around a “festering curse” that has infected Sanctuary, turning enemies and humans into “bloodthirsty fiends.” A new character named Cormund is introduced, leading the side story quest to combat this curse. This new story takes place after the main Diablo 4 campaign.
Partly Corrupted Variants: Elite-level monsters can now spawn as “Partly Corrupted” variants and drop a Malignant Heart. These hearts spawn an even more powerful “Fully Corrupted” enemy before you can claim the heart.
Malignant Hearts and Jewelry: The update introduces 32 unique Malignant Hearts, which players can socket into jewelry, much like gems. These hearts provide powerful effects and enable “stupid, new broken builds.” However, for a Malignant Heart to be socketed into jewelry, the colors of both need to match. Malignant Tunnels are special locations with higher rates of infected enemies, offering players better chances to farm Malignant Hearts.
Season Journey Menu: A new Season Journey menu presents chapters with objectives and bonuses that players can aim to complete throughout the season.
New Boss and Items: Players will face a new boss, Varshan the Consumed, who lurks in the Malignant Tunnels. The season also introduces six new Unique Items and seven Legendary Aspects.
Battle Pass: The first Diablo 4 battle pass is introduced with this update, offering 90 tiers of rewards. The pass includes both free and premium tiers.
The Transition of Characters: As players transition from an eternal realm character to a seasonal character, they’ll retain all the fog of war they’ve cleared from the map, the renown they’ve earned, and the Altars of Lilith they’ve unlocked.
These changes aim to provide a fresh experience to the players, keeping them engaged by introducing new challenges, items, and mechanics.
How To Access Season 1 In Diablo 4?
Eternal Character Creation in Diablo 4
To access the Season 1 content, “Season of the Malignant,” in Diablo 4, players need to follow a certain set of steps. It’s important to note that, unlike other games, Diablo’s seasons won’t extend your existing max-level characters, which could potentially lead to confusion for newcomers. Here’s the process to access Season 1:
1. Create a New Character
Participation in each new season of Diablo 4 requires players to create a new character on the seasonal realm. This seasonal character is separate from the characters in the eternal realm, which are those created before the season begins or after it ends.
2. Skip Or Play Campaign
If you’ve already completed the main campaign in the eternal realm, you will have the option to skip the campaign when you start your seasonal character. This allows you to jump directly into the new seasonal quest line and mechanics. If you haven’t completed the main campaign yet, you will have to play through the campaign on the seasonal realm to access the new content.
3. Accessing the New Content
Once the new seasonal character is set up and you’ve either completed or skipped the main campaign, you can start exploring the new content introduced in Season 1. This includes the new storyline involving the character Cormund, the introduction of Malignant Hearts, new enemies, the new boss Varshan the Consumed, and more.
Remember, Diablo 4 is expected to have four seasons per year, each lasting about three months. So Season 1, beginning on July 20, will end sometime in 2023 Q4. Your Season 1 character won’t be lost when the season ends. Instead, they will be transferred to the eternal realm, becoming a regular character. However, some of their special seasonal powers will no longer be available.
What Are Seasons In Diablo 4?
Season of the Malignant Cinematic
The Diablo series has a tradition of immersing its players in new seasons every 3 months, with four happening once a year. This allows you to grind materials and build up your characters to progress in the main story. While its focus may seem to get you ready for the harder stages, it doesn’t fail to amaze you with the exploration of the Sanctuary, as you get familiar with different themes every season, and gather various powerful weapons and builds.
Various seasons allow the players to breathe anew and experience unique thematics that otherwise aren’t to be witnessed during the main story progression. The best way to utilize the new content is by trying out various builds and perfecting the tactical advances that you can’t try anywhere else.
After the release of Diablo 4 in early June, the players were promised the return of the beloved tradition of seasons. Although, players were rather busy back then and didn’t focus much on the news as they were too immersed in exploring the Sanctuary, now it is evident that the Diablo fanbase can hardly wait for Season 1 to arrive.
Diablo 4 Season 1, “Season of the Malignant,” is a thrilling update that fans will surely love. With fresh stories, new gameplay elements, and changes in gear, Diablo 4 stays interesting. Expect new quests, characters, and faster leveling from this update. It motivates players to finish the main game and enjoy new content. It also has a Battle Pass with free and paid options. For more informative guides, I recommend you check out: Diablo 4 Beginners Guide, How To Transmog, and All Waypoint Locations To Fast Travel.
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Image Credits: Official Diablo4
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